Use Metcalfe’s Law to Build Your Network
Network marketing offers you an ideal way to build your own network (remember it’s the rich who build networks and the rest who work for the rich!) and you can harness the power of Metcalfe’s Law to do just that. Robert Metcalfe, a founder of 3Com and one of the creators of the Ethernet is credited with creating an equation that defines the value of networks.
Metcalfe’s Law is: V = N squared
This means the network’s economic value to the network owner equals the number of the network’s users squared. So as you add partners to your network, its value increases exponentially.
To begin to use this law, you start with finding a person who wants to duplicate your skills to build their own network. 
As soon as there are two of you, the economic value of your network is squared to 4. When you add another person who will duplicate your efforts, now your network’s value is 9. Now here’s comes the explosive part, as the two people you partnered with go out and find two more people each who duplicate their efforts and that trend continues with proper duplication, the economic value of your network takes off. And, of course, you will continue to find more dedicated people who see the opportunity to build their network and are committed to duplicating your efforts. When you successfully do that, the sky can be the limit.
Please note here though that I kept saying “duplicates your efforts”. This means you have to train yourself to use the proper skills to grow your business to such a level that if you were to teach those skills to another committed person, you will have essentially duplicated yourself. If you are lax on the required skills, and if you are lax in teaching those skills to your partners, there will be no duplication and no real use of Metcalfe’s Law.
If you have selected the right network marketing company though, the training that will be provided to you will also be available to your partners. Therefore the process of duplication becomes so much easier. The kicker though is to commit yourself to the training and to find partners who are also committed to the training.
Leverage is what is created by building your own network through the use of Metcalfe’s Law. Your own time and efforts are multiplied over and over again by the partners on your team. You can work say, three hours per day on your network marketing business, and if all your, say, twenty partners do the same, your 3 hours equals sixty-three hours put forth on your behalf. Now that is sure something I don’t see in the employee world. Leverage occurs at this degree through the power of building your own network.
The information I am sharing with you here comes from my reading of Robert Kiyosaki’s The Business of the 21st Century, specifically his Asset # 4 The Power of Your Own Network. Robert covers 8 assets you gain through network marketing. Robert points out that in his mind, network marketing is the fastest-growing business model in the world today. But guess what? Most people don’t see it because they only open their eyes. The product is visible, but the network that the product travels through, the real business, is invisible. An open mind is required to grasp the real value of network marketing.
Network marketing is a true Information Age business because it deals with the pure sharing of information, not factories, materials or employees like Industrial Age and Transitional Age businesses. As network marketers our job is not to sell our product. It is to communicate information, to tell a great story and build a network (and make a lot of money if you give the required effort for yourself and your network.) That’s what we love about network marketing, we are not selling, we are sharing information and letting people make the best decision for themselves. For those who make the decision to create their financial future by joining our network, we and our network marketing company train them to duplicate our efforts. And it’s so much more fun, for us and our network, than selling any day!
I’d love to hear any comments you have so please tell me what you think! Do you see the power of Metcalfe’s Law at work in the creation of your own network? I sincerely hope you do.
Committed To Your Success!
Hey Dawn,
However long I have been in Network Marketing, I always find it exciting to see the three who get three who get three principle. The possibilities always get me excited again about Network Marketing. Especially that wonderful word exponential!! And you are right, it is a true Information Age business.
Thanks for a great post Dawn.
Sue
This post is a great reminder that people follow people. It is our connections with people that build our business, and our lives. Thanks for introducing me to Metcalfe as I had not encountered him before.
Your friend from TSA,
Carolyn
Dawn, I do see the power of Metcalfe's law! I really think that the network marketing industry is in it's infancy, and with the economy the way it is more and more people are being driven to find a way to bring in another income stream. With that said you are seeing more and more people turning to network marketing. There truly is so much power in duplication! I feel very lucky that early on I kept an open mind, not just open eyes and saw the power of building a network!
I have read alot of Robert Kiyosaki's books, but I have not read “The business of the 21st century, but it is on my list of books to read.
Hey, great video and great analogies! Thanks for the truly useful information! Joseph McDevitt
Dawn. Leverage is the most powerful tool in business. Whether you are in the network marketing industry leveraging the efforts of the partners on your team or leveraging capital to grow your business, the power of leverage can not be denied.
Dawn,
Great post! I love the power of leverage that we as network marketers are privy to, and the opportunities that this presents. You are absolutely right, though, it all boils down to training. If we are unable to train our team members to duplicate our efforts, and if our companies do not offer good training, growth will not occur.
I think a lot of people underestimate the fact that network marketing is a job, and it takes time to develop the necessary leadership skills in order to succeed. Those of us who do figure it all out, though, can lives lives beyond our wildest dreams.
Hey Dawn I love what you wrote here. The phrase that really sums it up is what you said “The kicker though is to commit yourself to the training and to find partners who are also committed to the training.” I sort through a lot of people that I don't believe are committed to their success. Why waste my time or theirs.
Thanks for the article,
Michael
In my company we say “Get 3 and help them Get 3″ Duplication is what it is all about. Dawn a great post for many who quit before they get a chance to see this important fact.
The one thing about law it that they work it you use them. If you don't use them they don't work.
There is also a good post on Wikipedia about Metacalfe's Law => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_Law
Thanks,
~ Pat & Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
Dawn…I think where most people seem to fall flat is your point about having the right system in place that people can actually do in a simple manner. People have big aspirations and dreams but fail to incorporate an easy to follow system. Even when companies have good training systems it really takes that one on one touch (at least to some degree) to help others become successful.
Networks of networks. Power is in the people. Systems make it possible. People make it probable. Leaders make it likely. Learning to leverage the network to the greatest advantage is the challenge for us all.
Thank you for teaching us an exceptional principle. Putting it into practice it the next point of progress. Keep pointing the way!
Dawn and Dave,
Great post. I have started to work this type of equation locally for my network marketing company. When recruiting, I already have my central hub “my blog” which gives me credit.
This is a great way to recruit the right people into your business. In my community, I was looking for someone that wanted to do home parties, since I don't want to do home parties. I found someone that I knew and now since my prospect investigated me and heard my success blueprint, so they decided to work with me.
I was looking for a new distributor that spoke English and Spanish. A prospect found me because of the efforts I put into my SEO strategy. We connected and I signed her up.
I love Network Marketing, it is exploding and look forward to dominating my niche.
Dawn, your information was extremely helpful, thank you.
As network marketers, we are very unique people. I tell this to many, not everyone wants to wake up every morning, not knowing what to expect, yet we do it and love it. Most business owners are unlike us because of the time, effort we put into learning different ways to make our home business better.
Again, great post. I am really happy to be a part of the TSA family.
Tommy D.
Hello Dave and Dawn,
This is a great article and truly focuses on the real value of networking. The more value you give, the more value is returned.
This is my favorite sentence in your post: “As network marketers our job is not to sell our product. It is to communicate information, to tell a great story and build a network (and make a lot of money if you give the required effort for yourself and your network.)”
Go out and make it a great day!
Lloyd Dobson
Hello there Dave and Dawn Cook;
Dawn you have brought out the “secret” to the sauce that even though most people know and are well aware of the powerful tool of leverage; it remains a secret most never figure out. I see so many marketers (myself included) who at one time fell for the trap of trying to use someone else’s system or network to grow their business.
As you’ve pointed out so well; it’s those who “create the system or network that gain the real leverage. Duplication is something everyone is trying to incorporate into their business; however, when the authority is being directed to someone else’s system you just told everyone that You are Not the Leader.
I’ve been following Robert Kiyosaki for some time myself; and the advise that he gives is always worth taking heed to. In my last post on my blog I talk about “why information is the new cash” and the importance of having your own products that brand you as the authority.
Thanks so much for sharing Dawn; another content rich and valuable post from DaveandDawnCook.com
Dawn,
Thanks for reminding me about Metcalfe’s Law. I have been fortunate to experience it happening, but it is cool to put a label on it. You have explained it well. My favorite concepts, which are fundamental to success in any business, are leverage, synergy, and networking.
Another concept that seems relevant here is an influential theory proposed by Stanford University Sociologist, Mark Granovetter, called “the strength of weak ties.” The theory explains the surprising value of relatively superficial relationships, such as we often find with social media. In my blog post, entitled “Relationships, Collaboration, or Noise,” I explained:
For networking purposes “weak ties” can be more helpful than strong ties, because they connect us to resources and information we would not otherwise know about. Close friends tend to know the same people and things we know. ”Weak” ties, i.e., friends who are less close, are more useful when it comes to searching for new jobs, ideas, experts, and knowledge.
Although I strive for strong and deep relationships, I also appreciate the leverage that comes from expanding our network through quantity, as well as quality, of relationships.
Actually, I believe in focusing mostly on quality relationships (such as tribes like TSA), instead of quantity. For one thing, the relationships have their own intrinsic value, per se. I enjoy close friendships that “go way back,” like my friendship with Eric Worre (The Network Marketing Pro). Memories of cruises and a trip to Los Cabos with Eric are precious.
P.S., If you are interested in a bit more on this subject check out my blog post, “Relationships, Collaboration, and Noise,” at http://relatingonline.com/archives/636
Buddy Hodges recently posted..The Practical Value of Social Media Relationhsips
This is my favorite sentence in your post: “As network marketers our job is not to sell our product. It is to communicate information, to tell a great story and build a network. |
superMan56 recently posted..free mario games