The Enlightened Networker » Rejections

The Importance of Qualifying Your MLM Prospects | Network Marketing Tips For Beginners

Ilka Flood — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:23:03 +0000

Are you barking up the wrong tree in your MLM prospecting?

If you are still fairly new to network marketing the following scenarios may sound painfully familiar to you. But don’t feel too bad. Most of us network marketers have experienced them or something similar. As time goes on and you get better, none of this will be an issue anymore. So, here’s my question …

Has any of this ever happened to you?

1) You just drove over an hour to meet with a prospect. When you got there they were a no-show.

2) You gave what in your opinion was the best network marketing presentation of your life and your prospect tells you they are not interested.

3) You got over your fear of picking up the phone, called your prospect, gave an excellent presentation for your network marketing business and as soon as you were finished they started pitching THEIR business to you.

4) You know someone would just absolutely be perfect for your program or service, but when you approach them they’re giving you the cold shoulder.

5) You made several appointments with a prospect to get feedback on the DVD you send him/her, but they keep coming up with excuses why they haven’t watched it yet.

In all the scenarios above you have been just wasting your precious time.

I should know, because all of them happened to me.

Not only that, they all delivered a big blow to my self-confidence. I felt like a complete idiot. A total failure!

And I could have prevented all of them from happening … If I had pre-qualified my MLM prospects.

But at the time, I didn’t know any better. I just followed what my upline told me to do.

Network marketing today is a bit different from when I first started.

You can google just about anything and find the answers to your most pressing questions.

Or you can hang with the right people … Like “The Better Bunch” and learn from them. Don’t know who the Better Bunch are? Read “The Story Behind The Better Bunch” by Dwayne Huggins. I highly recommend you read his article and find out. It could shave years off of your network marketing learning curve. And YES, there is one!

Sorry, I got a bit off track.

So, how do you qualify your MLM prospects?

By asking questions like…

“If I can show you a way how you can add additional income to your monthly paycheck and you feel completely comfortable with it, would you be ready to do business?

“If I can show you a way how you can get a pay raise without going to your boss, when would you have 30 minutes to have a closer look?”

“If I could show you how you can take advantage of tax benefits like the rich people do, would it be worth your time to spend 30 minutes with me? And when would be a better time for you, Monday at 7:00PM or Wednesday at 6:30PM?

Notice that these questions nail your prospect down to either give you a simple yes or no answer or a commitment to meet with you.

No more wasting your time on lookiloos or tire-kickers. Your time is way to precious.

Hope this helps you separate the good prospects from the bad ones.

If you would like to share your own personal experiences or you have more tips on qualifying mlm prospects, please share them with us in the comments below.

To Your Success,

Ilka Flood

P.S As always if you found this post helpful, please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook or Digg it. It’s much appreciated. Thank you!

7 Common But Deadly Mistakes of New Network Marketers

Ilka Flood — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:30:10 +0000

Or …What not to do when you first start out in network marketing.

Let’s be totally honest here. As new network marketers just starting out in the industry we all have made some mistakes. I know I certainly have made my share. That’s just part of the learning curve. As long as we learn from our mistakes and fail forward, we’ll be alright.

So, here are probably the 7 most common mistakes we make as brand new network marketers…

1) Don’t have a Part-time Attitude

It’s certainly okay to build your network marketing business part-time and alongside your regular job in the beginning. What’s not okay, is having a part-time attitude about it. Many new networkers fail because they treat their business like a hobby. This will reflect in your commission check. So, don’t dabble in your business… Commit to it! It is YOUR future that you are building.

2) Don’t Make Yourself the Issue

When you first start out in network marketing you know absolutely nothing. Nothing about the company and nothing about the products you are selling. You are brand spanking new. So how are you supposed to grow your business? You haven’t even earned a penny in commission yet. Many new networkers feel very uneasy because they don’t know what to say to their prospects.

Don’t worry. Just take yourself out of the equation. Find either your sponsor or somebody in the levels above you who is willing to help you. Use that person as an expert to do 3-way calls with your prospects.

Don’t interrupt them while they are talking, listen carefully and take good notes on what they say and how they say it. Learn from them so eventually you can do this yourself.

3) Don’t Take Rejection Personally

New network marketers are often afraid to talk to people about their new business opportunity because they are afraid of getting rejected. What they must realize is that, it is not them getting rejected, but the opportunity might not be right for the person they are talking to. Or the timing may just not be right.

When I started out in this industry, rejection was a biggie for me. I was afraid of picking up the phone and calling my leads, because I was afraid of them telling me “NO.”

Until someone put it to me this way… “Look, when you order a Bic Mac at McDonalds and the clerk asks you if you would like fries with that, he’s not going to break out in tears if you tell him, ‘NO’, or is he?”

Well, of course not. That would be silly. Fries are not for everyone …and neither is your business opportunity. You just have to find the right people. ..Hint: Those who like fries.

4) Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

Someone has always walked the path before you. So don’t make things harder for yourself by trying to reinvent the wheel. If your sponsor or team has a system that has worked for them, by all means use it. Keep it simple! Don’t make this business more difficult than it really is.

5) Don’t Forget the Power of Customers

Often new networkers are so focused on recruiting new team members that they totally forget about customers. Retail sales count for part of your income in network marketing. Customers are the back bone of your business. They join because they fell in love with your products, and they stay because of it.

6) Don’t Alienate Your Sponsor

Your sponsor is your most valuable resource. Your ‘go to person’ who is there to train and guide you, to support and encourage you. Don’t alienate him or her by constantly whining or being negative or hanging on their shirt tails.

Don’t expect him or her to hold your hand the whole way through. I have had sponsors who were there for me for my first week …and then cut me lose. From then on I was on my own, but I knew if I needed something they were just a phone call away. I was expected to call THEM …not the other way around.

7) Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Dream

There is a reason why you started your network marketing business. It may be to stay home with your kids. Or to bring your husband home. It may be to buy a bigger house. A new car. It may be that you are getting close to retirement and want to make sure you can live comfortably after you no longer work. Or you might want to go on that long overdue family vacation. Whatever your “WHY” don’t let anyone come along and steal it. Hang on to it!

And number 8…

If you like this article don’t let it go to waste by not sharing it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!

To Your Success,

Ilka Flood

FEARS – What are you afraid of?

Ilka Flood — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:39:09 +0000

F= Failure
E= Embarrasment
A= Abandoment
R= Rejection
S= Success

FEARS, we all have them. I know I have them and you do too. And they are costing us a fortune. Why? Because they are holding us back from accomplishing what we want to accomplish. What we COULD accomplish. Ships in a harbor are safe, but that’s not what they were build for. They were build to sail.

What are our FEARS as they pertain to network marketing?

F= Failure

There’s the Fear of Failure. We are afraid we will fail in whatever we set out to accomplish. Because of this fear we often set our goals very low. We want to stay in our comfort zone. Be safe. However, this keeps us from growing.

E= Embarrasment

Although we are very excited about our new business opportunity, oftentimes we don’t want to share it with our family and friends because we are afraid what they may think or say about us.

A= Abandonment

There’s the Fear of Abandonment. We may be afraid that our sponsor will leave us and go to the next deal. Or we are afraid that the new person we just sponsored may quit on us. Or, that the team we have build over many months may jump ship and go someplace else. This may rock our belief in our company and stop us dead in our tracks.

R= Rejection

The Fear of Rejection is a big one and one I personally have struggled with for years. Until I learned that that my prospects didn’t reject ME but the opportunity I was presenting. It either wasn’t right for them or the timing wasn’t right. It wasn’t personal. As soon as I learned that, I no longer had any problem with rejections.

S= Success

The Fear of Success is another big one. Oftentimes we are afraid to succeed. Afraid to get to the next level. The “what if’s” start creeping up in our thoughts. What if…I’m not going to be a good leader? What if…I will fail my team? What if…I can’t handle the money I will be earning? (Yeah, as strange as it sounds, some people are afraid of earning 10K, 20K, 30K a month. They’ve never made that kind of money and they can’t imagine how they would handle that.)

The bottom line is, if you don’t get rid of your FEARS you won’t be able to grow. And most certainly you won’t reach your dreams. So, get rid of them!

“You must make your dreams more real than your fears.” _Robert Allen