The Keen Marketer

Without leads, you’re dead in the water.

That’s why you are asking for referrals from clients as well as others who have no interest in your product.

But you hate it?

Get over it!

If you intend to build a business based on residual income, there’s no getting away from it.

Are you the shy type? No matter. Being shy is ok but you will need to push yourself beyond your normal comfort zone.

I grant you some people make it look easy. However, anyone can learn a new skill if they really want to.

The key here is desire, again. We always seem to come back to this word. That’s because it’s what drives you to success or failure.

Without it you will just be treading water and eventually drown.

The question here is: Do you really want your business to grow and generate residual income? If yes, then you MUST do lead generation.

So how can you learn to like generation?

• Be positive and confident
• Be proactive in your lead generation duties
• Learn new skills that will stretch beyond your comfort zones
• Be patient, consistent and persistent
• Understand and listen to your client’s needs
• Sort, sift and qualify your prospects
• Be willing to let go those that don’t fit with you
• Let creativity take over, freeing you from a rigid structure
• Be prepared to follow up on all your contacts regularly

It’s in the follow-up that you will strike oil because it will be your contact who will recommend someone who may be interested in your product and it may even be the leader you were looking for to grow your team into that residual pump you are working so hard to create.

You may have been told that network marketing is easy.

Don’t be fooled.

Network marketing may be simple but it’s not easy. There is a lot of work involved while you look for leaders not needers and while you also promote your product to help those you know improve their lives.

Now it’s very possible that someone close to you is a leader. Good for you.

There are ways to qualify leaders from needers that you should be aware of.

You often hear of separating your prospects into As, Bs or Cs. In simple terms, you identify the prospect’s needs and how your company and its products can improve their lives.

In the beginning you will most likely have many Cs, which are mainly clients using the product.

There is a learning curve while you are being trained on how to do the business properly. If there isn’t and you are just thrown out there to fend for yourself, then you should think about finding a company with a solid training system.

The B prospect is one that is enjoying the product, continues to use it and talks about it to others, getting you the occasional client and maybe boosting their position to one where doing the business would require just an adjustment to their own needs.

This B prospect is one that you will want to stay in contact with so you can keep their interest high as you slowly build their knowledge base. This can be done through newsletters or monthly calls. There are many ways you can choose.

Now many networkers would tell you not to waste your time on Bs and especially on Cs.

I want to disagree with this a little. Just because someone is a newbie to network marketing does not mean you have to ignore them completely. Sometimes, they prove to be your top achiever.

Take the Cs for example. They are your client base and they can be an excellent source of referrals. They can also graduate over time to become a B and maybe an A. One never knows until the timing is right for that person. The time you invest will be small but the return can be quite large.

As to the Bs, they will be mostly people who have a little more ambition. They do see the potential in the compensation plan and visualize what extra money could add to their lives but are not totally ready to commit.

They may never commit but if they are consistent in occasionally introducing someone to the product, eventually they will earn something. That something may be just what they need to boost them to an active and go-getting A.

Of course we all want As in our business. This person does not have to be told the plus’s of having a home based business.

· They accept personal responsibility for their actions and results.

· They don’t have a victim mentality and are proactive and usually motivated.

· They are driven to learn and develop themselves.

· They see problems as opportunities to learn and grow.

· They understand that sometimes one can fail but that the important part is to continue and learn.

· They are results focused and let those speak for them more than their mouths. The future holds something real and good for them.

· They don’t need convincing and don’t need an extreme amount of training.

So yes, I want all As in my organization, but I’m not one who will give up on the Bs and Cs because what I have to share with each of them may be just what they need to help them improve their lives for the better.

A famous phrase I often hear from my up-line trainer who is one of the most successful leaders in my network marketing company, is “structure creates freedom”.

This was in reference to leads follow-ups. After all, if the follow up is done properly, one never needs to go out of their warm market, which means no cold calls.

The greatest and most powerful tool all networkers should be using is the DRIP list method. If you’re an experienced in network marketing, you will be familiar with this technique.

Why do we see commercial over and over again?

Because it takes us many viewings to recognize the value of what is being presented. In the same vein, when sharing a new idea or product with a possible client, it may take 6 to 7 tries before they get it!

9 out of 10 leads don’t get it the first time around. So knowing that, then it is just a matter of constantly exposing them over a period of time, like a drop of water falling on stone, until the client gets it!

With that in mind, keep a good list of all your leads, date first contacted and jot down some key points about that person such as family members, names, health, whatever is relevant.

After all, your memory may be good but once you get a long list of people that you need to keep in touch with, it gets pretty hard to remember all the details that are important to that person.

I keep this information on 3×6 index cards in a little plastic box. This may seem to be a Neanderthal method to you, as using the computer for storage would be no problem at all. But for me, this is one resource I like to do by hand.

I find it satisfying to rifle through those cards and see how many are accumulating. It inspires me!

Now, every month, there are 2 days or so that are strictly designated to following up with these leads. If your client is active, you really don’t need to follow-up on these days because if you’re doing your business right to start with, you’re already following up with them on a regular basis anyway.

This strategy is for clients that are no longer active. This is not a cold call. You know this person and they know you. Already there exists a bond. Hearing the click of someone hanging up in your ear will not be something for you to fear.

In order to keep your call interesting, you must bring something of value to the table.

This could be in the form of a document, audio or video that you tell them you will send by either snail mail or email. Your goal is to bring value.

At the end of your call, make sure to ask permission for another follow-up next month.

Your purpose it not to expect a reply.

But I thought the idea was to activate old clients for expected new sales?  Wrong!

You are just sharing information. Now don’t get me wrong, they may buy again but that is not your objective.

You are creating a community of people linked by the same interests and slowly expanding your warm market which allows you to build deep.

This person may or may not be a client again but at one point they will be open to giving up a name or two to help you, as they will have seen that you are genuinely interested in helping them, even though they gave nothing in return.

Teaching your associates to use this technique is a smart move and easily duplicable.

It also removes that fear of rejection we get at the thought of approaching new leads  for the first time.

I hate cold calls too and I don’t waste time on them. There are much better ways to get leads.

So all in all, it’s a win win technique. Pass it on!

When you participate in network marketing you will be attending events such as daily training calls if your team is a winning one. During one of these calls, an affiliate shared with us a really  smart tip in getting a new client get two new clients primed and ready for a probable sale.

Following up was the topic of the day and we all know how important it is to play an active part in your client’s life. After all it is the client that creates volume for you and it is the client that has tried your product and is more than likely ready to buy again.

What you do is this: Ask the client to choose 2 people to be accountable to for the duration of the program or the specific goal is reached.

The key ingredient here is to do this without telling the accountability contacts anything about the product except the desired goal.

This is a brilliant strategy.

Number one, being accountable to 2 other people will keep the client on track and make him/her more attentive to the achieved results.

Number two, it will be perceived as more of a game and add fun to the whole process.

As a result, these accountability coaches will have first hand knowledge of the results, hopefully they will be good, and this should peak their interest to find out what the product is. They will be more than ready to want to achieve similar results.

Then its just a matter of wash and repeat. Your client base grows and all you had to do was introduce 1 person in the beginning.

How great is that?

When it comes to network marketing, your goal is to actually keep your current customer happy so that they will buy from you again, right?

So what does that entail?

You have to build a relationship with them that will enable trust to grow.

You do that by giving value. You need to stay in touch with your client. I’m not saying that you can’t get new ones. Of course not, that goes without saying. But keeping in touch on a regular basis keeps you alive in their mind especially if you bring them something of value each time you make contact.

What do I mean by value? It can be a new piece of information pertinent to their situation, an audio within their sphere of interest or a video. It can be an invitation to a home presentation that will rekindle their interest and where they, maybe, will learn something new.

Understanding your client’s needs is crucial to your business and meeting those needs will keep your sales rolling.

Why would focusing on your existing customers be more profitable?

If you’re constantly spending money and resources to land new clients, you aren’t paying attention to your loyal customers - the ones who are keeping you in business now.

Ignoring them is not a good idea. That’s why creating a relationship brings trust and loyalty. Customer loyalty is worth its weight in gold, since the cost of keeping an existing customer is only about 10 per cent of the cost of getting a new one.

The lesson here is to pay attention to your present customers and this is especially important in a network marketing business as you will be able to retain your customer base which will be that residual income of the future that you are working for in the present.