Archive for July, 2009
8 Days To MLM Sales – Day 8, Putting It All Together
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Well, you have finally made it to the last day of my “8 Days To MLM Sales” course and it’s time that we put everything together.
Here is what we have covered in this course:
- Day 1- Identify Your MLM Product. I hope you have only ONE product that you are focusing on for right now.
- Day 2- Identify Your Target Market. You want to know who you will be talking to so that you can develop your message to THEM.
- Day 3 – Create A Prospecting Script. By having an effecting prospecting script, you will be able to prospect for efficiently to grow your MLM business.
- Day 4 – Prepare A Presentation That Converts Prospects Into MLM Customers.
- Day 5 – Create A Closing Script That Eliminates Objections. By using a closing script, you will increase your closing ratio and have more customers buying your MLM products.
- Day 6 – Warming Up, Why Practice Makes Perfect. You want to sound smooth when you are prospecting, presenting, and closing your prospects and practicing your scripts will help you to become smooth and not sound like you are reading from a piece of paper.
- Day 7 – Getting Targeted Leads. Leads are the life blood of your MLM business and getting targeted leads will go long way towards getting you more customers.
If you missed a day or you need to revisit something, just click on one of the links above and you will be taken to that post straight away.
Now that you have all of the pieces to the MLM sales puzzle, let’s put them all together. Here’s what you should do:
First, set up a schedule when you can get on the phone to call your targeted leads. The ideal time to call your leads will be between 6-8pm in whatever time zone you are calling. For a list of area codes by state and time zone go to: GreatData.com. If you can’t dial during those times, then set your schedule for a time that works best for you. Note: don’t dial before 8am or after 9pm in any given time zone.
Smile When You Dial
Second, dial for 2 hours at a time. The reason I say 2 hours is because the first 30 minutes to an hour, you will still be removing the cobwebs from your brain. The longer you dial, the smoother you will be and the more effective you will be at getting people to a presentation. However, I don’t want you to be on the phone for so long that you wear yourself out. Take small breaks during your dialing time.
Third, keep track of your data. Keep track of how many numbers you dial during an hour. You should be able to dial 40-60 numbers in an hour. If you are dialing less than 40, you are either not focused on what you are doing or you have the best lead list on the planet and everyone is picking up the phone. I hope it’s the latter reason but it’s usually because you aren’t focused. Also keep track of how many people you talk to and how many people you invite to your presentation.
Forth, make adjustments. If you are talking to a lot of people on your lead list but no one is committing to going to your presentation, then we need to look at either the leads or the message. If you feel that the leads are targeted for your product, then you may need to adjust your prospecting script. The same goes for the closing side of things. If you are getting prospects to your presentation but you aren’t able to close them, you may have to make adjustments with either your presentation or your closing script.
Fifth, keep at it. Don’t quit just because you dialed the phone a hundred times and no one answered the phone. Invite at least 100 targeted prospects to your presentation and then look at your numbers. How much did you spend for your leads, phone service, etc to get those prospects to a presentation and how much money did you make in MLM sales? Are you in profit?
Using The Telephone To Make MLM Sales
Here’s what you can expect by using the telephone to make MLM sales for your home based business. You will want things to happen quickly, they won’t. You will want everyone you send to a presentation to buy your MLM product or service, they won’t. You will want to change your prospecting script often, you shouldn’t. You will want to change your presentation often, you shouldn’t. Don’t make any changes until you have sufficient data that tells you that you should.
Network Marketing Is A Numbers Game
You have to make the numbers work in your favor. Check out my blog post on hitting your numbers for more on the subject. Get on the phone and find out what your numbers are. Once you know your numbers, you can make changes, track your new data and see if your changes improved your numbers. Don’t make changes blindly.
Well that’s it. I hope you have enjoyed this mini course. I know that if you use it, you will make MLM sales. If you have any questions, or just need a sounding board feel free to leave a comment, email me, or even call me. I am here to help. Until next time, have a great MLM day!
How MLM Companies Grow Their Businesses
Monday, July 27th, 2009If you have ever been frustrated with how slow your home based business is growing, you will want to pay attention to how your MLM Company is growing their business using your hard work and money.
First, I would like to say that this is not meant to bash any MLM Company. I have been in network marketing for quite a while now and even though my first networking venture was a complete failure, I love this industry and the potential for regular everyday people to make a 6 figure income from home using the multi-level marketing platform is huge.
One of the things that attracted me to network marketing was that I could own my own business without having to have a lot of start up capital and I also loved the idea that my MLM Company was going to provide me with all of the training that I would need to succeed. There is only one problem. The methods and strategies that your MLM Company trains you to use will absolutely grow their business but they may not grow yours.
Why Your Network Marketing Business Will Fail But Your MLM Company’s Business Will Grow
Your MLM Company is supposedly giving you all of the training that you need to grow your business to a level where you are making money on a part-time basis from home but their methods only work for about 2% of the people that get involved in network marketing and here’s why…
MLM Company Training Secrets Exposed
Here is a list of some common tools, methods, and/or strategies taught by every MLM Company that I have seen and why they work for your MLM Company but don’t work for you.
- Make a list of friends and family – In order to grow your business you will have to talk to people and who better to prospect than your friends and family. Most people can sit down and make a list of about 100 people that they know and when they contact all 100 people and share their home based business opportunity, on average the network marketer will get 2 people to sign up.
- Pass out free samples of your MLM Product – This method is often used to get people to at least try your MLM product. The idea is that if you can get a prospect to try the product, they will love it and want to buy more. The problem comes in where, one little sample of a MLM product that will need to be taken continuously for 2 or more weeks before the prospect will see any results can’t be done from one little sample. So, the prospect takes the free sample and tries it and when they don’t see any results from taking it just one time, they decide that it just doesn’t work. Here is where it works for the MLM Company – the sample is free to the prospect but the network marketer has to pay for them.
- Pass out CD’s or DVD’s – This method is often used to get people to look at your business opportunity without having to apply pressure. The marketer simply buys a bunch of CD’s or DVD’s from their MLM Company (who makes money selling them) and they just hand them out to everyone they know or come into contact with. All the prospect has to do is plug in the video or audio to see how great the MLM Company is and how much money they can make from home. If even 1% of the people actually look at the information, you would be lucky.
- A replicated website from your MLM Company – Everyone wants to be able to market on the Internet these days so MLM Companies are providing their distributors with replicated websites. The marketer has to pay for the website and it’s supposed to make your home based business explode. I guess by magic or something because the MLM Company won’t show you how to effectively drive traffic to that website. The reason they don’t train you on how to use the Internet to grow your MLM business is because these replicated websites are NOT a good tool to use to sell your MLM Product or the business opportunity.
Have you ever used any of the above tools in an attempt to grow your network marketing business? Let me save you some time and money, STOP USING THEM. With the exception of making a list of your friends and family, these methods don’t work for 95% of distributors anyway. Even then, making a list of your friends and family only works if you haven’t pitched them on all of the other network marketing ventures that you may have joined.
The reason these methods work so well for the MLM Company is because they know for every free sample they sell to you to pass out, a certain percentage will buy the product. They know that for every CD or DVD that they sell to you to pass out, a certain percentage will sign up as a distributor and get on auto ship. The percentages may be small but since it’s the MLM distributor paying for the stuff that gets passed out to prospects, they have nothing to lose and their business continues to grow while your bank account gets smaller.
So, if you are part of the 2% that has used these marketing methods and you are growing a home based business, I say good for you. Keep up the good work. If you are like I was and spent more money on the tools than I could ever hope to make on bringing in a distributor, just know that you are not alone and please, QUIT DOING THOSE METHODS.
8 Days To MLM Sales – Day 7, Getting Targeted Leads
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009There are really only 3 things you need to success in network marketing; a MLM product or service that people want, the right skills to share and close the sale, and people to talk to.
If you have a network marketing product that no one wants, your home based business is dead in the water. If you have a great MLM product but you don’t have the skills to close the deal, you might make a sale or two out of shear luck but your network marketing business will fail. If you have the skills and the product that everyone wants but you don’t have anyone to talk to, you once again have a problem.
Let’s assume that you have the MLM product that everyone wants (not likely but it’s fun to dream) and you also have the skills to close your fair share of the sales. Now let’s get you some people to talk to. But not just any network marketing lead, targeted leads for your MLM business.
In the network marketing industry, we call them leads. And MLM’ers are always on the look out for the best leads. I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
ALL LEADS STINK!
That’s right, all leads stink. Let me explain further by saying that there are varying degrees of stinkyness but they all do smell like a dirty garbage can. Today is about how to get your hands on the right garbage can so that you won’t have to waste a lot of time.
There Are 3 Types Of Leads
Leads can be broken down into three different types:
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Demographic Leads – These leads are going to be your most basic type of lead. Demographic leads are collected based on consumer characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, family size, education, geographic location, and occupation.
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Response Leads – These leads are collected based on a consumer responding to something. The prospect may have filled out a survey, ordered a magazine, asked for more information on a product or something along those lines.
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Buyer File – A buyer lead is going to be collected based on what the consumer bought.
What you are marketing will determine what kind of lead you want to work with. For instance, if you are marketing electricity with a MLM Company like Ignite Energy or Ambit Energy, then you may want to start with the demographic leads because your MLM service is only available in certain locations. Let your product and your target market determine what the best lead is for you.
What To Look For In A Lead
There are a few things that you may want to know about your lead list and here is my list:
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How old is the file? The older the lead the more disconnected phone numbers you will have.
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What did the person do to get on the lead list? If the person was looking to get a free dinner at a local restaurant and had to fill out a survey to get it, then leave that list alone.
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Where did the list come from? Did it fall off the back of a truck or was it compiled by a reputable company using sophisticated methods?
You may not get answers to all of your questions but based on their response you may get a feel for the type of person you are dealing with.
Where To Get Leads
I would like to tell you that I have a great answer for where to get the best leads but like I said “All Leads Stink”. However, the Internet is a great place to start. Do a search for lead brokers or leads or something like that. If you can narrow your lead search to only prospects that have bought a product like yours, then get the buyer file.
How Much To Pay For Leads
Your lead costs will vary depending on the type of lead you want and the quantity you can buy. Always ask your lead broker if you can have a sample file to test the quality of their leads. You may not always get it but it doesn’t hurt to ask. For the most part, you shouldn’t pay more than 25 cents per lead at least not while you are still testing your scripts and presentation.
Other Tips You Should Know When Buying Leads
Here are a few extra tips that you should know. Don’t tell you lead broker that I gave you these secrets though 
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Don’t tell the lead broker that you are in a MLM or a network marketer. Tell them you have a business that sells whatever product or service you have.
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Don’t buy a huge list of leads. Most lead brokers will try to get you to buy 5,000 or more leads your fist time out. This just tells me that they sell a crappy product and don’t expect you to buy from them again.
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Be ready to use your leads as soon as you get them. Don’t let your leads sit around getting moldy, get on the phone.
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Keep track of your numbers. You want to keep track of how many people you actually reach on your lead list, how many disconnects there are etc. If you have a more than 10% disconnect rate, tell your lead broker. In most cases they will replace the list at no charge.
Okay, that’s all that I can give you today on the subject of leads. I hope this information helps you with your network marketing venture. Until next time, have a great MLM day.
8 Days To MLM Sales
Day 1-Identify Your MLM Product
Day 2 -Identify Your Target Market
Day 3 -Create A Prospecting Script
Day 4 -Prepare A Presentation That Converts Prospects Into MLM Customers
Day 5 – Create A Closing Script That Eliminates Objections
Day 6 – Warming UP, Why Practice Makes Perfect
Day 8 – Putting It All Together For MLM Sale
What Is Your Commitment To Your Network Marketing Business
Monday, July 20th, 2009I would like to tell you that growing a successful network marketing business is easy and it really can be if you have the right tools and skills in place but no matter what, you still have to be committed to your home based business.
I had a student who recently decided to quit prospecting. Now here is a little background: I have been working with her helping her to memorize her prospecting script. I even gave her leads because I knew that she was strapped for cash. We also talked about how she should set up her schedule so that she could have at least 2 hours to dial every day.
Here’s what happened: on her first day of prospecting, she dial for about 1.5 hours and had one invite to a presentation. Now for a first timer with this script and on the phone, I thought she did pretty good. Not great but okay. You see for the 1.5 hours she dialed, she only made like 20 phone calls. So out of 20 phone calls, she got 1 invite.
On her second day – she dialed for 1 hour and made 40 phone calls with 0 invites. She did better at dialing the phone but couldn’t manage it for more than 1 hour.
On her third day – she dialed for 40 minutes and made 20 phone calls with 0 invites.
On her forth day – we spoke and I told her that she wasn’t going to be able to talk to anyone if she didn’t pick up the phone and make the calls. She said she knew but she got yelled at yesterday when she called someone during their dinner time. “You know” I said, “that’s going to happen from time to time and those people have the option of not picking up the phone during their dinner” We talked a bit longer about how why she was in this and her numbers. (I wrote a post a while back about Hitting Your Numbers that you may want to check out.)
On her fifth day – her husband asked her how much longer she was going to do this without making any money and she quit.
Let’s look at what she actually did to grow her business. She memorized a script (sort of), she got on the phone for less than 5 hours and made fewer than 100 dials. Does that sound like someone who is committed to growing their network marketing business?
What is Commitment?
According to Urban Dictionary, commitment is what transforms the promise into reality.
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It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions and the actions which speak louder than the words.
- It is making the time when there is none.
- Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year.
- Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things.
- It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.
Let’s explore this a little further. When I read this definition, I think that commitment is one’s persistent pledge to a certain action. Think of it like a marriage. When you marry, you vow to be with that person for the rest of your life no matter what.
Is A Home Based Business Like A Marriage
Are you married to your home based business? I guess the answer to that question is inside of you. Why did you get involved with your network marketing program in the first place? For me, I got into network marketing after I lost my job of over 10 years. I never wanted to feel that sickening sensation again. The only way I knew how to make sure that never happened again was to become my own boss.
Your first home based business may not be the one for you.
I know that divorce happens and so is it true with multi-level marketing. My first networking venture was with a company whose only product really couldn’t stand up by itself at least not for the kind of money they were looking to get for it. So, I left that company but I didn’t join another MLM until I knew what to look for in a network marketing company. (You can listen to a podcast of “Choosing A Network Marketing Business” if you aren’t sure what to look for in a MLM company.)
One thing never wavered though and that was my commitment to owning my own home based business. If you want to know why every successful network marketer tells you that you have to have a big reason “WHY” it’s because of this: Without you having a serious commitment to your network marketing business, you will always find a reason not to work at growing your home based business. You may say that you want to earn a certain amount of money working from home but your actions will say something else.
Are you a Committed Network Marketer?
Anyone in business should ask themself this question: Are you willing to take the necessary action steps to make success happen? If you don’t know how to do something, are you willing to learn how to do it? If one marketing method isn’t successful, are you willing to try something else? Are you willing to give up something in order to reach your goal? Or, are you the type of network marketer that just dreams and wishes for success but doesn’t know how to get it and “hopes” it will find them someday.
Will You Get Your Wish?
You can keep wishing, hoping, and even praying for success but unless and until you are committed to taking the necessary action to reach your goal, you will never actually get there. However, if you do whatever it takes for however long it takes, you will achieve your dreams.
