I had the most amazing 10-day Christmas family vacation in Louisville, Kentucky and I tell you, I struggled for the first two days not having any internet access! Thank goodness, Granny’s neighbor generously gave us access to her wi-fi so I was able to feel a sense of relief.
However, the challenge didn’t stop there… I realized that now I am really on vacation – which means lots of family get togethers, sight-seeing, dining out and lots of relaxing couch time with my husband and son. What I didn’t anticipate was their reaction everytime I picked up my laptop and started working.
In my mind, I was just doing what comes normal to me which was to stay connected to my online friends, associates and clients. I didn’t realize that the people around me just didn’t understand my need to always stay plugged in and connected. At a certain point, it was even perceived as “rude” to sit there while everyone was watching a movie and I was tapping the keys on my laptop.
I believe it boiled down to this: People don’t understand what we do as online, internet, social media, attraction or relational marketers. When we talk Facebook or Twitter, they think it’s mindless chatter – that is after they recover from that glazed look on their faces. God forbid they see us video taping or taking photos of every detail that happens around us and we’re on our smart phones sharing it with the world, people around us really think we’ve lost it!
So, what do we do when people we care so much about don’t understand what we do?
I don’t know… all I know is what has worked for me. I tried to associate or equate my situation into a scenario my family would understand. In my example, the question I asked my husband is this: “Would you buy from a stranger or from a person you know, like and trust?” Of course his answer was the latter. So I explained to him that when I connect to real people online, it allows them to know me, like me and trust me and that my way of connecting is utilizing the vehicles of social media – blogging, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube – in order for me to accomplish this. The second follow up question I ask him is this: What would you do if you didn’t get paid for it? Something you’ll do because you are absolutely passionate about it? He said “Designing airplanes…” I said: “Well, I will encourage and empower people”. I go on to explain that through relational marketing, I am able to do that and reach so many more people than I could do one of one. That made him understand what I do what I do.
What about you? What is it that you do that you find hard to explain to friends and family. If you’re in network marketing, it makes it doubly hard because as soon as you tell people you’re in network marketing, they already have an assumption of what you do so they put up a wall in front of them that you don’t get a chance to even explain exactly it is that you do.
I believe this makes for a great conversation so I invite you all to chime in on what has worked best for you. Share with us What Do You Say Or Do, When People Don’t Understand What You Do?
Please comment…. Many thanks!!!
