In this blog you’ll find out:

• Why most network marketers struggle to recruit.
• What you need to understand about your brand
• The simplest ways to teach your distributors to share information consistently.
• How to help them to do the same thing.

Only 3% of people work in sales!

Let’s qualify that; the 3% are people whose primary function has a sales title within an organisation, and perhaps I should say have chosen to be in sales as a profession, although pretty much everyone, in any organisation, is involved in the sales process and in supporting their brand’s values.

However, a bit like speaking in public, most people would rather die than be a sales person.

If you have chosen a network marketing career, you are in sales.

Here’s the challenge though, most network marketing distributors do not have experience of sales in a formal environment and this is one of the major reasons why people struggle to make a network marketing business succeed.

This is borne out by distributor churn rates which are substantial in almost every network (We’ll cover distributor retention in an upcoming blog).

The newly recruited networker has little knowledge, is unlikely to be sales orientated and most likely lacks the confidence to act on their own. Our research also shows they are reluctant to share their warm market list with their sponsor, and when they do contact people they say the wrong thing, provide the wrong information and very quickly lose confidence.

All of this can be avoided with the right approach and some initial training. The goal for a new distributor is to create genuine opportunities for partners to gain customers and possibly distributors in the first 24 hours.

What you need to understand about your brand

Before stepping into the world of contacting people, we need to look at what it is about your brand that excited you to become involved.

• What does your company stand for?
• Does it have good ethics?
• Do the products work?
• Does the company do the right thing?
• Is it trustworthy and honest?
• Do you feel comfortable about recommending it to others; unreservedly?
• Can you stand being challenged about what you do and are you able to suffer rejection?

Your distributors must feel comfortable with the answers to these questions, as must you.

If there isn’t an inner belief, then the activity will not happen.

Selling is misunderstood; being thought of as persuading someone to do something they don’t want to do. You can’t build a successful network marketing business in that way. Selling is about a meeting of minds on the same wave length (Eric Bern, Psychiatrist – Transactional Analysis).

The psychology of action is this: Thoughts lead to feeling which motivates action. People don’t buy with their head, they buy with their heart.

Your distributors need to feel they have absolutely made the right choice and are happy to share it with others.

It’s not about the Money

You may have noticed I didn’t include a question about money in those above. This was deliberate. If there isn’t a willingness to do the work the money will never come.

Most people make the mistake of believing money is the primary motivator. It isn’t, money is the side effect of the activity, it is not the activity itself.

Money is the consequence of the work, if there is no work going on there is no money, so it doesn’t matter how potentially lucrative the deal is. Being motivated to do the work is the most important thing you can focus on to help someone succeed. Showing them what to do and how to do it in the simplest way possible is the crucial.

Now the work starts.

The sponsorship process

Here’s what happens right now in most networks……………………………….

The typical network tells you to write a list of contacts and then to follow these steps;

1. Share some basic information with your list, – A pre-approach pack (Product sample, web link, DVD etc.)
2. Contact them to establish need or desire
3. Make a presentation
4. Sign them up – or not
5. Do it again

Simple… Yes, but not easy.

Most new networkers don’t ever write a list and share it with their sponsor.

They fear the judgement of their friends, more than their desire to develop a successful business.

They lack confidence; in themselves, their ability to do the 5 steps, and because they think they need to be a salesman. The successful distributors try to create systems to take away the need for the new distributor to connect directly with people and to make it easy for anyone to do it, via email, text etc. These methods can work but they are no substitute for face to face prospecting on an ongoing basis and the personal relationship you build with those prospects.

What most new distributor do.

Typically, a new distributor will pitch a friend, but only once.

They give their friend more information than they can process and expect them to become a business partner there and then. Disappointment and a feeling of failure builds up

The average distributor only ever sponsors 3 people.

Sponsorship is a process not an event.

80% of the sale is about the relationship you have with the prospect, which is why all networks teach you to approach people you know first.

However, doing this from cold takes longer and demands the patience and skill to build a relationship first.

Here’s what runs through someone’s mind.

• I don’t know you
• I don’t know what you stand for
• I don’t know your values
• I don’t know if I can trust you
• I don’t know the quality of your product
• I don’t know what your product does
• I don’t know if I need or want your product
• I don’t know if I want to be in business with you

All these things are taken care of when you approach people you already know. People you know already; know, like and trust you. That existing relationship is a massive plus when pitching someone for your product and business. Effectively 80% of the sales process is taken care of already.

When you’re talking to people who don’t know you there must be a trust between each side before transactions can take place. This trust doesn’t come instantly. It takes time to build rapport and empathy, the result of which makes each side feel comfortable with each other. Once this is achieved then a real meeting of minds takes place and decisions can be taken. Preferably for mutual benefit.

This is the real selling process, and because it is relatively difficult and time consuming, it is why every network asks new people to make a list of everyone they know. Doing this means they don’t have to go through the relationship building process and they may just find someone who really goes to work.

Recruiting distributors is seen as more lucrative than finding customers (which is one of the main reasons the industry attracts so much criticism), but attracting customers also leads to distributors.

We’re going to show you how one leads to another and vice versa, and even if you only find customers you can build a huge business.

Let’s go back to branding.

Think of the well-known brands you use. Most of them have literally spend billions creating, and maintaining, their public image and projecting their values to their audience, so when someone thinks about them they have an instant understanding of how they fit in with their life. Think of BMW or any other major brand you know about and you will understand what we mean.

Over time, the brand’s image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer's mind by standing for certain benefits and value, so choosing a brand helps consumers make confident choices in a crowded and complex marketplace.

You represent a brand, albeit one that is probably not well known. As a representative of your company it is partly your job to uphold the values of the brand.

You are your own brand.

In turn, you are your own brand; what do you stand for, what are your values, what does the world think of you? Are you aligned with your network marketing company?

The Network Marketing industry accounts for approximately $180billion of products and services sold globally out of global world GDP of $78.28trillion. In other words, just 0.22% of global GDP. It is growing around the world but is not yet mainstream. This offers opportunities especially as changes in the employment landscape continue to develop. Automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are increasingly impacting on the types of work people do.

Our view is that network marketing will become increasingly attractive.

(WFDSA)

The lesson to be taken from big brands is to be consistent about communications, in everything you do.

In summary:

Always convey consistent messages about your core values.

• Reflect the brand’s image, design and benefits
• Make sure your distributors do the same things.

Unfortunately, independent distributors, the clear majority of which are part time, tend to do their own thing; going their own way, creating new devices, systems and messages. This activity fragments the impact of the brand and confuses the market. Putting in place the means to allow all your distributors to do the same things, in alignment with the brand, will leverage your business development.

Research also shows us that unless you manage to help a new distributor to get some early success they are likely to drop out very quickly. We can help you prevent this.

Create Communications

The initial challenge is to create communications that mirror your company’s brand values. This is a skill that most distributors do not have.

The Mesnja team set out to solve this. We designed Mesnja to provide the means to deliver messages and allow your distributors to use the same creative content, simply and easily.

We also recognised that creating content was a major challenge and we set out to solve this issue as well. Now, a brand-new distributor can communicate what they do, what they stand for, what the products do, their benefits and what the opportunities for the recipients as soon as they sign up for a package.

We help you by writing your first email for you and coach you in how to help your distributors use Mesnja to leverage your business.

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