Welcome! My name is Jason Kerchner, and thanks for visiting! If you're new here, you may want learn a little more about my story.
One of most common responses I hear when asking someone why they want to start their own home business is that they want to make more money, or to become rich, or to achieve financial freedom.
Oftentimes, this is not really what they want.
A friend of mine told me a long time ago that MONEY IS ENERGY.
Think about that.
Let’s say you ask someone what would make their lives easier or more enjoyable. They reply, “Electricity. I really want more electricity. That would make my life easier and more enjoyable.”
So, you toss them a few batteries. They now have more electricity in their lives. Problem solved?
Does that make their lives better?
Of course not. What they really want is electricity FOR THE PURPOSE OF running a refrigerator, a coffee maker, a microwave, the television, the computer, lights, the washer and dryer, and all the other appliances that make our lives easier and more enjoyable.
Money is like those batteries. It has POTENTIAL energy.
You CAN’T hold electricity, and you CAN’T hold money.
You can hold a battery.
And you can hold a piece of paper or a metal coin.
But if you place both on a desk and leave them there, neither will improve your life.
I Want My Life to Look Like THIS
It’s what we DO with that POTENTIAL energy that makes a difference in our lives.
When your prospect says that they want to make more money, or that they want to be rich, chances are they have a certain image in their mind about what that will look like. It might be a bigger house, a nicer car, freedom from their corporate job, or spending more time with their family.
THAT is what you need to get your prospect to tell you about.
THEN you can back into how much money that will take.
When I first got involved in network marketing, it wasn’t to make millions of dollars. All I wanted to do was get my freedom from a corporate job.
I saw myself sitting on the front porch enjoying a mug of coffee while everyone else was sitting in traffic drinking coffee from a paper cup. I saw myself taking a vacation whenever I wanted to, without having to ask for permission or carefully leveraging vacation time around long weekends. I saw myself shopping for and enjoying the holidays while everyone else was stressed because of the limited time they had due to work obligations.
That’s what I wanted from MY own business.
What’s your prospect’s dream?
What does their life LOOK like once they’ve become financially independent? What are they struggling with now that their own business could give them freedom from? What do they want MORE of that their own business could get them?
How Much Does a Dream Cost?
And you know what the best part is?
In many cases, it does NOT take a LOT of money for your prospect to achieve their vision!
Most people neither need nor want a mansion or an expensive sports car. Most people don’t like boating enough to want a yacht. Most don’t want an exclusive country club membership. Most wouldn’t know where they’d go even if they did own a private jet.
Once they SEE the life they would like, most will NOT see themselves living like a king or a queen with all the gilded robes and palaces.
They will see themselves at the park with their kids on a beautiful summer day. They will see themselves fishing on a quiet Monday morning. They will see themselves sleeping in late. They will see themselves golfing or going to a baseball game with family and friends. They will see themselves enjoying the holidays without any financial stress.
Your prospect has things they LOVE to DO.
What if you could help them get more of THAT?
You might even have some prospects who LOVE their current jobs, but would like a little more income on the side to allow them to do all those other things they love to do. Help them go after it!
When you are talking to your prospect, write down their dream. Read it back to them to make sure you’ve got it right. Then email it to them so that they have a copy of it.
And then help them ACHIEVE that dream!
Jason, you’ve totally hit on the most effective way to help others in our businesses. Without a true understanding of their real Why, many will not be motivated enough to join you in business, and many of those who do will not have enough desire to stay with it when the going gets rough.
It’s so important that people can identify the ways their lives can change with our help, and that they can visualize themselves living their dream lives. You’ve done an awesome job creating mind images in this post, and in giving us all examples of how to bring others to a true realization of their own dreams and desires.
I also love that you touch on the fact that for many people, the dream life is not to be a bujillionaire, but rather to have time and financial freedom to live their best lives. It’s really key that we focus on helping others attain their own dreams, whether they’re relatively small or incredibly grand.
From Kathy Jodrey´s blog… Tribe
Motivation is so incredibly important, for ANY entrepreneur, not just network marketers. Many people get so hung up on the money, that they forget, as you put, their “Why”. And once you talk your prospects, their often relieved to find out that they don’t need tons of cash to get what they want.
Sensational post Jason. If you want plenty of money you better like green paper. Money in and of itself is worth next to nothing. It’s what you’d like to do with the money that counts, that’s what makes the heart sing.
The focus should be on exactly what is desired; a home, a care, working in that home. These thoughts and feelings move a person into constructive action, not small rectangular pieces of green paper.
From Ryan´s blog… 30 Conversations on Design
Right on, Ryan. Money in and of itself simply doesn’t have a perceived value that motivates. What money gets us is what motivates us.
Great post Jason. I love the way you explain your points.
Sometimes we get in such a hurry that we miss a lot of life.
We all need to stop and smell the roses.
I’ve never seen a Wells Fargo armored money truck follow a hearse to a graveyard.
Thank you for sharing!
Daryl Whicker
From Daryl Whicker´s blog… Perspective’s In Life
WOW! That was awesome, Jason!
It all goes back to figuring out your WHYs–Why do you want to have your own business? Why do you want to have financial freedom? For whom are you doing this? Etc.
It’s those reasons WHY that inspire people to do what they do. The money is just a means to achieve it.
Thanks so much!
Heather
From Heather Taskovics´s blog… Never Give Up: The Power Of Moving Forward
Great post Jason, definitely makes sense…. most people I speak to don’t want to earn millions, change the world or drive in a brand new sports car, they just want to earn an extra $500-$1000 per month to help them live a better lifestyle.
Of course many people like to think that they want all the flash toys and big houses, but deep down they don’t.
Motivation is very important and finding the persons dream and goals is part of the motivation process.
Keep up the great work and speak soon,
Thanks
Gavin
From Gavin Mountford´s blog… How To *Jazz Up* Your Email Signatures & AutoResponder Messages…
[...] Kerchner teaches network marketing professionals how to achieve their real goals. You can learn more about Jason at his blog, [...]