Why Do People Quit?

By Tom Wood

CEOs quit leading. Athletes quit working out. Sales people quit selling. Couples quit their marriages.

People quit every day. In huge proportions.

They quit their diet. They quit their exercise. They even quit "quitting smoking".

Nearly 80% of people who start a home-based business quit within the first year. Whoa!!!

With numbers like these, I've become somewhat obsessed with figuring out...

... why do people quit?

I think I've figured it out.

Actually, I didn't figure it out; a bunch of psychologists did. I just recently learned the answer. (I'm amazed it took me this long to find it)

And it's probably not the reason you think it is.

Once you know the REAL reason people quit, you will be able to protect yourself from quitting on your own dreams. And you can help others from quitting on their dreams.

We've been doing a lot of things wrong in network marketing for a long time. It's the reason we have so many people who quit.

Pay attention to this. It will change everything for you.

Have you ever heard of extrinsic motivation? Neither had I. That is, until I was reading a psychological study of success. It was eye-opening.

Extrinsic motivation is when you are motivated by external things, like money, recognition and rewards. This is how we motivate in our home-based networking businesses. "What's your check?" "What's your level?" "Did you walk across the stage?" "Are you part of the 'in' crowd?" "What kind of pin are you wearing?", etc...

Extrinsic motivation works. For a while. About a minute.

People won't stick around long enough for you to create any lasting wealth if they only have extrinsic motivators.

Why? Well, if they don't get a big paycheck, they get frustrated and quit. And if all they got was a pretty pin, they think, "this pin isn't all it's cracked up to be" and they quit. Trust me -- I see it all the time in my group.

But intrinsic motivation? That's what keeps people going.

Intrinsic motivation is when you are motivated by inner things like purpose, passion and mission. People who are motivated intrinsically do not quit very easily. They stick.

Think about it. Religions may be the biggest "networks" in the world. They don't pay you a dime (little to no extrinsic motivators). But the intrinsic motivation, the sense of purpose, is why so many people stay the course.

And sales jobs have the biggest turnover. It's all extrinsic motivation. "If you make the sale, you get the check and a pin. "But that's it. Most sales managers don't care how you made the sale. They just reward you on the results.

Of all the top networkers I've met, 99.9% of them have massive intrinsic motivators.

They have a deep intrinsic desire to share their product and company. They believe the product is worth the price, and good for the customer. They feel like they are making a difference. They feel proud. They love what they are doing and becoming -- more than what they are getting. They love the process, not the results. Ok, they love the results, too. :-)

But without loving the process, the results would be worthless to them. They'll tell you that if they won ten million dollars in the lottery, they'd keep doing what they are doing. They're not kidding.

They're motivated intrinsically.

Every hear of TGI Friday's? It's the number one restaurant chain in its class. Here's what the CEO did that made that company so successful.

He found a way to motivate intrinsically.

Here was the problem in his restaurants. Wait-staff in a new restaurant would work hard. They want to pay their rent; they have bills. They do whatever it takes. Smiles included. Then they get the money. Their extrinsic motivators are taken care of. The smiles stop. They start coming in late. They complain about the customers.

They don't love what they do (no intrinsic motivation). And people stop coming to the restaurant.

So the CEO of TGI Friday's figures he's got to find a way to reward people intrinsically. His wait-staff is mostly twenty-something. Remember those wanderlust years? He tells them if they are good with service, he'll set them up to work in any city they want. Take a road trip. They love it (intrinsically)! And you can tell on their faces when they serve you.

Brilliant.

So what are you doing to keep people from quitting?

Yes, you've got to have the extrinsic motivators, goals, for your people. But make sure they LOVE what they do. Hold FUN events. Take road trips together. Do weekend workshops where you build a sense of team. Make phone calls together, so it's fun! Remind yourself about the purpose in your products. Remind your team about it, too. Do it with passion.

Lot's of passion. The kind of passion that makes you feel good inside (intrinsically).

So the motto may go:

"Get 'em with the money. Keep 'em with the mission."

Extrinsic motivators attract people to you. Intrinsic motivators make them stay with you.

Now you know.

Go make a boat load of money ... and make a difference in the world. Love every minute of it.

Like me.

Always fighting for your freedom.

With passion...
Tom Wood
The Duplicator

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Copyright 2000 Tom Wood (tomwood@tomwood.net) and The Duplicator.com
All Rights Reserved.

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