So the story begins with Dairy Farmer John and his favorite prized cow Mildred. Every morning farmer John would go out to the barn and milk Mildred. She was his best cow and always gave the best milk out of all the cows on the farm. Her milk was high-quality and she always gave plenty of it 2x’s a day on a very consistent basis.
Farmer John was able to create a great dairy business with Mildred and was doing really well. So, being a true entrepreneur, one day farmer John got a brilliant idea. He would go out and milk Mildred not twice but 3x’s a day, get more milk and triple his business. So for the next week farmer John set out to the barn and milked Mildred, morning, noon and night until his heart content. He was able to triple the amount of quality milk he was able to get and thus his business flourished.
With this success, farmer John took it one step further. He decided that if Mildred was able to be milked 3x’s a day then he would now milk her 4x’s a day and quadruple his business. The next 4 days farmer John went out to the barn and milked Mildred as scheduled.
Day 1 ~ The first day Mildred gave 4 nice buckets full of the same high-quality milk.
Day 2 ~ The second day farmer John noticed on the 4th milking of the day, Mildred only gave enough milk to fill the bucket half full. Farmer John shrugged it off as an off day for Mildred and decided that tomorrow Mildred would be back on track with 4 full buckets of high-quality milk.
Day3 ~ On day 3, farmer John went out for the 4th milking and Mildred was only able to fill the bucket a quarter full. Once again, farmer John didn’t think much of it and decided to proceed on schedule the next morning.
Day 4 ~ The morning of the 4th day, farmer John went out to milk Mildred for the 1st milking of the day. Farmer John positioned himself as usual on the left side, grabbed hold of Mildred’s udder, gave it a pull and nothing came out. Farmer John then proceeded to pull again and again but Mildred would give no milk.
He then decided to position himself on the other side of Mildred in hopes of getting milk from the right side. Farmer John pulled and pulled and pulled but Mildred gave no milk. Farmer John got up , scratching his head wondering why his prized cow that is always so consistent stopped giving milk. He then walked around to the front of Mildred in order to talk to her and give her some encouragement only to see that he had created one really WIDED EYED COW!
From that point on Mildred gave little to no milk and farmer John’s dairy business started to crumble. If only he had realized that just over the fence were a herd of perfectly good cows grazing in the field that could give as much milk as he needed.
So, do you have a bunch of WIDE EYED COWS in your network marketing business?
It’s very common in our business to want to get as much production out of a new rep as possible. So we stop talking to new people about our business and concentrate on that one new rep. We keep pushing them to do something they are not capable of doing and then before we realize it, all we have are a bunch of WIDE EYED COWS running around in our business that end up quitting.
The moral of this story is to keep talking to people and getting more cows!
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Hey Howie!
Good post and I have to say, after some fairly dry and sometimes challenging reading tonight, it’s good to finish the day on a laugh! Thanks for the reminder, delivered with your usual aplomb
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew Sayers recently posted..Get Your Mind in Gear
Thanks Andrew! Glad I could provide some amusement with a message
Howie,
The first thing I thought of was Seth Godin when I saw your cow…LOL! I couldn’t agree with you more. “Get more cows”. Spending too much time with someone can be a big waste unless they are really motivated and act on your guidance.
Cheers,
Mike
Mike Pedersen recently posted..The Secret To Success When Networking For Realtors
Your right Mike, motivation is key! Too many times we waste time trying to motivate the 30%’ers to do something that they just simply don’t want to.
Oh yes, I have definitely fallen in to that trap at times over the 14 years I’ve been in the industry! You get so excited about a rock star that you stop the #1 most important task in this business….prospecting!
It is also important to match energy with energy….to work with the willing, so to speak. So the flip side, I know networkers who don’t give ENOUGH time to the people they bring in, rock star or not. It’s a balancing act that is different with each person, and it’s up to the sponsor to be able to navigate the true needs of their new team members.
Thanks for sharing this insightful story, Howie!
Beth Allen recently posted..Strategic Planning and Tall Trees
I agree Beth! There are many BAD sponsors out there that are in the business for the wrong reasons and leave people hanging out to dry.
Hey there Howie,
You make some killer points here. If ya milk cows/people to much they will eventually dry up and stop producing any kind of results for you in the long run and thus kill your business off. Thats one reason why I fear the autoship in a business. Many people simply can’t afford that type of stuff in a down economy and go out of business in just a few short months. I have found that a direct sale is much more viable to sustained growth and less attrition. Rock on.
LGN Prosperity recently posted..HUGE LGN Prosperity Commissions Update
Hey Matthew,
Yeah, the auto-ship is a reason many quit on their business if they are spending more than they are making. That’s why I love the fact that my company has an easy way to eliminate the fees in the business completely
I checked out your LGN site, great stuff!
What a cute analogy for a mistake that is too easy to make when we dont know any better or even know better but get carried away and forget to think. Adorable story, thanks for sharing!
Kimberly Castleberry recently posted..Your First WP Squeeze Page In Under An Hour Believe It!
Thanks Kim
Hey Howie, sound advice as always. This not only holds true in MLM but in any business. As soon as you loose the balance (regardless where in the business), you will end up seeing it in the results. Unfortunately, never in a positive way.
It is also good to realize that not everybody can be a star. It takes all kinds to make a business run optimally.
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Hello Howie
Luv the story, I am heading out to the barn right now to see how many wild eyed cows I have
Peter Fuller MBA recently posted..Are You Making This Mistake When Setting Your Goals
Thanks Peter! Check to see if you have any “wide” eyed ones as well
Yep, that one lonely cow does not make for a very healthy team. Not to mention if you have a team you do not need to worry if your super-star is out in left field. Focus on one or two and they will start to feel like they are being used as a cash cow. Yep, go for the heard. Bruce
The heard is where it’s at
Love the story Howie!
You illustrated your point nicely which is more visual than killing the golden goose that lays the golden eggs.
The cream always rises to the top and you can never overlook a leader. Leaders present themselves.
I’ve known you for a few years and you, my friend, are definitely a leader.
Great post! Looking forward to more.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Eiji “A.G.” Morishita recently posted..PROOF- Multitasking Doesn’t Work
Hey Eiji ~ so true that the cream rises! Leaders will let you know who they are!
Haha! Great post Howie, this made me laugh very much!
I appreciate greatly the moral of the story, and have definitely had to learn it myself!
Kyle McCauley recently posted..Are You Missing The Secret Ingredient For Online Marketing Success
I think most of us have learned it Kyle. Part of the network marketing learning curve
Thanks for the story. I didn’t get it at first but did at the end. It makes a lot of sense. It can work in many situations in business. You need to keep getting in new customers and can’t only depend on the ones you already have. But you also should take care of the ones you have to keep them happy and coming back (producing milk).
Emily recently posted..Event Based Marketing Marketing for WAHM
Hi Howie,
Happens so often in this business…
I guess we get excited when we think a super star has just joined our business.
Love the way you presented it with the story…
Great post.
cheers
Bryan
So true Bryan! Thanks!
Howie – Awesome analogy! I love the story – it rings so true to network marketing. Thanks for reminding us we always need to keep moving forward.
Glyna Humm recently posted..Network Marketers – Are You Throwing Up On Your Prospects
Thanks for stopping by Glyna
Hey Howie,
Love this story. We have so many people that this happens to in our business of network marketing but I have seen it happen in a corporate setting as well. Love the cow milking analogy.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed
Edward recently posted..Share Your DREAM Friday – With Special Guest Dreamer Sarah Hilton
That was a brilliant illustration of how many people in MLM are. Thank you for sharing that we can be different and share with many people and not just one. My husband had told me awhile back about a great mentor of his say’s help 10,000 people and those 10,000 will help you. It’s about being in service to others. Thank you for great reminder.
Juie Elliott recently posted..OUR JOURNEY TO HOMESCHOOLING
I do not have a MLM business but this can be said about any sales person or organization in almost any business.
Gary Young China Sourcing recently posted..Links for 2010-09-24 delicious
I get you Howie, there are so many opportunities out there, it’s all about been creative and not sticking to one old method even if it has worked for a while. From this article i also learn that it is important not to be too greedy.
Thanks for sharing
Loic
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Howie,
Great Post , I really enjoyed the story. My first thought what came to my mind was thinking about people sucking the most money out of whatever, but when you got into putting all efforts into existing Member and forgetting to talk to new people, i truly got the point of the story.
I agree with the story and also I am guilty as charge. When first starting my business I put all my efforts into my members which eventually led to not working my own business in form of talking to new people.
So right, I did create a herd of wide eyed cows, just to see them slip through a opening in gate after only a few month.
Once again great post, Thomas Lierzer
Thomas Lierzer recently posted..Do You Think Out Of The Box
Howie,
Cute story….and it points out a flaw that most people have in MLM at one time or another; switching to management mode and forgetting to continue to add more partners.
Great reminder…..
To your continued success,
Robin
Robin van der Merwe recently posted..What Is Money To You Part Two
Wide Eye Cow, is a great illustration of something that we all seem to do sometime in our business. We seem to forget how important it is to keep talking to new people.
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City USA
Perry A Davis Jr recently posted..What is the most vital ingredient for success in network marketing
Thanks Perry!
Love this story! The lifeblood of network marketing is always the new blood. Success on a big scale is getting thousands of people to successfully duplicate a few simple tasks each day.
Eddie Espiritu recently posted..Network Marketing Tips – Never Quit!
Once you find that, the true fun really begins!
LOVE THIS!!! It’s so true, and now every time I am working with a person I will picture myself…. oh never mind, I won’t go there. Howie, this is hysterical. I love the analogy. Thanks so much for the laugh and I will definitely be back to visit your blog. The pic is great too!!!
Debbie Wood recently posted..Protect Your Friends Finding Your Friends Safe Is A Good Thing!
Howie,
I enjoyed your story of the farmer and Mildred the prized cow with it’s correlation to how we can go into management mode with our MLM.
Just this morning I was reading Mark Yarnell’s book called Your First Year in Network Marketing and he says that dropping into management modes is one of the causes of failure in MLM’s. We must always be recruiting new cows who have new and unique milk to give. That works so much better for everyone rather than trying to get anyone to do more than they are capable of doing.
Keep up with the great stories that make your point very well!
(Dave) and Dawn
Dave and Dawn Cook recently posted..Don’t You Just Love Your Company’s Convention
Hi Howard,
Love this story. It is so true, we get someone that we think is going to run with the business, we throw up all over them and scare them off. They quit and we too get discouraged and quit too. It is all a numbers game, the more people we talk to the more successful our business will be.
rebecca
rebecca russell recently posted..THANK SOMEONE TODAY!
Very true Rebecca, it’s all about the numbers. some will, some won’t, so what!