How I Helped My Friend Get Rich with 3-Ways

I’ll start off by saying this as simply as I can.  Three-way calls work.  Three-ways calls help you learn.  Three-way calls can produce loads and loads of business for you.  Period.  

It boggles my mind how many people do not make use of this incredibly powerful tool to propel their business forward. 

I have found this to be fact.  Those people in my organizations that did the most three-way calls made the most money.  Those that consistently made use of this tool sponsored the most people.  There were no exceptions. 

Let me share a quick story with you.  I have a very close friend of mine that I began working with over a decade ago.  He was a struggling network marketer.  He wanted success, but he just didn’t have two critical things he needed:  skills and time.  He had all the potential in the world, but just didn’t know exactly how to play the game.  In fact, he came to me one day and said, “Todd…I’m going to quit.  I’m not making any money and I just can’t find the time I need to devote to the business to make it work.”

I knew this guy could do it.  I knew he had the potential.  In our discussion, I uncovered something very interesting.  He said he didn’t have the time.  So I asked him what he meant by that.  He told me he was commuting to work two hours each day. 

I was like, “What?  You’re in your car two hours each direction, 5 days a week?” 

He said, “Yep.  I am.” 

I replied, “So Mark, what are you doing during your drive time?”

Mark said, “Driving and listening to talk radio.”

I basically went on to tell Mark that he had 20 hours a week that he was not making use of in his business.  I told him very simply, “Mark…max out your minutes on your cell phone tomorrow.  Get your leads ready the night before you go to work each day and simply prospect during your commute time and bring people to me.  I will show you how to do this business and start sponsoring some people.” 

He agreed and did exactly as I instructed. 

Over the next 12 months, Mark went on to bring literally hundreds and hundreds of people to me via three-way calls while commuting to and from work.  During that time frame, he went from earning virtually nothing to earning in excess of $10,000 per month. 

Why and how did this happen?  He made use of one of the most powerful weapons we all have at our disposal:  3-way calling!  He didn’t know the lingo, the phrases, the questions, all the little details that a pro might know, so he used me. 

Not only did Mark go from earning nothing to six-figures during that time frame, he learned how to become a master at prospecting.  Every time I was speaking to his prospect he was listening, learning and earning.  You can’t help but get good at something if you repetitively hear someone who is better than you are. 

The next year Mark went on to personally sponsor over 300 people into that company.  That is an average of more than 25 personally enrolled people per month, every month of the year.  He won every sponsoring contest.  He won every bonus.  He was the top recruiter in the entire company!  He blew me off the map!  Fortunately, he was in my group, so I wasn’t complaining. 

Mark is now a full-time network marketer and has been for years.  He lives in his dream home in North Carolina and has the lifestyle he always dreamed about. 

The moral of this story is this.  Use your leadership to learn and earn.  Make use of the people who have a financial interest in your success.  You will learn how to do this business much faster by working with people who may know more about building this type of business than you do. 

So…now that you know how important 3-way calling can be to your business, let me dive a bit into the details of this incredible little tool we all have at our disposal. 

Three way calls.  What are they?  Why? And, how to do them right?  There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about using three-way calling.  In order for you to get good at this whole game of prospecting, you have to master this simple tool now. 

First off...what is 3-way calling?  Two answers...the technical side is this.  Three-way calling is a service that you can have added, usually through your local phone company that allows you to be able to connect with an additional party, other than the person you are already on the phone with.  It costs just a few dollars a month, and you cannot live without it...period.  You absolutely, positively MUST have 3-way calling added to your phone service if you expect to thrive and survive in the network marketing industry.  There are no ifs or buts about it.  You’ve got to have it.  If you think you can’t afford it, forget one latte this week, and you’ve got it nailed. 

Here’s the basic gist of how it works.  You’re on the phone with a person...and you now want to bring in another person on the line.  You simply press the "Flash" button on your telephone.  In some cases you may not have a flash button, so you simply press the "Talk" or "On" button.  When you have 3-way calling on your phone it will give you another dial tone once you have pressed the flash button.  You simply dial the number of the other person you wish to reach, then press the "Flash" or "Talk" button again, and you are now on a 3-way call.  To disconnect and end the call with the party you have brought into the call, you simply press the "Flash" or "Talk" button again and it disconnects your second caller. 

Here is a BIG NO-NO that many novices make that you must remember to never, ever do.  Here’s the scenario.  You’re making dials to your prospects with you upline or sponsor on the telephone...meaning you are on the phone at the same time.  You’ve got your list and you're making calls together.  You hit the "Flash" button to go dial one of your prospects and forget to FLASH BACK to your sponsor.  You then get their voice mail or answering machine and leave a message, and THEN flash back to your sponsor.  You then proceed to have a conversation...where many times you are talking about that very person you have just called and left a message for...only to hear a "beep" that says, "your recording is complete".  In fact...most of the time, you probably won’t even hear that.  What did you just do?  You just left a message of you and your sponsor talking on the telephone to your prospect.  It is bad news and a bad impression.  Do not make that mistake. 

Here’s a tip for NEVER, ever making that mistake.  You’re on the phone with your sponsor...you press flash, dial the number of your prospect, IMMEDIATELY press flash once you have completed dialing their number, and say to your sponsor "Back".  That means you are back together on the line.  You should BOTH be hearing the phone ring.  Then...if you get their voice mail, leave a message.  When you are done leaving the message, press flash again.  This will disconnect your call with the prospect or

prospect’s answering machine.  I even like to double-check that I did disconnect the other call by pressing Flash yet again to make sure I hear a dial tone.  If I hear a dial tone, I know I am safe and haven’t made that dreaded mistake of talking about my prospect with my sponsor on my prospect’s answering machine.  I can't tell you how many times someone has called me up with a supposed "Heavy Hitter" on the line...because they know I have a track record of success in this industry, only to hear them talking about me on my answering machine.  It’s hilarious...and a mistake you definitely DO NOT want to make. 

Now that you know the basic technical stuff, and the big NO-NO's, let’s talk about the way to effectively use 3-way calling to make you money.  The most widely used 3-way call is for 3rd party validation and support from your upline.  So...here’s how it goes. 

You’re on the phone with your prospect.  You have taken them to review some information about your opportunity:  a live call, recorded call, a website, whatever it is that you do to present your business.  The person responds favorably to the initial exposure.  You then do the following.  Say, "Joe...can you hang on for a second."  Of course, they’ll say, "Sure".  People are used to hearing that.  Then...you simply press Flash and dial your sponsor or upline support person’s number.  Now...pay close attention.  This time it’s a little different.  Instead of you flashing right back and bringing the parties together...this is your quick opportunity to have a chat on the side with your sponsor to get them up to speed on who you are doing to be introducing to them.  Here’s what I do.  I dial my sponsor...and, if they answer, I say, "Susan...this is Todd.  You got a minute?  I’ve got a prospect on the line who just listened to our 20-minute live call.  He says he’s an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.  He has a background in sales but has never done MLM.  He sounds sharp.  Can you do the call?" 

If she says, "yes".  I say, "Great...hang on.  I’ll introduce you to him."  THEN...I press flash and bring the call together.  That took a total of about 20 to 30 seconds.  The prospect had no idea I was bringing on my upline. And quite frankly, it doesn’t matter.  It’s not for him or her to decide. 

Too many people make the OTHER crucial mistake of asking for permission to do a 3-way call.  Nix that idea out of your head.  You don’t need to ask.  You are in control.  Don’t ever ask for permission to do a 3-way.  Now, when I bring back my sponsor on the line, here’s what happens. I say to my prospect, "Joe...you back with me?  Great!  Listen.  I was able to grab a business partner of mine who is incredibly successful in the network marketing industry.  This is a woman you will be working with as well.  She is a top

earner and trainer with our company and one of the most-respected people in the entire industry.  Susan...this is Joe.  Joe this is Susan." 

Then...I shut up.  I don’t say a peep.  The third crucial mistake people make in 3-way calling is interrupting their upline by saying things like, "Susan, don’t forget to tell him about this or that."  You have just blown the entire upline edification process.  You introduced your prospect to an upline who you built up as an expert.  The expert KNOWS what to say and do.  You do not need to interrupt or interject.  You’ll know when it is appropriate to talk.  This isn’t totally black and white...but for a great

majority of people, don’t say anything.  Regarding the term upline edification...here’s what I did.  I introduced my sponsor or upline as an expert.  I gave some stats.  I made her sound like the successful person that she is.  I didn’t lie.  I created automatic authority and respect in the mind of my prospect for my upline.  Clue in on this one folks.  It’s important.  Build them up.  If I just said, "Hey Joe...this is Susan, a girl with our company."  What does that do?  Nothing.  Use the edification part to your advantage.  But, don’t build your person up to something that they’re not.  And, please definitely, DO NOT lie. 

Todd Falcone is an internationally recognized trainer with over 18 years of field experience in the profession of Network Marketing and Direct Sales.  He now focuses all of his time teaching others how to achieve success in home-business.  For more information on Todd, you can visit:  http://www.ToddFalcone.com