MLM Marketing Blog

Prospecting with Business Cards Survey

Diana Ratliff,  a business card expert who's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Staples.com needs your help.  She is being interviewed next week by an MLM training company SPECIFICALLY about how network marketers can prospect with their business cards and would like to find out what you really want to know about using business cards.

If you'd like to participate in the survey, please visit her survey page here.  Please be as specific as possible with your questions.

Thanks!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Reverse Recruiting

One of my pet peeves are people who reverse recruit other network marketers who advertise on the net or in offline publications or post in online forums. You know the type, "Hi, I love your post. And I wanted to tell you about my great XYZ company that you need to join right now!"  Yuk! This is such an annoying way to do business, yet some people insist on doing it anyway. Go figure.

Here's an interesting post on the Network Marketing Inspiration blog about the ethics or lack thereof of using this dubious marketing tactic.

Reverse Recruiting

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

4 Step Plan for Business Success

Here's some great advice on how to achieve success in business and any other profession from Larry A. Thompson, a film producer and motivational speaker.  Check out the 10 Success Killers list at the bottom of the article too.  It's a real eye opener!

How to Succeed in Any Business

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Standing Out From the Crowd

These days it seems like there is more competition than ever in the  MLM field - new companies spring up out of nowhere overnight and everyone is touting their hot new “product du jour.”  So what do you do to stand out in this over-heated, over-hyped market?

Well, fortunately, it’s not that hard. Most people don’t really think too much about how to market their MLM business in an effective and creative way.  Most people are lazy and just do the minimum and wait for the money to roll in -- Not!

What you really MUST do to stand out from the MLM masses is to make the benefits of doing business with you so powerful that your potential customers and recruits will see you clearly as the best choice for their sponsor.

This is especially important if you want to successfully recruit people long distance -- you don’t have the advantage of being able to speak to them face to face -- you need to have a strong offer that really will convince them that you are the person they should do business with.

I’m always amazed when I receive information packs in the mail from distributors who obviously think that it’s not important to tell me who they are and why they are sending me this information.  They don’t include a letter or note introducing themselves; they just throw a bunch of company sales literature in an envelope, stick their name and phone number on the back and expect that to do the trick.

What a waste! With no personal letter or note and no information as to why I should consider them as a potential sponsor, how can I make an informed decision about whether this great opportunity is for me? And if they don’t follow up with a phone call, letter, or e-mail (which happens 95% of the time); most likely I’ll toss their expensive package of sales literature and keep looking for something better.

One of the most difficult things for people building an MLM business is learning how to market their business effectively. Ordering the company literature and being passionate about the products is just the beginning -- you need to spend some time crafting a dynamite marketing system that gets results.

So, here’s some tips you can use to make your marketing efforts more productive and set yourself apart from the crowd:

Target one or two niche markets to focus on. Develop a marketing campaign designed to get their attention. What’s a good niche? Here’s some ideas to get you started - stay at home moms, downsized middle managers, women, men, generation Xers, baby boomers, seniors.

Tip: Pick a niche that you are already part of - this will make it easier for you to figure out what that group’s needs and wants are.

Always send out a personalized letter with your information packages. Tell them your story - this will help make you more “real” to your faraway prospects and customers and help them get to know you. People like to do business with people they know and like -- do everything you can to make an emotional contact with them.  Including a picture of yourself on your letter will also make your personalized letter more effective. 

Develop a “Success Pak” for your downline - offer them a customized sales letter, free leads, free postcards etc. Give them a plan to get them started on the right path.

Develop a short customer/downline newsletter and send it out at least monthly; include success stories, info on new products, business tips and resources etc.  It can be sent via e-mail, fax or mail. I have never known any successful MLMers that didn’t provide some sort of “newsletter” to their downline.  It can be 2 pages, 4 pages or more; letter or postcard size; elaborate or simple. The idea is to just keep in contact on a regular basis.

Develop a web page that offers “real” information to help your potential customers build their business. There’s a lot of MLMer’s with web pages on the Internet that are just basic billboards.  You can stand out by offering a little something more. 

Write some helpful “tip reports” to share with people online and off.  I know of one superstar MLMer who gives away free reports to anyone who’s interested.  She provides valuable information that acts as a powerful “recruiter” for her business.

THINK SERVICE! Put yourself in your prospect's shoes and think of all the ways you can help them succeed in their business and then DO THEM!  If you help your people to succeed and reach their goals, then you will be successful too.

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Outrageous Acts

I once asked my readers the following question “What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever tried to build your MLM business, and did it succeed?” Several people responded, but Marlee Huber’s response really got my attention as it will yours. Here’s what could happen in your business if you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and take a risk!

“Linda...I can't help but respond to your quest for outrageous actions. Here's mine!

We were the proud possessors of some frequent flier tickets when we got this harebrained idea. With our tickets we flew to a distant city where we participated in a large business briefing, then rented a motor home and drove 600 miles south to a state we had never visited to meet a handful of so-so distributors that we'd never laid eyes on.

The leader of this group had been active, that is until they bought a new home and discovered termites. You can only imagine who got the attention then. We did do one thing before we left home, however. We placed a classified ad in the paper for the city where we were going and told the callers we would invite them to a meeting, time and place yet undetermined when we arrived. When we arrived at our new distributor's home about four in the afternoon, we told her about the ad and said the respondents from the newspaper would be at her house by 7 PM.

Amazingly, she agreed. When her husband arrived home from work, he looked us over from head to toe and disappeared. At seven, three of the most unusual couples you'd ever want not to join your business appeared at the door. Their demeanor let us know that some of these spouses came under duress. Nevertheless, the meeting went smoothly. The three couples disappeared and never did anything--thank goodness, I can only imagine what types they would have drug into our business--and our new distributor remained constant that she really didn't care to get further involved with this business.

The whole scenario looked bleak. The good news is we remained in contact with this consultant and a short time later she told her husband, “I want to do this business, and I think I can be good.” Good isn’t the word for her. They are soon to become Diamond Directors and generally pull in the top unit volume in the nation monthly. I say “They” because her physician husband is very much involved in this business and tells his doctor buddies, “This is the best retirement program you can get.” Get me another motor home and let's hit the road, honey!!

Actually, I can’t believe we really did this--we’re both usually so shy! About my outrageous act--I only wish I had the courage to do it more often. That act has produced about 90% of my organization to date. And it’s spreading all over North America.” - Marlee Huber

I hope that you are inspired by Marlee’s story and that it gives you the courage to step out of your comfort zone this week and take a risk too!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Report Shows Women Rule the Web

Here's a fascinating article that I thought I should pass on to you.

According to a report from eMarketer, women now make up 51.6% of the US online population and their numbers are growing each day.

With the influence of women growing across the Internet, businesses that want to reach these women as customers will need to use techniques that appeal to them, including word of mouth marketing, e-mail and relationship-building.

Read the entire article here:  It's a Women's Web

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Why your prospect can't decide

If you've been attracting prospects that constantly sit on the fence about making a decision to join your business or buy your products, here's an article by Jeffrey Gitomer, author of the Sales Bible, about what really makes people decide to say "Yes" to a sale.

Why your prospect can't decide . . .

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Phone Marketing Tips

Here's some good tips to keep in mind when you make phone calls for your business:

- Put a smile on your face to put a smile in your voice.

- Say Good Morning (Afternoon, Evening) enthusiastically.

- Speak clearly and enunciate your words.

- Announce the purpose of your call.

- Ask permission if you must put a person on hold.

- Verify name and address if literature is being sent.

- Hang up phone gently.

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Networking Tips You Can Use

If you haven't been using one of the most effective methods for promoting your business, here's a link to an article by Carrie Perrien Smith with some great ideas on how to put the "network" back into your network marketing business.

Boost Your Business by Networking

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

6 Proven Methods for Getting Referrals

Referrals are a great way to build your business, but many people hate asking for them.  Here's a link to a helpful article by David Frey on how to get referrals without asking.

I Hate Asking for Referrals! – 6 Proven Methods for Getting a Flood of Referrals Without Asking

Enjoy!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog