Better Recruiting By Changing A Single Word
Posted by admin in Recruiting on September 16, 2009
I recently attended a conference that brought together the chief executives of many of the largest and most successful network marketing companies in the industry. They shared their “best practices” and the things that they find are working for their companies.
One question that had particular resonance was “How can the newest people that we recruit increase the effectiveness of their approach to their colleagues?” An idea that came out was that we should quit asking our contacts if they are “interested” in hearing about our product/opportunity.
Here is the problem. When people are new to a company, they became involved because they were excited about the product/opportunity that is being offered. They immediately (if they are going to be successful at all) rush out and tell all of their family and friends about the company they have just joined. Often, they are raw and inexperienced and don’t present the product/opportunity very well. Then they follow up with the question: “Would you be interested in hearing more about _______?”
It is easy for the people being approached to brush aside the inquiry. They think, “No, based on what I just heard, I am not interested.”
Now change one simple word. If the question to the people you approach is instead, “Would you be open to hearing more about ____________?”
How can they not be open to hearing more? Being open as opposed to interested does not convey the same commitment. It merely means that they are willing to consider more information. People love to believe that they are open to new ideas, new opportunities. They are not nearly as apt to be “interested”.
Change that one word in your approach. Then, when someone is “open”, schedule a time to make a more professional presentation—whether that is through a three way call, an online presentation, a DVD, a ‘sizzle call’ or another of the methods that has been successful with your team. Bring in those that have been successful at converting leads to team members to help with your contacts that are “open”.
A Powerful Concept
Posted by admin in Motivation on September 4, 2009
At a recent conference of network marketing executives, the CEOs of some of the largest, most successful and fastest growing network marketing companies in the world talked about their “best practices” and how we could all use them in our businesses.
Now remember, this was a conference attended only by company executives, not distributors. When I asked what could possibly motivate these executives to share some of their best ideas with their direct competitors, I was stunned by the response. Without exception, they stated, “Our competition is not other network marketing companies. Our competition is whatever is out there that keeps the other 90% of the country from not joining network marketing.”
That is a POWERFUL concept.
It was reinforced by the headline of the day–something to the effect that our national unemployment rate had risen to nearly 10%; which meant that more than 15 million people were now unemployed. That particular figure was striking because industry figures show that approximately 15 million people are involved in network marketing. It is amazing that almost the exact same number of people are unemployed as are involved in network marketing. Why haven’t the unemployed joined network marketing?
And at least another 15 million people are worried that their jobs are not safe. Why haven’t the worried joined network marketing?
Too often, we, as network marketers, focus on those already in the industry. How many of us are using our time and energy to try and find a “proven network marketing leader” that we can convince to join our team? I know exactly the thought process, “If I could just convince so and so to come on board, my business would really take off.”
Well here’s the secret that these CEO’s have all seen. 90% of your market, no matter what company you are involved in, has not even been touched. If it had, the entire country, not just 15 million people, would be involved in network marketing.
I say this in all seriousness. If you do not believe that the product or service that your company is selling is 1) life changing, 2) a tremendous value, and 3) the best that is available in the marketplace, then you should find a product/service that embodies those characteristics and make your business around it. If you do believe those things-and you should-then your enthusiasm will attract the 90% of the population that is not involved in multilevel marketing.
It’s not US (the network marketers) v. US. It is US v. the other 90%. We can be EMISSARIES -Ambassadors of Hope- to the rest of the country.
Growing Your Warm Market
Posted by admin in Warm Leads on September 1, 2009
My son came home from junior high school the other day. He was cranky because he, a ninth grader, was in a beginning band class that was almost all seventh graders. They annoyed him. He was too cool for them. The thought of having to spend an hour each day surrounded by them was making him crazy.
Two days later I picked him up from the same band class and he was a different person entirely. He was happy. He enjoyed the class. He was talking to his classmates, and they were happy to adore his “ninth grade wonderfulness”. I couldn’t help but ask him what had made the difference. I was startled by the one simple change he had made:
“I decided to smile and say Hi to everyone.”
I like to think that I am a people person. I make my living by talking to others and sharing product and business opportunity information. But it has been YEARS since I have smiled and said Hi to everyone I encounter. Too often I get caught up in my own cares. Sometimes, I just don’t like their looks—and based on that attitude, I am sure that they don’t care for mine. But I have taken some advice from my son. I have decided to smile and say Hi to EVERYONE. I’ve only been at it a couple of days. I am getting some pretty strange looks. But, you know, a remarkably high percentage of people smile and say Hi back. Some of us see each other quite a bit—at the post office, at coffee shops, at the grocery store. I’ll be darned if, since I started saying Hi to EVERYONE, I haven’t learned a few new names and gotten to know a few more neighbors. And from there, they ask me what I do for a living and I have an easy, non-threatening opportunity to talk to them about my business.
Far too often, we think of people as potential network marketing leads. In the backs of our minds, and sometimes right there in the front, there is this desire to introduce our company, our products, our opportunity, to new network marketing leads. But people are people first and network marketing leads about fifty rungs down the ladder.
Let’s connect with them as people. That starts with smiling and saying Hi.
Your Warm Market Is Better Than You Think
Posted by admin in Warm Leads on August 26, 2009
The most common statement I get in the network marketing business is, “I have used up all my contacts and no one I know wants to be involved in network marketing.” Rubbish.
I have been involved in a very successful company and in building several of the largest downlines in the industry. I have been with my current company for a little over a year. I have spent a great deal of time helping others develop their network marketing leads. I have NEVER seen anyone that truly used up their pool of “warm” network marketing leads.
Let’s use me as a BAD example. You would think that after years in the business, everyone I know (every warm network marketing lead) would not only know the company I am representing, but would be tired of me telling them about the products and the opportunity. Just the opposite is true.
Here is what happened yesterday—TRUE STORY: My ten year old daughter came home from her first day of fifth grade. She asked if she could use a couple of samples of the product to “give to her friends’ families”. I thought she had met some new friends. Being the generous guy that I am, I said, “Sure, give them each a bottle.” I figured that she would give away one or two bottles of product and that would be that. No. This ten year old girl attached a brochure with our name and phone number on it, attached the brochures to bottles and went through the neighborhood knocking on doors, physically handing out the bottles and leaving them on the doorstep if no one was home.
Mind you, we have lived in this neighborhood for many years, attended the neighborhood get-togethers, and—I thought—passed out product samples to “everyone we know”.
Within the hour, we had received a phone call from one of our neighbors that had retrieved the bottle from their porch. Although we have both lived in the neighborhood for many years, we have never really interacted. Let me quote, “Thanks for the sample. We really like the taste and the information in the brochure. We will go through this bottle, and if we like the results, we’d like to talk some more.”
Two other neighbors to whom I had given samples about a year ago called and said, “We really liked the samples you gave us way back when. Kind of wondered if you would ever contact us about making further purchases—but you never did. Thanks for bringing over this additional sample, and we should talk some more.”
In MY OWN MIND, I had used up all my network marketing leads. But it was only in my own mind. I had imposed my own limits on how hard I would push my friends and neighbors. By doing that, not only had I lost out on potential sales, but these families have not had the benefits of our products.
If you think you have exhausted your pool of warm network marketing leads, you haven’t. Go back through a list of everyone you know. Did they ever say, “No, and don’t ask me again.”? If not, give them another sample and see where it goes. But remember this; it won’t go anywhere if you don’t follow up with them. My daughter has proven that to me.
Keeping Optimistic When Pessimism Is All Around You
Posted by admin in Motivation on August 26, 2009
I recently attended a conference that brought together the presidents and CEOs of many of the largest companies in the network marketing industry. One of the things that surprised me was that even though the network marketing industry has traditionally been counter-cyclical (it does better when the economy is having a hard time), THIS recession is different. WHY? They identified two major differences:
1) This recession came on faster and hit harder than any economic event that people have experienced in their adult lives. There is an old saying, “It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job. It’s a depression when you lose your job.” Well in this recession, unlike any since the early 80’s, if you haven’t lost your job, you know at least 2 or 3 on your block that have—and you’re not sure that your job is safe. In other words, the impact has been WIDER than at any time since the Great Depression.
2) This is the first big recession since cable television’s 24 hour news channels and the internet became widespread.
Of the two factors, these experts agreed that the BIGGER obstacle to overcome was NOT the actual economy. The bigger factor BY FAR is the constant onslaught of negative information. As the CEO of one of the few divisions of Citigroup to be actually making money put it:
You turn on the TV. The person on the screen is relating one bad news story after another. More bad news is scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The bar on the right is telling you more horrible news. And the bubble pops up saying, “Stay tuned, more bad news after the break.”
It’s a wonder that anybody leaves their house, let alone tries to build a business.
No matter how upbeat and positive you are by nature, when all you are exposed to is constant negativity, you wear down. Your energy is sapped. Your enthusiasm wanes. Your willingness to see a better future is destroyed.
How can you get out of this trap? REPLACE the negative with positive. I know it’s almost heresy, but STOP listening to the news. No matter how many hours you listen, Michael Jackson is still going to have died a senseless death…….
Instead,
• Read a book about positive thinking. If you don’t have time to read, go to your library and check out a book-on-tape that deals with success. Listen to the tapes as you drive around during the day.
• Go through a magazine like “SUCCESS” that is devoted to successful entrepreneurs. Don’t just read the articles, at the end of each article, ask yourself what ONE IDEA did this person use that I can “steal”. (One of the funniest moments of the conference was when the founder of a hugely successful MLM company said, “You know, when you take one person’s idea it’s ‘stealing’. When you take a lot of people’s ideas, it’s ‘market research.’”)
• Call up someone you know that is successful and instead of talking about how hard things are, talk to them about their successes. Believe me, EVERYONE has time to talk about themselves and how successful they are. LISTEN and take notes.
I promise you, when you start to replace negative information with positive thoughts, your business and your life will improve.