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Making the First Circle Work by Randy Gage
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My Review & Summary
First of all, this is a book for network marketers.Β Although there will be information for anyone, it is especially directed at the network marketing community.
This is a quick, short read by a very successful network marketer, Randy Gage.Β Essentially he tells us that this book came from a talk he gave at one of his events.Β A friend of his encouraged him to convert the talk to a book.Β Essentially it outlines that the most important element of building a successful network marketing business is DUPLICATION.
He talks about the importance of duplication and then talks about ten areas where he gives tips and advice:
- Chapter 1: Where Duplication Lives
- Chapter 2: The Power of Mind
- Chapter 3: Doing the Right Thing
- Chapter 4: Pump Up the Volume
- Chapter 5: Making It Rain
- Chapter 6: Watering the Taproot
- Chapter 7: Taking on Ticketmaster
- Chapter 8: Promoting, Not Announcing
- Chapter 9: Keeping Out of the Ditches
- Chapter 10: Leading the Tribe
And that’s the book in a nutshell.Β You can glance below at my notes for the book to see if there is anything that jumps out to you.
My Notes
Introduction
- His friend recommends that he write a book
- Idea: get duplication started
- We set the tone for our team
- 90 % of bad things get duplicated
- 40-50% of good things get duplicated
- The culture of the team manifests itself
- This short book
- Set the speed of the pack
- Determine how fast your team builds
- Principles
- Duplication
- Starts with you
Chapter 1: Where Duplication Lives
- Most of your team is just like you
- Youβre it
- Your team is you
- Your pay is you
- You are responsible
- You lead a volunteer army β you go first
- Canβt hire or fire people
- You can only lead them
- Model & lead by example
- You can only control the first circle
- Canβt say you will enroll people β they have the choice themselves
- You canβt set a goal to reach a certain rank
- BUT when you control your circle, the others will be influenced
- Want growth?
- βWhat you will learn along the way is that you donβt grow your network,
Quote: βWhen you canβt hire and fire people, youβre forced to learn to inspire, lead, and partner for a common goal.β β Randy Gage βMaking the First Circle Workβ
Chapter 2: The Power of Mind
- His friend called him to vent
- Gage just replied by pointing out the positive elements
- Pretty good newsβ¦
- How fortunateβ¦
- Should be gladβ¦
- βGood things come from all bad thingsβ
- Mindset is big
- If you believe people will drop out, they might
- If you believe your business is awesome and people are crazy not to join, they probably will
- βExpectations are a very powerful tool in your leadership development arsenal.β
- Youβve been programed with negative mind viruses
- Negative beliefs and expectations
- βDistractions kill growthβ
- Good mindset
- Keeps you focused
- Working through distractions
- βOnly way to keep your mindset right is through daily self-development time devoted to positive programmingβ – Randy Gage
- Best way: books, audios, videos
- It wonβt happen by accident
- Start and end each day with positive programming
- Self-development is NOT business training
- Books recommended
- As a Man Thinketh
- Think and Grow Rich
- The Magic of Thinking Big
- The Power of Positive Thinking
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
- The Science of the Mind
- The Richest Man in Babylon
- Authors
- Jim Rohn
- Wayne Dyer
- Deepak Chopra
- Failing
- Not about avoiding challenges, but raising when you fall
- βThe opposite of success is not failure; itβs mediocrity. Failure is actually part of the process of success.βΒ – Randy Gage
- Dreams
- Dreams (I think he means purpose and vision) cause us to find the time
- Fight for your dreams
- Build your own dream
- Your dream must compel you to move toward it
- Use protocols to remember them
- Public declarations to reinforce and recruit
- Attract those that will help
- Expose those that will harm
- Gage just replied by pointing out the positive elements
Chapter 3: Doing the Right Thing
- Someone wanted to switch lines to join their team
- He rejected it immediately β not the right thing
- Donβt poach from others
- Core qualities
- Do the right thing
- It all begins with you
- Integrity β makes network marketing attractive
- There is unlimited space at the top levels
- Honor copyright materials
- Pay honest taxes
- Respect otherβs prospects
- Pay for marketing materials
- Respect marriage vows
- Compliant product claims
- Income representation
- Do the right thing
- Benefits of running your business with integrity
- Attract good people
- Team knows how to respond in similar situations
- Following laws of prosperity
- Withstand temp challenges on business
- Feel good about yourself
Chapter 4: Pump Up the Volume
- Itβs how you get paid
- Danger
- Easy money-making games and pyramid schemes
- People get hurt
- In legitimate network marketing games, no one gets hurt β itβs just business
- No training costs or headhunting fees
- Get paid on volume produced by products
- Check tied to how much you bring into the business
- You canβt control the volume of your network directly,
- BUT you can control the things you do that will influence that volume
- Products you and friends buy
- Products you give away as samples
- Customer base you develop
- Products you and friends consume
- Buy product from the company
- If your company makes a toothpaste, and you need to buy toothpaste, buy it from your company
- Be your best consumer
- Donβt think about the minimum you need to buy to get paid
- Get product, use product, build your testimonial
- High personal use => leads to => High paycheck
- Some say they are too poor to get it, but get more than that in commission (which they could use to pay for their products)
- Buy product from the company
- Samples you give
- More samples you buy and give, the more you are able to help people join
- Give everyone a nice package of samples to take home
- Customer base you develop
- THIS IS THE BIGGEST
- Develop a big customer base and your business will grow big time
- SAFE PLACE
- Create a safe place for people who are not doing the business
- Donβt try to bully them into the business
- Make sure they know you love to have them as customers
- There is lots of money in just cultivating a loyal customer base
- Do the math
- If you have a few builders buying that will bring in a bit, but if they all have customers buying, that will bring in a whole lot
- The longer you are in the business the higher your income can be
- Soβ¦
- Buy for yourself
- Give product samples generously
- Nurture a good customer base
- BUT you can control the things you do that will influence that volume
- Easy money-making games and pyramid schemes
Chapter 5: Making It Rain
- Busy work versus Income-Producing Activities
- Proper expectations
- Canβt do a business with just a few hours a week
- Canβt duplicate with those hours
- You need at least 10-15 hours a week
- You need time
- Not all work is the same
- Unproductive
- Hours on Facebook
- Checking your back office
- False words to team with no action doesnβt cut it
- Cleaning, filing, organizing doesnβt do it
- How we get paid
- Getting prospects to be customers
- Getting prospect to join the business
- Getting them all to buy more
- Rich or Poor? Successful or Mediocre?
- How you spend your time β that 15 hours
- Amateurs or Professionals?
- Amateurs
- Lots of busy work
- Professionals
- Rain-making activities
- Plan your week β determine exactly where your time will go
- Prepare, inviting, following up, rain-making
- Unproductive
Chapter 6: Watering the Taproot
- This is about how to direct the volume
- Taproot strategy
- The main root of every tree
- Deeper the root the better
- This strategy is working from the bottom up
- Create excitement and volume
- The excitement from below has a chain reaction to the top of the tree
- A few ways to taproot
- Presentations, Invitations
- Let those people new or struggling know that you will be working with their downline
- Continue the process of meeting with and working with people all down the tree
- Look for sparks
- Check your tree in your Backoffice
- Look for people who show a spark of interest
- Feed the fire
- Get in touch with these people and let them know that you would love to travel to their city to help them build their business
- The excitement moves up through your ranks
- Be in touch with the leaders above them
- Extend beyond the payout range
- Donβt just work with your top leaders
- Extend down under your payout range
- It doesnβt matter how far down the people are
- It will eventually produce higher volume
- It creates long-term security
- Presentations, Invitations
Chapter 7: Taking on Ticketmaster
- First grow your LOCAL MARKET
- Gives you experience, confidence, and income
- Then long-distance lines
- Use local events
- Better than building online
- Most of the people building online make their money selling systems
- Live events work
- Gives you experience, confidence, and income
- Have and have-not disparity
- The difference is in how people approach live events
- Two kinds of people
- Those who think they won the lottery and donβt have to work
- Pay per click β not duplicatable
- Itβs not whether something works, itβs whether it duplicates
- Network marketing: you get paid on volume β not recruiting
- The end consumer counts
- How to grow volume
- Invite people to live events
- Present to them
- Meet their needs
- The only rain-making activities are those that bring results
- The only free cheese is in the mousetrap
- Technology has its place
- These things can be helpful
- But canβt replace good hard work
- Live events
- Nothing can replace the social proof or other dynamics of live events
- You need to bring prospects to live events
- Get into the ticket-selling business
- You sell tickets for your events
- Discounts in quantity or in advance
- Get people to buy a block of 10 tickets
- Shoot to get lots of guests
- There is real momentum when the events reach the 250 person barrier
- But build up over time
- You need to support the growth thatβs there
- When you have successful local events, then you can host large events for many people
Chapter 8: Promoting, Not Announcing
- Events help get people signed up to become customers or business partners
- Major Destination Events are 2 or 3 day events that take them to the next level
- These are destination events that include travel, hotel, mealsβ¦
- Hold them 2-4 times a year
- Names: retreat, reunion, mastermind weekendβ¦
- Life-changing decisions are made at these events
- High levels of energy
- New skills
- Pumped up
- Spurts of rank advancements always follow live events
- Opportunities
- Meet corporate leaders
- Meet successful consultants
- Hear inspirational stories
- Donβt rationalize yourself out of attending these
- 5 Reasons you need to be there
- Gain Knowledge
- Improve attitude
- Change behavior
- Develop skills
- Build belief
- Events provide
- Success stories
- Product training
- Skill
- Leadership development
- Game plan
- TIPS
- Leadership from corporate might come to support the event
- At each event campaign for the next one
- Promoting, not announcing
- Cost may scare people
- Need to understand the value
- Donβt buy their story
- Convey conviction β they need to be there
- You get there
- Provide special training about events
- Sell tickets
- 100 ppl is critical mass
Chapter 9: Keeping Out of the Ditches
- Network marketing happened without the internet
- Everything done by mailβ¦
- Now, immediate, real-time access to all the information
- Business easier to run
- Lead people
- βYou donβt manage people. You lead people and manage things.β
- The best way to lead people is through monthly coaching
- Coacing
- Counseling & Therapy
- Sometimes therapy, but more importantly business coaching
- Try to be therapists
- Correct dysfunctional behavior thatβs holding them back
- Negative attitude, bossing people, not acting ethically
- These occasional issues need to be dealt with, but FOR THE MOST PART, YOU ARE GIVING BUSINESS GUIDANCE
- Direct people to help
- Personal development books
- Culture of self-development >> makes people open
- Business assistance
- This is where you will spend the majority of time
- Monthly process
- One on one
- Numbers
- Volume
- Events
- Rank
- Leaders
- Receive it, too!
- Two ways
- Coach your people
- Get coached by others
- Receive coaching by someone who is a higher rank than you (has success)
- Donβt get fixated with rank, you may just have to go with who is available, willing, and positive and growing
- Two ways
- Types of coaching
- Soft skills – people skills
- Subject matter will change as you grow
- Do at the beginning of the month
- Counseling & Therapy
Chapter 10: Leading the Tribe
- He mentions Seth Godinβs book, Tribes
- Not about Network Marketing, but is perfect for it
- Making the First Circle Work is about Tribes
- Leading a tribe
- Modeling Behavior
- Being an example
- 1st Obligation β be successful yourself
- 2nd Obligation β help others be successful
- People will just want to be like you
- Help them make $500 a month as quickly as possible
- Encourage them to reinvest everything
- Personal development
- Personal use of product
- Post β Donβt You Dare Give Up!
- Goal is freedom
- Freedom is not free
- Freedom comes from success
- Success requires a price
- Arguing didnβt work
- Begging didnβt work
- Dreams never come true with common sense
- Dreams ARE bold, daring, and imaginative
- Ambition is good
- System is important
- Duplication is key
- Self-development
- Became a people-person
- 4 Things for you
- Live a life of adventure β life is for living
- Get Your Freedom β financial and time freedom
- Right injustice β make the world better
- Move from success to significance β leave a legacy
- Keep the vision alive
- Get help
- Take action
- Live your dreams
- Goal is freedom
About the Author
- Randy Gage has built several successful multi-million dollar network marketing businesses
- He is the author of several books, lives a balanced enjoyable life and speaks to and teaches thousands of people
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