I guess to really understand my training philosophy one of the first concepts you must understand is a concept I call 3%ers, 27%ers, & 70%ers. This underlying reality is really a very important foundation of why I believe what I believe and teach what I teach. I have been bombarded with questions regarding this concept from many people who have ordered the "Confessions of a Network Marketing Millionaire" video-training series.

It seems everyone in the industry has been talking about the 5% and the 95% for years. (Only 5% of the population can do network marketing.) When I started talking about the 3%, 27% and 70% it seemed to grab people's attention.

I first started teaching this concept in the mid eighties during my Shaklee days. Like so many of the concepts I believe in, it came to me in the shower. I truly believe that most of what I teach, "came to me". I don't do a very good job at "thinking things up". Throughout my network marketing career I have just tried to figure out the way things are, and work with it, not fight it. There are some aspects of this business and some methods that I don't like and really don't feel comfortable with. However, I do them and teach them anyway because they work for the masses!

Too many network marketing gurus today suffer from a disease called "Too Cool-itis". (I first heard this term used by Anothy Heflin, one of the powerful leaders within our organization.) There are many prospecting and retailing methods that absolutely work for the masses, but because the guru is too cool to wear a button, or place flyers on a public bulletin board, or have a bumper sticker or magnetic sign on their car they shy away from methods that work. This ultimately is cheating their organization. They simply don't understand that their personal thoughts, feelings, and hang-ups are not the issue. Their network marketing business does not revolve around them; they aren't the issue. The success of their people is what's critical for their long term success.

I truly believe that one of the top three reasons people fail in network marketing and live very mediocre lives over all, is they care too much about what other people think about them. You can never reach your full potential as long as you are worried about what somebody else thinks about you. I read a quote on a sugar packet one time that I will never forget. It simply said "Never try to explain yourself: Your friends don't need an explanation, and your enemies aren't going to believe you anyway". What powerful advice. Dwell upon this thought for a minute. People aren't thinking about you . . . they are too busy worrying what you are thinking about them ...WOW.

"Too Cool-itis" will always stifle your growth potential and cheat your people. You must teach simple, duplicatable, methods that work for the masses. It doesn't matter if I am a CEO of a Fortune 500 Corporation, welder, housewife, truck driver, dentist, factory worker, or chiropractor, I must be able to duplicate. If methods are not duplicatable by the masses, duplication stops. Personality and tremendous communications skills will only take you so far.

You can not build a long term network marketing business with the skills, attitudes, work ethic, and gift of gab you entered the industry with. Everyone, and I repeat everyone, must develop new skills, attitudes, and methods that can be duplicated by the masses or sooner or later duplication will stop. That is exactly why you see most large organizations tap out around the 10,000 distributor mark. To develop an organization of 50,000 plus distributors you must understand that what got you here (group of 10,000) won't take you there (group of 50,000).

Follow this. 3%ers with drive, determination, work ethic, and personality plus, can only duplicate by finding others with drive, determination, work ethic and personality plus. Unfortunately, in network marketing people tend to recruit down. They will recruit people who are at a slightly lower economical, and social class than they are, who in turn recruit down, who in turn recruit down etc etc. Sooner or later, usually within 18 to 24 months, you end up with an organization full of hobos, or people looking for something for nothing. What I call 70%ers.

This trend of tapping out at 10,000 distributors or within the 18 month to 2 year period has been repeated tens of thousands of times by countless number of gurus within the industry. So what is the solution? Give the good, honest, hard working, dedicated 27%ers a step by step unified, duplicatable training system that can be effective for the masses!

So why isn't this happening? 3%ers develop 99% of the training programs within the industry, and they are designed for 3%ers. 3%ers simply don't understand how the masses think, so how can they develop effective training programs for them? 3%ers think everyone thinks like they do. They think everyone has the ability to tap the drive, determination, work ethic, and personality that they possess, and take for granted!

"Dale, what in the world are you talking about? 3%ers, 27%ers, 70%ers, 99%, 5%, 95%?!?!! I am decent in math, but this is ridiculous!" I am going to back up now and try to give you my definitions of 3%ers, 27%ers and 70%ers, and after I do, you are going to need to reread the above paragraphs.

-----70%ers-----

In theory we have 100% of the population in which to recruit from correct? According to data from the insurance industry the reality is this: 95% of the population at 65 are either dead or dead broke. How many times has that statistic been repeated in this industry? We have all heard it, or have we?

The reality is this-you and your network marketing opportunity are not going to drastically change this statistic. So why do you spend so much time, energy, effort and financial resources to try to change a statistic that is impossible to change?

My data tells me that of the 95% there are approximately another 25% of the population that it are possible to help. 5% are going to make it with or without us, plus another 25% if we give them the direction and leadership they need. That leaves 70% of the population that simply can not, or will not be financially successful in network marketing or anything else. We can love these people, we can appreciate them as valuable human beings with unique talents and gifts, but having the drive, determination and work ethic to develop financial independence in network marketing, or any other career, is simply not within their reach.

Many of you may feel that this attitude is cold-hearted or uncaring. Again, there are many things about this industry that I don't feel comfortable with. I wish that we could save the world with this industry. I love and value people, all people, but I have learned to accept that which I cannot change. 70% of the population will live mediocre financial lives, that is simply the way it is. Over the years I have learned to not fight it & accept it because I can't change it. I have dedicated myself to learn, grow, develop and become as good as I possibly can become at helping the other 30%. My advice to you is to do the same thing. Leadership starts by knowing who it is you can help, and who you can't. As my good friend Jim Devault says, "You can't push a rope".

So 70%ers are people who simply don't have the drive, ambition, self-image, or people skills, to create wealth. They tend to play the lottery every week and blame the government, their boss, and economy for their lack of financial success. They would rather spend their life watching TV and complaining than taking responsibility and changing. They have a victim mentality.

Most 70%ers will never join your opportunity because they are broke and don't have the $25.00 for an application fee. Deep down they know they would fail if they tried anyway. The few that do join have the philosophy, "if at first I don't succeed, fix the blame quick". They will only be part of your organization for a short time. They try very little, quit, blame you for their failure and then go back to playing the lottery.

My advice to you is respect these people as fellow human beings, encourage them, give them a copy of the book The Magic of Thinking Big, but don't be naive enough to think you are going to build a business with them. Unfortunately, in today's network marketing environment many companies and distributor advertising campaigns and marketing plans tend to target these people.

Pick up any network marketing publication and read the headlines of the advertising. It is obvious that the trend towards mediocrity is alive and well. I became so sick of the "we do all the work, and you make all the money" ads that I recorded a cassette entitled "Network Marketing is a SCAM!" Six weeks after this tape was introduced into the market place Cutting Edge Opportunities Magazine ran an article on this cassette.

Those insiders who had the opportunity to listen to this thought provoking cassette prior to its general release have called it "...the best industry cassette of the last 30 years!" Other comments include "...listened again and again and my head is still spinning! ...talk about a paradigm shift, I finally get it! ...I knew the concept was pure but many people have been going down the wrong path. This should clear things up for everybody."

One thing is sure-you will either love this tape or hate it. You will discover why 95% of distributors lose money in network marketing, why most traditional business owners don't take your opportunity seriously, why most distributors quit your organization within 90 days and continue to jump from program to program. You will also learn how to break these trends and create true long-term success and passive income.

One of the key points I tried to convey in the SCAM tape is that we must return to our roots of inspiring people to personal growth and development. We must break the trend toward mediocrity that is binding and stagnating this industry and start telling people the truth, what they need to hear instead of want to hear.


When a person is sponsored into your organization you must understand that the odds of them being a key player within your group is slim to none. However the odds of them knowing a key person which can make a major impacton your group is extremely high. Never is that concept more evident than with a 70%er. That is why we teach a concept called "Blitzing Warm Markets".

When you sponsor a person, especially a 70%er you must get into their warm market immediately and find out who they know. Every dud knows a stud! If you wait around for them to contact that key person, it will never happen. The 70%er isn't going to hang around any longer than 90 days anyway. A good mental paradigm to work under is that everyone you sponsor is going to quit within 90 days, so you better find out who the quality people are that they know.

Leadership must understand who you can help and who you can't. All people on all this earth have the ability within them to become powerful leaders. However, 70% will sabotage that ability. They always have and they always will; neither you, I, nor our network marketing opportunities are going to change that FACT!

I truly believe that the better you become at understanding who you are dealing with - the quicker, and more efficiently you will be able to build your business.

In my opinion 95% of the so called "Heavy Hitters" in this industry are 3%ers. Below is an overview of this type of person.

Most 3%ers build organizations extremely quickly. Unfortunately many times they fall apart just as quickly as they are put together. They usually tap out around the 10,000 distributor plateau and start backing up quickly. Many 3%ers hit it big one time by being in the right place at the right time and spend the rest of their network marketing career trying to do it again.

Next I would like to share with you some of the most positive attributes of 3%ers, and the unseen negatives that are sometimes created.

+ They having a very outgoing personality and people skills - Personality is not duplicatable and will only take you so far. Only systems, programs, and scripts are duplicatable.

+ They come from a successful small business or corporate management background - Tend to try to create an employee, employer relationship with theirdownline instead of a teacher--student relationship

+ They have always worked hard and created their own success - Their solution is always work harder. They don't realize that they aren't the issue. It doesn't matter how hard they personally work. Duplication is the issue. Can their methods be duplicated EFFECTIVELY by the masses?

+ They posses a strong ego and usually end up writing 99% of the training programs within the network marketing industry. - The problem is that the methods they teach can only be duplicated by other 3%ers who aren't going to follow them anyway......They are going to do it their own way also.

+ They are usually very credible and sincere people, and can attract a following of people very quickly. - When their organizations and income start to crumble they will usually jump to another company taking their followers with them. Unfortunately, in today's network marketing environment I see many people following the 3%er from company to company. The 3% always makes a lot of money but the masses never seem too. A good question to ask, "Who are you following? Where are they taking you?"

Here are a few other observations regarding 3%ers I would like to share with you. They are fun people to be around. Most are better suited for traditional business success than network marketing. The most powerful and most unusual distributor you will find is what I call a TEACHABLE 3%er. To be totally frank, I only know of two on the entire planet.

They are Phil Shuff and Jim Jones. I have hundreds of semi-teachable 3%ers within my organization but only two that I can say without question are TEACHABLE 3%ers. The interesting part is both of these BECAME teachable, after spending three agonizing, frustrating years in another MLM program trying to be the issue, work hard, and do it their own way. "A wise many learns from his own mistakes, but a really wise man learns from the mistakes of others"

Phil Shuff was a middle manager with a Fortune 500 Corporation and Jim Jones owned and operated a very successful insurance agency when I first met them. We were sidelines in another company.

To hear them tell the story, after three years their organizations where crumbling apart and they were going broke. They saw my organization growing, thriving and producing. They saw ordinary people (27%ers), housewives, an electrician, a factory worker, school teacher, butcher and others within my organization earning $10,000+ monthly who had been involved in the program the same, or less time than they had. They couldn't figure out why.

When we started with NII they both joined me immediately. They both said "Dale, I am going to forget everything I think I know and do exactly what you tell me to do. If I fail, it is your fault." They BECAME teachable 3%ers. Today they are both frontline to me, earning in excess of $200,000 a year and building a growing, thriving, producing organization.

They have finally understood that they aren't the issue and Dale Calvert is not the issue! A Unified, Duplicatable Training System that can be done by the Masses is the Issue! There is no question that working with 3%ers is very challenging but very rewarding!

I had planned on talking about 27%ers also this month, but that should probably wait until next month. However you will probably benefit more from this information if you dwell on this concept of 3%ers for awhile.

Remember "The teaching is in the words, but the learning is in the silence".

I believe that the quality of our business and our life is in direct proportion to the quality of questions we ask ourselves. Some questions to consider.

Am I a 3%er?

Am I teachable?

Who is teaching me?

What is their track record?

Am I taking responsibility for my success?

Do I have a proven retail system to help my distributor organization generate immediate cash profits?

Do I teach my distributors what to do, what to say, when and how to say it?

Do I have a proven effective recruiting system to help my distributors recruit within their warm market?

Do I know exactly the first 10 steps I am going to take with a new person after I sponsor them into my organization?

Let's discuss my favorite type of people to work with. The good, honest, hard working, TEACHABLE 27%ers. Unfortunately, there are not as many 27%ers today in society as there used to be. This fact alone makes it even more important to for you to spend quality time with these people when they do enter your organization. It is your obligation to provide these people with proven retailing, recruiting and personal development systems for them to build their business and themselves.

I cannot stress the word obligation enough! Listen, we all "kill a few" in the beginning of our network marketing careers. But sooner or later you must become a good student. You cannot teach that which you do not know! It is your responsibility to follow an upline "Pinnacle Leader", master proven retail and recruiting systems and plug into strong personal development programs so you are able to teach the 27%ers within your entire organization!

27%ers need DIRECTION in the beginning. They are willing to work hard and make a commitment. Unlike the 3%er, they don't want to wing it on their own. They want competent leadership that will direct their path. What is your specific plan that you take all new distributors through their first 24 hours in the business? Their first 30 days? Their first 90 days? You better have one, it is your OBLIGATION!

If you don't have one, start going upline and ask the same question. Continue upline until you find a suitable answer and then model and duplicate.

You will eventually move into a COACHING mode with your new 27%er. In other words you have taught them a proven system for retailing products and recruiting people. You then continue to coach them in the system. In other words, we teach a specific system for recruiting with a videotape. When a person has seen the video, expresses that they are open for more information about our program, we invite them to one of our live opportunity briefings. If they don't show up, we teach our organization to call them THAT NIGHT and with all the gusto they can muster say:

"John, I can't believe you missed the briefing! We had over 50 people there, several new guests joined our business...it was Awesome! Listen John, are you still interested in evaluating our opportunity, or can I scratch you off my list?"

I don't have time to go into all the psychology of the above statement and why it works so well, my point is simply this: You must coach that new person what to do when they are stood up at a meeting. Just because they have been taught specifically what to do, and heard it on tape a dozen times doesn't mean they will do it! Don't assume anything!

Suppose my new distributor had four people committed to the opportunity briefing, two showed up and sponsored and two didn't make up. Most new people will be so excited about the two that sponsored that they may never follow up with the two no shows. The no shows may end up being better distributors, but if we don't follow up we may never get the chance to find out.

As a good sponsor I would then coach my new distributor on exactly what to say when he calls the no shows to "scratch them". If at all possible I will listen in on those calls as he does it from the hotel lobby or we may go sit in my car, and call them on my car phone directly after the opportunity briefing is over. My point is you must Direct, Direct, Direct and Coach, Coach, Coach, 27%ers in the beginning.

The third phase you move into with 27%ers is the SUPPORTING stage. I have said many times, "never get emotionally involved with a new distributor until they have proven that they can fall and get back up". As Zig Zigler says "The only difference between a big shot and a little shot is a big shot is a little shot that kept on shooting." Until they have proven to me that they can keep shooting I can never get involved with a new distributor emotionally.

Too many times we find ourselves wanting it more for them, than they want it for themselves. If we aren't careful, when they fall and stay down, they will bring us down with them. We can't let the failures of others, determine our success or failure. You must maintain a student teacher relationship with your new 27%ers in the beginning. You are not their friend, they are not your peer, they are your student.

After about six months or so you can move into a SUPPORTING mode with your new person. They have gone through their beginning slump, fallen and gotten back up. You have directed and coached them to the point that they know exactly what to do, what to say, and how to say it, when it comes to retailing and recruiting. They are working on themselves and following the personal development programs that you have recommended. They know what to do, it is just a matter of them doing it.

At this point you can start to get emotionally tied to the distributor, their family, and the dreams they have. You need to SUPPORT and encourage the person. There will still be some teaching and some directing of course put primarily you are to support. People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. You must be extremely value focused, and do everything you can to support and help their dreams become a reality. Remember, "You truly can have anything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want!"

The fourth and final stage is that of DELEGATING. One of the critical mistakes that network marketing leaders make is what I call "Delegating too Soon". The Leadership Development process is just that, a process. It doesn't happen over night! When you have someone at a point of delegation they become your peer, your equal. They now have the proven ability to take people down the exact path that you brought them down. Step by step, concept by concept, key phrase by key phrase. They have the ability to take a 27%er and teach them a proven duplicatable system for retailing and recruiting as well as guide them in their personal development activities.

Until you develop a person to the point of DELEGATION.............YOU HAVE NOTHING!!!!!!! I must say that again, until you develop a person to the point of DELEGATION you have nothing. This process can take anywhere from 18 months to 5 years!

I could care less how many distributors you have in your organization! 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 10,0000? It doesn't matter if you haven't SYSTEMATICALLY developed a group of strong leaders whom you can delegate to. You have nothing but a house of cards! I promise you, it will collapse! That is exactly why most 3%ers, guru organizations tap out at about 10,000 distributors.

This business is about SYSTEMATICALLY developing 27%ers into leaders who in turn can develop 27%ers into leaders who in turn can develop 27%ers into leaders i.e. "Pinnacle Leadership".

You throw a few 70%ers in the mix who are joining and quitting your organization constantly. You have one group of 70%ers coming and another group going at all times. From time to time a few of these 70%ers will bring you a 27%, and others will get into some heavy duty personal development programs and over time develop into 27%ers. Now add a few TEACHABLE 3%ers who understand that duplication is the issue and you have a thriving, growing organization. But it all starts with you becoming a good student, and learning the systems from a proven upline "Pentacle Leader".

I will share with you a quick example. When I first met Steve & Kim Hix they were self proclaimed 70%ers. At least Steve was. The first 18 months or so they were in my organization they basically did nothing EXCEPT work on themselves with heavy duty personal development books and tapes that I recommended. They then went on to start being active and productive but primarily only attracted 70%ers. After four years they moved home to North Carolina, burnt out and quit the business.

To make a long story short. A few years later, they joined me again in our program. Because of the past personal development programming this time they joined as 27%ers.

They eventually sponsored Carol Ely another 27%er. A very teachable, hard working housewife who was looking for something to do after her son graduated high school. Carol sponsored Roger and Ronda Wagers, a bank teller and frustrated electrician, also 27%ers.

Today, I would classify all three of these couples as Pinnacle Leaders. All three are running multi-million dollar network marketing organizations and earning in excess of $200,000 a year. They are three of the top leaders in my organization. Each one of these people will tell you that I Directed them, then Coached them, then Supported them, and today I Delegate to them. When someone contacts me and wants to join our organization I have no problem recommending one of these three couples because they understand this process, they have experienced it, and they can teach it.

Please understand that your Long term sustained Success in Network Marketing can only be accomplished when you have the ability to:

SYSTEMATICALLY develop 27%ers into leaders who in turn can develop 27%ers into leaders who in turn can develop 27%ers into leader i.e. "Pinnacle Leadership".

I hope you will read and reread this information.

There is a book titled "LEADERSHIP and the One Minute Manager" which covers the idea of Directing, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating in more detail. I highly recommend it.

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Dale Calvert an 18-year veteran of multi-level marketing sent the industry into a tailspin with his recently released audio cassette. Calvert, who began his career with the Shaklee Corporation and later NSA before landing at New Image International, has industry insiders buzzing with his newest audio tape "Network Marketing is a SCAM!"

Calvert's love of the industry moved him to launch a new company, Network Marketing Support Services, Inc. The online service, which can be found at www.mlmhelp.com is dedicated to providing low cost, effective resource materials for the network marketing professional, regardless of company affiliation.