The Keen Marketer

Facing new people as a network marketer can be sometimes daunting, especially when you’re prospecting.

You might be wondering what to say to spark in your prospect that desire to want to hear more from you.  But first of all, you need to make the appointment before you can pitch your story.

When meeting a business owner, that appointment can be a little harder to get and there are certainly some words you need to avoid or you will turn your contact off completely.

So this post will deal with a few words that we normally use when presenting our opportunity that basically should be replaced by other words that won’t evoke the same emotional response from your prospect.

During these unsure financial times, the very word “Business” is not a good word to use in an approach.

Why?

Well, the business owner already owns a business that may be struggling.  They may have current employee problems to solve and also my have a huge overhead to deal with while still trying to pay the bills.  The very last thing they want to hear about is anything to do with another “business”.

We promote teamwork and have support to back it up.

So, instead of using “business”, think of replacing it with “additional income“.  Additional income does not bring up a negative emotional response, in fact it brings hope of more money flowing in the future.

Another word that is often used and brings on negative emotion is “membership”.  Becoming a member of what?  Choose a word most people can relate to such as “opening an account“.  We open accounts at the bank or at a store.  It’s a normal procedure of everyday life and more acceptable.

One very scary word to many is “autoship”.  First of all, it takes a lot of explaining and people see their dollars flying away automacally without having any control over the outcome.

Now doesn’t “convenience program” make it sound more inviting?

Here are some pointers you might use when trying to get an appointment with a business owner.  Remember, at this point, you’re just after the appointment, nothing else.

1. Connect with the person who is responsible for the business, not an employee
2. Compliment them on their store, or products or whatever
3. Ask questions that relate to the store’s purpose but don’t get nosy

Then say something like this:

“I believe we have a great opportunity here for us to collaborate together and increase the value to your current clients as well as increase your bottom line.  Would you be open to hearing how you can do just that?”

Book your appointment and remember to make sure to tell them that you will need a half hour of their time, uninterrupted.

If they ask you what it’s all about, here’s a good reply: “I’m a professional business planner looking to help you increase your value to your clients.”

So, VOILA, there you have it, a quick how to do, to get an interview with a business owner you never met before.

It’s with excellent training and easy tips like these that you will grow your income because your team will learn terms that invite rather than scare a prospect away.

Your networking business relies on leads. That’s for sure. But once you get those leads, what do you do with them?

This is where knowing how to qualify your leads is crucial.

What’s a qualified prospect? It’s a person who needs or wants your product because it satisfies a need or solves a problem they have.

So how will your prospect know if what you have is for them? This is where good training kicks in.

You will have done your homework. If this is a referral from a friend, asking that friend to give you a little bit of background is not being nosy. You only want to ensure that what you have will satisfy their need.

If this is a cold call, which I don’t do by the way, you will have to do a little bit of research. Having an online application is a good start since it will eliminate the nosy from those who have an interest.

Your prospect most likely will not bite the first time around. This is where you need to start a relationship with this person. This is easy to do if you use the internet. If the person can only be contacted by telephone, make sure you get their permission to continue following up with them.

Taking the time to qualify your prospect is time well spent. Remember that this is your business and your products, your time and how you conduct this business is your business and you don’t want to just have anyone be part of it.

The less time you waste the more productive you will be.

Some prospects will let you know right away they aren’t interested. Many will not be interested. Some simply won’t understand how you could possibly help them, until you educate them.

And here’s something you need to know and work WITH, not against.

Some prospects will rule themselves out with their very own questions to you.

Take for instance: How hard do I have to work to make any money? How fast can I make money? Is this a pyramid scheme?

Get the idea? These prospects are simply not for you. Why? Because they won’t do what needs to happen to make your business work for them or for you.

And you’re not in business to lose business or customers. Working lead the proper way will become easier if you put some of these tips to work for you.

I just wanted to talk briefly today about using promotional post cards as an excellent tool for prospecting.

Postcards are efficient, very easy to create and can be a very powerful marketing tool.

Now you can snail mail post cards but you can also email postcards which are much more economical and just as effective. Why?

Because postcards are sent after you’ve created a bond between you and your prospect.

The person receiving it is expecting it and wants to hear what you have to say.

They’re useful for customer up sells and cross sells, direct purchase, lead generation and brand awareness. It’s truly amazing how an effectively written postcard e-mail will do the trick.

A promotional postcard e-mail sometimes promotes an event, but not always.

Here’s a quick example:

If I helped you get started in an online business from home, and in a few short years you were earning enough money to retire and still make a good income and live the lifestyle you always wanted to live, would you send me a Thank You note?

Well, that’s what I want to do. Please take my tour at the following web site.

You could also try the promotional teaser – an e-mail that is exactly what it says it is – it teases you, leaving you wanting to know MORE.

Again, here’s a couple of quick example so you get the idea:

Subject: Lions and Pigs

Be there when we need you!

Now you could really make things more interesting by sending an audio postcard. There are membership sites which already contain everything you need to do this for a nominal monthly fee.

I used one when I first did my cleansing program and sent it to all the people on my warm contact list. The response was clearly positive. Click here if you want to listen to my first recording.

It has become a tool I use a lot now even just to send a hello to someone I love.

Everyone’s a prospect! You may have come across that statement from a fellow networker or even your upline trainer.

To believe such a statement puts into practice the “3 foot rule” and the “when in doubt blurt it out” technique.

In these days of network marketing, you will be laughed at and rejected often.

Who likes to be rejected?  Not me!

So you may be new to the industry but it does not mean that you have to talk to everyone that comes within arms length. There is nothing more embarrassing than to go to a network marketing convention and see hundreds of associates approaching anything that walks and talks.

It makes me want to hide! It’s also these kinds of antics that have damaged the industry’s reputation almost beyond repair and what holds back a lot of people to even consider network marketing as a viable second income that could lead them to the freedom they really want in a shorter time than a 9 to 5 job ever will.

Now don’t get me wrong. I was once a newbie and I also didn’t know any better or I should say I was not taught any better.

I can remember a convention I attended in Florida about 14 years ago. Boy, when we hit Tampa, Tampa new we were there. Thank God I have since learned how to really do network marketing in an efficient and less intrusive way.

The plain old truth of the matter is that not everyone is your prospect!

Not everyone is looking to run their own business. There will always be some, and that really is the majority of people, who just want to have a no hassle, don’t bother me life. And that’s great? Don’t you need customers?

And there will always be some that despise the industry and see it as a scam. There is nothing you can do about that and as Jim Rohn says “Don’t even go there”.

Why waste your energy when there are others just waiting to hear about an opportunity that might change their lives?

Remember that your time is valuable and that people have to earn their time with you by showing an interest in what you’re offering and by asking questions.

It doesn’t matter if you think the person is the perfect prospect. Until they go out of their way to get more information, they really are just another bystander.

It’s not your job to convert anyone. Your job is to get the maximum returns possible for your time and efforts. How? By talking to people who is already on the same page as you or soon will be.

Sure you can cold call and try to prospect other networkers and you might get lucky after many rejections. I hate cold calling. It just makes me squirm inside.

There are much better ways to market and invest in a respectable marketing system that will find targeted prospects that want to hear what you have to say.

Who finds who first is what’s important. It positions you as the expert and you no longer have to feel as the hunter looking for prey.