The definition of Effective Sponsoring is:

Helping your distributors get what they want out of the business. That’s it. 

Some people will get started in this business just to make profit from selling the products, while others get in to make a fortune.  Everyone has their own reason for getting into the business, wouldn’t you agree?  You job is to help that person get what they want from their business.

So, what DO people want out of a Network Marketing business? 

In my experience, people are looking for 1 of 3 things:

1) Money - they have a financial need & believe this business  will help fill that need

2) Self Development - they desire to grow and become a better person

3) Community - they want to be a part of a group of positive and  motivated people

So many networkers suffer from the “revolving door syndrome”.  You sponsor 3 people into your business and 2 quit.  Why?  Because they’re not getting one of those three things out of their business.  If people can make money, grow and become a better person, and be a part of a community of supportive people who are doing the same-
then chances are they’ll STICK in the business- right?

Contrary to popular belief, you are NOT responsible for the success of the people you sponsor.  You are however, responsible for doing whatever you can do give someone the best start.  After that, it’s up to them- you can’t drag someone across the finish line.  They must run the race themselves.  Your job is simply to give them the
best tools you can.  Here’s how:

1) Do NOT do the business for them.  Your job is to do the business WITH them.  Let them provide the people and you provide the presentation until such a time that they’re able to do the presentation themselves.

2) Schedule a Strategy Session with your new distributor within their first 72 hours of doing business (I’ll talk about this in detail in another newsletter)

3) Remember that you are not responsible for their success or failure.  If they decide to quit, that’s their business- not yours. 

4) Lead by example.  Outperform your organization every single day. Make more calls, recruit and sponsor more people.  If your company has weekly meetings, then go to every one of those meeting and bring more guests than your distributors do.  You MUST outperform them because they don’t do what you say.  They do what you do.  So lead by example.

5) Schedule a Grand Opening or Private Business Reception at the home of your new distributor within their first 30 days of business.  I give a step-by-step system for doing this in my 21 Day Challenge and you can find out more about it at http://www.21DayChallenge.net

Let’s face it, not everyone you show your business to is going to “get it”.  Maybe you didn’t explain the opportunity properly.  Perhaps your prospect doesn’t like Network Marketing.  Maybe they don’t have the time or the money.  But for whatever reason, right now their answer to you is “No”.  

 The Drip System was created for just this person.  And when you apply it to your business, I really believe you’ll start getting excited about hearing the word “No”.  After all, your prospects aren’t rejecting YOU, they simply don’t believe they could
achieve the promise of the business. 
 
Normally, when a prospect tells you “No”, that’s it. That’s the end of your relationship with them.  Whatever time you spent with them showing them your business was basically “wasted” time because it produced no results.  But when you implement a
follow-up system that “drips” on those prospects, you keep that potential partnership going.  When someone says “No” to you, it really becomes “Not yet”.

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There’s a psychological element at play here because when you
KNOW you’re going to follow-up with that prospect, then you become
much less afraid of hearing the word “No”.  A shift occurs in your
mental attitude and disappointment is replaced with excitement and
anticipation.

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–> Do you find yourself chasing prospects around? 
–> Do people avoid your phone calls? 
–> Do you find yourself on an emotional roller coaster when it comes to recruiting? 

If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions, it’s because you’re approaching your recruiting efforts in a “needy” way.  You’re desperate to sponsor someone because if the prospect says “No” to you, in your mind, that’s the end of the relationship.  Other than calling them and bugging them to death, you’ve got no sure-fire way to follow-up.

It’s really simple:  There are WAY too many people out there who want to get involved in your business for you to waste your time trying to plead, convince or persuade a prospect who’s simply not ready right now.  Don’t even bother trying to persuade someone!  Simply add them to your Drip system.

So, what is a Drip System anyway? 

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The DRIP system is your million-dollar mailing list or follow-up
system.  Your goal should be to have 100 people on this list and
you’re going to send a letter to each person once a month. 
Yep, that’s right.  You’re going to MAIL them a letter. 

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Don’t email them!  Send them a real letter.  Why? Because people will delete your email, but they’ll at least SEE
a real letter.  And here’s what you want to mail them: Simply photo copy a success story from your company.  (This
is a great project to get organized at the start of the year by the way) Go to your company website or newsletter and print out five of the best stories and testimonials with a photo. 

Make sure to mail it to your prospect with a sticky note attached to the letter as well.  You want to write something like “Steve, this could be you!” or “Steve, how much longer can you afford to wait?”  on the sticky note.

Now, all those people who said “No” will be kept in the loop because you’re going to be sending them a powerful success story of someone in your company.  It’s very easy to do because you’re going to photocopy the same flyer/letter and mail it to everyone.  The only difference will be what you write on the little sticky note with a
red pen and attach.   Don’t forget to write your phone number or attach a business card before you mail it. You’ll be amazed at the results.  Why does this work so well?

One big reason is that people like reading stories, especially stories of people who they perceive to be just like them.  And when your prospect had been getting your letters for 3, 4, or 5 months and they see someone who got started in your company 3, 4, 5 months ago & is NOW experiencing all this success…they get jealous!  Add to it that you’re sending them this note with a sticky that says “How much longer can you afford to wait?!”  Well, your prospect finally gets so sick and tired of being sick and tired that they finally say, “Alright I’m ready to go!”   

Let me give you an example:

You’ve shown your prospect a business presentation.  He seems a little bit excited, but says, “You know, this seems interesting, but I don’t think it’s right for me.” 

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Now, without a Drip System, your normal reaction might be one of
disappointment.  But with a Drip System, your response can be
“Sure thing!  I wasn’t sure if the timing was good for you right
now.  But let me ask you, would you mind if I kept you in the loop
by sending you something in the mail about once a month?”

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What’s your prospect going to say? Obviously, they’ll say “Sure!” 

Success in business is all about timing. The drip system is about capitalizing on the right time for your prospects to join you in your business. The timing may not be right for your prospects now but it could be in 3 months or 6 months.
 
One last powerful point to using the Drip system. You are teaching your potential new prospects how to do the business so when they eventually join you they will know exactly what to do.  Imagine everyone in your organization using the drip system for following up! I was watching a show on TV a few weeks ago called “60 Minutes”.  The host of the show was discussing all the new technological advances in oil drilling.  With something as valuable as oil,  scientists and engineers keep trying to improve their results in order to squeeze every last drop of oil out of the ground when they drill.

I learned that years ago, oil drills just drilled straight down into the ground.  But after numerous studies and improvements in the industry, they’ve come up with a special type of drill that not only drills vertically into the ground, but also drills horizontally!  Drilling this way ensures that they don’t leave any bit of that valuable oil in the ground. My point is this: If you’re going to schedule the time, make the phone call and find out if a prospect is  interested, and spend your time showing them the presentation, then why would you just leave them on the table? 

Why are you leaving oil in the ground? 

That prospect may not be interested today, but who knows what might happen down the road?  I’ve seen it happen over and over again…especially in THIS economy.  Circumstances change.  Someone who wouldn’t take the time to listen to you 3 months ago might lose his job tomorrow and be looking for help.  If you’re not following up with him, how do you expect him to remember you?

Follow-up is the key to making millions in this business.  Be prepared and willing to implement the system.  Don’t be lazy about it.  Make it an important part of your business, because it truly is

It’s been said that the fortunes are made in the follow-up.  There is absolutely no doubt about this. Pay close attention here:  I think learning how to prospect and qualify people first is critical.  Then, making the presentation is relatively easy because you’ve just got to tell them about your company and how to get started.  But the follow-up…that’s where the fortunes are made.

There are 2 systems I’ve always used with a lot of success when following up with prospects:  The S.W.A.T. Team system and the Drip-System.  In this weeks issue, we’re going to talk about using a SWAT Team.

When you show someone your business, you’re going to get one of three possible responses.

1) Yes, I’m interested and ready to get started!
2) No, I’m not interested at all
3) I might be interested, but I’d like to think about it.

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80% of the people you talk to will fall into the 3rd category-
they’ll want to think about it.  And this is where most networkers
completely drop the ball.  They don’t bother to follow-up
effectively with 80% of the people they talk to.

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A great system to use to follow-up effectively is to start a S.W.A.T. Team.  S.W.A.T. Team stands for “Special Winning Attitude Team” and it’s simply an alliance of at least 3 people in your upline with good success stories who have partnered up to help you follow-up with all those prospects who are on the fence. 

Let’s say you show 10 presentations next month, and 5 out of the 10 people say “Yes, I think I’m interested but let me think about it for a couple of days.”  Or, “Yes, I like what I see.  But I won’t have the money until Friday.”  Sound familiar?

This is exactly where your SWAT Team would come in.  Those 3 people that you’ve formed the “alliance” with in your upline have a propensity  for action and they’re purposed to make things happen.  They want you to win because when you win, so do they!  They’re invested in your success.  Your SWAT Team’s job is to create a sense of urgency with your prospect.  They’re there to show support and make your prospect feel special and important.

When a college athletic department is interested in recruiting an all-star athlete for the team, the coach will call the player, then the head of the department will call, then the recruiter will call.  Each person makes a call to that all-star in order to welcome them, encourage them in their decision making, and make them feel desired and wanted.  This is the job of your SWAT Team.  They’re there to make your prospect feel desired and wanted.  If they do their job right, it makes your prospects’ decision to get started MUCH easier.  Each member of your SWAT Team will simply take a turn calling your prospect within the first 24-48 hours of them seeing a presentation.  When they call they’ll say something like, “Hey Steve, this is Bill.  I just got off the phone with Burke and he says that you’re an extremely sharp person & you’ve expressed some interest in ABC company, is that true?  I just want you to know that I’m part of the support team & I want to share my story with you and if you have any questions, you just let me know.”

Then, your SWAT Team member will spend a couple quick moments sharing his story, how he got started in the business, and the success he’s achieved with your prospect.  All 3 members of your SWAT Team take turns following-up with your prospect just like this.  Each one will make a quick phone call to them that first day or two after they’ve seen the plan.  Each one has a different story and they’ll be friendly, excited and will speak well of both you and your prospect.  Of course, by the time your prospect gets the third call, he’s thinking “Holy cow!  This is great!”  He feels VERY special.  People like to be pursued in a positive way & by now your prospect is thinking he doesn’t have to do anything by himself.  If he can get this kind of support when he’s introducing people to the business, then this is a no brainer.  He SHOULD get started!

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If you take that approach with every prospect you’re trying to
bring into your business, your odds will skyrocket. 

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Having “posture” is incredibly important when you’re going into a presentation.  It’s that certainty, that 100% confidence and total belief in what you’re doing that will really make an impact on your prospect when they sit down with you.  When you approach your prospects with the posture of a winner, they’ll respect you, your time, and the opportunity you’re presenting. 

You can spend a lot of time preparing to make a presentation, but let’s face it: Eventually you’re going to have to stop preparing and just get out there and DO IT!  You can ask people all day long “Who do you know who might be interested in making an extra $2,000-$5,000 a month?” And when they say “ME!” you’ve got to have the skills to sit down with them for 20-30 minutes and present your opportunity in the best light possible, with excitement and determination to win.
 
In my training program “The Science of Effective Prospecting, Recruiting & Sponsoring” I teach in-depth on the 6 key elements of an effective presentation.  You can find more out about that program by visiting http://www.21DayChallenge.net

Here’s a brief overview of those important steps:

–> Part 1: Talk about your company.

Validate your company. Go over some key highlights.  When was the company started?  What’s their track record?   Let your prospect feel comfortable that this is a credible company that’s stable and will stick around.

–> Part 2: Talk about your industry.

Did you realize that you’re a part of the fastest growing industry in the world?  The home-based business industry is HUGE! Look at these recent stats:
>> Every 11 seconds someone starts a home-based business.

>> Over the next five years, in the United States alone, the number of people who work out of their homes will increase from a current 30 million to an estimated 90 million.  In other words, the number of home based businesses will triple!

>> Female-owned businesses are being created at about twice the rate of male-owned business.

>> Forty to 44 percent of all home-based businesses require less than $5,000 for startup

Share these facts and figures with your prospect.  Chances are they already know several people who own a direct sales business already.  Paint a picture that they’re getting involved in the right place at the right time.

–> Part 3: Talk about your products

Make sure you have some product testimonials on hand.  You want to show your prospect with belief and conviction that your products are working for people.  It’s called “Social Proof”.  And you prove this with stories and testimonials of other folks that are experiencing the positive benifits of using your products.

–> Part 4: Show them the money

Keep it simple.  No one wants to see a complicated spreadsheet.  People only remember about 10% of what you tell them & a great way to help your prospect remember this part is to use the “Cash back”, “Cash flow” , or “Cash cow” system.

*Cash back is simply saving money by purchasing products from yourself.
*Cash flow is making money by selling the products to others.
*And Cash cow is when you build a team of people who not only use  the products, but also sell them to others. 

–> Part 5: Your support system

What kind of training can they expect?  Let them feel comfortable that if they get involved with you there’s going to be a methodology for how they do the business.  A system they can plug into.  Check out the end of this newsletter for info on how to outsource a lot of your training.

–> Part 6: How do they get started? 

Always start high.  I always like to say you can get started for less than $1000.  And if someone can get started in your program for $50 bucks, that’s less than $1000!  You can’t buy a franchise for less than $25k.  So the barrier to entry in our industry is much lower.  And that’s a huge benefit, especially with the current economy. 

Now, next week we’ll talk about the follow up, I’m going to give you tools for that.  Once you give a presentation they’re going to say one of 3 things. Sign me up!  No, this isn’t for me.  Or, I’ve got some more questions, let me think about it.  Most of the people you show this business to will fall in that third category.  And I’ve got some brilliant tips that actually systemize your follow-up…we’ll talk about those next week.

Last week, we talked about the science of prospecting.  And if Prospecting is the art of looking for people who are already looking for what you have to offer, then Recruiting is: “The science of taking someone from curious to serious.” When you first approach a prospect, they’re only mildly curious. And your job (if you want to make any money) is to get them serious enough that they’re ready to make a financial commitment.  They’re ready to lay down their money and put some skin in the game.

It’s kind of like fishing.  When you’re out prospecting, you’re just putting your line in the water to see if you get any bites. But soon, if you keep at it, you’ll feel a tug.  Is it a big fish?  Could be!  And if you plan to reel that fish in, you’d better know what you’re doing…otherwise your line will snap and all you’ll be left with is a story of the “big one” that got away. Recruiting is a set of skills you use to get that fish out of the water and into your boat.

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Make it your mission to inspire your prospect.  Get them sold out on your opportunity.  Get them to see what you see…feel what you feel…and experience what you experience.  This is the KEY to being successful in recruiting.

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Imagine yourself as a college football recruiter who’s trying to woo the high school football star to your school.  You say “Hey, come and check out our campus!  I want you to meet our coaches. Why don’t you stay in the dormitory?”   The all star player is interested in joining your team, he’s just not quite sold out yet. 

So how do you get your prospect sold out and ready to get started NOW? 

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When you’re recruiting, one of the best things you can remember is that when your prospect is interested, that’s when the true work begins.  All you’ve got is a “nibble”, and your job is to pull him in…

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If I were to take a survey and ask you “What is the hardest part of building your business?”  What would your answer be? Ten bucks says you’d say “Prospecting”.  Most people do.  That’s because everyone thinks the prospecting is the hard part.  But actually, prospecting is easy because all you have to do is keep asking people if they’re interested in what you’ve got to offer.  That’s just good old work-ethic! 

But recruiting requires some skill.  It requires strategy. The fortunes are made in recruiting.  To make YOUR fortune, you must master the two-steps of recruiting and they are:

1) Your Presentation
2) Follow-up

In order to recruit someone, you’ve got to present your opportunity, right?  So, how do you go about doing this in the most effective way?  Well, you can present your business formally or informally. What’s the difference?

A formal presentation, or a “belly to belly” presentation, is when you’re sitting directly in front of your prospect at your local Starbucks chatting over a cup of coffee.  You could also be at a live event like a meeting in someone’s home, or perhaps at a hotel.  

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Historically, formal presentations are more effective.  Why? Because you’ve got the information…the motivation…the validation… and the education…all right there connecting with your prospect.

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Your prospect is around other people (even if that other person is just YOU) who have a positive and excited mindset.  Whenever you can get someone to a formal presentation, you’ve got a better chance of enrolling them in your business.  But you can’t always get someone to your local Starbucks or a meeting, can you?  What about all those folks who live far away?

For those people, you’re going to have to settle with an informal presentation.  Plug your prospect into a website or a DVD.  It’s not live, but it’s the next best thing.   You know, a lot of the time you only get one shot in the recruiting process.  The great recruiters leave the prospect feeling like they’d be missing out.  Your prospect should be sitting there saying “Hey, I’d be a fool not to invest in this business and be a part of the program!” 

A good recruiter gets a prospect feeling this way through one thing…POSTURE
 
You can’t lose someone you don’t have! 

Many distributors get all wound up  worried about losing a prospect, when they never had them in the first place!  Why?  Because they didn’t take them through the presentation process effectively enough to show them A to Z about their program and more importantly they didn’t have the conviction or belief when they were showing it to them.

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They were afraid of losing the prospect instead of coming at it with the mindset of “Hey, I’m doing this business with or without you.  I’d rather do it with you, but I don’t need you.”

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Next week I’ll break down the presentation process for you step by step.  There are 6 parts to an effective presentation, and if you skip out on one, you’re doing yourself and your prospect a huge disservice.  The process of recruiting takes about 80% of your time in this business, so it only makes sense to be as effective as you possibly can. 

Make each shot with a prospect your very best!

The act of sponsoring someone into your business is like baking a cake.  You start off with a list of ingredients.  Then, you take those ingredients and follow the directions in order to mix them properly so the cake will rise.   You don’t just dump everything into a pan & throw it into the oven and expect it to bake beautifully!

It’s the same with building your business.  There are certain ingredients that you MUST have in order to build properly.  Then, you need to make sure you’re “mixing” those ingredients in the proper order.  It’s a process…a strategy.  And the better you get at it, the better your percentage of success increases. The key is to make a plan and work your plan.  Lots of folks get stuck on the “making the plan” part and never progress to actually working the plan. 

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The fact of the matter is this:  If you sit and stare at your ingredients all day, the cake will never get made!  Eventually you’re gonna have to mix it together and toss it in the oven!

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So that’s what we’re doing here…we’re taking the basic elements of prospecting, we’re going to assemble our ingredients, which are a set of effective questions you can ask someone, and then you’re going to have to get out there and mix it up and see what comes of it.  The act of prospecting is simply no more than a series of questions
to ask someone to see if they’re looking for what you have to offer. There are only 2 types of questions you’re going to ask.  Direct and Indirect. 

Now, when you’re out prospecting, you’re goal is find out if that person is looking for or interested in either your business opportunity or your products.   The words you speak and the approach you use when prospecting is
your vehicle. If you have a set of terrible prospecting questions it’s like driving a broke down old clunker.  You’re going to have a tough time getting to your destination!  Yes, you may eventually get there, but it’s going to be a real pain in the rear along the way! 

On the other side, if you’ve got a great set of questions; something that really works for you, something that sounds natural when you say it, that’s comfortable and just your style.  Well, that’s like driving a brand new luxury sports car.  You’re going to get to your destination much faster and you’re going to travel in style!

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In my 21 Day Challenge  program, we work as a class to tweak and come up with a set of prospecting questions that are uniquely yours.  They work for your personality and speaking type as well as for your specific opportunity.  When you’re done with the Challenge, part of what you’ll have learned is exactly what YOU want to say and how to  say it.  Your words flow effortlessly off your tongue and it becomes simple, easy and fun to go out and prospect because you have the correct tools. You’re driving that sports car!

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Let’s say, for example, that you’re in a health and wellness company. You sell a product that helps people loose weight and get better health in their lives.             

An example of a Direct approach would be to ask someone, “If I could show you a way that you could loose 10 lbs this month, feel better, and have more energy without giving up all the foods you enjoy, would you be interested?”

An Indirect approach would be, “Who do you know who’s struggling with their weight?”  or “Who do you know who’s working too much, not eating properly, and could really benefit from feeling better and having more energy?  Do you know anyone like that?”

Now, let’s say that your goal is not to sell your products but rather to see if someone might be interested in your business opportunity. An example of the Direct approach would be, “If I could show you a way to add about $1,000-3,000 a month to your income, without effecting what you’re currently doing, would you be interested in taking a look?”

And an Indirect approach would be, “Who do you know who is struggling right now and looking to make some extra money each month?”  or “Who do you know who’s been laid off their job recently?  I might have a way for them to make some extra money.” 

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Remember, when you ask someone a Direct question, you’re asking
them if THEY’RE interested.  And they either are, or they aren’t.
Simple as that.

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However, when you ask someone using the Indirect approach, you’re not asking THEM if they’d be interested.  You’re assuming they’re not.  You’re asking “Who do you know who?”  I personally prefer the Indirect approach simply because it takes away a lot of pressure on both you and your potential prospect.  It makes prospecting simple, easy and fun because you can literally ask ANYONE “Who do you know who?” 

First and foremost the science of effective prospecting is to Network Marketing what fish is to water. If you want to be a musician, you need to excel at playing an instrument.  If you want to be a golfer, you need to be skilled at using golf clubs.  Like wise, if you want to be a network marketer, you need to become proficient at prospecting.  You must not only understand how to prospect, you need to be competent at it as well.  It’s a skill of your trade.   

The good news is that it can be learned.  It’s not something most folks are born with.  I don’t recall ever hearing a parent say, “My child is just a natural prospector!”  Einstein was a mathematical genius.  Mozart was a musical genius.  But those are natural traits they were fortunate to be born with.  Thankfully for you and I, we can LEARN how to to prospect.

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I personally believe that one of the main reasons people suffer with miserable results in their business is because they have poor prospecting skills.  They are completely incompetent in that area.

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Competence leads to confidence which leads to results.  So, how can you become more competent? 

>> You train.

>> You learn the truth. 

>> You learn EXACTLY what works. 

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Practice does NOT make perfect!  If you’re practicing the wrong thing, you’re going to have wrong results.

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One of the biggest problems and challenges I see new people have when they get into this business is that they practice imperfectly all the time.  They have terrible questioning techniques.  They don’t know what to say to a potential prospect, so they say anything that comes to mind and end up feeling like they’re begging people
to join their business.

The skill of prospecting is all about finding people who are looking for what you have to offer.  It’s like mining for gold.  You have to go through a lot of dirt to get to the gold.  Sometimes it all boils down to a barrier in our brain.  Those 6 inches of real estate between our ears can cause us a lot of problems if we allow them to. If you allow presumptions of what someone may or may not say to your opportunity then it WILL interfere with your outcome.  Period. Those thoughts in our heads become barriers to success. 

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A final and important strategy to remember about successful prospecting is that it all boils down to the numbers. 

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It’s “The Law of Averages”.   For every 100 people that you ask about your opportunity, you’re going to get a certain response, right?  Are you going to get 10 no’s out of 10?  Probably not.   But if you follow the 10-5-3-1 rule, you’ll probably see a pattern in your results. 

You ask 10 people, 5 people aren’t interested, 3 people will try your product and 1 person will sign up.  So how many new people do you want in your business?  How about 10 people next month?  Then ask 100 people.   But remember what I said earlier, asking them is not enough.  You’ve got to ask them properly. 

And next week in Part 2, I’m going to give you some really specific methods of ASKING that will completely eliminate any questions you may have about what to say to someone to pique interest in your business. 

My goal is to help you be better so you can do better and have better!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is:
 
“Who do I talk to now that I’ve burned through my entire list of contacts?  Where do I find people?”

Let’s talk about your first problem:  You’ve BURNED through your list. 

There is an impression out there in the marketplace that just talking to people about your products and services is good enough.  It’s NOT! And the reason it’s not good enough is because that’s exactly what happens when you just go out there and start talking to everyone without a plan.  You burn through your list simply because you’re not talking to them properly.

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In my 21 Day Challenge I teach about 3 types of people: 

Who 1’s, Who 2’s, and Who 3’s.

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>> Who 1’s are people you already know…these are the people you say you’ve already burned through on your list. (I’m going to tell you in just a second how you can go back and contact those people again.)  Many times people get turned off because they just don’t see what you see, so you end up burning through them.

>> Who 2’s are people you meet while you’re out living your life.   You’re ALWAYS meeting new people.  And it’s incredibly important that you know how to talk to those people effectively.  You need to have a plan.  You have to learn how to talk to them, you just can’t assume that they’re going to be interested.  You have to present your proposition effectively, or you’ll “burn” through them as well. 

Here’s an example:

Think of the table presentation the next time you go out for lunch or dinner.  How do they present your food?  Is there a garnish on your plate?  Do they have your table set up with candlelight and flowers?  Are they trying to make it a special presentation? When you show people your business opportunity, you’ve got to make it the same thing!  You can’t just throw your meal at them and yell “Hey, eat it!”  You have to learn how to present it so it’s an appetizing experience.

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So, I ask you:  How are you going to present and ask the people
you meet about your business opportunity?

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You can do it directly or indirectly. 

A direct question would be something like: “Hey, would you be interested in learning more about how to earn additional money?”   If they say “no”, then you say “next”! 

I always recommend using the indirect model.  While the direct model says “Are YOU interested?” the indirect model says “WHO do you know?”   “Who do you know who is struggling financially and might be open to starting a home based business?”  You can even take it one step further and say “Listen, Mr. Prospect, I KNOW you wouldn’t be  interested, but who do you know that might be interested in….your products…your opportunity…etc.”

What you’re doing is taking the emotional element out of it so that the people you meet don’t feel like you’re trying to cram the opportunity down their throat. 

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Find out if someone is hungry before you offer them a meal!

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Finally, we have the Who 3’s.  Who 3’s are leads that you’re buying or getting from ads, flyers, etc…which aren’t necessarily a total waste of time, but they do require an entirely different set of skills which we’ll discuss in another newsletter… The best place to go is people that you know.  And here’s my recommendation: Take that big list of people you say you’ve already burned through and go back to them one by one.  Polish your presentation and then say “Listen, I know you’re not interested in what I have to offer.  You’ve already told me that. I know you won’t be interested in making more money, losing weight, looking better, etc.  I know none of that is of interest to you.  But WHO DO YOU KNOW that’s struggling financially?  Who do you know who’s trying to loose some weight?  Who do you know who’s feeling down on themselves and would like to feel a little better?”  Go back to your list of “burned through” names, let them off the hook and simply ask them “WHO DO YOU KNOW?”

We never run out of list…we just forget to ask “Who do you know?”

>>Service or Products?

>>Compassion or Selfishness?

>>Work Ethic or Laziness?

>>Responsibility or Carelessness?

>>Knowledge or Ignorance?

Whatever you’re certain about or what you believe in is what you’re selling.  Whether you’re selling an idea, work ethic, values, cars or corruption…you’re always selling.  Everybody is always selling.  The question really is, what are you selling?  And the answer depends on what you do!

If you’re a teacher, a doctor, a mother, a car salesman or a student…what you do will have an effect on what you’re selling.

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Selling is what you do FOR people…not TO people.

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Most of us have an idea of what selling is all about because our paradigm, our idea or our interpretation of “selling” is typically thought of as something that’s done TO us.  We immediately think of a high pressure person trying to push us to do something we don’t want to do.  So immediately, we think, “This is something I don’t want to do because I don’t like it when people do this to me.”

We think of the used car salesman, trying to sell us a car we don’t want or like with high pressure pushy tactics. It’s annoying.  Or a “carnie” at a festival trying to get us to come to their booth…trying to hustle us to spend money we
don’t want to spend.  Most of us can’t relate to being a high pressure, pushy salesperson.  We don’t like people to do it to us for their own person gain, so we don’t like doing it to others for our own person gain.  It’s repulsive.

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However, if we shift our paradigm of “selling” from what we do TO people, to what we do FOR people…it gives it a whole new meaning.

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A teacher “sells” his student on doing her homework.  Because he believes it’s in her best interest, he will use whatever tactic he must use in order to get her to complete her homework assignments.  A mother trying to get her child to pick up his room or asking her teenager to drive carefully will use every “sales” technique possible to make sure she
accomplishes her goal. 

The President of the United States, when running for office, has to “sell” the entire country on the idea that if we elect him, he will look after our best interests first!  The point is, we’re ALL selling.  The question is, are we using it for good or evil?

Selling is not something we do TO people, it’s something we do FOR people.  When you shift your paradigm and look at it from that direction, it’s easy to see that we’re ALL in sales.  It just depends on what you’re selling.  And since you’re selling anyway, you might as well be the very best salesperson there is…because it makes a difference.