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Just got started on the free trial on Saturday and this is my first post. I've had a quick look around the forum and couldn't resist a brief interjection in this thread.
We've been in network marketing for nearly 2 1/2 years with another company with limited success. One of the things that I found the hardest to master was using the telephone, boy did I struggle, any excuse not to call people. When I did, I was rubbish! Not because I couldn't talk with people, just that I talked at them and got the results I deserved. Their barriers went up and that was that. My confidence took a battering, but we persisted and learnt how to have effective conversations, both through reading different books, listening to CDs and practicising.
The key for me is to ask questions and listen. The most effective communicators are not the best talkers, but the best listeners. Learn how to ask the right question at the right time, listen to what people say, make an effort to understand what they are saying and what they are looking for, feedback to them what they've said and you'll find that they'll tell themselves why they should get involved, or at the least take a look at what you've got. Remember, it's you doing them the favour, not the other way around! Develop some posture and interview them!
I fully empathise with those of you who have an aversion to using the phone - I hated it. But the truth is that the phone, next to speaking with people face to face, is the most effective tool we have as network marketers. Once we became effective communicators and got good at using the phone we started to get results, being our companies top UK recruiters in two different months. What's that saying about feel the fear and do it anyway...?
What really attracted us to this business was the simplicity and duplicatability (is that a word?), which was a problem with our last company. However, due to the highly automated nature of the systems it could, I would guess, become extremely easy never to talk with anyone, relying almost entirely on e-mails, etc.
What we have been doing since Saturday (well Monday really, I'm not great at IT and it's taken a little while to master(
) the product), is to start calling the 10s of '000s of leads we've generated over the last few years and that weren't interested in our last business, to ask them if they're still looking for a work from home opportunity and if so, whether we could e-mail them some information to look at. Takes 30 seconds that's all (don't spend ages talking with opportunity seekers, spend your time with opportunity buyers - 30 seconds at the front end, then once they've typed in their credit card details have a deeper conversation, eg ask them lots of questions, not the other way round). We've also been e-mailing the leads we don't have numbers for (not spamming, I hasten to add, these are genuine opportunity seekers that have contacted us with their details). Guess what, we've signed up 6 people for the free trial - all of whom we've spoken to first. Only one of those we've e-mailed have signed up. And we've e-mailed a lot more than we've spoken to. Of the 10 people that I have physically spoken to this evening, every single one of them has said they'll take a look at what I've got.
Early days in this business, I know, but there are some universal laws that apply - this is a relationship business and most people buy you first, before they buy the business. If they never get to speak with you......
Having said all that, I came in off an e-mail from someone I've never spoken to who got me off a list, go figure, but then I am deadly serious and was looking!
All the best with your businesses, guys and I wish you every success.
Take care,
Marcus
