A few years ago I read a book entitled Your First Year in Network Marketing by Mark Yarnell and Rene Reid Yarnell. Like most of us, I was clueless as to how to get my network marketing business started so I visited my local bookstore and looked for a solution to my problem.
Even then, it was an old book dating to a publishing date of 1998. But, I loved the title and thought it might hold the answer to my delimma: how to bring interested people into my business when I have no idea what I’m doing.
To my surprise, when I searched Amazon.com today for the keyword “network marketing” I discovered that the book was still #1.
How could such an old book maintain such a lead after so many years? I wondered.
Ron Atkins, an Amazon reviewer, declares:
“This book presents an in-depth look at the major areas of concern for the new distributor: sales, recruiting, training, goal setting, and of course, succeeding. Network marketing is not about taking advantage of people. You won’t succeed like that. Networking for success is about helping other people achieve their goals. Along the way, you also have your dreams realized. According to the Yarnells’, success is a matter of perseverance and integrity.”
When just transitioning from an employee mindset to one of an entrepreneur, one needs a change in perspective and a roadmap. People will always be attracted to the possibility of building teams that make them money, but how do they do that from day 1? That is the conversation the Yarnell’s started several years ago.
Not the Final Word
Another reviewer, Tony Rush, acknowledges the Yarnell’s contribution but goes on to suggests that the Yarnells advice may be out of date:
“As I’ve progressed to a six-figure home-based income, it became increasingly clear that the main problem with this book is that much of it still boils down to the same basic advice that most MLM gurus have you doing: making lists of friends and family, doing milk-and-cookie parties in your home, doing three-way calls.”
I would agree with Tony on this point. The Internet changed the game forever. In 1998, there was not a need to create a chapter in Your First Year in Network Marketing on how to use the social media, blogging, article writing and video production to broadcast your message to millions of targeted readers.
The Yarnells understood the power of mindset and goal setting. However, the days of warm cookies and home meetings are increasingly becoming archaic. The new breeds of network marketers are master marketers of the Internet.
