MLM Success is Your Key to Escape the Rat Race!
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
American Civil Rights Activist
Since prospecting and lead generation is the lifeblood of any successful MLM business, it behooves all great MLMers (or those who aspire to be great) to learn how to prospect well. Unfortunately, 97% of all network marketers are failing in their businesses because they have not learned how to effectively prospect. And successful prospecting begins with asking the right questions. These MLM success tips have helped my downline distributors and me sponsor numerous people with ease.
MLM Success Tip #1: Keep the Prospect Talking
The very best salespeople in the world understand that, in order to convert a prospect into a buyer (or sponsor more reps), the salesperson must masterfully convey that their product or service fulfills the person’s need. But sometimes, a prospect will not simply disclose this information, and even when they do, often important details are omitted or veiled. How do we expose these details? By asking the right questions, and then sitting back and allowing the prospect to willingly answer. Keeping your prospect talking opens up opportunities to glean information that will help you present your MLM opportunity as a viable solution to whatever they say their problem is.
MLM Success Tip #2: Have a Plan
Quite simply, before you begin questioning, you should already know where you are trying to go. What are trying to accomplish? Do you want to persuade the person that they should join your organization, or do you want your prospect to logically conclude on their own that your organization is a good fit for their personal goals? Are you trying to warm them up and close them later, or ring them in right away? If you cannot answer this question prior to prospecting, you will fail miserably at prospecting before you even open your mouth to speak. So make sure that your purpose is clear beforehand.
MLM Success Tip #3: Interact Appropriately
Many times, we turn off our audience by talking too much. I know we are all excited about our business opportunity, but most of the time, we need to be quiet, allow a response to our question, and listen attentively to their answers. Remember: Our prospects are happiest when they are talking. So let them.
Also, make sure you sound interested (the easiest way is to be interested) in the answers given. Showing that you’ve been paying attention builds rapport and trust, which increases the likelihood that your prospect will join you. A great way to show you’ve been listening is to follow up by building questions around the person’s response. For example, when your prospect explains that they are looking for an additional income stream to pay for health insurance, you might follow up with, “Oh, have you gotten any quotes yet,” or “Are you looking for full coverage, or supplemental?”
MLM Success Tip #4: No One Likes a Survey!
Be careful that your questions don’t sound like an interrogation. Try to avoid asking “why” questions, as this could be perceived as opposition and will put the prospect on the defensive. Your goal is get the person talking, not to have them clam up. Also, don’t stack your questions; ask one at a time and give the prospect time to think about an answer BEFORE interjecting. Finally, don’t sound like you’re reading from a script. For you internet marketers, this is critical, as much of your prospecting will be done over the phone. This part requires some skill, and it’s a good idea to practice and role play with peers and your upline sponsors to get it just right.
MLM Success Tip #5: Ask Emotional Questions
People buy based on emotions, so ask your prospect about things that make him/her think emotionally. Drawing on the insurance example above, you could ask, “What’s going to happen in the long run if you can’t afford that insurance?” Although your prospect may not communicate it verbally, I guarantee he/she is thinking about missed immunizations for the kids, or the out-of-pocket cost for their much-needed arthritis medication. Keeping the conversation emotionally charged will help later when it comes time to ask the person to sign up; these emotions will clue you in to how high (or low) solving this problem is on the priority list.
But be careful not to let the prospect off the hook by answering your own question. Refrain from saying things like, “So what would happen if you couldn’t afford that insurance? You probably couldn’t buy your arthritis medicine, could you?” When you allow your prospect to answer the question themselves, they are forced to imagine that scenario and all the emotions they have attached to it. You can then help the person solve their cash flow problem by creating more income through your MLM opportunity.
In conclusion, effective questioning is a skill that greatly supports any MLM business. It makes sense to become a great questioner, not just for the health of your enterprise, but for help in social situations, simple or complex negotiations, and just about ANY scenario that involves dealing with people. But as usual, don’t just take my word for it…take it for checking!
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
Spiritual Activist, Author, Lecturer and Founder of The Peace Alliance
Anyone who has ever been involved in a network marketing business has probably been taught about the principle of duplication –the practice of following a road map of pre-defined tasks that will lead to success. But many argue that this method is outdated and no longer applies for the modern MLMer. Which philosophy works as an MLM success system, not only to build a solid and robust downline, but to sustain it as well? This is the argument I will explore in this article.
To Duplicate
During the heyday of network marketing, roughly from the 1970’s through the 1980’s, the primary MLM success system was all about duplication. The idea was to look to your upline sponsor and mimic their success by doing whatever they did. If your upline sponsor showed the plan 3-5 times per week, you were counseled to do that as well. If your upline sponsor used the three-foot rule (meaning you should be showing the plan to every single person that comes within three feet of you), you should be doing the same.
However, the critics argue that, although these practices may have worked in the past, they don’t work today. Many prospects see you coming from a mile away, and they can be quite evasive. Also, some argue that, in the Internet age, duplication does very little to distinguish one network marketer from the other. This may not make much difference if a network marketer is doing 100% of his or her recruiting by leveraging current relationships, but network marketers that are prospecting using the Internet will have a difficult, uphill journey if they are trying to duplicate their upline.
Or Not to Duplicate
The modern MLMer uses technology as part of his/her MLM success system. These individuals have taken their act online, leveraging the immensity of the World Wide Web to find fresh new prospects to show the business plan to. Modern MLMers are dominating the internet using new marketing strategies like article and video marketing, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, and funded proposal systems to create cash flow for their businesses. Proponents of online prospecting assert that duplication is the easiest way to kill what could have been a prosperous and ever-growing downline. These folks believe that individuality, creativity, and innovation outshine the cookie-cutter gimmicks of old, by presenting the prospect with fresh new techniques that promote the network marketer as a leader to be followed down the path of success.
Which One?
So which one REALLY works? The answer: Both!
On the one hand, I have found my upline mentors to be wonderful resources for inspiration, advice, and information on how to sponsor on a face-to-face level. They conduct in-home meetings and business-building seminars, they constantly place product, and they prospect from their “list” of friends, family, and acquaintances, just like they were taught to do by their sponsors. On the other hand, network marketing is one of the fastest-growing niches within the internet marketing segment. The prospecting possibilities are endless, with an ever-increasing number of individuals combing the search engines for a viable MLM success system or other income-producing opportunity. The trick with internet network marketing is to stand out from the crowd and be credible as an expert in your particular area. So, I have found that both approaches have their place in my MLM success system, and I teach both philosophies to my downline distributors.
Conclusion
You may decide to duplicate the actions of your upline sponsors, or you could choose to innovate and brand yourself as a leader. You could also decide to fuse the two approaches to form a hybrid that works for you and your team. Whatever you do, make sure you have all the necessary tools to properly market yourself and your business. And as usual, don’t just take my word for it…take it for checking!
“Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.”
Jim Rohn
American Entrepreneur, Author, and Motivational Speaker
The English author C. C. Colton is credited for having coined the following phrase:
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
On some levels, I used to agree with this philosophy; but I recently found myself the victim of online article plagiarism, so right now, I’m not really feeling the love for Mr. Colton. This article will discuss:
While discussing the recent online plagiarism of my article with my frontline distributors, I became aware that many people do not truly understand the term. For example, a few people thought it was okay to copy an article from a directory or blog, change or re-word a few phrases, and then re-post the material to their own websites or blogs. I know that syndication tools (like the fantastic Automatic Article Submitter) make it extremely easy to pull off this sort of thing. But if you are doing this type of article submission, guess what? You are a plagiarist!
Many MLMers rely on article marketing for a large portion of their lead generation. And as we all know, lead generation is the lifeblood of our internet businesses, translating into massive revenue for network marketers that get the formula right. Thus, we MLMers must be diligent in protecting our material from those that lack the integrity and intelligence to either produce their own work or legally outsource the task. Besides, think of how angry you would feel if a search engine like Google were to remove your blog from the rankings because its bots found duplicated content on your site (even though you are the content’s originator!). There goes your SEO!
So how can we fight online plagiarism if we have been victimized? Here are some steps that I’ve found effective:
E-mail or phone the person and politely request that they remove the plagiarised content. Keep in mind that sometimes, online plagiarism is not intentional, so be a good sport when communicating with the offender. Give the offender a timeline for removing the plagiarized content, not only from their blog or website, but from any article directories, forums, or any other place where the plagiarised material has been posted, and inform the person that no further action will be taken if they fully comply.
Should the offender be unresponsive (or outright resistant to removing the content), contact the offender’s web hosting company. Typically, you will be required to provide some proof that you are the material’s original author. In your request, ask that the offender’s blog or website be sanctioned (or, for repeat offenders, completely removed) on the grounds of plagiarism. The company may not oblige, but they will remove the plagiarised content. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
If you still continue to have problems, file a DMCA complaint. You will need to do some research on the offender’s web hosting company and their affiliate programs. Most likely, they are engaged in some sort of affiliate marketing, so they will be pushing someone’s products on their blog or website. Lean on the affiliates and domain hosters to get to the offender. I found a great article that goes into detail on how to do this, but it is an in-depth process, so be prepared to fight the good fight and follow up if necessary. I personally have never had an online plagiarism case come down to this, but it seems pretty effective in hitting the plagiarist right where it hurts…in the money gut!
Ironically, there are some acceptable alternatives to online plagiarism. If you find an article that you like, consider contacting the author and ask permission to use the article on your site. I personally know of many situations where this proved to be a great collaboration for all parties. Also, rather than just copying and pasting someone’s work onto your site, simply provide a link to the article. this gives the author credit for the work, and expands the article’s exposure, and it saves the would-be plagiarist the trouble of having to re-word or re-phrase the article. Finally, considering hiring the article’s author as a ghostwriter. Many professional and semi-professional authors charge very reasonable fees for this arrangement, and the time savings to the would-be offender makes it more than worthwhile.
The bottom line: Online plagiarism hurts everyone. From the victim, to the offender, to the offender’s readers, no one wins in the long run. It’s better to simply do the smart thing — either write your own articles, or outsource it to a trustworthy source. And as usual, don’t just take my word for it…take it for checking!
