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