One of the largest obstacles people encounter when working in network marketing, direct sales, or any other industry that requires you to sell products or sponsor others in order to earn an income is the comfort zone.
Imagine the door to door vacuum cleaner salesmen of many years past. Driving from neighborhood to neighborhood, knocking on the doors of complete strangers and asking if they can step inside and give a demonstration.
I remember a Kirby salesman knocking on my aunts door in 1990. He gave a demonstration that lasted about an hour (maybe longer) and when he was done my aunt could not wait to buy this huge, overpriced vacuum. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing...it did everything from yard work to cleaning the house top to bottom. But that on it's own would have never been enough to make the sale, it was the salesman himself that made this vacuum seem so amazing. He was flawless in his presentation and completely comfortable given the fact he was standing in a strangers house.
I can only imagine how uncomfortable he must have been when he knocked on that first door, or the first 100 doors or the first 1000.
Why was he so successful when so many others were unable to get even one sale?
He kept knocking on doors, he kept doing his presentation and eventually he was able to step completely out of his comfort zone and achieve perfection in his business. I can guarantee if there was a new feature, he was the first to learn about it, if there was a guarantee offered, he could recite it word for word, if the company held a meeting, he was the first one there.
It's not very often we come across-door to door salesmen these days, but we still have to face the fact that in order to succeed in this industry, we all need to be able to step out of our comfort zones.
I lost my comfort zone years ago but I remember how hard it was to pick up the phone and call that first prospect, or to do my first 3 way call with one of my team members. I remember what it felt like to do my first presentation in person for a group of people and how nervous I was when I did my first team call.
What is your comfort zone? What do you plan to do today to try and step outside of your comfort zone? If You no longer have a comfort zone, how do you help others step outside of theirs?
Have an Amazing & Successful Day!
- Christine Mikulski
