Thursday, February 24, 2011

Stop Puking on People

Probably the biggest mistake people make in network marketing is talking too much. They join a company, find out about the products/services and business and then puke all over people. If you were their friend, family member, or co-worker, how excited would you be to hear more after a major information puke. Now, sometimes people don't puke on people verbally, instead they put together an information package with every possible tool the company offers - we call this puke in a bag. Again, if you received this what are the odds that you would respond with interest? Probably pretty low.


So, what's the answer? In this article I'm going to answer that question with a very effective three step approach. If you will do this instead of the good old puke approach, you will enjoy tremendous success. It's what made the difference for me. For years I was puking all over people and sponsored very few. I think those who did join, did so out of pity for me. However, then I learned what I'm going to teach you and now I'm a top income earner and am enjoying total time freedom.

Step One: Personal Development

Before you ever make contact with a single person for your business, you've got to prepare yourself to be the kind of person they would want to partner with and follow. Your best candidates don't want to join with someone who is brand new and knows nothing or who has been with a company for awhile, but hasn't achieved anything. So, invest the first or next 2 to 4 weeks, becoming the person you need to be to attract top people.

First, read, listen to, and watch everything you can find on your company, products/services, and compensation plan. Ask lots of questions and really become an expert on your business. Attend every meeting, webinar, or teleconference that you can. Again, use this as an opportunity to ask questions. If you have a top income earner near you, ask to hang out with them for a day or two to shadow them in their business.

Second, read, listen to, and watch everything you can find that will help you improve. Some of my favorites are Think and Grow Rich, As a Man Thinketh, Acres of Diamonds (which are all available for free on my site at www.TheTVW.com, Resources, scroll down near the bottom of the page), The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, Creating Your Own Destiny by Patrick Snow, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker, The Business of the 21st Century by Robert Kiyosaki, Next Millionaires by Paul Zane Pilzer, anything CD by Jim Rohn, and any recommendation by your upline leaders. Now, you don't have to read all of these before you get started with your business, but create a self-improvement plan that includes daily reading, listening to CD's, and attending seminars and classes.

During this time you should also write a "Why" statement - why you are in your network marketing business, establish how many hours a week you can commit to your business, set some goals (with the help of an upline leader), and make a list of at least 200 people who you are going to contact about your business or products/services. When making this list, do not prejudge people. You do not have the right to decide whether they have the opportunity for great tax advantages, fun times with new friends, and financial and time freedom. You are just the messenger. Let them review the message and make the decision themselves.

The more you improve yourself, the more likely people are going to want to join you in business.

Step Two: Questions

After your first 2 to 4 weeks of self improvement, you will want to start contacting the people on your list. However, don't do what network marketers have been doing for years - remember the good old puke approach. Instead, ask questions. When you ask questions you are telling your prospect that you care about them and there is the old saying that people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Second, questions will help you uncover information that you can use later to present your business or products/services.

Here are some types of questions you should ask:

Questions that will uncover pain areas - How are things at work? Have any vacations planned? Have you encountered any high yielding investments lately? I use the acronym FORM to remember these types of questions - Family, Occupation, Recreation, Money. If you ask questions about these areas, people will let you know about their struggles and pain.

Questions that will uncover life dreams - If money and time were not an issue, what would you do? If you won the lottery, what would you do? If you were making millions of dollars a year and had lots of free time, what would you do?

Have you ever considered questions - Have you ever considered starting your own business? Have you ever considered doing something different than you current job/business? Have you ever considered adding another income stream? If they answer yes to any of these, then you would ask What has kept you from starting a business/doing something different/adding another stream of income?

The more you ask questions, the more information you will uncover which can be used to provide a solution in the form of your business or product/service. People are more open to solutions than sales pitches.

So, stop puking on people and use the tools God gave you - one mouth and two ears. Ask questions, listen intently (taking physical or mental notes), and repeat.

Step Three: Expose

Once you have asked questions that have unveiled a person's pain areas, dreams, and other thoughts, it's time to expose them to a solution - your business or products/services. Now, it's tempting to do this yourself, using the old puke approach again, but that will dramatically reduce your enrollments. The key to exposing your business is duplicatability. Your prospect has to look at how you expose the business to them and recognize that they could do that too. So, use the tools - webinar, teleconference, live meeting, CD, DVD, or web site. You can even ask them which one they would prefer.

Now, the real key to success here is to always have a follow-up appointment scheduled. For example, let's say that you have uncovered some pain areas and dreams and are ready for step three. You might say something like: "Mary, when we were talking you mentioned (pain areas) and I really felt for you. I know those are areas that hurt. You also mentioned (dreams) and I was really excited to hear those, but you said that you really weren't moving toward those dreams. I may have a solution. I'm working with a company that offers a part-time home business that could be the solution you've been looking for. It could help you (recount the pain and dreams). I have a great CD that will give you an overview of the business. I'd like to loan it to you, if you can listen to it within the next 48 hours. Can you do that?" If they answer yes, then set an appointment to meet, get the CD back, and find out what they heard on the CD that they liked best.

That's it. It's a simple three step approach. If you do these three steps consistently, you will see an amazing increase in your business and I will see you at the TOP!