I sat down at Starbucks recently, and in the name of making new friends, asked the gentleman across the table how he was doing today. "Great", he responded "just knocking out some work".
Gotta love it when someone eagerly opens up the door, "Oh yeah, what do you do?" Little did I know that I had just unwittingly walked into the longest monologue that I've ever heard. This gentleman went on for about forty five minutes about affiliate marketing with a sports performance vitamin company. He split his time between how awesome this product is, and why I should become an affiliate marketer with him. I literally interjected about ten times during this whole period, saying things like "yeah", "wow" and "that's great.
Inevitably I decided that if I had to listen to another minute, I would probably implode, so I promptly reached into my pocket, looked at my inert phone and said "Excuse me, I've got to take this". I stepped outside, retrieved my ipod from the car, and came back in with headphones on.
Unfortunately, I've seen many network marketers who do the same thing, talk and talk and talk. USE YOUR EARS PEOPLE!! They make all the difference in the world.
Taking the time to actually listen to a person will go a long way towards connecting with them and showing them that you care. In addition, it gives you a lot of insight into why your Network Marketing opportunity might be right for them. If you can show your prospect a way that network marketing could help them realize their personal dreams, it will be a lot more powerful than spewing out 10-20 reasons and hoping that one sticks. Remember that even when you are building your business, it is never about you, it's all about your prospect.
I know that many of you are going to dislike the following statement but this tip can save you VAST amounts of time:
-Use your ears to help you realize who will not be right for your opportunity, the sooner you can confidently disqualify people, the less time you will waste on people who are wrong for you or your business.
Had the guy in Starbucks taken 5 minutes to ask me about what I do, he would have realized that I do quite well for myself in network marketing, and that I would probably not be someone that he should spend 45 minutes trying to sell on his affiliate marketing opportunity.
I would like to throw in a caveat to this tip, it does take time and experience to be able to spot people who are bad for your opportunity, and you should never rule someone out before you've spent time talking with them (about them) and know 100% that they wouldn't join, wouldn't succeed, or wouldn't work with you in your opportunity. If you are new to network marketing, it's best to get your prospect on a three way call and allow your sponsor to help you figure out if that person is a valid prospect.
So get out there, use your ears, make some friends, gain some insight and find people who are right for Network Marketing!
Stay Blessed!
Chris Widener Jr.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Panning for Gold
Most of us have a funnel of some sorts designed to put everyone into, to funnel them into our business in a step-by-step duplicatable manner that minimizes the amount of time we spend with people who are not a good fit for this business.
I was talking with a fellow network marketer down at Starbucks today and noticed that the paradigm that this gentleman had on our prospecting funnels, is absolutely incorrect. After noticing this I went online and read what other people were posting, all the same!
Apparently there is this widespread belief (probably from the imagery presented by the word "funnel") that these systems are designed to incrementally increase a person's exposure to the business, and convince our prospects that we are right for them!!!
This baffles me, the old saying goes that network marketing is right for everybody, but everybody is not right for network marketing. Because anyone could be your next big business builder, we can't rule anybody out, therefor we have to have a method of finding out who is right for our business. Our funnels are supposed to siphon OUT people that are wrong for our business without us wasting a lot of time on them!
Most people dump their prospects into the "funnel" thinking it will convince people to join. This paradigm creates disappointment when you have a dry spell and the system doesn't "convince" enough people. Do yourself a favor and look at it this way, your sponsoring process is like a gold pan and you are the one doing the panning.
It allows you to pick up a ton of crud then quickly and efficiently wash the dirt/silt off to uncover the heavier rocks and gold at the bottom.
The rocks and the gold represent people who are seriously considering starting their own home based business.
The rocks in particular represent people who aren't interested in Network Marketing, couldn't get behind your company, or aren't coachable. These people on the surface will look like great prospects, but once you interact with them more and give them more information, you will learn that they just aren't right for your business.
Don't waste your time selling sand on your opportunity in order to turn it into gold, follow a system that washes the sand/silt out quickly and uncovers the rocks and the gold! Work with the rocks and the gold to determine who is right for your business (gold).
Your job is to sift through the mess!
Stay Blessed!
Chris Widener Jr.
I was talking with a fellow network marketer down at Starbucks today and noticed that the paradigm that this gentleman had on our prospecting funnels, is absolutely incorrect. After noticing this I went online and read what other people were posting, all the same!
Apparently there is this widespread belief (probably from the imagery presented by the word "funnel") that these systems are designed to incrementally increase a person's exposure to the business, and convince our prospects that we are right for them!!!
This baffles me, the old saying goes that network marketing is right for everybody, but everybody is not right for network marketing. Because anyone could be your next big business builder, we can't rule anybody out, therefor we have to have a method of finding out who is right for our business. Our funnels are supposed to siphon OUT people that are wrong for our business without us wasting a lot of time on them!
Most people dump their prospects into the "funnel" thinking it will convince people to join. This paradigm creates disappointment when you have a dry spell and the system doesn't "convince" enough people. Do yourself a favor and look at it this way, your sponsoring process is like a gold pan and you are the one doing the panning.
It allows you to pick up a ton of crud then quickly and efficiently wash the dirt/silt off to uncover the heavier rocks and gold at the bottom.
The rocks and the gold represent people who are seriously considering starting their own home based business.
The rocks in particular represent people who aren't interested in Network Marketing, couldn't get behind your company, or aren't coachable. These people on the surface will look like great prospects, but once you interact with them more and give them more information, you will learn that they just aren't right for your business.
Don't waste your time selling sand on your opportunity in order to turn it into gold, follow a system that washes the sand/silt out quickly and uncovers the rocks and the gold! Work with the rocks and the gold to determine who is right for your business (gold).
Your job is to sift through the mess!
Stay Blessed!
Chris Widener Jr.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Back to the Basics
I figure that my first post should cover that which is most integral to success in your business: Simplicity and Action!
In a world where distractions reign, it is important to remember that Network Marketing is a business of simple actions, repeated consistently over a long period of time.
This business is built on three actions:
1: Giving two people a day the opportunity to learn more about the business
2: Following up with the people who want to learn more
3: Teaching those who start their own business, how to repeat steps 1 and 2
As integral as personal development is to your ability to lead a large organization, you will never have an organization to lead if you do not get back to basics and kick yourself into fifth gear!
In a world where distractions reign, it is important to remember that Network Marketing is a business of simple actions, repeated consistently over a long period of time.
This business is built on three actions:
1: Giving two people a day the opportunity to learn more about the business
2: Following up with the people who want to learn more
3: Teaching those who start their own business, how to repeat steps 1 and 2
As integral as personal development is to your ability to lead a large organization, you will never have an organization to lead if you do not get back to basics and kick yourself into fifth gear!
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