Hey You! Want a Prosthetic Leg?

Hey You! Want A Prosthetic Leg?

#1- They are the best prosthetic legs in the world!

#2- They are functional, supportive, and long lasting!

#3- I love them!

#4-- They…

Wait…what?

Oh you have both your legs.

So…do you know anyone who…

So you don’t wanna buy any?

Oh sorry to bother you.

(I’m such an idiot. Why didn’t I remember to mention X, if only I had said Y)

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This is exactly what I see all kinds of network marketers doing out there. Notice the following:

1. They pitch their business/product before they know anything about their prospect.

2. They haven’t taken the time to develop a relationship with their prospect

3. They are hard on themselves for failing (ignorance)

4. No posture

5. A more subtle point- they aren’t in their target market

#1 and #2 often go hand in hand. The most important part of the process is first understanding if the person they are talking to is someone who,

- Is qualified for what they offer?

- Has a sufficient want, need, or desire regarding what they offer

This applies to retail as much as prospecting.

Being “qualified” is much more than a statement of necessity, (hey they have enough money to join my business! Yipee!), there is a difference between capability and willingness. Anyone is capable of earning more money, anyone is capable of buying your product, that doesn’t make them qualified. While want, need, or desire is vital, even that is not everything. They have to be willing to sacrifice something, to exchange something. There are many people who want everything for nothing, they are not qualified.

In reality the cost of something is not the monetary value attached to it. You have to look at what you are getting and what you are giving up. These things are intangible. Take convenience for example, you pay more for a cold beverage that is much smaller than a larger yet warmer container of the same soda, why? Convenience. It would be inconvenient to have to pop that thing in the freezer when you get home and wait even for 15 minutes. IM THIRSTY NOW!

You see people pay more for all kinds of things it is your job to point out this common sense understanding when it pops up as an objection. Then again they have to be willing to listen, which will come out of developing a relationship first.

In the process of building a relationship you will learn what this person is looking for, their want , need, or desire. This is a relationship business, not a convincing business. You see, if someone already wants what you have to offer, why would you need to convince them?

Yes things are sold at some point but whether that is a product or business, the buyers will convince themselves to buy it if they have a sufficient want , need , or desire. You are just there to facilitate an inevitable outcome. If you are developing a relationship then the person you are connecting with will buy what you offer from you or someone else, it’s your choice.

As stated above they are too hard on themselves for failing. This has everything to do with their perception of failure. While making changes will increase their success rate they need to understand the fundamental concept of failure. Failure only means you have found a person that (at this time) does not have a sufficient want need or desire for what you offer or is not qualified. It is that easy. Unfortunately many people mix good concepts (Enthusiasm, product benefits, asking for a referral) with a bad method ( pitching, convincing) therefore they are left confused by the source of their failure.

Rather than get into all the head games that people play with themselves in this process let me just say one simple statement. GET OVER YOURSELF! You are not so special that every time you see someone they are thinking about you or continue to think about you when you leave no less.

Think about when you go to the drive through and they ask you some up sell question “would you like cheese fries with that?” You say either no or yes depending YOUR situation . You certainly don’t spend the rest of your day thinking “wow! what was with that lady at the drive through?” waking up in a cold sweat later that night “AH! CHEEEESE FRIIEEES!”. Odds are good you considered your situation gave your answer and moved on with your life. Understand this and you’re on your way down posture avenue, grab your big boy pants. (It’s just a saying, they could be big girl pants too, no offense).

Posture is often just an understanding of the way things are. For instance when you are prospecting someone this should move like an interview because that is what it is. Often posture can be greatly lifted simply through the understanding of simple things. Dig into who you are, what you have a hold of, and where you are going and posture will not be an issue. In regards to this I can’t really recommend black belt recruiting enough for the changes its made with me.

This all goes back to basics in addressing a subtle point that goes on over looked by many marketers. That is working in their target market. I am well aware that in regards to network marketing there are those that would consider everyone breathing in their target market. Rather than argue that let me just say that you could fragment your market infinitely but if you don’t narrow it down you are not going to able to measure who is responding and who is not.

Marketing without testing is like banging your head on the table and wondering why it hurts. You’ll figure it out eventually, but if you just go bang your head on something else well you haven’t done yourself a lot of good. If you are marketing prosthetic legs you don’t market to people who have both their legs. If you’re marketing a business you don’t pitch your business to people who have one.

“But I want to talk to network marketers, they get it, some are even successful already, what am I supposed to do?” Build relationships, and monetize them with value. The key to this is a funded proposal.

If you don’t know what that is, it has the power to absolutely revolutionize your business. Do yourself a favor and invest in your future if you haven’t already.

To Your Success,

Ken

Read more at my spartan MLM blog