How in the world could ONE person sell a billion dollars worth of products? He knew his product...and he knew it well. The one thing that snagged my attention was how well he knew his product.



Which comes first? Knowledge of your product...or selling a billion dollars worth of it? Obviously knowledge of your product comes first.

This MLM training article is about the very important Communication Quality called, "Know what you're talking about."

The reason I mention this is because there is a group of characteristics an MLM business professional must possess in order to truly have success in speaking with customers and selling products.

I call these characteristics the 10 Communication Qualities. Once you're fully knowledgeable about these qualities and have the proper and correct MLM training to learn them, you will be amazed at how many prospects and customers will be interested in your MLM business and/or products.

I was watching a TV infomercial not long ago of a guy who was selling cutting knives. I became greatly impressed with the knowledge of the sales person. By the way he presented his knives I could tell he really knew everything one could know about knives.

I'll admit, in the beginning I was listening, trying to find a hole in what he was talking about.

The more I listened the more I could see and hear, "This man knows about knives!" There wasn't one part of a knife he didn't know about - and he demonstrated to me why he was right...and he discussed it so clearly that anyone could have understood it.

He did several demonstrations with his knives - everything from cutting a can in half to cutting other knives in half with his knife. He did everything without making me feel stupid for my lack of knowledge about knives. He did this without being too assertive (Communication Quality #4). In fact, the more I watched this man the more I realized he was using all 10 of the Communication Qualities.

Very rarely have I seen all the qualities in one person. Now, I didn't personally talk to him to see if he was "truly interested in me." But in the way he delivered his knowledge to me I could tell that he had researched everything about his knives. He explained what a good knife was, and then told where the largest cost is in a knife and why you (the listener) didn't need to have that in your kitchen knives. He gave a "no questions asked, money back guarantee." That certainly sounded like he was "interested" in me.

I bought the knives. The whole set.

Intrigued with his charisma, I started researching him. Ha! Guess what I found? He has sold over one billion dollars worth of goods! NOT through a downline of thousands of people...or a company with hundreds or thousands of stores...but he personally has sold a billion dollars worth of goods!

His name is Ron Popeil. His mother and father split up when he was three. Neither parent wanted him or his brother. So he grew up on the streets in the Bronx (a neighborhood in New York City). At 16, he visited his dad in Chicago and got a job working in a small kitchen appliance factory. One day walking home he walked past a place in Chicago called Maxwell Street. It was the equivalent of a dirty flea market today.

The main things sold on Maxwell Street were stolen goods - hub caps, steering wheels and car radios. As he watched the people selling their stolen goods and people buying them, he got an idea. The next day he bought some of the items from the appliance factory where he worked at wholesale (same price as a store would pay). He then went to Maxwell Street and sold them. As he describes it, "I had never been loved as a kid - I finally found love. It was with my customers. I made a connection with them."

He then found out about state and county fairs...and mastered those. He then volunteered to do live demonstrations inside of stores that carried the manufacturer's products. He mastered selling products live in stores. Then he went in front of cameras on television networks that sold products. You've probably heard his company name before; Ronco. He's the man who came up with, "It slices and dices..., but wait, that's not all...you'll also get...," and "If you order now you get absolutely FREE..."

To date, he has personally sold over one billion dollars worth of products.

You see, because he was the one working in the factory making those knives he KNEW HIS PRODUCT!

My whole interest in this was stimulated by his knowledge of knives. It was THIS quality of "know what you're talking about" that jumped out and grabbed my attention. When you know what you're talking about, prospects really admire it because your knowledge can help them get what they want.

Your downline will also greatly admire you if you know what you're talking about...and they will follow you. If you invent answers to their questions (instead of knowing what you're talking about) - they quickly learn you will say anything (truth or not) to get them to buy the product or sign up in your downline...and they won't.

This doesn't mean you have to work at a manufacturer to know all about the products you sell in your MLM business. It also doesn't mean you have to have a master's degree in nutrition to sell a nutrition product. The thing that impressed me the most was that Ron Popeil talked in such simple language that everyone could understand it.

He never tried to impress his audience with big words. He would say things like, "The steel this knife is made out of is tough - look how tough it is"...and then he would demonstrate it. He didn't try to explain the difference between anodizing (pronounced an'a-diz') and case hardening (two processes used to make steel hard and durable).

He instead would demonstrate for you what he wanted to communicate. It's the sign of a true communicator - to know everything about something, but to communicate it simply to make it very easy for the prospect to make a decision.

Be knowledgeable about your MLM business. Know everything there is to know about the products you sell. Then, when you find people who can benefit from your business and/or your products, you can confidently help them get what they want. It's this kind of knowledge that really pays you in network marketing.