If Your a Network Marketer Are You Selling Shovels or Digging for Gold?

So as a Network Marketer have you found you are putting all your eggs in one basket? The lessons learned in the California gold rush of the 1800’s are very relevant to all of us in the world of online or network marketing. During that time people flocked to California to become rich by digging for Gold and very few made money or succeeded. The people who ended up doing the best were the people who sold the shovels to the gold diggers. I see many people struggle and fail online and there are many reasons for that but I think one of the reasons is too many people are taking the approach of digging for gold rather than selling shovels.

So if you are in the world of online or network marketing I want to share two of the best ways to “sell shovels” and start bringing additional income into your business.

Share good valuable information-One of the best ways you can fulfill a need of online or network marketers is to create “How to Articles” or share your knowledge. People are hungry for knowledge on how to succeed and make their business work. You will be amazed at how people gobble up the information you share in how to articles and in information marketing.

Tools-Another good option is to sell marketing tools. Every online or network marketer needs tools to market their business and the reality is most of the people in this business do not have a marketing background. There are lots of great marketing tools out there that you can promote to help other people rock their business. A few of my favorites are Magnetic Sponsoring and the Home and Small business tool, called The Social Media List Builder that helps you build lead capture pages, sales pages and Pop-up video forms and auto-responders.

I would love to hear what you think about this. Do you agree that it is better to sell shovels than dig for gold? What other things do you think are a good way to “sell shovels”?

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Comments

peter chapman says:

03/21/2011 at 10:09 am

Hi Angela,
Great post and love the graphics! I believe you will go far if you are teaching people to fish rather than providing them with a meal. I love the feel of your blog too…great use of plug ins and social networking..

It seems network marketers will have a great leader if they follow you

Best wishes

Peter
peter chapman´s last [type] ..Choosing Your Blogging Niche
Twitter: nuclearblogger

[Reply]
Rick Lelchuk says:

03/21/2011 at 12:46 pm

Angela,

I think you have to strike a balance between being a miner and a supplier as you would with multiple streams of income. If you become an expert as a miner you can fund the supplier side of your business. Every entrepreneur has options open to them and no one should bury themselves in one vein. RICK
Rick Lelchuk´s last [type] ..The Narrowing Path to Obesity and Illness
Twitter: whealthsource

[Reply]
Keith Everett says:

03/24/2011 at 12:41 pm

Hi Angela

I couldn’t agree more. Let’s be honest, many people WON’T make Network marketing or Internet Marketing work ,no matter what you teach them. It’s a very wise choice, NOT to put all your eggs in one basket and whether you can or can’t make it work, you should still sell the tools (the shovels) to help others make it work.

If you fancy guest Blogging any time, I would love to hear from you. This post would be a nice piece of content to start with.

Thanks

Keith
Keith Everett´s last [type] ..Why Adopting the Right Mindset Will Help Your Internet Business Fly

[Reply]
Dr. Adam Sheck says:

03/25/2011 at 10:45 pm

Angela,
Great metaphor, that of selling shovels. It’s a challenge for me at least to get into the mindset of being of service AND monetizing my work fully. Thanks for this inspirational piece.
Take care,
Adam
Dr. Adam Sheck´s last [type] ..Seven Year Itch Now Takes Only Three Years!
Twitter: passion101

[Reply]
Ross Joyner says:

03/27/2011 at 4:01 pm

Angela,

I also love sharing good content. Guess that is why I belong to TSA. I did like your metaphor about the shovels. Have a great week and keep on writing and I will keep on watching.

[Reply]
Jamie Bennett | my lead system pro says:

04/12/2011 at 10:38 pm

I think there are many networkers and mlm leaders who are against a Multiple Income Streams approach and many people do get this mixed up…
They tend to build competing products or try to enroll everyone in multiple business opportunities.
(I know, been there…)

What you have done is point out how to establish a multiple streams approach to your business.

As you build your networking business, it is ok and value-adding to offer products and services that help your down line, your prospects and other networker succeed in their own business…… (Selling those shovels).
Jamie Bennett | my lead system pro´s last [type] ..Setting Up Your Gravator
Twitter: jbennett2020

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