This document discusses the importance of both the inner and outer game in network marketing sales success. The inner game involves having clear goals, understanding emotions, and gaining knowledge. The outer game involves implementing a solid strategy, building a strong personal network, and maximizing productivity. To truly succeed, a salesperson must integrate both the inner drive and motivation with an effective outer process and execution of sales techniques.

1. Attitude Is the Key to Network Marketing Sales Success
Written by Bill Panopoulos
Most people misunderstand thatNetwork Marketing sales areon two levels.
Firstof all,sales professionals talk abouttechniques they useto do their job better. They identify and experiment
with pitchingstrategies and prospectingmethods that help boost their numbers. Second, they don’t seem to
realizethat those techniques are useless withoutmotivation and confidence to execute them.
They’re two bread sliceson the same ham sandwich.
This is what I call thedifference between the inner game and the outer game of Network Marketing sales.The
inner game is all aboutyour values,your emotions, and other important factors that existinsideyour head. The
outer game is all aboutstrategy,execution, and factors that are important out in the world.
Both halves of this equation areessential.If you’re all inner game you’ll be more hyped and passionate,but you’ll
do the wrong things.There’s nothing sadder than being motivated to do useless tasks.It’s likebeingsuper
enthusiastic aboutdigginga holefor your backyard pool with a toothpick. Good attitude. Wrong strategy.
If you’re all outer game, you’ll know what to do, but you won't have the firenecessary to do it. You’ll be smart
enough to see the step-by-step strategy that will guideyou to sales dominance.But when it comes time to the
actual importantpart(doing the work), you won’t have it in you to foll owthrough. You’ll look at the mountain of
work in front of you, shrug, and think “why?” And if you don’t have the fire, then even a genius sales strategy isn’t
going to help you.
The Inner Game of Sales
So what is this inner game all about? There are three parts: goals,emotions,and knowledge.
1) Goals
Your goals areyour engine. They’re what you hope to accomplish.They might be small scaledaily goals (“I will
send X customized prospectingemails a day”) or they can be the big, hairy audacious goals(“I will bethe number
one rep in my industry.”) They can even be deeply emotional or personal (“I will buy a house for my family.”) In
fact, your biggest goals should be.
Goals areessential becauseyou need to remember the reason why you do everything you do. They make you
enthusiastic aboutthe work. Plus,they give you a sense of the bigpicture. After all,it’s impossibleto hit a target if
you don’t have one.
2) Emotions
Unlikesome professions,sales requires you to directly communicatewith other peopl e constantly.(No disrespect
implied,keyboard jockeys.) And people are ruled by their emotions.
If you don’t have a solid grasp of emotional life,you’ll flounder.There are two dimensions of emotional lifethat
are importantto understand: other people's and your own. Empathizing with the emotions of your leads will help
you understand their pain points and their aspirations.The better you know what’s goingon in their head, the
easier itwill be to communicate the value of your product. It’s a clichébecauseit’s true: people buy with their
hearts, not their heads.

2. Understandingyour own emotional lifeas itrelates to Network Marketing sales can help you overcome
roadblocks preventingyou from reachingyour potential.Some people let their confidence s lip or allowsales fear
get the better of them, without ever reflecting why. A littleintrospection will giveyou the insightyou need to feel
more powerful and act more effectively. Plus itwill help you better connect with other people.
3) Knowledge
Education doesn’t stop atschool.The third component of the inner sales game is how much you know about your
product and industry.
The most successful Network Marketing people aretrusted advisors who know what they sell better than
anybody. They read trade magazines,books, and blogs that help them understand their customers, their field,and
the practiceof selling itself.
The Outer Game of Sales
What about the outer sales game? I think there arethree components to that as well: strategy and process,
personal network, and productivity.
1) Strategy and Process
What does your ideal customer look like? What is your prospectingstrategy? How do you acquirehighly qualified
leads? How do you closea deal faster? How do you overcome objections? How do you mentor and motivate your
team?
This is the nitty-gritty of sales.It’s the trade secrets that professionals swap when they’re braggingabout their
week’s victories athappy hour. And it’s the plan of attack that sales managers write up and hand off to their team.
Your strategy spells outexactly what you should be doingand in what order. Smart strategies have a solid reason
behind every step that bringyou closer to closed sales.This is critical to mas teringthe outer game of sales.
2) Personal Network
People will always buy frompeople they know first. Network Marketing Salespeopleshould constantly look for
opportunities to expand their network, either through networking events or through old-fashioned outreach.Every
seasoned professional tellsthestory of how a casual connection led to a bigdeal.A strong network of top players
in your industry increases thenumber of opportunities that come your way.
3) Productivity
Obviously,it’s cheap and misleadingto say that sales is a “numbers game.” That discounts the significant
intellectual work that goes into forming a strategy that brings in sales ata predictablerate.
But at the same time, the volume of work that you do counts. Time is the great equalizer.Everyone gets 24 hours
in a day. And if you can figure out how to maximizeyour time to send the most effective emails,make the most
effective calls,and do better research, you’re going to be more successful.Now, that might mean putting more
hours.Or itmight mean discoveringways to work smarter. But it’s a justa factthat your ability to get things done
matters.

3. To win the outer game, you must first win the inner game.
To win the outer game, you must firstwin the inner game. Your best performances originatefrom insideyourself.
Yet salespeoplecreatemental barriers,or get in their own way, resultingin performance deficits.In a moment I'll
show you ways to overcome these mental blocks,but let's firsttake a look at the ten most common negative
habits of mind that plague Network Marketing salespeople.
Ten Ways Salespeople Block Themselves
1. Trying too hard. 2. Attempting to micro-manage. 3. Self-instruction duringtheir performance. 4. Negative
thoughts. 5. Negative mental images. 6. Negative beliefs. 7. Preconceived beliefs. 8. Self-limitingthoughts. 9. Lack
of self-trust.10. A busy mind.
The Two Major Skills Of The Inner Game Of Selling.
1. Quieting The Mind--When your mind is calmand quiet, your focus is in the present. All good performances
unfold when your mind is in the present, not the pastor the future.
2. Letting It Happen--Performances that are forced arenot as powerful as ones that are allowed to spontaneously
blossom.Letting it happen means to relax and simply do what you know you can do whileenjoyingthe proces s.
Attempting to micro-manage and over-control the situation results in a stilted,stiff,lifeless performance.Whatis
the trigger for letting ithappen? Trust and confidence in yourself.
How Do Sales Performances Happen Naturally?
To let a great selling performancehappen, you need the proper sales skills foundation.If you have not spent time
in learning,training,planningand practice,you won't achievethe proper execution in your performance. Once you
have a firm sellingskillsfoundation in place, the performance magic can happen.
Putting it Together
Salespeoplewho really succeed are those who put all these pieces together. First you take a business partner with
strong goals,high emotional intelligence,and comprehensive industry knowledge. Then you add in a rock solid
strategy, a powerful network, and an indomitablework ethic. Add them all up,and you have an unbeatablerecipe
for success.