Join us for an overview of 2023, where we delve into the challenges faced by network marketers, and uncover the importance of staying up-to-date with industry trends to stay competitive in the ever-evolving network marketing landscape.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
Join us for an overview of 2023, where we delve into the challenges faced by network marketers, and uncover the importance of staying up-to-date with industry trends to stay competitive in the ever-evolving network marketing landscape.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
Welcome to Rock's Talks, the podcast that helps network marketers grow their business on social media. I'm Roxanne Wilson, social media network marketing coach, with nearly a decade of experience in the space, as well as television and radio experience, and a passion to really help you and empower you to be the best network marketer you can be, which means knowing yourself and knowing your brand.
Speaker 2:And I'm Taryn Soa, your social media sidekick. I run all things behind the scenes at Rock's Talks, While being the right hand woman to Roxanne, I also strategize and manage our full social media plan. So I would love to share with you the tips, the happenings, all the things going on in the social media world.
Speaker 1:Each week, we're here to give you the latest and greatest direct selling, social selling, network marketing, whatever you like to call it. The end game is for you to really understand your business, understand yourself and your brand and to rock it on social media. When I think about 2023, this is like your interview time. You know, taryn, barry, taryn, up my heart and a lot of things have happened Like I have basically I mean I'll take credit for it manifested the return of in sync. So you're welcome everybody.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you. I was wondering who to thank and I had a feeling it was you.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you realized there's been a lot that's happening. It's funny because I'm seeing people like you see these things on Instagram. That's like 2021 shocked me 23 this, but 2024 is when I'm going to get my mojo back. I see that every year. I know I was like I didn't know that 2023 was so dastardly, except it kind of was.
Speaker 2:I think it kind of could be for some yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's kind of a curmudgeon. I remember my word was for this year. I need to find it before the years out. I've got, I have a few more days.
Speaker 2:Okay, while you do that, I'm going to try to pull it up. Let me see if I wrote it in one of the podcast show notes. I know it's somewhere.
Speaker 1:I know you're out there somewhere.
Speaker 1:However, as we look back on this year, let's take a look at where network marketing has gone, where social selling has gone, what has been going on and this is a chance for you to personally look at your, your you reflect as well about your personal journey. But wow, it's been a doozy in the industry, like, literally, if you think about 2020 to now, hello, whiplash up down Rola Coaster, rola Coaster of love. I don't know if it was over cool. It's been a tough year. It's amazing that we've been acting like we're like recessiony, inflationy, I don't know. We've been just acting in a weird way.
Speaker 1:Typically, when there's when the economy turns away it has this year it means it's that there's an influx for network marketing. Lots of people come and join and they want to be part of it. That didn't happen this year. This year, things got harder. This year was a really a restrictive time Lots of layoffs and companies. If you think my company didn't lay anybody off, probably look a little deeper. They probably did. Some of the big names had some major, major layoffs and I get that. They don't always like share that with the field, but they grew so much for 2020 that they had to construct and people aren't buying in the same way they were before, so that was one thing that was like whoo. Also, though, from a field level, from a distributor level, a lot of people left more than the typical number left the industry, and not as many came in to replace that. So that's an interesting like okay, that freaked other people out and I think when you get that, you go ahead, yeah.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say we did two episodes on his network marketing dying, so there was enough of a freak out that we felt we had to address it two times Freak out Exactly, you're not wrong.
Speaker 1:And what we saw when people feel like this nervous energy of, oh my goodness, a couple of things, People either leave the industry or they jump to another company, or they say dormant and just focus on something else. And I know there is this need for money, which okay. So when there's this panic, people do different things. Some of you buckle down and you've been buckling down and we'll talk about that and the coolness about that. Some of you say you just stay and put or you quit, and then some of you go on to some nefarious things.
Speaker 2:Yes, do you recall our conversation about MRR, mrr, mrr, mrr, mrr MICKEY, don't defame the mouse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's the love. The new Mickey Mouse Club so good. That's where I fell in love with JC from In sync. Brittany was on there, christina was on there.
Speaker 2:Ryan.
Speaker 1:Gosling was on there, Carrie Russell.
Speaker 2:He was. I actually saw that. Yeah, I mean this was a bit before my time, of course, it was Such a tiny fetus. He looks so nerdy. Yeah, he looks so nerdy, but he's cute.
Speaker 1:And then, yeah, timberlake was on there too, whatever, anyway. So MRR cropped up. A lot of you left MRR now since then, because the money just isn't consistently there, or maybe we should be.
Speaker 2:I don't see the posts anymore, and I don't know if it's because the algorithm has caught up and realized like we're not showing these posts, or if y'all just decided this was a bad plan. Total hoax total hoax.
Speaker 1:It's okay, it's all right. But you also saw big leaders do things and get terminated from companies because they were taking, you know, trying to do all sorts of things they shouldn't have been doing. So it wasn't just on the level of, okay, I'm starting up, I need to make money. Some of the big name people were like, okay, I'll use this time to try and take everyone to a company I'm gonna build myself, and there's lawsuits and all the things and it's like this is a soap opera. They should do the real housewives of network marketing.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh you know we'd watch that, oh, I'd totally watch it.
Speaker 1:I'd be, like I would be a supporting cast member. You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2:Like the friend of a friend of, maybe a friend of yes because then also goes over there and like whispers to so and so and you're the rumor mill, like you're just spreading it.
Speaker 1:I'd be like I don't know if you watch Vanderpump, but I'd be like Lisa's husband who come in. I can't believe the Tom Sandoval that Rachel spent the night at Tom Sandoval's house. Then he walks out like clearly that was a plan, so walk through the room. I can't believe. That's not the best. That is funny. So what has it been like for you? We're curious, like what have been the highlights? We'd love for you to tell us what have been the highlights in the low lights, because, listen y'all, it's okay to have low lights. Think about hair. I don't know much about those things. My hair's a whole different. By the way, you should see the story that I posted last. Ooh, okay, it's a phrase, it's funny. It's a black hair, funny, funny, but it's funny, yeah, about hair shrinkage and it's just funny.
Speaker 2:Oh, I did see that and I didn't know what it was.
Speaker 1:You didn't understand, I know, I know. No, I was like is Roxanne.
Speaker 2:Oh, she cut her hair. I'm gonna use.
Speaker 1:For my black ladies and men and people of color. It's this meme and it says I understand that shrinkage is good, but do I always have to look like this after a wash day? And it's a picture of Samuel L Jackson, like probably from Pulp Fiction Time. It's just hilarious, cause that's what happens. It's just all goes like.
Speaker 2:Even with like cause, you have hair extensions in. No, not this.
Speaker 1:But when I take this out and my hair is probably like past my shoulders and on a wash day after I wash it, zoop, it's like so short. Yeah, it's like that's not a style. Yeah, anyway, it's funny so.
Speaker 2:Low lights for us nine. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Low lights are important cause I know like people do those too. I got my highlights and my low lights right. You need both, yeah.
Speaker 2:The highlights don't look higher with the lows.
Speaker 1:You need both For our hairstylists. We have some hair gurus. Listen, explain us the highlights low light thing.
Speaker 2:But it is important. We must know, and we must know People spend money for it. Yeah, I've got dark hair. So, and even when I had red hair, we don't did we, we just balayaged.
Speaker 1:Is balayage another name for low lights? Do we know?
Speaker 2:No, it's like. I think it's another word for highlights.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You like make a shape, so it's not like a highlight, like it's not foil, it's foil. It's very hard to explain, I don't know Well.
Speaker 1:for those who understand what we're talking about better than we do, explain it to us.
Speaker 2:But you need the low lights.
Speaker 1:You need the shade. Yeah, I was sick after our trip to Boston. I got sick, got sick and then after I was like because I don't get sick often, I'm like, oh, breathing meant more to me, mm-hmm, not coughing. The little things, the little things, you appreciate them so much more when you have a low time. I hate to say it, but it's true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like rolling over in bed. I was sick last week and it was like the whole body aches and like even just rolling over in bed felt like such a big thing. I was like, oh no, it's time to roll over. You have to think about every move, right, yeah yeah, the word that comes up for me for like this year, as just a general, I think, is resilience. You should show, oh sorry, oh well that, but like I think we're still taking it in stride. And for those who are like all in and their business, obviously you're the ones listening, right, so you're resilient, you're pushing through. The tides change all the time, and we saw how quickly they went up and maybe trickling down.
Speaker 1:But I think that's what I love about that You're so right Is when I talk to my clients because my clients go through all the things. They've had the highs, the lows, the ones who are resilient, plumbing that is that I see that has been great as a work. Okay, we pivot. Okay. So this is going on. What are we going to do?
Speaker 1:Well, the pivot has been to customers because, honestly, if you really think about it y'all, if you're not feeling good about your business, if you're seeing your team dwindle, if you're seeing your paycheck dwindle, how can you sit there and look at someone and go? You should totally join, you could, you could make back your money this month and you'd be like come on now. You don't believe it. Even if you're saying it, which I hope you're not, if you don't believe it, it's not coming across right. But what you can do is what did you fall in love with? You fell in love with the product. You believe in the product. So you can say the Stanley water bottle is amazing because you never flipped it over, you never spilled it, but it's amazing because of all these things and you can sell the Stanley water bottle. I'm holding one of my hands for the two listening.
Speaker 1:So that's what I've loved about it is those have been pivoting and be like okay, I'm going to focus on my customers and I'm going to build my customer base and I'm going to figure out what their problems are and how my products can solve them. And they're seeing great results. They're seeing money come in on a regular and y'all I know I've said it, but I'm going to say it again If you're looking for consistent money while you're building your team or growing your business, consistent money comes from customers. I don't care what anybody else says. Consistent money comes from customers. Customers are more consistent and more reliable than anyone you'll put on your team, because your team members you do not. You have you very little control of any one period, but your team whoever's on your team is going to do what they do when they feel like they're going to do, when they do it Right.
Speaker 2:And they might jump ship to another team.
Speaker 1:They might different company.
Speaker 2:Yes, they're going to stop altogether.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if you're banking your paycheck on them, you're banking the wrong way. I know that there are some big companies who are changing, who've changed their comp plan over the last year to try and encourage you to recruit, but you have to remember everything is based on what is it in for them? Yes, they want more people. They've lost tens of thousands of 20,000 consultants. Yes, they want more. But you have to also think about what is the best for you. And if you are like, if I have 10 customers, it's going to look like this, and if I have 20, it's going to look like this Work on your customer base, especially when times are like blah and the other will come, the rest will come.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it'll probably. Who knows what 2024 is going to bring. Maybe our advice is going to change and we're going to encourage you to recruit. Yeah, but right now in this season, after looking at everything of what's going on right now in this season, customers, customers, customers, customers. We might always say that, but I was going to say you left the door open to you. You left the door open, just in case.
Speaker 1:You left it just in case. But focusing on your customers has been a beautiful thing. The other thing that we're seeing the rise of is affiliates and network marketing. Companies are trying to figure out how to make that happen, how to make the affiliate thing a thing. They're trying and they're having a hard time, because here's two reasons A, because they have this okay, yeah, become an affiliate, and it's still like it's. I don't want to say it's a wolf and sheep's clothing, cause that's not fair, but it's like I know. Have you seen those state farm commercials? Love them, with the guy who's trying to teach your parents, like, how to be trendy and how to acclimate.
Speaker 2:They're hilarious.
Speaker 1:It's like that, like network marketing is the old dog and affiliate marketing is the new dog. It's like okay, yeah, I'm hip, I'm the network marketing person trying to.
Speaker 2:she can do affiliate stuff and he's like, no, don't do that.
Speaker 1:Like don't Just let it be separate, exactly.
Speaker 1:And so there's so much trying to build the affiliate program on top of the network marketing program as opposed to making a separate wing, that there have been some hiccups and things.
Speaker 1:And from your side as a consultant, you're sitting there going, yeah, I become an affiliate, but you're thinking to yourself, but I don't make as much off the affiliate. And then you're quickly trying to tell them but you know what, if you do this, you can actually make more money if you build a team. And what you're not understanding is the people who are interested in affiliate marketing do not want network marketing. They don't. So when you say that to them and you start making it confusing, convoluted, convoluted as network marketing let's be real, though the complaint, all things can be you start to lose them. And so I think, if you're in corporate, what I'm telling you now listen to me is this if you're gonna be doing an affiliate marketing program, you need to really educate your leaders, your mid-level and your top-level leaders into the benefits of that and how to guide and lead that, or you don't put your affiliates on a team, but of course that has issues too, because then your field's gonna be mad at you.
Speaker 2:It just sounds messy to me. My little brain is like what's the actual point?
Speaker 1:To get more. For who? The corporate? For myself.
Speaker 2:Well, yes, yes, but I'm gonna like and Money, money, money money, money.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing is, you see all these products that are going viral on Instagram and TikTok, and if I'm a network marketing company that has a great product, I'm like I want it on that too, so I get it. But you have this disconnect because your product, you've been selling it in a different way and so it'll be interesting. They're trying to figure it out. They've gotta figure it out. I think they have to figure it out if they want to be relevant, because what we know is, since 2020, institutions are changing, are crumbling. Let's be real. They're crumbling and a new something is coming in in the next few years, and if you're an old institution, you're gonna have to figure out how to pivot or you're gonna crumble.
Speaker 2:Like target.
Speaker 1:Do you think targets crumbling? Tell me more.
Speaker 2:Actually, yes, I do. I was just talking about this the other day to someone I don't know, maybe my husband, or maybe Davey no one else is here. Target used to be like a place where I felt like had high standards and was clean. It was like the place to go. And now I go, and maybe it's a Nashville thing. We literally have like seven targets, that I can go to, but they are always messy and there's never carts anymore. Like it's starting to give me Walmart vibes, wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I went there. So my sister lived in Nashville so I can ask her which ones are good, but it's been decades since she's been there. But what I will say is this it's funny you bring up Target, because Target and Disney have had a PR problem over the last year.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, I forgot, target did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I don't know that they are going to be able to quickly bounce back. I don't know how Target wasn't as bad as Disney's. Disney has had a lot of PR issues and I think they used to have a score. I was listening to a podcast. Their credibility score was five, which was amazing, and now they're down on the list Like they were fifth and now they're like 50 something. Good luck coming back from that. So I think those are institutions and listen, I love Disney, I love Target, y'all, so I'm not berating either of them. Actually, I don't really shop at Target. I say that, but I don't really shop at Target.
Speaker 2:No, we shop at Target. I'm literally a Target. One stress a week.
Speaker 1:My sister is like she one sister is Costco, the other sister is Target. But I don't really I appreciate Target. I don't really shop there, isn't that weird?
Speaker 2:Hmm, yeah, I've been considering. I'm like is it time? Am I up leveling to Costco?
Speaker 1:Well, that's just a mass product. It's not that you're up leveling because you need more of everything.
Speaker 2:And I don't, so maybe not.
Speaker 1:Maybe I should just stop shopping. Costco's not cuter than Target. It's a warehouse, that man. They've got some good stuff at good prices. You should see those refrigerators, man. I think it will be interesting. It'll be interesting, who knows?
Speaker 1:But you have to up level and y'all. If you're with a company that's not up leveling, you need to check and see if they are, and if they aren't, you need to be concerned. I'm just gonna tell you, you need to be concerned. If they're doing the same old, same old, they are in trouble and that means they're go eventually. Your business is going to be in trouble, especially if you're relying on teams. If you're relying on a team, then your team to lead the way for you, then you're gonna have a hard time. Products, sure, customers. It will take longer for that to dissipate, but you may find it's harder to get new clients in.
Speaker 1:I mean, let's take like Rodin and Phil. It's a great example. They're regimens, they're regimens, they're regimens. Well, listen, they've had the regimens and no disparity in the regimens are great. Kudos to y'all. But when you see different trends in the beauty industry, where people are doing different things, like okay, now we're doing double washing, was it double cleansing? And doing these different things and these different serums or masks, for example, if you're not keeping up with it. Great example a few years back, grinningfields didn't have any masks and you have all these cool masks going on where people are taking them off their face. Everybody loved that they didn't have masks and they came out with masks and it was like a pasty mask, like not the same thing, like you have to keep up with the trends, because if you're like here's my tried and true four steps or five steps, it's okay, but it's not sexy. And if you think people aren't looking for the shiny toy, then you're confused.
Speaker 2:We buy on feelings. We buy on what we want. We buy. Yes, you can logically tell me everything why I need this regimen, but there's still that factor. There is, but I want the mask that pulls off my face, don't you?
Speaker 1:Who doesn't want that? Ooh, it pulls off my face. It's like the foot stuff that like pulls like your skin like comes off. People wanna try at least once. We'll try it, yeah yeah, that's funny.
Speaker 2:So let's, can we switch to our year in review, cause I feel like we both have big years, so maybe that can be. Our behind the scenes is Okay, you go first, me go first, okay, okay. So at the beginning of this year 2023, we pulled our kids from preschool and daycare program and decided to homeschool, and we are still homeschooling and I love it. Yeah, we almost opened a restaurant this year.
Speaker 2:That was this year still yes, we got like the lease and like the final paperwork and we didn't like it. And so, even though we had gone that far, we decided to say no. And a week later is when my husband got that job offer for the seasonal position on Mackinac Island, with housing for us. So we took it. We spent April to September on Mackinac Island and then found out this company that offered him the job also owns like a ton of Hiltons all over America. So Jeremy applied and got a job in Nashville. We sold our house, which we are signing the papers to, maro. Yay, finally, congrats. And here we are. That's the year.
Speaker 1:Not much going on with you is what I heard. Okay.
Speaker 2:Not much, you know, just a few little changes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, okay, that's a lot in one year. Yes, that's a lot, yes, okay. So just you know, yeah, that's a lot.
Speaker 2:Oh, and we also redid our whole basement at our house too.
Speaker 1:We did to sell it to someone else.
Speaker 2:To then turn around and sell it. Never got to enjoy it, not once.
Speaker 1:Not once, because you were in Mackinac. I was finishing up, oh goodness. So I last year I don't know what I did at the beginning of the year I spent I was wedding planning, obviously, and was able to go back and forth to Arizona once the dress came in, like every other week for the dress fittings, which was such a wonderful time to spend with my family. Like I just loved that so much. In fact, when the wedding came, I was sad because I'm like like when I went to the lab I was like this is so bittersweet. So we did that. We got married. We did that marriage thing. We went to the Bahamas, had the wedding of our dreams. It was phenomenal and wonderful. So that took us to July.
Speaker 1:I thought I glossed over. Wedding planning was a lot. Let's not let. I don't want to diminish that at all. Then, after that, we decided we were moving. And there go the move. So we are, by the end of the year, moving. Yeah, you'll have to do one big change. We are moving. We spent over a month this year in Boston at spending time with my in-laws, which was good that we were there. Aging parents is an interesting thing. Sandwich generation here we are. What else?
Speaker 2:Oh, did like all those trips to you know Arizona kind of spew you wanting to move. I have to wonder that.
Speaker 1:Experience? I have to wonder that. But I did all those trips. Scott didn't do any of them, and so it's interesting that he was one of us. Like we need to move to Phoenix. I'm like what. He lived there for 10 years before he moved to Austin and we met in Austin. So we both lived there at different times, all of my family's from there. But I was shocked. I'm like what, what? And here we are, by the way, look Moving, I see moving boxes.
Speaker 1:I made a major mass progress. I'm almost done, I think in my head I am. So that's been. You know we've just been a lot of newlywed time together. I've definitely me the manifestor been in a rest cycle for a while, but I'm coming out of it, which is exciting. Watch Out World, and what else can I say. So we're moving on the 30th, you're listening to 27th. Three days, we be moving.
Speaker 1:I've also kind of been diving into user-generated content, which I'm really loving and enjoying, just working with different companies on their their marketing issues and helping them in creating some fun videos. You should check it out. Some of them are online and then on my Instagram. Some of them are not. Most of them are not actually, but the ones that I do put there there. What else can I tell you? I feel like we are almost. We almost have Maisie. We might have Maisie by the time you listen to this, don't know. I feel like she's coming. We thought we had her. She wasn't her, but she's coming. Yeah, it's okay. So Maisie's coming, okay, very excited about my new baby girl and Baylor will be a big sister. So we're talking about dogs for anyone who does not know.
Speaker 1:So funny, by the way on the podcast. Someone wrote like I sit them at moving on my Instagram. So I was like you're moving, I go, I go. You clearly haven't listened to the podcast. That was the first one. It was Nancy. She said what move. I'm like clearly haven't listened to the podcast. It's all up to say that's where you get all your updates, that's where you get the updates. Is that everything I've done? Mine didn't seem very crazy once. I just said it.
Speaker 2:That's still crazy, is it? Okay? It's the whole Bahamas wedding. I know it's so great. It was so great. I saw a FOMO like such FOMO.
Speaker 1:You were invited I know I live in an island.
Speaker 2:I was on my own island.
Speaker 1:You were on your own island. She was on the Taren Island, Tarenah Island, you know.
Speaker 2:That island too. I never left that one, so and two I think we're wanting to bring more and more to the podcast.
Speaker 1:So we're bringing it into 2024.
Speaker 2:We hope you keep listening.
Speaker 1:Share it, leave a review, follow whatever we're supposed to say yes, yes, and if you want the real tea about network marketing, this is where you're gonna get it. Let's be real.
Speaker 2:Exactly In real time. Yeah, in real time.
Speaker 1:So there you go.
Speaker 2:All right, y'all. All right guys. Happy new year. Happy new year. Thanks for listening to another episode of Rocks Talks. We would love for you to help us get this message out to other network marketers. If you could follow rate review wherever you are listening to this episode, we would greatly appreciate it. And hey, if this episode speaks to you directly, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it on Instagram stories. Be sure to tag us over at Rocks Talks.
Speaker 1:Always remember you're not ahead, you're not behind, you're exactly where you're supposed to be and we'll see you next week for another episode of Rocks Talks. Thank you.