In MLM, they say the fortune is in the follow-up. I think that’s true, because most people in MLM don’t follow up at all, at least not as professionals. You need to understand some important concepts if you’re going to master this skill.
Concept #1–Follow-up is doing what you said you would do.
If you say you’re going to call at a specific time, then do it. The Network Marketing Profession is full of people who get all excited one minute and then go missing in action the next. Run your business through a physical or electronic calendar. Be the person who does what they say they’re going to do. People will respect that.
Concept #2–The only reason to have an exposure is to set up the next exposure.
The only reason to have an exposure is to set up the next exposure. If you finish each exposure by setting up the next one, the prospect will eventually become educated on the opportunity and make an informed decision.Following up after an exposure:The best follow-up question I’ve ever used is, “What did you like best?” This question will take you in a very positive direction and will give you clues as to the level of their interest. If they say “the product,” then your next exposure will probably be product-related. If they say “financial freedom,” then your next exposure will be opportunity-related.Another great question to ask is “On a scale of one to 10, with one being zero interest and 10 being ready to get started right away, where are you right now?” With this question, anything over a one is GOOD. It says they have some interest. Most of the time you’ll get something like a five or a six. No matter what number they give you, all you’re going to do is ask them how you can help them get to a higher number. Usually that answer will go along the lines of how they answered, “What did you like best?”If the answer is very positive and the number is fairly high, you can go directly into the closing process (we’ll cover that in the next section). If it isn’t an obvious green light, then you’ll just schedule the next exposure. They might want to understand the compensation plan, so you set up a time to get together and review it (the next exposure). They might want to talk with their spouse, so you send them home with materials they can share with their spouse and set up a date and time when you’ll follow up (the next exposure). Whatever it is, you never finish one exposure without setting up the next one. Never! If you do, it’s over.
Concept #3–It takes an average of four to six exposures for the average person to join
Professionals understand that it takes an average of four to six exposures for a prospect to become involved. Their goal is education and understanding. It’s hard to educate someone in one exposure. So they take them from exposure to exposure to exposure, knowing it will eventually sink in. Through that process, they also build a stronger relationship with the prospect. They strengthen the friendship. That helps build trust, and people enjoy working with people they like.Four to six exposures is an average, which means that for every person who joins on the first exposure, there’s going to be a person who takes more than 10 exposures to join. You just never know. Some of the best people in Network Marketing were prospected for years before they finally made the decision to take part in the opportunity. Keep your urgency—but have patience.
Concept #4–Condense the exposures for better results
Posers prospect someone once and move on. Amateurs prospect someone through several exposures over time. Professionals condense those exposures into the shortest time possible.People are busy. They are constantly distracted by life. When you are approaching them to take a look at something new, it’s important to keep their interest; the best way to do that is to stack the exposures as close together as possible.
Questions and Objections
At every step in the recruiting process, you’ll come across questions and objections. This is natural. A lot of the time, your prospect will just be bringing them up to sound intelligent. They don’t want to seem easy, so they throw out objections to feel better. How you respond is extremely important. If you act defensive, you’ll plant a seed of doubt in theirminds. If you act offensive, you’ll chase them away.Objections fall into one of two categories. The first is the prospects’ limiting belief in their abilities. They aren’t sure they can be successful. The second is a limiting belief in Network Marketing. They aren’t sure Network Marketing will help them achieve their goals in life.For both categories, one of the best concepts is empathy— how you relate to people. And the best way I know to relate to people is to let them know you’re just like they are. You had the same doubts, the same questions, the same fears, and you overcame them. Believe it or not, your story (and the stories of others) will do more for you in overcoming objections than anything else.There’s an old tactic called “Feel/Felt/Found.” It works with the concept of empathy. When a prospect offers an objection, you respond with, “I know how you feel. I felt the same way. But here is what I found.” You can use that quite literally and with great success. You can also modify it based upon your story and your prospect.Read pages 86 – 92 of Go Pro to see how to handle these objections.
Happy Building!
