Although most business owners say customer is always right, they each have their own list of clauses to protect themselves-- as well they should. If a customer requires something unreasonable from you, you have right to refuse them, even if your refusal sparks their antagonism.

It is much easier to deal with this type of customer in a big city environment. Amid throng of people, you can console yourself with knowledge that, if you do incite wrath of a customer, you will probably never see them again.

When you operate a business or provide a service in a small town, dealing with unhappy customers is a much more delicate procedure. Especially when you have to sit two pews away from them in church next day.

Business owners in rural communities are denied option of washing their hands of antagonistic customers. Letting a customer leave angry and unsatisfied virtually guarantees gossip. And in a small town, bad news travels faster. It can sweep through community in less than a week, wiping out your customers as effectively as galloping consumption.

The key is to douse an unsatisfied customer's rage before it really starts to burn. Most customers won't enter scene in a huff. When they become really unpleasant is when they don't get kind of service and understanding they want.

Over years, my friend Bill, a small town furniture store owner, has had to become an expert in art of angry customer prevention.

One of difficult situations Bill has to deal with often is return of electronics that were sold to smokers. Many people buy things from Bill that, a month later, they decide they can't afford. The problem is that cigarette smoke reeks havoc on electronics after a short period of time. Not only does smoke cause mechanical problems, but every time TV is turned on, it exudes smell of cigarette smoke.

This is where it gets serious! Until you've trained this sign-up to get at least 2 or 3 people of their own and then help them to get 2 or 3, all you've got is - just a recruit! When you bring someone into a business, you're responsible for that person, for training them and for pointing them in right direction so that they can become successful, if they have drive.

As one of most over-looked reasons for failure is lack of continuous, comprehensive training in science of sponsoring, doesn't it make sense to sharpen YOUR skills so you can sponsor effectively?

And best way to help your new recruit is to ensure that you yourself have a thorough understanding of network marketing and of company you've joined. So, read every book and article you can find on subject, listen to every tape, watch every video.

Analyse everything your sponsor did when you yourself first signed up and decide if you were well sponsored. If you think you were, then duplicate it with your new recruit. If not, look further upline to discover who is building a successful business and contact that person. Ask him or her to mentor you, make contact every few days and copy everything they do.

If you're feeling depressed and discouraged, as everyone does from time to time, contact your mentor to discuss it. More often than not, you'll learn something you didn't know. But never contact your downline when things aren't going as well as you'd like! Your job is to encourage your downline, not depress them!

Once you yourself are well trained, you can begin training your downline. It's been said we have between 4 and 6 weeks train someone because, when they don't feel they know enough to succeed, rejection and discouragement kick in and they begin to drop out. So make most of those few weeks!