August
29
2010
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It’s been said that you cannot say the wrong thing to the right person, or the right thing to the wrong person. You goal should not be to just sign up bodies into your business. Network marketing is just that – net working. Be social. Share your products and your opportunity. Your goal should be to show your prospect what you have to offer, give them all the information that they need, and let them decide if and when they are ready to join your team.
People can sense a desperate recruiter a mile away. If you let go of the obsession of signing up everyone you know, and concentrate on simply exposing your business to others, you will attract more people to you and will likely sponsor more quality people for your team. Remember that you attract who you are, not who you want; so be sure not to ooze desperation when you are working with a potential team member. Be at ease, share your information, and allow them the time it will take them to make the right decision for them. Taking a genuine interest in others helps you to be more genuine, allows you to smile and enjoy your conversation more. It will put your prospects at ease, allow them to get to know you, like you, and trust that you will have their best interests in mind. That is what produces a great prospect and future team member.
How are you doing in regards to working with your prospects? Do you need to make any changes in how you invite others to take a look at your business? Do you ooze desperation or do you exude confidence?
August
25
2010
I was recently on a training call with one of my mentors, Mr. Todd Falcone. Todd shared his “Simple Game Plan” for working towards earning a ‘Big Pay Check’ thru your Network Marketing business. I felt compelled to share these 4 tips with you, so please jot these down or print out this post. Refer to it often.
Your Simple Game Plan
1. Make the commitment. Decide to do the business! It’s not just being a sponge by attending training calls and webinars. It’s not just attending events. Decide to work!
2. Work on your skills. It’s learnable! It’s not a commitment of 3, 6, or 12 months. Make it a real commitment- to work your business for no less than 3 – 5 years!
3. Take action by prospecting while following your system. Warm Market (people you have a connection with – be the ‘talent scout’); Cold Market (your leads, professionals you know, new people you meet)
4. Stay Consistent! Finish what you started!
If you would love to get more great info from Todd, please feel free to check out my links to the right, under ‘Recommended Links’: Insider Secrets and Little Black Book of Scripts. I highly recommend both. Whatever Todd teaches is a goldmine of great info, so you will get very good material at a great value!
August
23
2010
You’ve heard it said before that if our industry was that easy, everyone would be doing it. When it comes to direct sales, what we do is ‘simple’; but because it is different from any other form of entrepreneurial pursuits, so many don’t realize that it takes special skills and fortitude to be successful. It’s simple, but not ‘easy’.
Luckily, as so many companies tout, when you join a company to offer their products or services, you are in business FOR yourself, but not BY yourself. You have your sponsor (who brought you into the business), your upline (those in your organization above your sponsor), and the company and its tools. But until you sit down and map out what your goals and vision is for your business, and steps you need to take to achieve these, well, that’s what narrows down the ‘active’ playing field. This industry is all about educating yourself, and exposing yourself to learning opportunities.
So now you have started to recruit (sponsor) your own prospects into your business. YOU can see the vision, your goals, where your company is heading and what their culture is, but because the odds are strong that your recruit will not ‘get it’, the attrition in this industry can be frustrating to deal with. I was reading “Stay the Course” by Adam Packard* recently, and he offers some interesting statistics that I’d like to share here:
“The reality is that out of ten people you sign up, three will do absolutely nothing, three will do very little, three will work it part time, and one will work it like you are. It’s a numbers game.”
I wanted to offer this insight to you so that you don’t get frustrated in building your team. By recruiting others into your business you will bring in the income that is not only residual and additional, it’s life-changing for all involved. You can want it for them so badly, but until they ‘see it’, they won’t really grasp it. It truly is a numbers game – especially in the beginning when you are first building your team. Don’t get frustrated. Rather, get good at putting it out there. Offering what you have, and follow up!
What are your thoughts on the ‘numbers’ concept? How has what you are doing worked for you in building your business?
*Contact me for info on how to get your copy of “Stay the Course” as a gift from me.
July
13
2010
What do you do when you want a brand new start? Make a big change with your hairdo? Change your career? Decide to start a family? Move to another state? Start really growing your business and team? How do you begin your new change or adventure?
When a painter begins a new piece of art, he starts with a clean brush and canvas. Each new brush stroke of a new color requires a clean start (clean bristles). Each new stroke takes careful planning, thinking, applying, pausing, and thinking again – until his new masterpiece is completed. Painting with the same color would not make a very colorful piece of artwork. Nor would painting the same exact painting, in the same exact hues, textures, and same techniques. He mixes it up, and lets his creativity shine through!
Embrace change. When you are ready, pick up your clean paint brush, pull out a new canvas, and start being creative! Admire your past. Learn from your past. Hold onto memorable experiences and apply them to your future plans; just don’t use them as a crutch for doing the ‘same old thing’. Allow yourself to move forward to that new adventure! Allow colorful thinking, creativity, planning, and application be part of your process.
What have you started lately that was ‘new’? How did you go about it, and how did it make you feel?
June
24
2010
This was shared on Facebook today. It literally brought tears rolling down my face. I felt compelled to share this will all of you. Facing the Giants
June
23
2010
Ever experience a drought in your business? You know – those odd patches of time when you are low on bookings, possibly have no bookings on the calendar. Wonder how you can maintain your momentum, keep customers and hostesses interested in your products and parties? Recruit people who would be perfect in your business?
Don’t wait until you are completely out of bookings before you start calling to set appointments. Don’t wait until your company holds that next recruiting or sales challenge before you start adding to your team or volume. Constantly be on the ‘lookout’, listening intently when having conversations with others, for clues that may guide you into a conversation surrounding your products. Also, someone may be having a bad day at work, or needs some ‘me’ time away from the kids, and may be open to hearing what you do in your business.
A lot of the times the person isn’t even aware that they have opened up and confessed a particular longing, or wish. It’s key that you don’t spew your business and product benefits all over the person (especially when you meet someone new). That’s a quick way to pour water on a barely lit match. After engaging them in a light conversation (network – get to know them), ask them for their name and contact information (phone number and email). Get their permission to follow up with them because you want to share something ‘really cool’ with them; but that you don’t have the time to do so right now.
Keep adding names to your list, and you will always have fresh leads. A lead that you have had a conversation with, will already have a connection with you. They will likely be interested in hearing from you because they already got to know a little about you; you’re not a complete stranger calling from a bought list.
Keep filling that pitcher. And keep refilling once you pour out so that you constantly have a resource for fresh leads. Have you topped off your pitcher today?
June
17
2010
In a forum I belong to, a link was posted to another ‘mom’ forum where different moms answered a poll on whether they went to a friend’s party they had been invited to (where there were products being represented), and if they were irritated to even be invited. Though some responded that they would go and loved a particular company’s products over another’s, most of the responses were alarmingly negative; with a couple of scenarios surfacing consistently. In most of the cases, good Hostess Coaching would likely have dissolved those reactions right at the start – with the booking itself.
Let’s start right at the beginning. When you are booking a hostess, is the booking made under duress? Did they feel intimidated by you to ‘help out’ the current hostess? Or do they genuinely have an interest in your product and want to earn some for free? Do they see their upcoming party as a true way of having fun with some girlfriends? Or did she only book so that her friend would receive credits towards free products that particular night? The intent of the newly-booked hostess sets the aura around her upcoming party.
If your booking is a motivated hostess (excited to have fun with her friends; eager to earn some free products that she loves; just plain loves to entertain), she will be a positive force as a business partner that evening. If she is not, no level of convincing will bring her to the level she needs to be at, to accurately and happily invite her guests. Many of the complaints given at the referred forum indicated that: 1. The guests thought they were invited to a “party” party (not a presentation); they felt blindsided. 2. The guests felt obligated to buy products, or book their own party, to the point they felt pressured by the hostess and/or the representative. Properly coaching your hostess will eliminate guests feeling pressured, obligated, or turned off in any way.
Though most party plans and direct sales companies have their own guidelines regarding ‘how to coach your hostess’, you must make sure that your hostess is truly excited about her party. If she is not, though the party may hold, the outcome will not be beneficial to either yourself or your hostess. Stress to her to be upfront and share with her guests about how excited she is to be having her party, and what the evening will include. Be sure that she tells each guest that, though a shopping opportunity will be presented that evening, at no point should they feel pressured to buy. Give them some ‘language’ (see your individual company’s manual for great tips) to use to convey their excitement of the products, and why they thought of that particular guest when she calls them (yes, I recommend that they call each guest first). Calling a guest first, before sending an invitation (I call them reminder cards), funnels out those who truly do not want to attend parties. Nothing comes across as positive as a genuinely excited hostess’ tone of voice! Sometimes those who initially didn’t think they’d like to attend, may change their mind, and attend because their friend was so genuinely excited. Though she may not be able to call each and every guest on her list, this exercise reduces the amount of declines, and increases attendance.
Bottom line, if you make it a promise to yourself, that you only book truly interested hostesses, who are motivated, excited, and happy to book, you will increase the odds of having a successful party: the amount of guests attending will increase, you will have happy shoppers, bigger sales volumes, and larger hostess credits. It will be a win-win-win for the customers, hostess, and yourself.
How would you rate your party presentation and style? What can you do differently to increase positive outcomes for all?
June
11
2010
Looking around the room when you get to the opportunity part of your presentation, do you get the ‘deer in the headlights’ look from some? Do you see some just ‘light up’ when you talk about your opportunity? Most companies will train you on how and when to present your opportunity within the body of your presentation. It is very important to remember to include why you got into the business, and what your business has meant for you. It would be ideal to keep this within 1 – 2 minutes in length. Any longer, and you will start losing their attention. Once eyes start to drift, the mind soon follows.
You want to captivate them with just a tiny amount of info; just enough to make them curious. Practice with your sponsor or upline to put together your catch phrase (the ‘hook’ if you will). This will be something that will hang in the right person’s mind until she can speak with you at order time.
Speaking of order time – This is the ideal time to ask each and every customer if she would like a brochure on your business opportunity. Ask them if they had a good time. Ask them if they have ever thought of doing something like what you do. If not, remember to ask if they know of someone who would be good at what you do.
Remember:
1. A “No” may just mean that they need more information to make a decision. If her whole body language, in addition to her words, says “No”, you most likely don’t have a good candidate for a new team member. We are not there to convince, we are there to share; thank her for her business and move on.
2. A “Maybe” most times than not, becomes a “Yes” later on. It may not be the next day or next week, but be sure to ask for her contact information; get her permission to keep in contact. Inviting her to your company’s next Opportunity Webinar, or team phone call meeting would be the next step to keep her interest piqued.
3. A “Yes” is, well, just plain FANTASTIC! Give her some business information right away and schedule a time to meet with her one on one within the next 24-48 hrs. A public location like a coffee shop (Panera Bread is my offsite office!) works well for this. Get her excited about what this new business can mean for her. If she can personalize the benefits, she will be a motivated new team member right from the start! Make sure you have your laptop or a printed application handy when she says that she’s ready to sign up!
My next blog post will be on interviewing your potential new team member. What questions do you ask, and what benefits do you stress, when interviewing a prospective new team member?
June
8
2010
Things may have slowed in this economy, but people are still immersed in life. It’s all cyclical; things always come around. Now, more than ever, is the time to connect with people. Being pro-active in your business will help you be even more aware of the gifts you have to offer in your business! All of them sum up to the gift of HOPE – but let us take a quick look at these individually.
Financial Freedom – Financial freedom is different for each person, and can vary at different times in a person’s life. It is very important to have the potential new team member identify what financial freedom means to her. An extra $100 a week, $500 a month, or $40,000 a year may define financial freedom for someone. Though quite possible, don’t be in a hurry to emphasize that she can make ‘six figures’; this may be too large of a concept for her to wrap her mind around at the time.
Flexibility – As a mom, you can work your business around the hours you are available. Being away 2-3 hours a night (on nights YOU want to work) works so much better into a mom’s schedule than working 5 hrs part time, or 8 hours full time – not to mention being dependent on an employer’s schedule.
Friendship – For all moms, but especially for those with small children, running a home-based business provides you with a social outlet. You get to connect with friends, old and new. Some ladies that you will meet at a home party or event, may not have a network of friends, and are eager to connect with others. There is something very satisfying about networking with like-minded people.
Recognition – In our jobs, or from home, we rarely receive the praise and recognition that we women crave. Within your company, you can show her how she can attain different levels of achievement, and the recognition that goes along with them.
Incentives – Trips, jewelry, gift certificates, cash bonuses – these all go far in increasing one’s self-esteem. Make sure you share info (and pictures) about the trips you’ve earned. Be sure to wear the jewelry you’ve earned.
Remember to invite people to join you in your business. When presenting at a home party or other event, encourage each person to take home an info packet for them to review. Be sure to get the best contact number to reach them by, as well as their email address. Follow up no later than 48-72 hours; don’t allow their curiosity to subside, or let their questions go unanswered.
What other gifts do you have to offer with your business opportunity?
June
5
2010
In our business, people buy YOU before they buy your product, service or business opportunity. Meeting you, talking with you, watching you – this forms their first impression of you and your company; in fact, to many, you ARE the company. Immune yourself against the following actions, and learn how to not allow them to penetrate your business.
1. Lack of Credibility – To be believable, you first have to believe: in your company, the management, the products, and in yourself. If you don’t have these beliefs down solid, work on them. You will not come across genuine if you do not. People want to be involved with people they know, like and trust.
2. Fear – Of rejection; of the phone; of what others think – Build up ‘success’ thoughts in your mind. Fight off procrastination; it just postpones your dreams. “No’s” are a big part of this business – accept it. Those closest to you may ridicule you, be critical, and be very willing to share their opinion with you. Their negativity is what protects them. If you will work thru your fears, you will earn the respect of others. Spend time with people who are successful; they will build you up. Leaders in your company have been where you are right now. Identify what your fear is so that you can begin conquering it.
3. Lack of Motivation – Indecision is a major contributor of depression. Once you make a decision, you will be amazed by the relief you feel in your life. Write down your dreams and goals. Dream big enough so that your dreams will keep you energetic and eager to work!
4. Lack of Discipline – This is a major factor in the difference between those who succeed, and those who do not. Have a “do it no matter what” attitude. Focus! Keep yourself on purpose.
Convince yourself that happiness can only be experienced in the ‘now’, and don’t worry about what didn’t work yesterday, or what will happen tomorrow. Make ‘now’ your priority, and each day will bring you closer to achieving your goals.