Network Marketing

Let The Experts Answer Your Question                             Ancillary Report #5

QUESTION: I've taken out lots of ads (spending thousands of dollars) and have had decent response. However, most responses are from what I call "tire kickers". They ask for all kinds of information and at first seem interested, then upon follow up, I find out they never took the time to read the information and are not really interested after all. Meanwhile I've spent about $5 -$10 per person (materials and phone calls) with no return. When this happens hundreds of times, it becomes unprofitable. So I guess my specific question is: When someone responds to an ad, and says "So what is the company and what's it all about". What immediate qualifying question or questions should I ask them to determine if they are serious or just tire kickers?

TOM DEROSA: I believe that locating leaders to staff your organization, outside of your warm market, is a numbers game. The idea is to APPROACH large numbers of people with your business and to SORT through them. Ads are certainly one way to put your business in front of a large audience. It is not uncommon to receive a great deal of "tire kickers" in response to ads. Chances are that they have responded to several other ads as well, so you will need to highlight the unique aspects of your business.

Sorting through a large number of prospects is a part of the overall recruiting process. I do disagree that your advertising dollars will be wasted. If you are with a company that has a fair and rewarding compensation plan, then you may only need 3 to 5 leaders to begin earning a sizable income. If you need to sort through 500 prospects and tire kickers and invest some advertising dollars to find those few leaders, then your money will come back to you a thousand fold.

You can start your pre-qualifying process right in your ad. If your ad seems to draw only tire kickers, then you may want to rephrase it. An ad that reads "Earn big cash part-time with little effort", then you can expect lazy people to respond. Phrasing your ad to read something like "Self-motivated entrepreneurs needed for company expansion" will draw a different quality of people.

As for your first conversation with your prospect, take control of the interview. Pre-qualify them by being open and upfront. Ask them straight out if they are serious about starting a new business. Tell them that you are looking for a small handful of leaders to work with and that you would like to know how committed they will be. In other words, don't beat around the bush. We are in the sorting business, not the convincing business. Once you learn that you are not dealing with a qualified prospect, then move on. Your time will be better spent searching for those leaders!

RICK ERIKSEN: Ask the prospect... If you like what you see are you prepared to invest $200-$300 per month to get your business going? It's usually about money. If they have no money to work with, they are tire kicking. Why send packages to people who can't afford to start a business with the minimum amount required?

JIM STRICKLAND: I have a "series" of qualifying questions...

1. Have you ever been involved in MLM or Network Marketing before?

2. If so, with what company? If I am not familiar with the company, I then ask them: "What are the products?" "What is the Pay Plan?" (Matrix, Unilevel, etc.) "What was your success?"

3. Next, I ask them can they set aside 10-12 hours per week to do the business--if they could make $1500 - $3000/month within 3-6 months?

If they say "No", I close the conversation. If they say "Yes", I continue with "Mr. Prospect, how much money could you comfortably invest in yourself to get your own "home-based" business going?" (For 90-180 days)

I then tell them less than $500 initially and $200 monthly is a reasonable projection of their costs. I also point out they will be trained fully via our "turn-key" system which will help them "earn while they learn" and they should have a "positive" cash flow within 90 days if they are following our system. If they then say they can do this, I continue...

"Mr. Prospect, I would like to send you a copy of our Insider's Special Report, 'How to Create a 6-Figure Income From the comfort of Your Home' absolutely FREE!" I then ask for their correct address, fax number, email, etc. Then I invite them on one of our Nationwide Conference Calls held 3 times weekly.

I also ask them if they can retrieve our 24 hour Fax-On-Demand information of if they are on the web to go to our Website at <www.naturesgold.com.> Then I walk them through completing the Distributor Application and an "introductory" product order based on their individual needs. I also point out our "turn-key" system includes toll-free information lines, a postcard mailing/recruiting system, etc.

After the paperwork is done, I tell them to take an hour or two and make a list of 50-100 key people they have to begin contacting on Nature's Gold. Then I teach them how to "do the same thing" in other words, "duplicate"!

This is my system for "sorting" prospects.

TONY KENT: The solution to your challenge is to refer all your people to an 800 number where you leave a three minute voice overview and have a fax-on-demand available. Once people have listened to the overview and downloaded the fax, if they are interested and call you then they will be more pre-qualified. This will reduce the number of people you have to
talk to but will increase the quality of your prospects. I use Freedom Voice systems and you can contact them at 888 886 4002 ext 21, Mathew Bell. Please use my name as a reference. If you would like to get an example of how I use this system call 888 236 2515 ext 12 for one business, ext 14 for a different business.

I also use other extensions to market my books and tapes. On my FOD I always refer people to my Website www.tonykent.com so by the time I talk to people they know who I am and they have a good idea of what my
opportunity is about. I don't do this, but you could have a questionnaire on your FOD that asks people specific questions about their experience, their goals, the amount of free time and available funds, etc. and have them fax this sheet to you and request an interview. I prefer to ask these questions personally.

I use my 888 number on every ad I place. For those people unable to receive a fax, they leave their address and phone and I mail them a packet. Just because someone has not yet gotten a fax or computer does not mean they will not be a serious builder, it simply means they have not yet been exposed to the value of these tools in the same way that they have not yet been exposed to the value of your opportunity.

I love it when someone has a fax, computer, Website and has previously built a large network, but I also know that network marketing is about sharing and teaching how to build a business to those just starting out, and this is where I get a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment. I started from scratch in this business, and I was taught everything I know now by other people. Every oak starts out as a seed. The key is that the seed has the potential to be the oak.

DR. JOE RUBINO: In order to separate the true prospects from the suspects, I've found that it is always valuable to request a short conversation before mailing out a package. I call the prospect, thank them for their interest and let them know that I am calling to find out a little more about them and where their interest lies so that I can tailor their package accordingly. I get their permission to ask them a few questions such as, "Tell me a little bit about yourself and what caused you to respond to our ad. Ask questions like, What do you do for a living? What would the ideal opportunity look like for you? Have you ever been involved with a network marketing company before? If yes, what kind of experience did you have? In short, get into their world.

Find out what is important to them and what is missing in their lives? Develop rapport by asking about them and such areas as their family, where they live, their occupation, and their passions or hobbies to the extent that they are willing to share about themselves. Some prospects will tell you their whole life story, others are more guarded. Tell them upfront that you are asking about them to get to know them better so that you can see if there is a fit for you to work together. Show concern for them.

Find out their level of genuine interest while speaking your commitment to them in some way such as, "Bill, if after you take a look at what we have to offer, if you determine that our company, products and opportunity look appealing, would you be willing to become a distributor and work in partnership with me to reach your goals?

You might say, "If you do join our team, my commitment will be to support you 110% in realizing your goals with everything from developing a solid action plan that addresses how many people you will need to speak with to reach your target income, where and how you will get these people to speak with, what you will say, what you will send them, how you will work with our team to train them, etc. We will then implement your plan by talking to people together, training you and your people on our duplicable system and partnering with you to do everything to support your success. Does that sound like something that would be of interest to you? " I pay particular attention NOT to sound like a slick salesperson following an inflexible script as some sales people do in asking a standard basic qualifying question.

I ask them if they have any questions at this time. I also ask them if they would be willing to commit to reviewing the package I will be sending them within the next 7 days and if we can set up a time to speak in a week or so in order to get their feedback on the materials I willsend them. If they are reluctant to make a commitment to both review the package and have a follow up conversation, I tell them that I am happy to send out the package to them if they are serious about evaluating our opportunity and if, for any reason, they are not at this time, I would appreciate their honesty as I need to focus only on those people who are serious about joining us provided that they like what they see.

I also ask if they have access to the internet and recommend that they might first check out our web site to see if they are interested enough after reviewing it to request a package.

If you are straight and authentic with people, and share your concern that many people request packages without having a serious interest and that you would appreciate their honesty regarding their level of seriousness, they will respect this. In the end, your ability to ask the right questions to allow the prospect to open up to you while listening for what they say and what they do not say will give you a good idea about how serious they are and whether you should send a detailed package or maybe just an inexpensive preliminary overview letter explaining what you have to offer asking that they then request more detailed information if they are interested in learning more.

A more detailed explanation of how best to develop rapport with a prospect and maximize your personal effectiveness to increase your enrollment success can be found in the book, "Secrets Of Building a Million Dollar Network Marketing Organization, by a Guy Who's BEEN THERE DONE THAT And Shows You How You Can Do It Too, by Dr. Joe Rubino. Please contact Dr. Joe to learn how to order his book by calling 800-999-9551 Ext. 870 or by email at rubino@bigfoot.com.

ROBERT BLACKMAN: Ask them: "Have you ever been involved in Network Marketing before?"

Listen carefully to this answer--it will open up a floodgate of information about 'who' you are talking to. I never feed steak to a baby--they get baby food. Sort and sift your prospects more--this way, you can determine if they are 1) product person, 2) opportunity person, 3) information person.

I always have my downline sort and sift this way and it gives them three ways to get one yes--Product, Opportunity, or Selling them information. All my downline members receive a 50% commission on my 16 cassettes, two books and two video tapes--so when they run into a "tire kicker" they simply give them a fod, fax a price list, or mail them a catalog of "how to" information to sell them. Then, they make a follow-up call after they get the book/tape and pitch them again.

This not only gives them three shots at a yes it also helps them finance their campaign. Anyone not in my downline can use the same techniques. Just got to www.networkmarketing.com and order my dealership.

SCOTT OHLGREN: Having spent that same money (lots!) in that same venue, I gave it up. I just never found quality people from those kinds of ads.

We've done it to ourselves, really, with our 'Hey, you can get rich really quick, call me before it's too late!" approach that attracts and creates it.

There is a scene in the movie "There's Something About Mary.", that every network marketer should see where the main character picks up a hitchhiker, and having asked him, "hey, what are you doing out here?" the hitchhiker says, "I'm starting a business.... WANT IN?" The entire audience I was in cracked up, and I did too. For about a half second, and then I went, "oh my gosh." Because that's often what we've done! "Want in?" "We have no rapport, but 'want in'?!!

All my own success is because of the people I've built the strongest relationships with. That takes time, and patience, and hanging out in the right places, with people with intact values. And it's fast enough. Find your audience, and speak to them. If your product is good, then you'll find your people.

CHUCK BRANHAM: When you answer the question, "so what is the company and what's it all about?" could it be that your company and its products and/or business opportunity doesn't have much to offer your prospects?

I tried about twenty MLM's before I found one that grew fast and big for me. I have a very high percentage of success in sponsoring leads due to our exciting, breakthrough products, strong experienced company with terrific support, etc.

So make sure that you represent a first class company with products that are not "me too" but products which deliver exciting benefits. Also make sure you love people and want what's best for them. They can tell if you really care about them or if you just want to use them for your own agenda.

GEOFF GOLDIE: In this day and age of Internet Marketing, posting out information packs about any business opportunity is a sure fire way to go broke. In the entire time I have been with Organic Natural Enterprize, I haven't posted a single information pack to anyone, yet Carolyn and I have personally recruited and found more people to join Organic Natural Enterprize than any other Representative in the entire Organic Natural Enterprize team.

Network Marketing is very much a numbers game. Unfortunately for many, by the time they have sent out say 50 or 60 information packs, they're lucky if one or two people have joined their business. By this time they're running out of steam and also out of finances and you know what comes next. "This business is not going to work for me so I quit!"

I find it is far more productive to handle all enquiries using email, attached PDF Documents and referring interested people to the various websites we use, like the www.mienterprize.com/?yourusername to build the business rather than sending posted information to leads. I think some people may find it useful to send samples onto someone with information about the business opportunity, but think carefully of how much money this is going to cost you. You will find like me, the cost becomes prohibitive sending info to tyre kickers! So you may as well use the money you would spend on samples and info packs in just generating more leads and having more people to sort through.

After all we have a very unique opportunity with Organic Natural Enterprize so why waste time and money on people that can't see that? Your job as a networker is to filter people until you find the right people to work with. You will soon recognise them! They're the ones that are emailing you with questions and they want to call you and speak with you. My experience when dealing with very large numbers of leads is one of "next please". The leads who respond are the ones I work with. I'm not in business to drag people over the finish line. I'm looking for self starters in this industry not the people with some sort of "Get Rich Quick" mentality.

Having said the above, follow up with Internet generated leads is just as vital as follow up with any other lead. Let the lead know you are professional by responding within 24hrs Respond in a polite and courteous yet business-like manner. This is a real business so treat it like a proper business and you will never look back.

You may need to sponsor 100 people to find perhaps 3 or 4 good business builders. So be prepared to sort through lots of people until you find the self starters needed to kick your business into gear.

At the time of writing this report, Carolyn and I had personally sponsored over 700 Reps and Customers into Organic Natural Enterprize in a two and a half year period. The percentage is around three customers for every Rep. We believe customers are absolutely vital to the growth and profitability of your Organic Natural Enterprize business with many excellent Representatives coming through from your customer base.