by Michael S. Clouse
Sadly, it is often the most common
story told in our business...
It seems "Mary" had been
in four different deals (and I'm using that word—"deals"—correctly)
before finding the Network Marketing Company of her dreams. The problem: Mary
is trying to put together yet another warm market list—a list of at least 100
people for her to contact.
Warm market indeed! As our
fictitious friend stares down at her yellow lined blank sheet of paper, she now
understands what it feels like to be an official member of the NFL club—No
Friends Left!
Frustrated with the knowledge that
she has no one to contact, and with her sights still set on success, Mary heads
straight towards a cold cruel market—that wild wintry world of advertising, cold
calls and worst of all, those opportunity seekers' e-mail lists.
With no degree in marketing, no
advertising experience, and without any knowledge of the right MLM prospecting
tools, our friend Mary is doomed to fail. And the saddest part is, she will
probably blame her downfall on our industry, her new company, or a lack of
upline support.
But what if there was a better
way?
Well, there is...
Years ago I discovered a great way
to create a never-ending source of new MLM prospects while I was attempting to
reserve a booth at a local trade show. Unfortunately, I was a little late and
the show had already sold out. Interested in learning all I could, I decided to
go anyway, do a little research and determine if the next event would prove a
profitable possibility.
My goal was simple: Enter each
booth, ask to speak with the person in charge, and start the conversation off
letting them know I had tried to reserve space in the show, but it had already
sold out. I asked them about the show: "Was this the first time they had
exhibited here? Were the attendees just looking or were they buying?"
Then it hit me: What if, after a
few questions and some general rapport building, I asked this question:
"Do you think my company would do well at a show like this?"
"I don't know," would
come their seemingly scripted reply, followed by an apparently pre-programmed,
"What does your company do?"
Bingo! Got 'em! Hook, line and
sinker—along with the chance to give my 30-second commercial 100 times in four
hours. This was better than having a booth (and cheaper, too). Twenty-seven
prospects later, I'd perfected the perfect MLM prospecting system. And, I might
add, it has been working beautifully for years.
If you want more MLM prospects,
set aside four hours, grab 10 bucks and your business cards, and check out an
appropriate trade show in your area. Using this approach, you'll walk away with
all the hot leads you can handle.
