More prosects than you can handle but not many sign ups for your business

Copyright (c) 2007 Robin Rushlo

You've placed that ad, mailed a prospecting postcard, handed out your business card, or even shot out an e-mail offering free information about your business opportunity or even giving away free VACATIONS. You've followed all the basic rules of advertising. You've made your offer stand out from the competition with an attention getting headline. You have created interest and a desire to find out more about your offer in your body text. You have made it easy for your prospect to respond to your offer by including a toll free number and a web site URL.If you want to increase the number of people that join you in a business partnership try these ideas:

Realize that you are not making a one time sale. Your goal is not just to get them into your company and to buy product. You are asking them to be your partner and at the same time you are offering your partnership to them. Understand that no matter how easy your opportunity may be, it takes some work and it will require a few skills. Your new distributors will probably not have these skill when they join you. That's why you must be willing to commit yourself to your distributors. This commitment comes through to your prospect. If it's not there they may feel overwhelmed by the opportunity and perhaps underqualified. Being a partner means going the distance for your people by helping them build their business.

If you're not talking to your prospects on the phone, you need to. The best way to build relationships over distances is on the phone. Simply sending out a package and then crossing your fingers for a "big hitter" isn't going to cut it. E-mail by itself won't do it either. Most people cringe when I tell them that they need to get on the phone. It's something not too many non-sales types enjoy. Remember that statistically 95% to 97% of the people who join a network marketing program never earn over $200 a month. Most never earn a dime. The same percentage of people (05% to 97%) do not use the phone as a part of their prospecting efforts. Coincidence? I doubt it! To overcome fear of the phone I recommend that new people (or people who are ready to get serious about their business) start by simply calling all the respondents to their ads before they send out a package. I also will tell you that roe playing over the phone with a sponsor or upline or spouse will also help you greatly. Thus removing the marbles from your mouth and being ready to work.

To make it extra easy, start out by only verifying the person's address. You'll be surprised at how often addresses get misunderstood and written down wrong. In this one call you have given your prospect a voice to associate with the package they will soon receive. You have become a real person to them. And you didn't have to make a sales pitch or answer questions! You may be nervous about calling people, but after you talk to a hundred people you will be quite comfortable on the phone. And at this point you will have added a valuable new skill to your arsenal. Rehearse what you are going to say also. Everyday before getting on the phone you must practice. Just like a singer that warms up before the concert you need to warm up before calling. Once you are comfortable start getting serious by asking your prospect if they have been in networking, what companies they are looking at and even ask them if they have the necessary funds to invest in a business. Don't send too much information in your first package. We tend to overwhelm prospects with multiple brochures, tapes, videos and booklets. Too much information can be a bad thing. I recommend that your first package contain a cover letter with a personal twist. Not a sales letter as much as a personal letter explaining the package. If you have a personal success story, either with the product and/or service this is the place to tell your prospect about it. Write the letter as you would to a friend. Be personal, warm and friendly. In addition to your cover letter (which can be one or more pages) include a brochure or some other company prepared literature on your opportunity and product. If you have a large number of products you may not want to send information on all of them at one time. Next you can add an audio or video tape if you feel it's appropriate. Another good thing to add is a free product sample if you have a product that lends itself to this. Your prospect should be able to review the information within a half hour. So again, keep it simple. A Web URL is also a good thing to throw in or even tell them about on the phone.

Make sure your info package sells you and your opportunity. When you go through your package try to look at it from your prospects point of view. They have probably never seen your company before. Even if they have, what is it they see when they open your package? Is your message clear? What are you offering? What is the product and what will this do for the prospect? It may be clear to you but that does not mean it will be clear to your prospect. Have a friend review your package and give you an impression of it. If you're a Leaders Club member you can have someone from our marketing staff review your package for free. They'll give you an overview and even a few tips on how to improve your package.

Follow-up with your prospect. A good follow-up can forgive even a poor info package and it can often double your results. The problem is that less than 25% of distributors who use the phone (we're talking just a handful) make follow-up calls. Interestingly, that's also about the percentage of people who make full-time incomes in network marketing. A follow-up call is a sure sign of your commitment to your prospect. It's the perfect opportunity to make sure that they got the package, had time to review it and to answer any questions that they might have. If you're not comfortable in doing this by yourself then get with your upline and have them do a few three-way calls with you and your prospects. Once you get comfortable you will do the same for your new distributors.

Keep up the contact once they have joined. One of the biggest complaints I hear is that new distributors never hear from their sponsor or upline. If you want to build a long lasting, loyal downline and keep attrition to a minimum then you must build a relationship with your people. The people who will stick with you even when things don't go as planned are the ones you have a relationship with. Amway is a prime example of this. The rank and file make very little money with Amway, yet they stick around because they are made to feel like they belong to something special. If you and your company are special then you need to make your people feel that way too. To build that relationship you must communicate with your downline especially your first level people. An occasional telephone call works the best, but you could also communicate via e-mail or even regular mail for that matter. What I'm talking about here is interaction. Just sending a newsletter does not qualify as a relationship builder. A newsletter is fine for the rest of your organization, but not for your first level people.

Follow these steps and I know that very soon you will not only be getting calls from your advertising you will also be getting new distributors as well. Beyond that you will also be making a lot of new friends and hopefully a lot of money too!