13:59 – 14:38 Vince Reed

Awesome man. You know, it’s funny when you think about that because I often wonder if I would listen to myself, you know? It’s almost like some of the things we learn being hard-headed in the beginning kind of lead you to where you are today. But it’s definitely great advice, so definitely do that, have vision and talk to those who have been there before you. So here’s an interesting question and I’m definitely curious to hear your answer to this.

How were you first recruited into this industry?

How did your first sponsor recruit you? Did they come to you in the mall or was there anything interesting?

14:38 – 16:21 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, it’s a funny question. My very first sponsor and introduction was a family friend and he introduced me to his family who were very big in the industry, at least in my perception at that time. And I just knew, you know. I made it easy to say yes and I guess if there was anything I can share as a lesson for me that maybe it’s an observation I’ve seen over this time is that the people who are an immediate yes to at least the industry, at least the possibility of being an entrepreneur, that you just know, that’s a good investment. And when people are not ready, that means they’re still questioning, “I don’t know if I want to be an entrepreneur, I don’t know about that network marketing thing.” You can tell, there’s an energy drop. They’re not into it at that level. Those are very rarely people that are going to be a good investment of your time and energy. Can they be your friends? Absolutely. Can they be your family? Certainly. This is not about believers and non-believers and exclusion. It’s very inclusionary. However, the people we’re looking for in this business, they may not know what we do, they may not, many don’t, maybe you’re even new to this business. And they’re still an absolute yes, I’m open, yes I want to do it. So my first sponsor was one of those people, and I’ve seen it time and time again with other people.

16:21 – 16:51 Vince Reed

Awesome. So because you were an easy yes, so imagine you the listener being able to personally recruit someone like Aaron. They’re out there, they’re excited and will say yes to your opportunity.

So with that being said, tell me about your worst story of rejection. Was there ever a time where someone just said ‘No’, maybe in a really harsh way early on that just wouldn’t leave your head forever, that kind of made you almost run and hide in a hole?

Was there ever a situation where that happened?

16:51 – 21:12 Aaron Fortner

Well, here’s the thing: I haven’t always been easy to sponsor. Just that first time I was  but I’ll tell you I’ve had way more no’s than I’ve had yes’s, and I think anybody will understand that. And yeah, I agree there were a few early on – primarily my family – that they were just not interested. They weren’t supportive, they weren’t not supportive, just I was expecting a little bit more. It was also one of my best friends. I certainly thought that they would be interested, not interested. It’s a pretty typical story, and it’s one that’s duplicated many times over and I found that to be normal. And the rejection, that wasn’t really the biggest rejection, I’ll tell you Vince. The biggest rejection that was harder for me, it was a bigger challenge for me is when I did enroll someone and I got to ..  I believed in them, I thought “Hey, we’re going to go do this. We’re going to build this” and this was through my first several years in the business, and I was just in a better word struggling; struggling to get to a level where all the time and energy I was putting in was going to have a return on that investment. And I was struggling to find my own identity within the business, struggling to have a big win or a win at all. And when I was in that time, I put so much time and energy into somebody, and then they quit. And I took that as a rejection. And it was several people that I had invested closely with and sometimes one of them, a woman – I won’t mention her name – but we were business partners working and she went off and joined another company after all the conversations of “Hey, we’re going to do this” and loyalty and that really hurt because I had invested money and time and energy, and that was several years ago, pretty early on in the career and there were a few other ones like that. And then I started to realize that there’s got to be a better way. And so I started looking at what my mentors were doing, what other people had done in the business and how could I keep an open heart? How could I keep from being cynical but also make wiser choices and what I realized is with those people that had quit on me – which were many people; I had whole organizations, whole teams of 20, 30, up to teams of even a couple times I’d build a team of up to 200, just amazing at the time, it was extraordinary. And the key people would all quit. And all that work and that energy, now I realized they were doing me a great favor. They were doing me the greatest service of all by quitting. And it’s not that I was happy that that happened; they gave me an opportunity to move on, to grow from that experience, and then be able to start newly where I was at. And I knew I could never start over with that relationship or start over with that prospecting process with that person, but I could start again with what I learned and I could say, “You know what I’ve done that once, let’s do it again.” And I saw some of my other peers, people that had gotten involved with network marketing and started with me, they took that first person who either one, they were prospecting that wouldn’t say yes, but more often than not that they did recruit a few customers or even a promoter or two. And then those promoters quit and what that meant for them was, “Oh, this thing it just doesn’t work for them.” And I saw really good, very smart people – I would say, without even exaggerating, more talented than I am in so many ways, certainly more influential, certainly had more resources, but for some reason they made that belief … they let other people’s quitting make a difference in their own vision for what this career is, and it really is a career. And I didn’t; I couldn’t. I  didn’t let myself. And does that make me better? No, it just made me … I really didn’t have any options. That was what I was going to do.

21:14 – 21:22 Vince Reed

Man, that’s an awesome perspective that you have on this and I think everyone in this industry should listen to this part again and go back and hear you out because that’s powerful. Go ahead, I don’t want to interrupt you.

21:22 – 22:14 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, no, I mean it’s getting really comfortable with that process of rejection and I think .. I don’t call it really rejection anymore, it doesn’t really occur to me like that. I do see it as kind of dissatisfaction. I’m dissatisfied with the results sometimes. But that’s just how it is. It’s okay, it’s okay to have things not always work out the way we want to work out because the best things that have come through for me in network marketing, the best people, the people that have made me a fortune, built some of the deepest friendships that I have, some of the greatest experiences in my life have come through a dissatisfaction, through …

22:14 – 22:17 Vince Reed

It almost brings out the best in you.

22:14 – 22:25 Aaron Fortner

And it just, it’s a beautiful thing. You’ve got to wait for the sunrise on the other side, but it’s just about picking back up.

22:25 – 22:40 Vince Reed

Awesome, man. So obviously enough of this rejection talk – although we learn from that – but let’s get into some of the good stuff.

Tell me a little bit about your best success story or maybe the success of someone on your team that was struggling a little bit and now they’re getting amazing results.

22:40 – 27:16 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, that’s a lot more fun question to talk about Vince. I really fell in love with this industry through some successes that I’ve seen. And when I say successes, I mean network marketing as being an instrument of total change and transformation, where it flips the deck, changes everything for somebody like it has done the same for me. So I can definitely share more of how that story has happened for me. But a story comes up that really .. few have really touched my heart. They’ve moved me emotionally and something about these particular stories that have come through my life, individuals who have become friends, who have become business partners, who developed an organization and went through all of the bubbles and struggles is that it was through their process and through them fighting and going for it that really inspired me to be better. It made me go all in when I may have not gone all in just for myself, and I consider myself a pretty driven individual; I like to do the best I can possibly do and it’s these individuals that have come through and are in my team right now and have come through my life that inspire me to go to the next level and really have a higher level fulfillment. One came in several years ago as a tipping point in my career, huge tipping point in my career. This was before I had a major break, it was the very beginning of my big break in this industry after .. I had never had a huge break, so this was the big one. And it was a woman that came in, a single mother, she had two little girls at the time under the age of 5. She came out of – she shared some personal information so I won’t share her name – but she came out of a long term, unhealthy relationship with a partner and it was a good thing that she was changing that for her family. She didn’t have any skills, no college education, no history at age 29 of anything more than earning, I think, $2,500 is the most she’s ever made in a month, a single month. So really a poverty level for living in most places in the United States. She was living in a one-bedroom apartment with her girls. So it was not what you consider the most ideal scenario for building a massive organization, but it was a starting point that a lot of people, a lot of us are in when we get into network marketing. We get in when things are sometimes not going our way. This is our opportunity for change and this was certainly her. And because of these circumstances, she didn’t have any social influence, very very little. And when she had joined and was really emphatic that this was her shot to do it and she joined through another family that I had enrolled, she hosted a home party – if any of you have done a home party before or know people that have – and nobody showed up to that home party. Hosted another one, one person showed up and they had absolutely no money and there was no way they’d ever be a prospect. So things weren’t looking too good. And all she did, she had a little bit of an online presence and a lot of drive. But had a lot of confidence issues to go through. And what I witnessed is how our industry, the network marketing industry and working on the right team, working with people that have your back, that have faith, that do this business authentically, that you literally can change everything. And over the next 3 years, she earned over $1 million in commissions. 3 years, $1 million in commissions, and this is somebody who in her whole life had never earned more than $25,000 in a single year. So clearly it was a big win. She bought a 4-bedroom house, moved her family to more of a community to really support her girls and she found the love of her life, and it was really through this network marketing business. It gave me tremendous faith and confidence and it took me years to find that person to really make the difference, to go all in with and those stories do exist. There’s many of them to tell, there’s many yet to be told. So I’m a huge faithful believer in being able to turn your life around.

27:16 – 27:31 Vince Reed

Awesome. We definitely have to have her on here one day. Awesome. So tell me what you would tell a person getting started, someone that wants to have that type of success.

When they join your team, what’s the first thing you tell them to do when they first get started?

27:31 – 30:06 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, it’s a good question. We all get started at different levels. We all get in and have some different thing that we need to work through and something that was told to me that made a big difference was to focus on the effort, not just the results. Focus on the effort, not just the results. And also, when getting started there’s usually something to change. There’s just little things to change. Not big things necessarily, it could be some big things, but it could be little things and it might look like changing up your wardrobe, it might look like investing in some communication tools and different audios. And one thing, when I begin, if they’re getting into the network marketing profession is to listen to other professionals, other people that have done it, that have really gone out and built a team organization, developed influence enough to earn a six figure income or a seven figure income. And not all of them are the ones you should follow, I don’t agree with that, but there’s lots of great people out there and to seek out those audios, those videos. Go to those events. Find a way to tap in and listen to those people, even listening to Network Marketing Nation is a brilliant idea. Vince has done a great service in bringing this here because it’s not just the content you hear, it’s the way they communicate. And I listen to audios over and over and over again. I could tell you a half dozen of my mentors right off, I wasn’t qualified for them to really work with me personally, I couldn’t even afford to have them as a coach or I wasn’t really a part of their team. But listening to their voice, listening to how they communicated, the intention behind it, the clarity behind it, it started to shape who I am and then I found my own identity with it. So dive into it deeply and I guess as more of an emotional level, you’ve got to get a little obsessed. And I use that word, it might mean a lot of things to a lot of people, and I don’t mean go crazy and I’m not even going to go into what that means. But you’ve got to get a little obsessed with this. Dive into it fully, make it a top three priority if you’re getting started if you really want to get a big shift and produce some big results.

30:07 – 30:26 Vince Reed

Absolutely, so personal development is definitely huge and don’t treat this like a hobby; it’s a business and there’s no limit on how much you can learn.

Awesome man, so what would you tell that person that has been in 10 different companies, they consider themselves a veteran of the industry and they’re still struggling? What’s the advice you’d give that person?

30:27 – 33:35 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, this is a big one, it’s come to me quite a few times. Well, there’s a time to really reflect honestly on what the real outcome that you want to have. So if you’ve been a veteran in this business, you’ve produced a certain result and that result it’s not just numbers and a back office, it’s not just an income; it’s also a quality of experience. It’s how many experiences have you had? How many trips have you gone on, how many times have you given your family opportunities to have vacations in cool places and connect with them and how many times have you had personal development enhance your life and your personal life as well as your professional life. So there’s a lot of quality of life aspects. So one person’s success is not another person’s success. So that’s the first thing I would say. I wouldn’t say just because you’ve gone and joined 10 companies and maybe you never … maybe you have hit it, maybe you haven’t hit it; it doesn’t mean that you’re not having a great experience. So that’s it. However, I think if I understand your question a little bit better and where you want to go with this, if it’s a veteran that’s looking to … that can’t seem to turn it on again or can’t seem to get to that next level, it just seems to always be elusive, and there’s a lot of us that seem to go through that, I even experienced that myself in the business where I hit a plateau and no matter what I would join, I always hit a little plateau and that plateau wasn’t very high. So I was looking at what is that change – and I’ll get really raw with you – it usually has something to do with one or two habits in life that are detrimental, that are incongruent, they make everything worth saying and the belief that we’re trying to create with other people and even ourselves, it almost nullifies it. It turns it down and it’s something to do maybe it’s alcohol consumption that’s too much, maybe it’s not exercising, perhaps it’s eating right or perhaps it’s not taking care of your family and family needs. It could be just not being in integrity with certain key people in life, paying back small loans, taking care of what needs to be taken care of. It’s these things that are underneath the surface that nobody else may know that. It may not be obvious, it may not be destroying your life or hurting your life, but it’s something that you’ve gotten comfortable with in life that it’s so comfortable to you as a veteran that’s looking for the next step that it’s actually the thing, the thing that is keeping you from the next level. And what’s harder about this question is it’s usually the thing that no one else approaches you on or even knows about or they think you’re just fine. And in some cases maybe not, but in most cases, absolutely. So getting help with whatever that is, get help and you’ll have a breakthrough.

33:35 – 33:48 Vince Reed

Absolutely. Change your habits, you’ll change your results. So what we’re going to do now is we’re going to dive into the time is money round. So I’m going to ask you a couple questions and you have 60 seconds or less to answer them. Are you ready?

33:48 – 33:49 Aaron Fortner

I’m ready.

33:50 – 33:55 Vince Reed

Alright, so what is your number one marketing tip for new network marketers?

33:56 – 35:00 Aaron Fortner

Get a profile up, get a Facebook profile up, make it look professional. Get an email that you respond to that’s already set up that is reviewed by peers, that is professional, it’s people first, something that you can respond to prospects with and keep track of your prospects. So get a book. So even if you’re generating some leads online and connecting with leads online, put them on paper too. If they’re going into a list, fine, but get them on paper. Get their name and phone number and get a book, get an actual journal devoted to your prospects list and so the marketing tip is my greatest marketing tool is I have a list of anywhere my goal on this list, right now today my goal is a little bit different but my goal on this list is to have 15 people on the fence on my marketing list. So fill in that list in any means possible in reaching out, learning from people like Vince. It’s key, but always having that on the book.

35:00 – 35:15 Vince Reed

Awesome, so it’s like having that pipeline, right? Follow your pipeline. Awesome man.

So here’s another one: so what do you … who do you look up to as a mentor and entrepreneur?

Who would I find in your car as you’re driving down the street or that book on your shelf?

35:16 – 35:52 Aaron Fortner

Great question, I have quite a few entrepreneurs that I look up to; I have very few mentors. I think it’s important to be really clear about who I’m listening to. But recently it’s been one of our mutual friends, Mark Hoverson, he’s really impressed me in a deep way about his whole roundedness and being in sincerity with his marketing and building relationships and mentoring others. And really a long term vision towards mentorship. And good at answering questions. So I think he’s been a great mentor.

35:52 – 36:15 Vince Reed

Absolutely, and he’s definitely one of mine as well. Great guy to learn from.

Alright great, so how should – if I were getting started and I was new, how should I approach friends and family about my business?

Because a lot of us experience what you mentioned earlier, sometimes family aren’t always the most supportive to this industry. So how should someone approach them about their business?

36:15 – 37:49 Aaron Fortner

Great question, great question. There’s a hard way and an easy way. The easier and better way is to have no expectations, none whatsoever. And really the only thing if you get their moral support, that’s a win. And also just know, that’s not going to be the place where you build your 5-figure, 6-figure or whatever business your goals are. It’s not likely going to be through your family or friends; it’s going to be as a result of maybe talking to them. Doesn’t mean you need to talk to them immediately, but it’s going to come through them and through context, so biggest key I ask is being honest, completely transparent, not … zero hype and just a sincerity, share your heart. So I’ll give you kind of some word track to this, you say “Hey, I’m making a change in my life, I’m starting something new. There’s a lot of things about it I don’t know how to do but I’m going to learn them, and I’ve made a choice with the best information that I have and I’m starting here. I’d love your support, can you help me?” ” Well, what is it?” “Here’s this, take a look. Who should I talk to? Who do you think I should talk to about this?” Get your friends and family, have them thinking about who they should introduce you to, and you might surprise yourself. They might actually sign up themselves. They might say “Hey, I want to do that too.” And that’s just a nice, easy honest way. Definitely trying to hard sell them and all that is not a good idea.

37:49 – 37:59 Vince Reed

That’s an interesting take, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that perspective from it. Almost put them in the protector role, so they’re protecting you and that’s awesome.

37:49 – 38:18 Aaron Fortner

Well ask for their help. The best words in this business are just, “Can you help me?” You know? That’s really the most important words that you can ever share and I think most of us will respond very well to those words. And “Who do I need to talk to?”

38:18 – 38:38 Vince Reed

That’s awesome man. Well listen man, I’ve had an awesome time listening to you. It’s not like me to do anything without offering value to you, so I wanted to give you the chance obviously you know I love traffic and lead generation, and the question doesn’t have to be about that.

But if you could ask me any one marketing question, what would it be?

38:39 – 39:07 Aaron Fortner

Vince, I’ve got quite a few questions but the biggest question would be, you knowing where, at least what you do know about where I’m at, what course should I be in? Who should I be listening to right now? What would be the most effective use of my time? So I just kind of professionally hand that ball over to you to say, “Aaron, you should be reading this book, you should be listening to this person, you should be on my program here.” What would that be?

39:08 – 40:41 Vince Reed

Well, I don’t want to make it about our programs but clearly we have a lot of things that teach traffic and lead generation. But I would tell you, I mean, you’ve got amazing influence, you’ve gotten great results, and I tell people this all the time, I mean I think because of your experience in network marketing, there’s not going to be anyone probably on your team at least not in the beginning that’s going to be able to explain the company and share the benefits and the reasons why somebody should get started and how they can be successful than you. So what I would be doing is figuring out ways to get people to somehow, whether that’s driving traffic to a central location, whether that’s a webinar or a meeting, particularly like an online webinar where you figure out one basic strategy that everyone can do and they drive everyone to this one platform and you deliver the message to them. So I would say that would be the one thing I would do from a marketing perspective. From a book or a course perspective, I think anything that you buy, even if you open it up and watch it or read it and it’s horrible, I think that you can always learn from things that are great and things that are bad, and you can always pull value from it. And I tell people all the time, once you understand the value of value, so if you read your book you get something from it and then you go and realize that there are way more people that don’t know what you just learned and you share that, I think that’s probably the biggest tip, so anything that you can get your hand on that is of interest to you and that is valuable, I say grab it and go for it. So kind of broad but hopefully that helps you out my friend.

40:42 – 40:58 Aaron Fortner

I’m always gracious for your words and look forward to following up on that and thank you for the time here. It’s been a real honor to share this time with everybody here on this webinar online and I do have a website for people to reach me if they do have any additional questions.

40:59 – 41:01 Vince Reed

Yeah, I was going to say that. We’re going to connect to you, absolutely.

41:01 – 41:08 Aaron Fortner

Yeah, just www thing, leadersunite.org. Leadersunite.org.

41:09 – 41:15 Vince Reed

Awesome man, and we’ll definitely put that on all of the notes for the show and also we’ll put links to your Facebook and all that good stuff so people can definitely connect with you as well.

41:16 – 41:17 Aaron Fortner

Fantastic, thank you.

41:19 – 41:29 Vince Reed

Awesome man, well I truly appreciate you Aaron, we’ve been friends for a long time and I’m honored to be connected with you and just watch you crush the industry like you’ve been doing. So keep it up and we need more people like you in this industry.

41:30 – 41:32 Aaron Fortner

Fantastic, thanks again. Take care buddy.

41:33 – 41:50 Vince Reed

Want to listen to additional interviews of six and seven figure earners sharing their stories? Visit NetworkMarketingNation.com. If you are a six and seven figure earner and you want to be featured on Network Marketing Nation, visit NetworkMarketingNation.com and click on the blue schedule interview button to apply.