Building Rapport

Networking or Internet Marketing

No matter which way you look at it. Networking will always be Networking. Whether you are from the old school where you religiously attended meetings and sent loads of stuff by mail and spent countless hours on the phone with your downline or if you are one of the "New Breed" Networkers who has made or is making the transition to the Internet and combining both forms of marketing. Networking is all about building rapport and trust with people and consequently respect from your business associates.

So let's walk you through the process I use with people who make enquiries about the business opportunity via the Internet.

Let's say you have been implementing some of the suggested ways of contacting people from the Internet. You have found some Independent Distributors on the Google search engine and you have sent them a nice email inviting them to take a look at your Certified Organic business.

Wow! here is a response in my email box. This lead wants some more information. What do I do? What do I send them? Do I send them directly to my ONE Group website?

Relax - follow these suggestions and you will quickly fall into a pattern which will ensure you convert a large percentage of the people that respond to you. After all they wouldn't respond in the first place unless they were very interested. Would they?

Okay the email comes in and it says - "Send me some more info please"! Believe it or not some people are just as blunt as this and don't even bother to use their name or even address the email to you in person. You wouldn't be that rude - would you? Of course not! Oftentimes people do say who they are. It does give you a bit of an insight into the type of person you are dealing with. If they can't be bothered to use your name and to say who the email is from then they will probably be a waste of time as they have no communication skills. (I have learnt from much experience that people like this will generally waste your time)

So this is what I do. I send a nice polite note straight back without delay which simply says.

Subject Line: Polite request <name> re the ORGANICS

Dear <name>,

Thanks for getting back to me re the Certified Organic business opportunity.

I would like to send you some more information by email attachment in PDF format. I was wondering if it is OK with you to send it like this? It's just that I don't like to send attachments to anyone unless they are expecting them.

Will look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

PS. I can guarantee they are safe to open.

This is the first step to establishing some sort of rapport with your lead and to see if they are really interested or not. You are asking them permission to send the email with attachments and you are guaranteeing them it is safe to open without actually sending it at this stage.

The reasons for this are twofold. You want them to see you have what is known as "Internet Etiquette". In other words you are a polite person who has respect for people and treats people the way you like to be treated. You also want to gauge what their response is as to whether you would spend much time with them.

Person doesn't respond.

If a reply email doesn't come back to you, then there may be several reasons for this:

They haven't received your email or they have accidentally deleted it in amongst the spam emails. (This is why it is very important to use a subject line that will catch their attention like the suggestion above)
They have been too busy to reply and the email has simply disappeared down the list and they have overlooked it.
They may only open their emails once a week. (Yes believe it or not some people only look at their emails once or twice a week)
They may have gone on holiday and simply aren't there.

So - there may be any number of reasons why they haven't responded to you - don't necessarily jump to conclusions that they are time wasters. There is probably a genuine reason they haven't responded - especially if they had taken the time and courtesy with their initial response email to personally address it to you and sign their name.

It's all in the follow up. Simply move that lead into a follow-up folder or put them into your diary to follow up in a few days time. More on this soon.

The person does respond.

Great! Now you have someone who is definitely interested in what you have got and they have given you permission to send more information on by email attachment. This is where it is important to give them good information without too much hype. You are now trying to establish rapport with the person. I tend to be a bit wary about introducing the Networking Business Opportunity to soon to people unless they are already in the Network Industry. So your response is governed by the type of lead you are dealing with.

This is how I respond to a networker targeted on the Internet.

Subject line: Re Organics

Dear <name>,

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have attached several PDF documents for your reference. I am sure you will find these interesting. Especially the fact our products are completely free of ALL synthetic chemicals.

As a Networker I am sure you will be very interested in the way this business opportunity is set up to incorporate Seamless Sponsoring throughout the world. It means we can personally sponsor and support distributors who live anywhere as long as they have access to the Internet and they are living on Planet Earth.

To properly assess the opportunity please visit www.mienterprize.com/?username site for an audio/visual presentation of the business opportunity. I'm sure you will be impressed with the sustained growth the worldwide organic industry is enjoying.

I'm sure you will like more information on how to get started once you have seen the presentation so please feel free to fill in the simple form at the end and make any comments about your experience or ask any questions you may have.

I can send on an explanation of the Marketing Plan in PowerPoint and also a PowerPoint presentation of the products. Feel free to ask for these if you would to investigate further. If you have trouble downloading or opening PowerPoint presentations you can visit this URL for a click through explanation of "The Plan" www.hallgold.com/comp-plan.htm Please note that this is an older version of the Marketing Plan and doesn't mention the 30% retail bonus that is paid on customers orders.

Bear in mind this opportunity is very unique. No other company has USDA Certified Organic skin care products which are made to food grade standards.

This means NO OTHER company can legally display all the recognised certifying organic organisations logos, including the coveted USDA Organic logo, for any of the major markets around the world - whether on their products and on their website.

These products meet and are Certified Organic in the USA - Australia - New Zealand - Japan - and easily exceed the compromised UK and EU requirements.

100% Synthetic Chemical FREE products are exactly what millions of consumers are actively seeking.

The organic market is growing at an enormous rate so we are assured of substantial and continuing growth with the business for many years to come. Worldwide the growth has been reported at 22% compounded every year for the last 5 years. The UK in 2004, achieved a staggering 40% growth with organics. The growth of the organic industry can certainly be reflected in the massive growth Organic Natural Enterprise which has enjoyed a staggering 2500% increase over the last 18 mths.

If you feel you would like to be part of the team and you have access to the Internet, then please click on the your country flag or "other countries" if your country flag is not depicted and follow the simple procedure to register as an Associate. The cost is just AUD $88 or US $60, which gives you the right to build an International Network Marketing Business.

When registering please choose your username carefully as this is what people must remember to key into the Browser when looking up your site. The name should be all in lower case and preferably be easy to say and spell and preferably it should make sense. I suggest a combination of your first and last name or simply your first initial and last name.

I'm sure you will have questions - so I will be looking forward to answering them.

Please don't hesitate to get back to me.

Sincerely

This is how I respond to someone who is not a Networker and is perhaps more interested in the retailing of products via their existing business. This could be an organic shop you have approached by emailing them or a mail order business etc..


Subject line: Re Organics Dear <name> Thanks for getting back to me. Speaking from personal experience I can vouch for the fact these products are simply wonderful. I am sure, once you try them, you and your customers will agree with me that 100% synthetic-chemical-free is a major plus. I have attached several PDF documents for you to look at - including the product brochure and an interesting article by Narelle Chenery about the hype and confusion surrounding so-called natural products. It is a bit of an eye opener what some of these so called "natural product" companies are getting away with. Please visit my website www.onegrp.com/?yourname where you will find all the products listed and every ingredient used in them is also listed. It is important to note that the complete product range is Certified Organic by all the major certifying bodies in the world which of course includes the BFA here in Australia and the prestigious USDA organic certification. This company is the first company anywhere in the world to come up with a complete Certified Organic product line that actually meets the stringent requirements of the US Department of Agriculture. As a retailer of the products you can purchase at up to 50% discount direct from the company when placing a bulk order. Otherwise 20 to 40% discounts apply depending on the quantity ordered. To register is simple. Click on the your country flag and then click on the Join Now link. I suggest you register as a FREE Health Professional Affiliate first so you can check the products and the discount structure out thoroughly before placing your order. If you like the concept of referral marketing you may wish to upgrade to the Representative status. This would mean every customer you refer directly to the company through your own replicated site, you will be paid 30% of the retail values of the customers order. If the customer orders over $100 worth they get a 10% off retail discount and free shipping to any country in the world. Your bonus commission on customer orders in turn reduces to 20% Many Affiliates see the huge benefits in not needing to buy or handle the products in any way shape or form and upgrade immediately to become Representatives. There are few places you would earn 30% commission just for finding customers like this. Records of every transaction is kept in the "Back Office" of your website and bonus commissions from your customers are paid daily into your account. This is all done automatically for you. There is no need for you to handle the products or do any of the ordering yourself - to have credit facilities - handle money or stock the products if you don't want to. The complete e-commerce website is already set up. All you need to do is to tell people how to buy the products online and direct from the manufacturers. Of course if you have a shop or a retail outlet then you can still buy the products direct from the company at up to 50% discount in the traditional way and sell them at a substantial 100% mark up. Some people even set up their own e-commerce website and distribute the products from their own stock. What many Affiliates/resellers are doing is stocking the products so customers can buy over the counter but also informing the customers of how to buy online direct from the company. Most customers who have Internet access do find this attractive because of the online discounts and the convenience of free home delivery. The choice of course would be yours as to how you would like to approach the business. I am sure you will have questions about the business and the products so please feel completely free to get back to me. I will look forward to hearing from you soon. Kind regards <Your name>

Note: There are no hard and fast rules how you should approach people. The main thing is to be helpful and respond quickly to any enquiries that come in. If you are approaching this business with a proper plan then you will realise the importance of being efficient and yet personable with people.

NOTE:2 ONE Group can change the rules. The onus is on you to ensure that percentages and various references I make are in fact correct before you use the information in the above letters as being 100% correct. At the time of writing this training website the information was correct to the best of my knowledge. It is your business and your responsibility to cross check against the latest information from ONE Group

The lead doesn't respond

For the people who don't respond to you, move them into a follow up folder in your Outlook Express program and work through them in 3 to 4 days time. It's a simple matter of re-sending the original email to them and politely asking if they had inadvertently deleted your previous email. Again use a good subject line which catches their attention. I always find using Polite note and their name in the subject line almost always ensures it is read.

Subject: Polite note <name>

Dear <name>,

Just a quick note to follow up in case you accidentally deleted or didn't receive my previous email about the Certified Organics. Perhaps the problem is at my end as I don't seem to have any record of a reply.

Anyway just in case you didn't get my email here it is again.

Kind regards

(Include a copy of your previous email)

If there is still no response then they may be on holiday or simply haven't opened their emails. I find sometimes people respond a month later! However, follow up is still very important so keep on moving the leads through a succession of follow up folders over the coming weeks until you are satisfied the lead is "dead".

I would say a time period something like this would be appropriate

First email about the business and products
4 days later resend the original email with a polite note
If still no response after 2 weeks send them another email and simply ask them if they are interested in the products and business. You are standing by to help with any questions they may have.
Still no response after 4 more weeks send another email and say something like "I appreciate the timing isn't always quite right when looking at a business opportunity. I was wondering if you would like me to contact you again in say a months time about the organic business?"
Most of the time people will respond by this time and let you know whether they are still interested or not.
If no response put them onto an email list of leads to be contacted at some time in the future.

If you approach your recruitment systematically, you will have a constant stream of people joining you in your business. Teach your downline to use the same methods and you will have explosive growth in your group.

Building Rapport with Leads by Email