Kathleen Deggelman Bio
Kathleen found network marketing in 2006 after spending 25 years in corporate America. In just two years, she reached the 7 figure rank in both companies she joined, creating a network of over 70,000 distributors in 50 countries. Today Kathleen is a popular social media marketer and blogger, and today she’s here on Network Marketing Nation to share her 6 and 7 figure success story with you.
Read The Entire Kathleen Deggelman Interview Transcript Below:
Vince Reed 0:00 – 0:02
Network Marketing Nation, Episode Thirteen
Kathleen Deggelman 0:03 – 0:12
But creating an income of 6 figures or 7 figures, that’s an extraordinary result for doing simple activities consistently.
Vince Reed 0:12 – 0:23
You’re listening to Network Marketing Nation, where six and seven figure top earners share their stories. My name is Vince Reed, Internet marketing trainer and coach. Prepare to be inspired.
Vince Reed 0:32 – 1:30
Before we start our live interview, here’s a quick word from our sponsors. If you want to use the Internet to generate traffic and leads for your network marketing business, visit MyInternetTrafficSystem.com and get the very best lead generation training for top earners. Want to generate your own leads but building quality capture pages have been too difficult or expensive? MITS Pages is the solution you have been looking for. Visit MITS Pages.com, that’s M-I-T-S Pages.com, and create quality lead capture pages for free.
Alright, I’m extremely excited. I’m here on the line with Kathleen Deggelman. Kathleen found network marketing in 2006 after spending 25 years in corporate America. In just two years, she reached the 7 figure rank in both companies she joined, creating a network of over 70,000 distributors in 50 countries. Today Kathleen is a popular social media marketer and blogger, and today she’s here on network marketing nation to share her 6 and 7 figure success story with you. Kathleen, what’s going on? Are you ready to rock and roll?
Kathleen Deggelman 1:31 – 1:35
I am. Great to be here with you, Vince, and thank you so much. I appreciate the invitation.
Vince Reed 1:36 – 1:40
Awesome, awesome. Now, I probably should have asked you: do you like Kathleen or Kathy? Is there a preference?
Kathleen Deggelman 1:41 – 1:47
Kathleen and apparently my mom says that I stated that my whole life.
Vince Reed 1:47 – 1:54
Awesome.
So, you know, you have an amazing story and is there anything that you want to maybe fill in the blanks, maybe something that I left out?
Kathleen Deggelman 1:55 – 2:44
Well, you mentioned the 25 years in corporate America. I mean, I was like most people; I didn’t know that I was looking for network marketing. I was just about to buy a franchise when I was introduced to network marketing in 2006 and I’m just so glad that I didn’t because I think in our business model, we get to do the fun part which is the sharing and the talking, and the company does what is typically the hard stuff for business owners. So really glad I didn’t go down that route. I mean, I had a great experience as an employee, worked for some great companies like IBM and Levi Strauss. But in my early 40s just realized that I couldn’t imagine I was going to spend another 20 years doing that. So really glad that this showed up when it did.
Vince Reed 2:44 – 3:21
That’s awesome, and what an awesome story. You know, one of the things that we love about doing these interviews is we get a chance to connect with some of the top money earners and we were looking at a couple of the different polls and things out there, and you were ranked in the top 100. And not just in your company, but in the entire industry, in network marketing. You know, I wanted to ask you this question and, you know, get your feedback on really telling the listeners how that actually feels. I mean, you’ve earned 7 figures in this industry, you’ve done it a couple of times, now it’s a regular thing.
How does it actually feel to have reached your goal?
Kathleen Deggelman 3:22 – 5:03
Well, I don’t know if it ever really becomes just a regular thing. I mean, first off it feels great. I mean, it’s wonderful to achieve your own financial independence. It’s a great feeling. But it’s also just really wonderful to just not worry about money. When I was younger, you know, I definitely did my share of that. But I have to say one of the best things after you figure out your own finances is it feels really great to inspire so many other people to take charge of their financial situations. And this is, I mean, I’ve invested in a lot of things over the years. This is the best business model, best use of my time and efforts that I’ve seen. And it makes me think about Jim Rohn said that he became so famous for: it’s, you know, what you do in your part time that creates your wealth. And that’s absolutely what we have the opportunity to share with people. For most of us what we do in our full time pays the bills, and sometimes not quite enough of those. But for me to make the money that I have I know it’s absolutely a reflection of the number of people that I’ve helped, so that feels great. But I love it when people come up to me and say how much their lives have changed. You know, all the areas of their lives, not just their finances but their health, their relationships. And at the end of the day I think one of the best things that we offer to people is that, you know, we get to be a part of a greater community together and you know, one of my favorite things is it’s just so fun to hear all the successes of my teammates, too. When they achieve a new rank or earn a bonus or win a trip, I think I’m as excited as they are.
Vince Reed 5:03 – 5:41
That’s awesome. That’s one of the things I can say is definitely in common with, you know, every top earner that I speak with, is that they actually get more excited based off of the success of their team and others. You can almost hear their voice elevate when they think about the success of others, so that’s awesome. So, that brings me to the next question. You know, here’s a question that I think a lot of people getting started ask of themselves and I want to ask that of you:
why should a person join you and your team?
You know, is there something that you do that separates you from other distributors or reps out there?
Kathleen Deggelman 5:42 – 8:34
Well, it’s interesting because when you think about it most of us, how we get started in this business it’s … for most of us, it’s kind of random. It’s because a friend calls, and that’s great but the longer you’re in this, the more you realize that there really is some due diligence to do. And most of us do very little when we first make this decision and I definitely did that with the first company, but I got lucky in terms of that first company. But the second company, I definitely researched it thoroughly. So first thing is, you want to make sure you’re partnering with a great company, and then the team becomes very very important, and who you partner with, who’s going to support you, the leader: is it somebody that you resonate with? Because I think a lot of times people make a decision and then they find out that they really don’t like the style or it’s not the integrity that they’re looking for. I mean, that’s definitely one thing I can say about my team is we’re definitely building a community that’s rich with integrity, kindness, fun. I mean, those are probably the three adjectives that would come to mind first. And I’m just really proud of the leaders that I get to work with. We’ve built an amazing community and I think – like I said earlier – I think that’s a big part of what draws people in and at the end of the day, I think it’s why a lot of people stay. I spent the last three years fine-tuning a system that’s really working and duplicating for my team. I didn’t have a system when I started. I didn’t have an upline that was going to create that for me, so I had to go out and do it. And for a brand new person, if you can partner with somebody that’s already done the work and already been tremendously successful, you’re going to go just that much faster. And it’s so much easier to do this as a brand new person when you have a system that you can plug into and you can follow a system. I think that myself and my team, we’ve created a system that fully embraces all the technology and all the different ways that we can build this using social media that’s available now. And I don’t really think in our industry, you know, I think there’s a lot of leaders that still have not done that, I mean or it’s piecemeal. I think that we’re definitely ahead of the curve on that. When you can point to the tools that the team has already created, when you can become a professional pointer, I mean that’s definitely worth its weight in gold in this business. Because the reality is, most people coming into this don’t know what to do first or next. So when you put it all together – the community, the leadership, and the system – I think all three of those things definitely become critically important to a person’s success. So I would encourage people to just really choose wisely.
Vince Reed 8:35 – 9:05
Awesome, awesome. So for you, you’re using technology, you’re using a lot of the traditional strategies and I think that’s one of the things that absolutely makes you who you are, a great leader.
So, you know, what would you say is a piece of advice that you would have given yourself when you got started?
Now that you’ve been in the industry for some time now, is there anything that you wish you could have told yourself day one when you first said, “Yes, I want to try this network marketing thing?”
Kathleen Deggelman 9:07 – 10:59
Well I was definitely somebody that said yes right away, but if I could look back at that person 9 years ago, I would say laugh more, bring your own personality into it more. Be lighter with the presentations because at the end of the day, people love to laugh with you. They love to know your personal story. I would say take more risks, don’t worry about what quote they say. And it’s the risk that we take that make all the difference. Another thing I would say to myself 9 years ago is get really good at telling your story and get really good at telling other people’s stories, too. Say less facts, because at the end of the day, it’s the stories, it’s the personal experiences that move people. Again, just be more personal. Jump at the opportunity to get on stage and tell your story sooner. I mean, it’s easy to sit back in the audience and think, “Someday I might do that.” You know what, make someday today. I would also say do the mindset work sooner for me. You know, figure out what your blocks are around money and wealth and work with a coach if need be to get passed it, because at the end of the day what’s holding us back is us. We’re the only ones. So I think I have become a very good manifester, and it certainly has taken a lot of reading and working with great mentors and a consistent spiritual practice, you know, being a part of Masterminds, going to events to create the Mastermind to do well in this business. It takes some work. We’re not born that way. So it was exciting for me when I realized that I was the only one that controlled the limits and it was even more exciting to bust through them.
Vince Reed 10:59 – 11:20
Awesome, awesome. I love that, I love that. So let’s change gears a little bit. One of my favorite questions that I love to ask top earners like yourself is:
how did that first person actually sponsor and recruit you onto their team?
Like, what happened, what were you doing? Were you an easy sell? Enlighten us with that process.
Kathleen Deggelman 11:21 – 12:43
My story, I was really easy. I was part of a Mastermind team, real estate Mastermind team. A friend of mine came on the call, she was all excited, she was talking a mile a minute about the off-side barrier and how much people were making and she maybe talked about it for two minutes. She didn’t know anything about the business model at that point and neither did I, but I was just in the perfect place. I was looking for an opportunity. Like I said, I was about to buy a franchise, so after two minutes I just said, “Based on that, I want to do this with you. We’ll go figure out the how and maybe even the ‘if’ this is a good idea later.” But you know, we hung up from that Mastermind call, I called her back right afterwards, signed up right there and I became a 7-figure income earner in her business in under 2 years. So I’m living proof that someone can say yes very quickly and become a huge business builder for you. There’s lots of no’s along the way, but that’s one of the things I love about this business is you never know when you’re going to meet that person that can just change everything. I was somebody who was brand new to this 9 years ago, but I had been in the professional corporate world for many years and I had a network of people that I had worked with over the years, and I was just ready for it. So I said yes right away.
Vince Reed 12:44 – 13:16
Alright, that leads me to actually another question that I have for you, because you’ve had a lot of success in this industry and what a lot of people don’t realize is to get to where you are, you have to actually face a lot of rejection.
So is there any story of rejection that stands out in your mind…
maybe that one time you shared your business with someone and they, you know, didn’t make you feel too good at the end of that day and you almost thought about quitting, or it just kind of stays in your mind as that one time where you were like, “Maybe this isn’t the thing for me”?
Kathleen Deggelman 13:16 – 15:16
Yeah, well, there definitely is plenty of rejection and you just have to learn how to not take it personally. It’s not about you, it’s more about them and where they are and yeah, I don’t even mean that with judgment. It’s just, you know, it’s not for everybody but my family was really tough in the beginning and several family members really tried to talk me out of it for a good couple of years. Even when I was making, you know, a million a year and driving a fancy car and going to wonderful places like Bora Bora, my mom sat me down one day and she had every question, every objection you can imagine. She pulled out all the stops and we probably talked for two hours, and she really wanted to change my mind. She wanted me t do something else. And I just kept handling all of her objections, I stayed cool, and at the end of it, I just said, “Okay, Mom, we’re done now.” And I wish I had recorded this because this would have been a great tool. I could have put this video up on how to handle objections with your family. She has a much better sense about it now, but in the beginning, it was tough. It was just something that we just couldn’t talk about, and I never got into a fight with them, I didn’t make Thanksgiving dinner uncomfortable. I just recognized pretty early on, they didn’t understand it, it wasn’t about me, I was really clear, I was on my path. I don’t think anything ever happened where I thought, you know, this is going to make me quit. I don’t think I ever thought that. I just got this right away and I saw it as the vehicle that I didn’t even know I’d been looking for. So I’m really grateful, and maybe I look back and I think some of those challenges up front, you know, when those kinds of things happen, you definitely have more empathy down the road because those things are going to happen to the people that you bring into the business. So it’s good to, you know, figure, “Okay, this is one of those things that I just need to learn how to deal with.”
Vince Reed 15:17 – 15:38
Absolutely, I mean, those are things that definitely make you stronger, you know what I mean? And you know, you can’t teach other people how to face rejection if you haven’t gone through it, so I think that’s awesome. So let’s change the mood a little bit and get into some of the more positive things a little bit.
So what’s your best story of success for yourself and maybe someone on your team?
Kathleen Deggelman 15:39 – 18:00
Well, let’s see my personal best story of success is with that first company, before I knew anything about anything, I set a goal in that first week that I wanted to reach the seven figure income earner rank by my two-year anniversary, and fast forward two years less a week, I did it. I mean, I had one week to spare. So that felt like a huge accomplishment. And then with my second company, I set the same rank to reach … set the same goal to reach that rank within two years and I did it in two years, four months. So those were the two probably biggest successes personally that I look back with in the last 9 years. But, you know, I’m proud that I reached those two levels in two companies, but I think I had to prove it to myself that I could do it the second time around. You know, there are a lot of people that say interesting things when you do this the first time. Like, you’re lucky, you were in the right place at the right time, you must have had a big network. But when you do it twice, they really can’t say those things anymore. So I’ve noticed one thing is that saying the harder I work, the luckier I can get. I definitely think that’s true. But my best team success story would have to do with watching my friend Becky Hurley catapult to one of the high ranks because of a video that she put out on the Internet at Christmas. A little demo video that went viral, over 10 million people have probably seen that video, and it was just something that she threw together in her bathroom, really didn’t give it that much thought. I don’t know that a product video in network marketing has ever gone viral like that before, and it’s just been truly amazing and wonderful to watch Becky’s life change, and thousands of other people, too, because of that one, you know, little thing that she did that day. And it’s one of the things that I really love about this industry. From one day to the next, you don’t know what’s going to happen. It could be one thing, one product, one video, one person, you know, one new way of doing something, a new leader in your business and any one of those things can radically change your business overnight. And I find that really exciting. There’s definitely nothing static about this business.
Vince Reed 18:01 – 18:36
That’s awesome, those are awesome stories and again, you know, you can tell. You get so excited sharing the success of others and that’s one of the common characteristics that I’ve seen from so many top earners. They just light up when they share the stories of others, and I think that if people keep that in mind, they can definitely do amazing things.
So, you know, tell me what you would tell a person getting started in network marketing?
So that person that just joined, you know, their autoship or their products just reached their front door. Is there any basic steps or tips that you would give that individual?
Kathleen Deggelman 18:37 – 19:59
Yeah, sure. People often as, you know, what do I owe my success to and typically what I say is, I’m really good at being consistent and tracking what I need to do. So I would say that to a brand new person. Get a big vision, and then figure out the time you’re going to give this and then do that every week. And I think a lot of times why people don’t succeed in this is they put their toe in the water and they don’t give it nearly enough time. I think sometimes people come into this with unrealistic expectations, so it’s our job to set realistic expectations. This is not a get rich quick, this is not an overnight – but you definitely can create extraordinary income. You can create wealth, you can create an extraordinary lifestyle, but you’re going to have to give it time and the energy and the work to do that. That saying, “Consistent action over time creates extraordinary results.” I love that saying, it’s something that I think about often. And in our business, the consistent actions, they’re simple actions. I’m not saying they’re easy but they’re simple. Creating an income of 6 figures or 7 figures, that’s an extraordinary result for doing simple activities consistently.
Vince Reed 19:59 – 20:05
What would be – sorry to cut you off – but what would be a simple action that a person listening could do that could help them reach that goal?
Kathleen Deggelman 20:06 – 21:17
Knowing who they’re going to call, making that list. Every day reaching out to 5 to 10 new people. If you do that every day for three months, you are going to have a network to work with. The problem is people come in and out of it. They do it consistently for a few days and then they slack off and they come back in for two weeks. The hardest way to build this business is to be inconsistent, and if you do that, you’re going to have a slow and sometimes painful process. This business loves speed, and so if you can create some traction in the beginning or maybe you’ve been doing it for a while and you just need to create, you know, some more momentum right now, you’ve got to create those bursts of energy to really get something going. And, you know, if you think about it, if you look at Eric Worre, it’s the consistency of his videos that put him where he is today. If you look at our friend Ray Hidgen, it’s the consistency of his bloggings. And you, Vince, if you look at what you consistently do to provide value and teach people how to generate traffic, you don’t come in and out of this; you show up. You do the work. It’s the same thing with network marketing.
Vince Reed 21:18 – 21:41
Absolutely, awesome. So, you know, on the other side you have the person that’s been in the industry for a while. You know, they’ve been in numerous companies, maybe they’ve made $1,000, $2,000 here and there. And you know, they’re contemplating quitting, they’re questioning the industry.
Is there anything that you can tell that veteran to help them kind of get on track and move forward?
Kathleen Deggelman 21:42 – 24:09
Yeah, I mean the first thing would be leave the stuff that’s not serving you from the other company behind. Make sure you check your ego at the door because this isn’t about us. And again, you just get in there and do the work and be consistent with it. You know, your successes before will only get you going, it will only get you so far ad then you have to prove it again with this new company, and your team’s not going to stick around if you act like this is because of you or you think you’re all of that. I think a lot of times if someone has had, you know, good to great success before, it’s almost like we forget, you know, what it took to get us there in the first place and when I joined my second company three years ago, it was myself and 6 other leaders all joined at the same time. And you know, fast forward almost three years later, there’s two of us still standing out of 7. And, you know, what was the difference? And I think the difference was I had a huge vision and a belief that I could do the work, and I did the work and it did work. And it wasn’t easy, it was hard. I mean, it is not easy to start over. I think sometimes people glamorize it and it’s not, it’s hard. It takes work. But just because you’ve been successful before, you know, it doesn’t mean the second or third time around will be easy. You’ve still got to go in and show up like we were talking about. And I think why a lot of network marketers struggle is the grass is greener syndrome or the shiny penny. You know, a mentor told me years ago that people who build over a 10 year period with one company typically are the ones that make the most money. And I think it’s hard for us to stay put, but if you’re with a good company, if you’ve got some good partnerships going, you know, the more people just put their head down and do the work and focus and put blinders on, you know, the more successful they’re going to be. I think what happens though, a lot of times, it’s like, this looks better over here. And maybe there are some reasons to go. I’m not saying that, you know, I left my first company, I went to a second company. You know, at times that absolutely is the right thing to do. But I think there’s a lot of people who do it much too often in this industry.
Vince Reed 24:09 – 24:24
So true, so true. Very powerful stuff. Awesome, I know you guys are going to enjoy rewinding and listening to this again. So that leads us to our time is money round, so I’m going to ask you a few questions and you have to do your best to answer them in 60 seconds or less. Are you ready?
Kathleen Deggelman 24:25
I’m ready.
Vince Reed 24:26 – 24:31
Alright.
So what is your number one marketing tip for new network marketers?
Kathleen Deggelman 24:33 – 24:57
Get to every company event you can, don’t miss them. Get connected with your upline leader, find out who is the top ranking person in your line and get to know that person. Use the system, become a professional pointer to the tools and absolutely become a student of this profession. Read books like Go Pro and Beach Money and Your First Year in Network Marketing.
Vince Reed 24:58 – 25:03
Awesome, awesome.
So who do you look up to as a mentor or entrepreneur?
Kathleen Deggelman 25:04 – 25:27
Oh, there’s so many people. Ray and Jessica Higden, Wendy Lewis, Theresa Gregory, Lisa Grossman, Vince Reed, Tony Robbins, Eric Worre, my good friend Kelly Bangert, Marie Forlio, Sandy Krakowski, you know, those are all great mentors, those are all people that I learn from on a regular basis.
Vince Reed 25:28 – 25:48
Awesome, awesome. I love all those individuals as well. So here’s the tough one: I always leave this one to the end because most of us, when we get started, we want to talk to our friends and family about our business,
so is there any approach that you have that someone listening could approach their friends and family with about their business?
Kathleen Deggelman 25:49 – 26:16
Sure, that one’s easy, and our friend Lisa Grossman taught me this: “Hi Vince, this is Kathleen. I just started a new business and I’m really excited. I would really love your support in just trying the products. I won’t bother you about it except to try the products and to be one of my testimonials to help me get started. And if down the road, you’re interested in the business model, then we can talk about that but can I count on you to be a customer of my products? I know you’re going to love them.”
Vince Reed 26:17 – 26:23
Awesome, and don’t you just love Lisa, by the way? We should just give her a quick shoutout.
Kathleen Deggelman 26:24 – 26:25
I do, she’s awesome.
Vince Reed 26:25 – 26:42
That is awesome and that is something that everyone can do, and that’s why that works so well. So that’s amazing. So, you know, Kathleen you’ve known me for a few years now and it’s just not like me to do anything without being able to provide value to you,
so do you have any questions for me that I can help you with?
Kathleen Deggelman 26:43 – 27:03
Sure, I mean, I definitely gave this some thought. I’ve been building an online presence the last several years and I have a good following, I mean, I feel good about what’s happening but I’m definitely ready to take it to the next level and I want to get there faster as opposed to organically. So what are the things you think I should do?
Vince Reed 27:03 – 28:33
Well, I mean, you’ve got an amazing following. I was checking you out on social media. I think that the biggest thing that you can do – which I’m assuming you already do – is you build your list obviously of individuals. And here’s the thing I think when people come to me, they always say, “Vince, you focus on lead generation and traffic. How do I get people on the outside to connect with me?” And I always tell them, it’s almost smarter to create a situation to where the people on the inside are sharing the amazing things that you do. So for example, by you just training and teaching the things that you do, if you can somehow create a community, whether that’s a fan page or a group, and you start posting that information there, you’ll be surprised at how the people you’re already connected to, especially with social media just by likes, sharing, and commenting on it, will actually attract more people to you without you having to actually do very much on the outside. So focus on what I call your hub or your bubble, and just continue to focus on giving them value, but give them the value in a place where you can acquire and attract more people. So essentially, put that content out in a group or a fan page and allow it to naturally just build on itself. And I think that’s a really good start for someone like yourself who already understands, you know, how to use technology. Really focus on the people that know, like, and trust you.
Kathleen Deggelman 28:34 – 28:36
Awesome, thank you very much Vince. I really appreciate it.
Vince Reed 28:37 – 28:47
No problem, I really enjoyed this. This was an amazing interview, I can’t wait to connect with you more. Is there any place where people can find you, a website, on social media?
Kathleen Deggelman 28:48 – 28:54
I’m everywhere. My website, KathleenDeggelman.com, and I’m also really easy to find on Facebook.
Vince Reed 28:54 – 29:08
Awesome, we’ll be sure to link to your fan page or your social media sites and that way people can easily connect with you. So that completes another amazing interview. Thanks again and I can’t wait to connect with you more.
Kathleen Deggelman 29:08 – 29:10
Thank you so much, Vince. I really appreciate it.
Vince Reed 29:11
Alright.
Vince Reed 29:12 – 29:20
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