Soft Selling in Network Marketing
Remember the old adage from sales, “Throw
enough mud against the wall, and some of it will stick?”
That statement
is, admittedly, a cynical view of salesmanship. But as a network marketer, you
need to have a more positive view of your approach to people. Certainly the art
of prospecting recruits for your downline is, to some extent, a numbers game.
But there’s no reason to employ high-powered sales tactics to achieve the
results that you desire.
You have to
realize that if you simply present what you do honestly, without embellishing,
you’ll succeed without the stress of fearing rejection. The fact is, rejection
will come. You may as well factor that into the equation. This is not only true
of network marketing but also true of other mediums of selling, such as direct
mail, where 2% or 3% sales on a direct mail piece is considered pretty good.
You have to make
the determination, “I will call x many people today and shoot for y number of
new recruits.” When you’re cold calling, don’t beat around the bush or sound
embarrassed that you are a network marketer. This is a respectable business.
Therefore, don’t hedge when asked what you do. Just tell the prospect simply
what you’re doing and ask them up front if they’re interested in the
opportunity—yes or no. You might also want to lessen the pressure by saying that
you don’t mind either way if they say yes or no, you won’t be offended.
Some stalwarts in
the sales business might object to that latter statement. It’s too weak, too
qualifying, they might assert.
But you
understand that prospecting for new recruits for your downline is not the same
thing as selling a product. In the case of a product, you might want to close
one transaction and be done with it. So obviously you’ll fire with all your guns
up front and do everything possible to close on the sale. But if you’re
prospecting for recruits, you’re looking for a long-term commitment. An
emotional, or a presumptive, close will seal the deal in the short-term, but
they’re no proof that prospect will be there tomorrow when the sales pressure is
gone and you need that residual income.
You want people
who will learn from you, then take the business and run with it. If you manage
to “pressure” people into joining your downline, you might find that they’ll
give in under the pressure—just to get you off their backs. But they’ll wind up
not performing. Sales will trickle in here and there, but they certainly won’t
be your top producers.
Top producers
become that way through self-motivation. They have a reason to succeed. Perhaps
they’ve been looking for a good part-time income, some business they can work
from home, and network marketing affords them that opportunity. When you’re
prospecting, you might stress these benefits of network marketing, and then let
the prospect decide if this is for them now. Sign them up if they’re interested,
or go on to the next call.
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