I recently came across a video of a speech about motivation that has important implications for network marketers.

The speech was by Dan Pink, author of Drive. The speech to the RSA was called “The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us.”

Here’s the video, which has more than 9.5 million views on YouTube. I will discuss his main points and their implications for network marketing below, but it’s worth 10 minutes to give the video a look.

Pink cites research that calls into question the belief that performance increases if people are offered money for doing better. The theory behind the belief is that if you dangle a carrot of money in front of someone, they will strive to get it.

The studies showed that the reward incentive worked for simple mechanical skills, but the opposite occurred for complex cognitive skills. Higher incentives actually led to poorer performance for complex tasks that required creative thinking.

The best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue off the table, Pink said. In other words, people will be motivated by the thought of having enough money so they don’t have to worry about money anymore.

Think about the implications for network marketers, specifically how you present your business opportunity. All the Powerpoint slides or bullet points about making loads of cash might very well be useless.

Instead, perhaps our business presentations should show how network marketing can end all worries about money. Maybe people will be motivated more by having enough to pay their bills than by having enough to buy a luxury car.

Pink doesn’t stop there. He goes on to talk about the three factors that lead to better performance once people have enough money: autonomy, mastery and purpose. All three are perfect incentives for network marketing

Autonomy is the desire to be self-directed. Pink mentions an Australian company that allows its employees to work on whatever they want one day every three months. That one day of autonomy has led to a number of successful software fixes and ideas.

Network marketing allows people to have tremendous autonomy in their business and ultimately in their lives. If you’re a self-directed person, you have a great opportunity to succeed in this business.

Mastery is the urge to get better at something, Pink said. One example is people playing instruments on the weekend because it’s fun and they want to get better at it. Another is people who do sophisticated work on a volunteer basis because they want to be challenged.

Imagine the opportunities for mastery that successful network marketers enjoy. I once met a network marketer who told me that one of the greatest benefits of his success was that it gave him time to learn to play the piano, which is something he had wanted to do since he was a kid.

Purpose is making a contribution to the world. Profit, Pink said, should be connected to purpose.

The best recruiters in network marketing lead their prospects to find their purpose and see how the business can help them achieve that purpose. Making the world a better place is a much worthier goal than making a million dollars.

Organizations that flourish are animated by their purpose, Pink said. The takeaway, he said, is to treat people like people.

That, I believe, is excellent advice for networkers. Don’t turn your business into a numbers game. Help people see how network marketing can end their money worries, become self-directed, master their goals and find their purpose. Do this, and you shall have success.