MLM Myths #2 This Business Is NOT About Selling
Hahahahaha! That’s really funny..! It’s one of the lines of one the network marketing and MLM business guru’s. I remember my eyes jerking from the road to my CD player in my dashboard when I heard it on a training recording. (It was a rude awakening… everything that had been said until then made perfect sense to me…)
Anyone telling this porky pie is in SERIOUS denial…
MLM companies know that most people hate the thought of selling anything, and the reasons why this is so, is because their consultants are not taught how to market effectively and professionally and everyone knows from direct experience that we all HATE the hard sell…
So, let’s use our head for just a moment…
What is a business? Any business?
A business is an environment where goods, services or information are exchanged for money. Yes?
Let’s be clear here, there is nothing inherently dishonorable about this business process. There is nothing terrible or shameful about accepting money for quality products or services that people want. Do you resent giving the staff at the till money in the supermarket for your groceries? How about the garage owner, when they get you back on the road?
I’ll digress for a moment and say that if you have a problem with this concept, I would respectfully suggest that you possibly have a little work to do on your mindset about money. This is REALLY important – money issues will hold you back in your business if you leave them unaddressed.
The home truth is, all business is about selling. There is nothing wrong with that.
But consider this.
People hate to be sold. They do however, like to buy stuff.
Now, if MLM and Network Marketing companies were even remotely interested in the success of their consultants, they would be teaching effective sales techniques. Mostly new independent consultants are taught to “share” their products and opportunities with everyone they know, using the ‘six foot rule’. This sets distributors up to fail from the start.
The first and most critical thing to understand about great salesmanship, is that it is NOT about convincing. It is not about talking people into buying your ‘life changing’ product or ‘ground floor’ business opportunity. Frankly, they could not care less about either of these things.
People want to know one thing only. Pay attention here…
This is the only thing you should be concerned about, and it involves putting yourself in your prospects shoes.
WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?
That’s right. Your prospect is only concerned with how your product, service or information can help them in their life to solve their problem, meet their need, or get what what they want. It’s that simple and that complex.
An effective salesperson will listen to what their prospects want in the first instance. If what your prospect is looking for does not match what you have to offer, waste no more time or energy; move on immediately. To try and persuade someone that you have what they want, even though it is transparently clear that you don’t, is disrespectful, demeaning to both of you, unprofessional and a complete and utter waste of your time and theirs.
You will go NOWHERE in your business engaging ‘hard sell’ sales strategies like this. Great salesmanship is about developing an intelligent and appropriate response to feedback from your prospect.
If you do feel that what you have to offer is a great match for what your prospect is looking for, then you supply them with all of the accurate and relevant information they need to arrive at their decision on their own. Remember, you are not selling a commodity in this environment. Your prospect cannot ‘try before they buy’. They must be very certain in their own mind that they want to proceed.
If someone is reviewing your network marketing business opportunity, they are going to need to be given the time and space to complete a thorough due diligence before they make any financial commitment. This is absolutely reasonable. If they have been given a ‘push’ by you to sign up in your business, believe me when I say that the chances of them forging ahead in their own business are slim to none. If they do sign up, they could be gone within weeks.
Now all of these techniques are dependent on your having a highly targeted marketing system in place in the first instance. Your marketing filtering system should be one which qualifies your prospects before you even speak with them. So your time is not wasted by “tyre kickers” who are ‘just curious’.
In the Internet age, learning how to market online will be the key to creating this type of automated filtering and sifting system.
Being told that there is ‘no selling’ involved in a business opportunity should raise alarm bells in your mind. If you are told this by a potential sponsor, be aware that you will most likely receive sales training that will equip you nicely to do business…in 1980.
Don’t be fooled by this MLM myth. Learn the difference between the MLM hard-sell or mastery of effective marketing of a valid business proposition.
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