Do Business Well

Prospecting

All businesses need customers. Prospecting is the process of looking for suitable candidates to whom you could talk about your product and service. Without prospects your business is like a stream that dries up. Selling is about numbers. The more people you contact, the more sales you will make. Your network’s growth and the money you earn is determined by the amount of time you spend recruiting and training, and the quality of your distributors.

A question that is often asked is: how many prospects must I contact to grow my network? This is hard to answer. As a rule of thumb, it takes about three calls to get an interview. Of those who grant you an interview, about one in four will become a distributor. Out of every four distributors, one will be developing a network. And of those who become active distributors, about one in five will become high-level producers and earners. Continue Reading »

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After contacting your family and close friends, contact those prospects on your prospect list who are likely to give your business a flying start. Who are these people? Research suggests they have these characteristics:

They are enthusiastic and positive about what they do

Enthusiasm is like the glowing embers of a fire. Blow these embers gently and soon you have a roaring fire. Enthusiasm is catchy. It rubs off and it spurs people toaction.

They are believers in your products and company

You need convinced people in your network. There is nothing as convincing as someone who talks passionately, not because she believes that an idea might work but because she knows with mind, body and soul that it does.

They are ambitious

All progress depends upon ambition. If you are not ambitious, you will stay as you are for the rest of your life. Nothing will change. You want people who believe that they can make a difference. Continue Reading »

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There are dozens of methods of contacting prospects. The following are the most popular methods:

Over the phone

The quickest and most cost-effective way to get around is by phone. Although this has a down-side — you can’t see the customer, his face or his expressions — the phone should be used to obtain interviews where you can sell the opportunity.

Just bear in mind that a telephone call can be unwelcome. You are intruding on the prospect’s time. So make what you have to say short, relevant and of interest to the prospect. Your phone call must, within seconds, convey a benefit which will be of interest to that prospect.

Do not try to explain networking over the telephone. This rarely works. You want a face-to-face interview lasting just 10 minutes with the prospect to drop off material. If you can obtain that, and the prospect is interested, you can be sure that your appointment will last considerably longer. Continue Reading »

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A route map to success

As with the birth of a child, the first few months are extremely important to a new business. To ensure your business is a thundering success, you need to work at it in a disciplined way. And you need results early on to keep you motivated.

A number of different ’starter’ programmes of various lengths are suggested by network marketing companies. The programme below covers the first four weeks only. In each week we suggest that you do 10 things. Of course you can do more, but don’t do less!

What follows is just a guide to the sort of things you should map out for yourself. The key ingredients have already been mentioned but are so important that they are repeated here. They are:

• Use products you sell yourself.
• Study your starter kit and video.
• Plan your success with your sponsor.
• Learn as much as you can about your products. III Look for prospects.
• Help people you introduce to be a success (sponsor).
• Attend training meetings/motivational sessions.
• Hold small group meetings.
• Keep your records up to date.
• Have fun.

Continue Reading »

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House meetings (or group meetings) can work extremely well, not only to gain distributors but to generate enthusiasm and excitement about network marketing. Make these meetings a lot of fun. There are many pluses about properly run group meetings. You will find that the group dynamics and the spirit and enthusiasm of your team rubs off on the new distributor. If, say, your personality and that of a new prospect clash (she likes talking about her five children, the garden and her home and your interests are largely centred around business growth, travelling and seizing new opportunities) you could find, no matter how hard you try, that the conversation does not flow smoothly. But if you have a large group with varied personalities, the chances are that she will find someone to whom your prospect can relate easily. Continue Reading »

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Draw up the franchisee profile. Franchisee selection is perhaps the most difficult aspect of franchising. Given the nature of the franchise‘ relationship, you and your franchisees will be interdependent, in other words, success as a franchisor is likely to elude you unless the vast majority of your franchisees are successful. When selecting franchisees, guard against the danger of seeking carbon-copy images of yourself. This will not work. The character traits of a successful franchisor differ sharply from those of a successful franchisee. Professional testing is available (see the block “Useful services for franchisors” on page 111) but experience has shown that gut feel continues to play an important part in successful franchisee selection.

Prepare promotional material for the franchise. Most franchisors use a variety of items for this purpose.

A low-cost (sometimes called a confetti-type) brochure which can be distributed freely, for example at exhibitions, and posted out in response to casual enquiries.

To respond to qualified prospects, a glossy folder that has a distinctly upmarket feel to it will be needed. It should contain detailed information about the franchise opportunity and a franchisee questionnaire. Continue Reading »

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