"MLM RECRUITING IS A SALES PROCESS".
That fact had somehow been lost on all the mlm management teams of the time. In fact, they worked very hard at trying to convince their organizations that "selling" was unnecessary and that people would flock to their opportunity if only they learned about the "cutting-edge" new products the company had created.
Balderdash! ... Clear that junk out of your mind right now. If you don't approach sponsoring as a *selling process* you are doomed to long term failure. Period!
All the conventional tools of professional salesmanship apply to the recruiting process. In fact, given the overall importance of recruiting, to your ultimate success or failure as a mlm distributor, I will go so far as to say that if you are to excel in sponsoring new distributors to your network... you simply *must* develop a high level of understanding and expertise in professional sales.
Please note that I am not talking about high-pressure, beat them over the head selling techniques. If you have to pound your prospect into the sand to get him/her to sign up for your program... you are wasting a lot of time and energy for nothing. These types of sponsorship activities do not win long term converts... they make for begrudging failures who will only eat up your valuable time trying to train the non-trainable and teach the unteachable.
Consultative Recruiting involves gently leading the prospect to realize that by getting involved with your opportunity they will more rapidly achieve their greater goals of: financial independence, improved lifestyle, security, happiness, health & wellness, etc.
Consultative Recruitinginvolves the top-level, persuasive techniques of great consultative salespeople. The techniques are basic to any good selling system:
1. Generate high quality, targeted, sales leads and an automated system for immediate personalized response to their interest or inquiry.
2. Questioning and Qualifying methods that expose the true underlying values, wishes, dreams, desires, and goals of your prospect.
3. Presenting your opportunity in its best possible light using tons of benefits that directly address your prospects concerns about:
- your credibility and believability
- product quality
- company stability and integrity
- the long-term viability of the industry you are working in
- the potential for immediate and long term profits
- training and on-going support ... a train-the-trainer program
- your commitment to their success and willingness to hold their hand in the early stages.
- etc. etc.
4. Make it easy for the prospect to sign-up now... and ASK them to do so.
5. Immediate immersion of the new distributor into a structured training and development program geared to build product knowledge, sales and marketing knowledge, procedural knowledge tied to individual goals and objectives, and... most importantly... a commitment to a written plan of action by the new distributor.
6 Automated systems in place for continuous follow-up should the prospect choose to "think it over". Remember ... The Money Is In The Follow-Up!
Even the most casual observer can see that this truly is a "Selling Process".
Many of the MLM guru's of the day have built a long string of euphemisms to explain this process so as to cloak the fact that it is really all about professional consultative selling.
I understand their concern. Most new network marketing recruits are not "selling types" and actually want nothing to do with selling.
They are normally part-timers interested in supplementing their income by a few hundred dollars a month. If we understand that... and it is imperative that we do if we are to succeed... then it tells us how to structure our sales approach to most clearly appeal to this norm.
Appeal to the prospects desire for a supplemental income of
0 to 0 per month. Show them how that extra 0 to 0 per month will help them achieve their larger goals in life... getting debt free, education for their children, improved lifestyle, building for retirement, etc.
Let him/her learn later that there is a bona fide opportunity to earn many thousands of dollars a month. Upon recognizing the very real possibility for serious income, the motivated ones will strike out on their own to achieve it.
I have developed a generalized MLM recruiting concept I call the 3E-SYSTEM that I will discuss more in Lesson # 2 of this free mini-course.
For now, go back and re-read this first lesson and adapt the mind-set that
To read the full Recruiting Mini-Course by email autoresponder send any message to: RecruitingMiniCourse@royal-responder.com Copyright 2002-05 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved
About the Author:
Thom Reece is the author of "Magic-Methods of Recruiting Commission Salespeople" [www.RecruitingMagic.com] and consultant to the direct sales industry. His website Online Marketing Resource Center [www.e-comprofits.com] is visited by thousands of savvy marketers daily. Thom can be reached at: thom@e-comprofits.com, 808-929-7377