The topic of free mlm tools and what I am going to present in this article might be a little controversial with some people.
It's important to recognize human behavior and how it plays into your business each and every day. My hope is that this article will help shed a little light on the subject of freebies and help you to be balanced in your approach.
Now let me first say that I am not against mlm tools that are free, or in even giving people some good quality resources and value for nothing. Heck I do it here
on my blog every day and give away stuff for free all the time.
We all will probably agree that showing your value to people through free training, free tips, free resources and free whatever can have a positive affect on your ability to connect with people.
However, the problem lies is that when things are given or marketed in a way that caters to lazy minded person it tends to cultivate a mindset that has someone not truly valuing what they have their hands on.
Let me put it another way……
When someone has had to put no time, no effort, pay no money, and no personal sacrifice is invested into something it makes it harder for that person to see the true value. MLM tools that are free are great, but do you really see the value in it? Probably not. The real value always comes in the upgrades. Are you willing to pay for where the real value is?
To many mlm tools can actually be doing more harm than good for that person especially when they cost nothing.
I am sorry to say but free stuff tends to attract people with an entitlement mentality. As harsh as that sounds, it's the truth. I love those people just the same with the love of God, but true value is only perceived when you have had to pay something for it, or exchange something of equal value.
Great value can come from free mlm tools and free stuff in general, but its much harder for the receiver to perceive the value of what is given when no personal sacrifice has been invested.
The other question is, who do you want to attract into your business? People that expect to get everything for free, or people who when they see value will pay for it? I would say the second group if you want to make money at least.
I have seen people over the years that whine and complain about spending $39 on a course that in my opinion is full of some of the best information that you can possibly do for yourself in terms of increasing your personal value to the marketplace. $39 is a price even the broke can afford with a little bit of creative thinking and some sweat equity.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Jim Rohn….
“We get paid for bringing value to the marketplace. It takes time to bring value to the marketplace, but we get paid for the value, not the time.”
Now the interesting part here is that we have to increase our value if we want to get paid more money. If you want to increase your value to the marketplace, wouldn't it make sense that you would need to increase your skills with valuable information that the marketplace is willing to pay for?
If you answered yes, then don't you think it would require on your part some personal sacrifice to pay to get that knowledge yourself?
Increasing your value to the world first starts with where you see value. It first starts with your personal mindset on what are you willing to pay to get good quality knowledge on the skill sets you need to build.
Most people don't want to increase value, because it takes time to increase value and you don't get paid for the time, only for the value as Jim Rohn stated. Our culture pushes people to want everything now with no personal sacrifice. This mindset is so toxic and damaging to your life and your business.
There is no pill, no magic formula, no mlm tools, no software package, and no lead generation system free or paid that will increase your value to the world if it doesn't involve some sort of personal sacrifice on your part to obtain the proper mindset to utilize them…..end of story.
I am of the personal opinion that most people in the network marketing industry and especially those that are online are spending more money on mlm tools and other stuff, but have little to no budget for personal development and training materials that help you to address where it really counts, which I believe to be people skills, and mindset!
Free mlm tools are good when there is value, but without the proper mindset and the ability to see the true value, you will do more harm than good to your business.
What are your thoughts on freebies?
Good or Bad, tell me in the comments section below even if you disagree with me, I can take it. 🙂
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14 replies to "Why Free MLM Tools Can Actually Be Damaging To Your Business"
Hello Mark,
Tremendous value is this article and you are giving it away for free. Thanks buddy.
If a network marketer is not willing to invest in its own development then why would he expect anyone to pay for anything he wants to make money from? That’s a wrong mindset.
Free tools are ok but when you find the real value you should be willing to pay for the upgrade version to get the benefits which will improve your own value. Always lead by example.
Wendell Bulbaai.
Wendell,
lol, kind of ironic isn’t it about this article being FREE? lol. But yes you are right with your comments Wendell. Thanks for your value my friend, you bring it every time.
Mark Harbert
Totally agree buddy, I use a small select group of free tools. But MOST of them are FREE for a reason. Most FREE tools suck LOL And that’s the truth!
Joel,
lol, you are so right buddy. I am so with you on that one.
Mark Harbert
Hey Mark,
This Is very interesting information. Everybody always tries to find free stuff. You made it a point to not always offer the free stuff. We want people on our teams who will work for what they want. Nice work!
Tim,
You got it, Free can really be a detriment to your business just due to who it tends to attract. Thanks for stopping buy bud!
Mark Harbert
free is a dangerous word which attract a lot of lazy people that expect everything to be handed to them. Good stuff Mark
Tristan,
What an honor to have the great Tristan Richards visit my blog. :-), you are right friend. Free is a dangerous word, and I have recently come to realize that. Value is hard to grasp when there is no price on it. Thanks for stopping buy buddy, I appreciate it.
Mark Harbert
“FREE”- The word itself is grossly overused and automatically attracts the “entitled, get something for nothing” crowd even though “FREE” is rarely free. You pay for it with extra time to get the desired result, or have to abandon it for a paid product to get the desired result.
Erika,
You got that right. You really do pay for it in the end. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.
Mark Harbert
Hi Mark,
I have to agree with you. There are many people out there who want something for nothing. Lots of people who want to take the short-cut to success but are not willing to be coachable, to take the time to learn SKILLS, and work on them.
Monique,
Everything has a price even the FREE stuff. You are so right, a big key is coach-ability, and time to develop skills. Great point and thanks for coming by Monique! 🙂
Mark Harbert
Excuse me sir but WHERE is the LOVE Button? You and I have had this conversation and it’s absolutely On Target. It’s the lottery mentality that is rampant in our society. 1 Dollar will get you a Million Dollars and all you had to do was stand in line for 2 minutes. True VALUE comes from a desire to improve and contribute to Humanity, and as Marketers we have a unique platform in which to do this. Love this Post Mark! <3
Barbie,
I am going to look into that love button just for you….lol. Glad you liked the post my friend.
Mark Harbert