In the past, I have been in network marketing with minimal success and lots of failure. Over my years being in and out of the industry, I have discovered mistakes that I and many of my fellow network marketers made before quitting or making it big in the multi-level marketing (MLM) industry.
The following is a list of the four (4) biggest mistakes that network marketers make:
1. Trying to convince untargeted prospects: Something they tell you in network marketing training seminars is to talk to anybody using the 3-foot rule. No matter how good you think you are in face-to-face selling, you can not convince somebody to accept an idea if they are not sold on that idea themselves. If you DO have good face-to-face or belly-to-belly selling skills, then, by all means, close the sale and get them signed up into your business. In corporate America, making a one-time sale works. However, in network marketing, you, as the sponsor, should then guide your new recruit in the right direction to success in network marketing. Otherwise, your new distributors will end up dropping out of the program and never speak to you again. Your relationship with your new distributors is an ongoing process and never stops.
2. Starting a conversation off about their business opportunity: The fact of the matter is nobody is going to give a hoot about your network marketing business opportunity. What prospects ARE interested is how a particular business can benefit them or help them solve a problem. Does your business have a unique weight loss formula that is sure to work? Does your business have a very powerful cleanser to clean out the gunk in their gastrointestinal tracts? If prospects view you as somebody who gives them value in their lives and who helps them solve their problems, then they will have no problems signing up with you. Therefore, focus on what is going to benefit the prospect and not benefit you.
3. Wasting time doing follow-ups on prospects that show no interest: Following up is a good thing with network marketing. However, following up on uninterested prospects is a definite waste of time. If you call a prospect to do a follow up once or twice, go no further. Many times, I have seen newbie distributors call their prospects up to 7 or 8 times to join their business. Believe me, I did this too. If prospects do not call you back after your second call to them, don’t even bother with them. Some network marketers say not to go any further past the FIRST follow-up phone call. It is your choice.
4. Trying to build their network marketing business by branding their own sponsor as the expert: I have seen newbie distributors make this mistake far too often. They get on a conference call with their prospect and their sponsor or upline. I do not like this idea because if you let your sponsor do all the talking to your prospect, you are branding your sponsor as the expert and not you. Then your prospect is more likely to work with your sponsor and NOT you. In network marketing, what you really want to do is brand yourself as the expert in the industry so that prospects will be more focused on you as the expert. An expert is that somebody who can help them solve their problems either in weight loss, nutrition, getting leads for their MLM business, etc. The more that people view you as an expert, the more you will have prospects signing up into your downline to do business with you. If you feel you are not an expert, then attend those MLM training classes that your company offers. You can also find a training system that trains you on how to do network marketing over the internet. That is what those courses are for. Don’t be afraid to invest in your education in network marketing.
Think of network marketing as a profession. It is a profession that requires you to study, read up, and/or teach others how to become successful. After all, the best network marketers never stop learning. Learn from the mistakes I have spelled out here or learn from your own mistakes. Everybody is going to make mistakes when they first start out in network marketing. I should know. I’ve been through a ton of MLM companies with little success because I never corrected my mistakes or did anything new. However, it is those, who learn not to make those mistakes again, that will succeed.
By: Marco Abanico
Archive for November, 2009
The Top 4 Mistakes You Should not Make in Network Marketing
November 29th, 2009Successful Network Marketing Business – Five Things You Can Do Right Now to Build a Successful Network Marketing Business
November 28th, 2009Almost anyone who gets involved in a network marketing business starts out with the promise of a huge cash flow, with little or no effort on their part. They are told that all they have to do is “get 3, who get 3″ and so on. After exhausting and annoying their list of 100 friends and family, they are being told to keep calling leads and booking appointments and parties. At this point, they are wondering…who do I call? who do I book?
By now, they have spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on product samples, CD’s catalogs, sales brochures and magazines…all of the network marketing “tools” they were told to buy. They have attended every weekly opportunity meeting (skipping dinner with their family), been on team calls, plastered their home with pictures of their “Big WHY”…basically done everything they were told to do. However, they were still cashing only a few pathetically small commission checks – not even close to breaking even! Disgusted by their lack of success in this network marketing business, and feeling like they have been lied to, 97% of network marketers throw in the towel and take a huge financial loss, and may even blame themselves for their failure!
If this is you, don’t give up. I am here to tell you that these traditional, outdated network marketing strategies are actually sabotaging your chances to grow a successful network marketing business. Look at the following network marketing strategies – strategies that make sense and work.
First of all…DO NOT share your opportunity with anyone! Leading with your opportunity is a plan to fail. The only people you will attract are people looking to make a quick dollar, and when they don’t, you will see the sparks fly off their heels as they turn and sprint away!
Get the customers to come to you first. This is a principle that marketers in other industries use to make untold millions of dollars in profit. When people come to you, you are suddenly talking to people who WANT TO TALK TO YOU!
Learn how to communicate with people and satisfy their needs, wants, and desires. Learning the right network marketing strategies and how to use them will change the dynamics of how you do business, and your results will soar!
Know your product inside and out! Know it’s benefits and features…how it will satisfy your prospect’s pain or fill their needs. Know the terms and policies of your company, and understand fully it’s compensation plan. You MUST be able to answer your prospect’s questions. Once you position yourself as an expert, they are many times more likely to purchase from you, AND pay just about any price that you may ask!
Invest in your training. Learning the art and science of network marketing is not what you will get from your upline. Instead of your weekly “sizzle calls”, enroll in a legitimate training course that will help you develop network marketing and sales skills that you need and that are essential to building a successful network marketing business.
Network marketing is one of the most rewarding home business opportunities, but only when you decide to work it as a business. Invest in your future NOW!
By: Lynn McArthur
