Learn to Love Objections

Most network marketers cringe when their prospects begin to object, however top income earners rejoice, as they have learned to love objections. Here are some of the most common network marketing objections you will hear:


• “Isn’t this one of those pyramid schemes?”

• “I wouldn’t be interested.”

• “I don’t have enough time.”

• “I don’t have any money.”

• “I don’t know many people.”

• “I can’t or don’t like to sell.”

• “I’ve never run a business before.”

• “I don’t want to jeopardize my job.”

• “I can’t see myself doing that.”

• “I’ve tried MLM before and lost my shirt.”

• “My uncle was in MLM and now everyone avoids him.”

• “Is this like Amway (or some other MLM company).”

• “I’d lose all my friends/people would start avoiding me.”

• “I’d lose my status.”

The last two objections are usually unspoken and most prospects have them. People fear that prospecting their friends or pursuing this type of business would jeopardize their friendships and family relationships or their status in society. These may be the most difficult objections that you will have to handle and if you get stuck with a prospect, you may have to ask them if they have these thoughts and then deal with them using the process outlined below.

Before we talk about how to handle objections, you need to understand that objections are good. It means that the person is interested enough to object. Objections also give you a sneak peak into their inner mind and how they are thinking about what you are presenting. If you get good at handling objections, you will learn to love them and turn them into yes' for your business and product.

Handling Objections

Every type of network marketing business has a little different way to handle the various types of objections, so check with your sponsor or upline leaders to see if they have answers to the most common objections in your business. However, you can generally rely on the following six-step approach to handling all types of objections:

• Listen – listen to the entire objection. Most often, distributors will hear the first couple words and begin to think of an answer. The danger here is that quite often the objection either changes or the prospect will come full circle and answer their own objection. If you jump in with an answer, you prove to them you weren’t listening.

• Restate – restate the objection in your own words, to insure that you understood what they were trying to say. For example, if the prospect said, “I don’t have enough time”, you might say, “If I’m understanding what you are saying, you don’t feel like you have any extra time to add something like this into your schedule, is that correct?” Restating the objection shows that you were listening and also enables you to get a clear understanding of their concern.

• Agree or Show Understanding – it is important that you empathize with the prospect. For example, if your prospect said, “I’ve tried MLM before and lost my shirt”, you might say, “I’m sorry to hear that, could you tell me more about that situation.” By asking for more information, you may uncover the reason for the discomfort, which will help when you get to the next step – answering the objection.

• Answer – you can answer an objection in many ways. The most logical, but usually least effective, is verbally. The best way to answer an objection is to combine a verbal answer with visual reinforcement, such as articles, charts, graphs, and testimonial letters. People tend to disbelieve what they hear and believe what they see, so show them proof. There are various publications that have published positive articles about network marketing. Rich Dad, Poor Dad author, Robert Kiyosaki has written a book about network marketing - The Business of the 21st Century, which is a great proof source for network marketing as a legitimate and timely business.

• Confirm – make sure that you have answered the objection to the satisfaction of the prospect. Ask, “Does that answer your question?” or “Have I covered that to your satisfaction?” If not, ask what they would need to see in order to be satisfied and then if possible, provide that level of proof.

• Close – once you have confirmed the answer, ask a closing question that gives two or three positive options. For example, you might ask, “Our top people are starting with option 1 (describe it). The most popular package is Option 2 (describe it). Those who are really on a business and aren't quite ready to build a big business start with option 3 (describe it). Would you like to start Option 1 (big package), Option 2 (mid package), or Option 3 (small package)?”

This six-step approach is time-proven to work . . . if you actually use it. Most network marketers read all the books and listen to all the tapes, but they never internalize the information. You can opt for rejection, or you can practice and use a proven system for answering objections.

One final hint regarding objections – if they give you too many, do not try to answer them all. If they are this negative now, they will likely continue that attitude once they have joined. You are probably better off moving on to the next prospect.

Welcome objections, learn how to handle them properly, and they will help you sponsor more people and build a large network marketing business.