If network marketing was a job, most of us networkers would be fired. Happily, network marketing companies are very patient, and don’t fire their people for poor performance.

But imagine turning up to the first day of a new career, and the job description was…

1. Get a dream and set some goals
2. Work on your attitude
3. Get motivated
4. Build a strong belief in yourself and business
5. Be positive

What would the picture look like? I’m thinking the economy would be quite dismal. There would be a lot of positive, motivated people, but with no money.

It just won’t work. It doesn’t make any sense.

In my first job at McDonald’s, they taught me how and when to push the buttons, how to shake the fries when the beeper goes off, how to wrap the burgers. This is what I was paid for.

In my first and only professional career as an engineer, on my first day, they put me on a week long training course to learn how to use the simulation software that I’d be operating. This is what I was paid for.

I was taught the necessary SKILLS to do the job.

Yet, the only skills most network marketers are taught are how to set goals, how to be positive, how to get motivated, which would great if companies paid us for doing that, but they don’t.

Make no mistake: dreams and goals, a good attitude, a strong belief are all very important traits to have. I’d much rather work with people who have these traits than without.

Reaching high levels in network marketing, just like any other business or sport, is 90% mental. But mindset alone, won’t produce results.

Let me give you an example…

The famed tennis player, Roger Federer, has the whole mindset thing pretty much worked out – or at least he used to. He never gets too emotional on the court. He’s always cool, calm and collected.

You can develop your mindset to the same level as Federer. But unless you’re skilled at tennis, Federer will thrash you all the time – no matter how big your belief.

For most people, KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS are the 10% that’s missing in their network marketing career.

My business turned around when I began to learn the two most important skills in this industry: COMMUNICATION and INFLUENCE.

Every leader in network marketing, whether they’ve built their businesses offline or online, has mastered the art of communication and influence.

There are many, many ways to do this. You can do it in person face-to-face, by speaking to a group of people, through audios and videos, through writing and blogging, which has suited a shy guy like me greatly. Whichever way you choose to do it, the principles are the same.

It all comes down to understanding people.

Network marketing is a people business. People skills are what’s so desperately missing in this industry.

Learn what motivates them to take action, and apply them to your business. Also learn what turns people off, so that you know what not to do.

In this business, manipulating prospects to join you will never work in the long term, because people will only join and remain with those who they know, like and trust.

The people skills you get, the more prosperous you will be.

Here’s a great place to start…

Have you ever been really bummed out by why some people are successful in your company and you’re not? Have you been annoyed by the fact that some newbie who joined just a few months ago has already reached his first pin level, while you haven’t even moved from zero after one year?

The worst thing you can do is to feel inadequate about it, because it’s not your fault. Over the last few posts, we’ve covered a lot about personality types and how to relate to each of them. In this article, I discuss how each personality performs in the various compensation plans.

Yep, that’s right, some personality types are just not “wired” to perform well in certain compensation plans. Here’s why…

The Yellows, being the nurturers, have little chance of being successful in a stairstep breakaway or unilevel pay plan. The yellows want to work with people and coach them. They are team players and they want to help out the people in their team become more successful than themselves.

So the Yellows work best in plans that go deep – all the way down to infinity. They’ll do well in plans where they can place people under other people to get a real team dynamic happening. Binary plans are good for the Yellows, as long as volume requirements for both legs are reasonable.

The same goes for the Blues. Blues also work best in plans that go deep. Blues are great team motivators – they want everybody on their team to have as much fun as they’re having. In a narrow width pay plan, or one where new people can placed under existing people, the Blues can create a lot of spillover and get a team synergy happening very quickly. This makes them excited and they stay in the business.

Here’s the problem with the Stairstep breakaway plan for the Yellows and the Blues. If a Yellow was to go deep in a Stairstep breakaway and work diligently with her two personally sponsored frontline distributors and coach them to become leaders in their own right, eventually they will breakaway from her and her income would disappear. I don’t think she’d be so nurturing after that happens.

That’s not a problem for a Red though, because he can continually put new people on his frontline. He won’t coach them, he doesn’t care if most of them don’t produce because he can just keep putting them in. He knows that eventually he’ll sponsor a producer (also a Red). That producer will eventually breakaway. That’s fine because he’ll just put more people in his frontline using his “churn and burn” method.

So Reds work best with pay plans that go wide, such as the Stairstep or the Unilevel. The Reds think that network marketing is a sales business and they’ll have no problem closing people on the deal. They’re not going to coach anybody. They’re only going to pay attention to their producers.

If you’re not a producer, you’re a loser – don’t bother re-signing next year. If a Red tries to build deep, it won’t work because he would want every person in his downline to be just like him, a complete jerk – “it’s my way, or the high way” – and about 90% of his organisation will quit because of his arrogance. That style of management works great it the corporate world, but it doesn’t work in MLM.

So how about the Greens – the Analysts?

Well, Greens can work in any pay plan that they can “scheme” to get the maximum pay out of. They like complex compensation plans where they can figure out exactly what’s required to get that elusive leadership bonus.

They can get new people in on the minimum autoship and tell them how to get the maximum out of the pay plan. That way, their downlines grow organically into that leadership bonus level.

In relating to other people, it is important to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Again, a brief study of the personality types can give you a good overview of the general strengths and weaknesses of other people and importantly, yourself.

When you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of the personality types, it’s then you can understand why the other person is the way they are, and you are the way you are. You can accept that it’s not their fault that they are “hard wired” a certain way, which empowers you to work with their strengths and weaknesses.

So without further ado, here are the general strengths and weaknesses of your dominate personality colour…

If you’re a Yellow…

You takes things too personally and you constantly worry about what other people think of you, which affects your actions. Essentially you are controlled by what you think others are thinking about you – if that makes sense. People sometimes take advantage of your kindness. You tend to sympathise and agree with other people’s excuses. You are not goal-oriented.

Your strengths are you are an honest person and you always speak from the heart. You have no problems making new friends because people find you very easy to get along with. You are a great listener, people don’t have any problems opening up to you about their triumphs or tribulations. People can depend on you to do what they ask of you and you give great support to your team members. You are patient, trusting and you hardly ever criticise others.

If you are a Blue…

Your primary weaknesses are lack of focus and disorganisation. Whilst you can start several new projects at once, you’ll hardly ever finish them – you don’t have a long attention span. And whilst you’re a great communicator, you tend to dominate every conversation – try to listen a bit more to others. You don’t like to be sold by others, but you’re prone to making exaggerated claims when selling to others.

Your strengths in deal with people are your greatest assets. You’re great in a sales role because you’re a great promoter. You are enthusiastic and a great motivator, often gathering the team together to accomplish a goal. You have a great sense of humor, you’re fun to hang around with and people can always count on you to liven up the party. You are very creative and you always have great ideas for holidays and group activities.

If you’re a Red…

Your biggest weakness is your ego. You think you’re top dog. You expect respect from others, yet you hardly give any of it yourself. So it’s little wonder people resent you. You never admit that you’re wrong even though you are. You’re domineering and expect people to do things exactly your way, yet you are not coachable. More than anything, you need to value your relationships more.

Your strengths are that you’re goal oriented and focused on taking action. You make tough decisions quickly and are not afraid to take risks. You are a natural born leader and you exude confidence. You are independent. You are the best negotiator. Nothing gets in your way – you knock down obstacles as fast as they come up.

If you’re a Green…

Your greatest weakness is you’re inability to make a decision. You are often paralysed by analysis. You are also very hard to please, being the perfectionist you are. You have a being wrong, which is why you over scrutinise things. You also take a long time to complete tasks. You are naturally sceptical and pessimistic about everything and you get depressed easily. Like the yellows, you also worry about what other people think of you.

But like all the other personalities, you have many great strengths. You are very organised and are often well prepared for any foreseeable situation. You complete every task you start. You are meticulous and accurate in everything you do. You are persistent – you go out of your way to solve problems that most other people can’t or give up on.

Have you ever felt really tense when you spoke to a new prospect for the first time? You know, when you sit down and go through the flip chart that you don’t even understand yourself and the whole experience feels about as good as giving blood?

That tension comes from a lack of trust. And the lack of trust is because you’re not relating to the prospect very well. But when you can relate well to the prospect, that tension loosens up very quickly. The good news is you can relate to the prospect within minutes of meeting him for the first time.

To do that, you have to match your style to the personality of the prospect. This is a skill called “mirroring”. Like all skills, it will take some time to master. But once mastered, will feel completely natural. Here’s how to do it…

When talking to a “Yellow”…

Yellows build the biggest MLMs because they can retain people. When talking to a yellow, don’t talk about the money, or how much they can make. They see it as hype and are turned straight off – they’re not motivated by money. Don’t talk about how your dietary supplement has every single vitamin and mineral under the sun – they don’t care about how good the products are either.

Yellows are Relators. They care about other people the most. So talk to them about being able to spend more quality time with family and friends. And because they care so much about people, talk about the benevolent acts that you’ve done with your success, or the personal transformations you’ve gone through in your business career.

Yellows want to belong. So talk to them about being part of a team. Tell them they can get the support and guidance they need from the coaches and mentors you have in your team. Above all, show that you truly care.

When talking to a “Blue”…

Blues are great MLM leaders and motivators. They get the big picture very quickly, and they make most of their decisions from the gut, not the head. All they need to know is they can make lots of money to do all the fun stuff that they want.

Don’t bore them with numbers or data. Don’t tell them about how the best scientists in the world came up with a formula that allows your super duper moisturiser to sink a quarter inch deep into the skin. Don’t even bother showing them how the compensation plan works – they don’t care. Just give them a quick overview of the product, the company and your team.

Instead, talk about having fun, like snowboarding, scuba diving, paragliding or hitting the town. Talk about the cool company sponsored trips they’ll get to go on if they achieve certain levels. Hype it up a little. Match their pace and level of excitement in your voice because if it’s slow and dull, you’ll turn them of very quickly.

When talking to a “Red”…

Don’t do small talk with a Red, because they’ll make you feel like an idiot. Don’t ever talk about friends, family or relationships. All they know is if you’re married, you’re supposed to have kids. End of story.

Go straight to the money, because that’s all they care about. Reds are the only people that think happiness revolves around money. Show them exactly how many people they’ll need to recruit to make $X, and they’ll go right ahead and do it.

Stroke their ego by telling them how fantastic it would be to have someone as driven as they are. Tell them all about the “super star” distributor in the company and how much money they make because that’s the person who they’ll aspire to beat.

Reds are the only people that actually like to be sold. So go ahead and “close” them on the deal.

When talking to a “Green”…

You can never sign up a Green on the same day you shared your opportunity with them. They need time to do their own due diligence. Give them all the resources they need to do that, otherwise they won’t trust you. Give them all the magazine articles that have ever been written on your company and its managers.

Greens are Analysts. Greens hate loud, flashy presentations and they hate ugly, hastily put together websites. Like Yellows, they’re totally turned off by hype and hooplah. Slow down your voice when talking to a Green.

They are naturally sceptical about anything, so talk them step by step through the compensation plan. Do the same with the products. List every degree that every scientist had in the formulation of the company’s leading product. Tell them about each of your team members and where they are in the line of sponsorhip.

Give them the time they need to go over all of the literature and in due course, they will sell themselves.

The first thing my mentor, Michael Dlouhy, taught me was this: Network Marketing is NOT a numbers game, it’s about building relationships with people. The more relationships you build over time, the more successful you’ll be.

People are not numbers. People are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. People have dreams and aspirations. Thus relating to people and building a relationship with them over time comes first from understanding them.

Let’s say you’re meeting a new prospect for the first time at a coffee house. Literally within the first two minutes you can understand them and begin to build a long term relationship by identifying their dominant personality type. Just how do you do that? Easy. Shut up, listen and observe. Here’s how…

When you meet a “Yellow”…

Yellows will probably be wearing comfortable, casual clothing. Nothing outlandish, nothing too colourful. Their handshake are warm and soft. They speak with a soft slow voice.

The key characteristics of Yellows are they’re open and indirect. So when you ask them a question, they’ll give you the honest answer and then they’ll stop, until you ask them the next question. They tell you how they are feeling, but they won’t give you all the gory details or exaggerations because they’re indirect.

You’ll notice it is very easy to get along with a Yellow straight away. They’ll show concern for you and try to talk about the things you’re interested in. They’re talk more in terms of “we” and “our”, rather than “I” or “my”.

When you meet a “Blue”…

Blues are very flamboyant in their choice of clothing. They’ll be wearing bright colours, hawaiian shirts and big hats. They have a firm and fast hand shake. They talk fast too.

Blues are open and direct. When you ask them about their weekend, they’ll tell you everything and how fun and exciting it was. They can’t help but talk, and talk, and talk. They’ll give you all the juicy details that you didn’t even ask for. They’ll exaggerate. They’ll tell you all about the 10 foot air they got on their dirty bike and how they nearly broke every single bone in their body on landing.

Blues are also very easy to get along with. They are friendly people. Just don’t bore them, though. They love to have fun. And they may seem self centered because they talk about themselves a lot.

When you meet a “Red”…

Image is everything to a “Red”. The red will most likely be wearing designer clothes and walk with a very upright posture to show off their status as top notch people. They drive a Mercedes, even though they may be living in under a tent and can barely afford to make the car repayments. Their handshakes are firm and slow and they speak with a clear, firm voice.

Reds are self-contained and direct, so don’t bother asking them about their weekend – all they’re going to say is “Good” and that’s it. They’ll be asking you the questions and controlling the conversation. And they’ll want quick, straight to the point answers.

They’ll cut you off in mid conversation if you start to faffle on. It’s very easy to become intimidated in front of a Red. They don’t mean to be rude, it’s just the way they are.

When you meet a “Green”…

For the “Green”, everything has to be perfect. They won’t wear expensive clothes like the Reds, nor will they be colourful like the Blues, but they will be meticulously ironed and creased down the middle. Compared to the other personalities, they talk slowly and their voice is rather expressionless.

Greens are self-contained and indirect. When you ask them a rather private question, or their opinion on something, you won’t get a straight forward answer from them. If you ask them what they do for a living, they’ll just tell you that they are an engineer. You’d have to probe a little deep to find out what type of engineer they are.

It may feel awkward to try to have an open conversation with a Green, and that’s because they are not open and they are not direct. They’ll open up when you start talking about the things they are interested in.

A lot of network marketers fail and lose their dreams to become successful and financially independent because of rejection, or the fear of rejection. The word “No” has taken more good people out of this industry then any other word in the English language!

The problem is traditionally, network marketers are trained to talk to everybody about their business. Everybody is fair game – the pastor, the police officer, the waitress. I was in a company that really hammered this home – “If you’re not showing 15 plans a month, then you’re not serious, this business is just a hobby!”

And this is why we, as network marketers, face so much rejection – because we’ve been trained to talk, not trained to listen. Unless you’re a well trained, super slick salesperson with inch thick skin, you can’t take that much rejection on a daily basis.

Do you want to build your business rejection free? Yes? Then you must listen. Listening is a very important skill that’s rarely taught to distributors in network marketing because the super star recruiters who are doing all the training don’t know how to listen themselves.

There’s a well known anonymous quote…

“God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we can hear twice as much as we can say.”

It implies that we should listen more than we talk.

You can’t give the same business presentation to every person. It comes down to the personality types. Here’s why…

The Relator personality, the “Yellows”, don’t like pushy, aggressive salespeople. They see excitement and exaggerated income claims as hype and it turns them right off. They are 35% of the population. If you try and push a Yellow into a deal, he’ll join you just to get you of his back, but he won’t do anything and he won’t say anything either. He’ll just resent you for pushing him into the deal.

The Analyst personality, the “Greens”, also don’t like pushy, aggressive people. You can’t “close” them because they need the time to thoroughly go through the presentation in their own time. You can’t sell a Green, they have to sell themselves once they’re satisfied that you provided them with enough information. They are 35% of the population.

The Enthusiast personality, the “Blues”, love to have fun. They want to talk about adventure and holidays. If you start giving them numbers and show them how the compensation plan works, their eyes will glaze over and they’ll stop paying attention. Blues don’t like to be pitched and sold either. They are 15% of the population.

The Commander personality, the “Reds”, are motivated by the money. They just want to know how much money they can make. These are the only people you can give a presentation to that would be remotely interested, simply because there’s money involved. You must get straight to the point, though. They don’t have time for the fluffy stuff. They make up 15% of the population, but one-third of them don’t like to be pitched and sold.

So out of all the people in the world, 90%, or 9 out of every 10, or 900 out of every 1000, don’t like to be sold. These are the numbers. That’s why talking to everybody about your business doesn’t work.

So if the numbers are stacked against you, just how do you get people interested in what you have to offer? Easy. Listen to people. When you can understand people and their wants and needs, they will ask you for your business.

I once heard Brian Tracy, a well known self-help author, say that “fully 85 per cent of your happiness in life will come from your personal relationships. The other 15 per cent will come from your accomplishments.” The more I think about it, the more I realise this statement is true. Your success is heavily dependent on the quality of the relationships you develop.

Network Marketing, more than any other form of business, is a relationships business. Its entire philosphy is people helping other people to become financially independent. And therefore, understanding people is an essential skill to have.

The more you study people and understand them, the better you can relate. And the better you can relate, the better you’ll be able to help others. The more you help others, more successful you’ll be.

Being able to understand your prospect builds trust between you and him. Unfortunately, this is where many network marketers go wrong. MLM’ers complain that “THEY just don’t understand our business and how wonderful it is”. You have to get this – it’s NOT up to them to understand you, it’s up to YOU to understand THEM. Understanding people builds trust. Trust builds relationships. Relationships build success.

Understanding people first comes from understanding the personality types and how they operate in this world. Learning the personality types is a fun and easy exercise. So let’s do it!

Here’s a quick activity that you can do to really help you understand the personality types. On a blank sheet of paper, draw a horizontal line bisected by a vertical line, so that you have four (4) quadrants.

At the North position write the word “Open”. At the South position, write the word “Self Contained”. At the East position, write “Direct”, and at the West position “Indirect”.

Also at the North postion, write the words “People Focused”, at the South position, write “Task Focused”, at the East position, write “Extroverted” and at the West position, write “Introverted”.

Now, here’s the fun part. In the top left-hand quadrant, write “Relator”. In the top right-hand quadrant, write “Enthusiast”. In the lower right-hand quadrant write “Commander” and in the lower left-hand quadrant, write “Analyst”

You now have the four fundamental personality temperaments (types) – Relator, Enthusiast, Commander and Analyst – and you also have their characteristics.

Each individual in the world is a combination of all of these personalities, but personality stands out above the rest – their primary personality.

To help you better understand the characteristics of each personality type, we can use adjectives, animals, colours and their most likely occupations to describe them.

The Relator

Adjectives: Honest, Dependable, Passive, Considerate, Understanding, Helpful
Animal(s): Koala, Labrador
Colour: Yellow
Occupations: Teacher, Nurse, Counselor
Percentage of the population: 35%

The Enthusiast

Adjectives: Optimistic, Charming, Outgoing, Sociable, Motivating, Exploring
Animal(s): Chimpanzee, Peacock
Colour: Blue
Occupations: Sales, Entertainment, Public Speaker
Percentage of the population: 15%

The Commander

Adjectives: Decisive, Determined, Blunt, Indifferent, Competitive, Strong willed, Quick tempered
Animal(s): Bull, Shark
Colour: Red
Occupation: CEO, Attorney, Politician
Percentage of the population: 15%

The Analyst

Adjectives: Perfect, Logical, Tactful, Reserved, Investigating, Systematic, Careful
Animal(s): Owl
Colour: Green
Occupation: Accountant, Engineer, Research Scientist
Percentage of the population: 35%

So as you can see, each personality behaves differently, has a different set of values and is motivated by different things. Therefore every personality must be treated differently.

In subsequent articles, I will go deeper into how to interact with each of the temperaments.