I read a blog post recently that argued that you don’t have to be an expert in your company’s products to be successful in network marketing. The author believed that you could rely entirely on videos, brochures and third-party materials.
I disagree with relying so much on marketing materials, first- or third-party, because they are usually a lot of hype and don’t answer very many questions.
Your customers are going to have questions that they want answered, but do you have to be a product expert to be successful in network marketing?
Network Marketing – Sell Product
If you have ready any of my posts before, you know that I strongly believe in selling the product first and recruiting second. In any business, the money comes from selling your product or service. There is no other way to make money. The same goes for network marketing.
You have to find customers to buy your product, or recruit people who will find customers to buy the product. That’s your first order of business in network marketing. Those customers are going to have questions, and you have to be able to get them answers. But do you have to have all of the answers yourself?
Do You Have to be a Product Expert?
No, I don’t believe that you have to be an expert in your products to be successful in your network marketing business, especially at first.
The company that I am with has about 40 distinct products. I will tell you right now that even after 10 years I am not an expert with all of the products. I do sell them all though.
How Do You Sell When You Aren’t an Expert?
Your customers have questions, so you have to be able to answer them. How do you do that when you’re not a product expert?
The most important thing is to know your resources. Some of the questions may be answered in the printed marketing materials, so you can either look up the answer yourself and/or give your customer a copy.
Your second resource is other people. They could be your upline, other distributors you know, and of course the customer service people from the company. You will serve yourself well by making friends. That is the only real benefit that I received from attending events, making contacts with other distributors.
Your third resource is one that takes longer to grow – your own experience with the product. That leads to…
You Have to Use Your Products
My upline repeated this over and over when I first started my network marketing business, “you have to be a product of the product.” That just means that you have to use the products yourself.
As I said, the company that I am affiliated with has over 40 products. I haven’t used all of them, but I have used a lot of them.
Why Do You Have to Use the Product?
There are many reasons to use your product. The most important reason is integrity. Why would you sell something that you wouldn’t use yourself? That just doesn’t make any sense to me. Plus, your customer may ask you if you use the product. You want to be able to honestly say that you do.
You also want to use the product so that you can learn about the product first hand. You should have experience with your product. Most of the questions that you get from your customers you will probably be able to answer after using your product yourself for a week.
I use several of my companies products on a regular basis. Of the ones that I don’t use everyday, I have used most of them at least so that I have enough experience to talk to a customer.
Wrapping Up
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a network marketer. I cannot guarantee that you will make money if you join my team. I will show you how I have built my business online so that you can duplicate my success.
Do you have to be a product expert to be successful in network marketing? No, absolutely not. You can get by at first by knowing what resources you have available to learn about your products. Then, as you have the resources to buy your products for yourself, you will build your own personal experience to answer your customers’ questions.
Do you think that you need to be a product expert? Do you use your products? Share your thoughts in a comment below and please share this post with your followers on social media.
