“I Don’t Know Anyone”

When I first got started in network marketing, my “day job” was defusing bombs in the military.  I was quiet, and I kept to myself — probably the farthest thing from being a social person.  

But I wanted more, and so I had to wrestle with this idea in my head that “I don’t have anybody to talk to.” 

The truth is that I was self-invalidating.  Making excuses for myself because I didn’t want to get out of my comfort zone.

I was uncomfortable in communication.  

Uncomfortable in going out and talking to people about my product.  

What I realized was that generating leads isn’t the problem.  This is an internal struggle we have to look at — specifically how to get good at communication.

I Don’t Have Anyone to Talk To

“I can’t do it because I don’t know anyone I can talk to” or “I don’t know anyone who would want to do this.”  When you hear or say things like this, it’s most likely another self invalidation. 

Over the last few weeks my training topics have been all about reasons that  prevent a person from looking at or to doing network marketing. 

A similar phrase you might hear that’s related to “I don’t know anyone” is “I’m not a people person.”  Meaning, I’m not good around people or I don’t know how to relate well with people, so therefore, there’s no way I could actually do this if it requires me to talk to people. 

The world is full of personalities. Perhaps this person works in manufacturing or construction and considers themselves to not be a “people person.” 

But to this, I believe that it doesn’t matter what your profession is. If you truly believe in this business model and see it as a vehicle to get what you really want in life, then excuses like “I’m not a people person” or “I don’t know anyone” truly is just a self-invalidation. 

We manufacture these types of excuses because what we’re really thinking is that we can’t do it or will fail. 

I Was Not a “People Person” 

I wasn’t a people person. Who sits around and diffuses bombs? What kind of person does that?  

When I look back at that experience, it was incredible. Yes, it was “Oohra!” It was a “blast”….pun intended. 😉 

But, I wasn’t a social person. 

And based on what I wanted in the future of my life, I wanted a family. As a bomb-squad guy, I was kicking in doors, looking for bombs in houses and different things like that. 

That’s not the ideal life for a “family man.” I didn’t want to have my future wife or kids worrying about what I was doing. 

I wanted to create a new life.  I wanted to create a different life, and everybody has that option.

And so when I saw a way to get there in network marketing, one of the things that I bumped up against was, “I’m not comfortable talking to people…. I don’t know anybody.” 

I mean, who in the Navy wanted to do skincare?! (the first company I joined was a skincare company.) 

When I look back on that experience, my whole “who would I talk to” excuse was really just another self-invalidation that I had.  I actually had a few other self-invalidations as well.  I also said “I don’t have the money” and “I don’t have time.”  

So what’s the solution if you really don’t know anyone?  It’s really quite simple.  

Go meet people. 

Find the Right Person For Your Message

Look here at this image. This is more for amusement than anything else, but it’s still a valid point. 

When I joined my first network marketing company, there were only 5.2 billion people on Earth.  Now there are 7 billion people. 

Does that make a difference? Not really. But what I want you to realize is that even with 5.2 billion people on the planet, I didn’t have to talk to anywhere near that many people in order to get my business going. 

And in today’s world, unlike 1989, at least a billion are easily accessible.

Can you just imagine back in 1989, how we would reach these people? I sent out postcards through the post office. I would do door hangers and walk around neighborhoods to place them. 

I would buy lists of names from lead brokers and make phone calls all over the country. I would also place ads in newspapers in major markets like Chicago and Atlanta and then I’d make phone calls to those people who responded to my ads. 

Today, finding the right person for your message is so much easier and faster. You can chat with people in India or Hong Kong. With a few clicks you can “zoom” and be connected through live video and see the person you’re communicating with. 

You have ways to easily reach people all over the world. 

I have never, in my lifetime, seen an easier time to build a network marketing business because it’s so easy to communicate with people. 

So the problem is not having people to talk to. 

The problem is self-invalidation. It doesn’t matter if there’s 5 billion or 7 billion, or even 100 billion people on the planet. 

It doesn’t matter how many people there are because the person feels uncomfortable in communication. They feel uncomfortable going out and talking to people about it.  

That is the root cause of “I don’t know anyone” or “I’m not a people person.” 

How to Solve This

The way that I recommend you help someone get over the self-invalidation of “I don’t know anyone” or “I’m not a people person” is to teach them how to do the Pipeline.

What the Pipeline really comes down to is that you’re contacting somebody and setting an appointment for them to see a presentation. It might be a video. It might be a zoom call. That’s all that it is. That truly is the simplicity of it. 

And for those people who need to get comfortable in communication, there’s two things I recommend.  

First, is to learn communication. This is something I know well because I had to learn how to communicate. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent rehearsing, learning the right words to say, keeping track of what words I said that would cause objections and questions, and learning how to speak until I could communicate with ease.

Communication skills definitely can be learned and it’s worthy of your time to help others learn to communicate well. 

You can read some basics of communication training here in this article “How to Recruit Like a Pro.” 

Second, buy a list of cheap leads and just practice making phone calls and communicating with them. Don’t intend to sponsor one person. Just practice your skills and get comfortable talking with people. 

Communication training + calling a list of cheap leads is how this is resolved. 

People Are Everywhere

If someone really, truly doesn’t have anyone to talk to, I don’t believe that!  That’s the truth. Because all you have to do is look around and there are people everywhere. 

Prospects may feel uncomfortable in communication. They may feel uncomfortable sending someone some information.  If you want to work with them, then help them see that there’s 7 billion people on this planet and so there is always someone to connect with. 

Learn how to communicate professionally. It will change your business in an enormous way when you can be comfortable with communication. 

And finally, let me just say that this episode is our 100th Network Marketing Power episode. Thank you for watching and staying tuned in to this training. I’m truly honored, and excited for what’s to come. 

If you would please, take a moment to comment below and let me know if you’ve ever run into the “I don’t know anyone” objection.  What did you do to help resolve the situation? How did you handle it? I look forward to reading your replies. 

P.S. If you don’t have a team, haven’t recruited anyone (or less than 10 people), this is THE course you should get – Network Marketing Training Course