by Serena Tan

Created on: December 29, 2006   Last Updated: April 09, 2007

Does the idea of selling scare you?
Are you annoyed when you receive calls from complete strangers trying to interest you in the latest ground floor product or business opportunity?
So do I. That's because you and I belong to the 85% of the population who hate being sold to.

And if we hate being sold to, why would we want to inflict it on others by becoming network marketers ourselves? After all, the very crux of network marketing is sales, isn't it?

Not if you believe network marketing expert Michael Dlouhy. He is a 26-year industry veteran who has made it his business to spread the message that network marketing is NOT about sales.

What is network marketing about if not sales? Apparently, it's about people. I bet you have never heard any network marketing company tell you this. What they probably told you was that the big money was to be found in recruitment (the business opportunity) rather than sales of the products, how to put together your list of 100 names, and how the compensation plan would help you make money fast. That puts us introverts in rather a tight spot, because we don't like selling, and we don't want to risk rejection or jeopardizing friendships to make money. The result is that after maybe 6-12 months, we find ourselves with dwindling leads, few sales and even fewer downlines. No wonder we think network marketing is best reserved for the extroverts and natural salespersons.

The key here is self-understanding, knowing what works for you as an introvert, and then using that knowledge to market your products and business opportunity differently. You don't have to force yourself to put on a false front to succeed in network marketing. No one is going to be convinced anyway, and you are just giving yourself unnecessary pressure.

In other words, if you are an introvert, don't try to operate like an extrovert. It's not you, and your prospects will know it. What you need to do is to turn your personality into a business advantage. To do this, you need to know your strengths, find your own comfort level and work from there.

For example, I am highly uncomfortable opening up in a group environment. My strength lies in one-on-one conversations. Going one-on-one puts me at ease and allows me to give my full attention to the person I am with. When I am at ease, the pressure is off and that puts me in a relaxed and confident frame of mind, just what I need to build a good relationship. Work from your natural strengths, and you can market more successfully. It

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