Last week, my wife and I spent a few days in London, UK. We live in the quiet countryside and so I was immediately conscious of dodging and sidestepping the other pedestrians on the crowded city streets. London is a city of some 6 million people and the businesses that combine to make up this great metropolis, may not realise it, but they operate on the numbers game, just as we do in building and maintaining a network marketing business.

The first time I became aware that my network marketing business is similar to almost every other business, was when we were sitting having a pleasant cup of coffee in a remarkably quiet reataurant only a stones throw from Piccadilly Circus. As we sat there, other customers would enter. The staff would serve them in much the same way as they served us. The customers would leave, and a short while later, new customer would enter and the staff would serve them, too. We were there for an hour or so and this process was repeated continuously. The restaurant depended on the numbers game.

We then visited the world famous Fortnum & Mason store on Piccadilly. My wife wanted to buy a gift each for a couple of her work colleagues. Again, the doors to the street were opening and closing as visitors to the store entered or left. Some made a purchase whilst others didn't. The checkouts were handling a steady flow of customers. The floor-walker ignored everyone unless he was asked for some help. Even this great store depended on the numbers game.

Later we took a ride on the wonderful "London Eye". The queues were so long that I thought we were going to be ages waiting for our turn. But we waited no longer than ten minutes before being ushered into one of the "pods". After the ride, as I walked away, I looked back, only to see that the length of the queues was much the same. I understand that there are generally 800 people riding on the wheel at any one time relentlessly, right through out the daylight hours. The "London Eye" depends on the numbers game.

Some time later, as we entered the "tube" a busker was playing a violin. He had opened his violin case, and laid it on the floor in front of him. He would be a rich man if he could get that case full with cash each day. The concourse was quite busy and I noticed that very few people rewarded the busker for his music, but some did as there was some money in his violin case. He was playing the numbers game. Some people would contribute, others would not. If twenty thousand people walked passed that busker each day, and only one in five hundred gave him a pound, then that busker would be able have two hundred pounds each week to survive on.

But there is one big difference between our network marketing business and the "London Eye", or Fortnum & Masons, or the busker. When the other businesses close for the day, or the busker goes home, no further business is done for the day. The income stops. But with us online network marketers, if you build a team that is spread around the world, then your business never closes. It will be generating a revenue stream whether you are awake, or not.

In network marketing we offer our products and opportunity to as many people as we can. Some take us up on our offer whilst others don't. Some stay with us for only a short time. Others stay longer. Each person does their own thing. We play the numbers game and we show our downline how to generate the numbers - how to prospect - so that they can play the numbers game too. Almost every business in the world, even those that cater for a specialist niche, go through the numbers. To have a successful network marketing business, you must do the same.