I Don't Know Anybody - Coy Barefoot
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
What Do You Say...
...to 'I Don't Know Anybody'
You have done your part. You've met the prospect, shared the business plan, drawn out some numbers for him, and talked about the products. You've done a good job showing him what Network Marketing could offer. You even enjoyed a couple cups of coffee and a slice of apple pie in the process. Now the ball is in his court-- just across the red and white checkered table from you. This is the moment when you find out if you're sitting across from the right person.
Check your watch again-- 8:10 p.m. You have another meeting scheduled at 8:30 about ten minutes from here; you will just make it. The well-dressed gentleman across from you silently looks through some of the literature in front of him, then leans back and sighs: "I'm very interested. I don't understand everything, but I'm real interested in the extra $2,000 a month."
Inside you are jumping up and down. He's interested! Yeah, baby! You're about to launch into a spiel about how to get started and when the meetings are and. . . .
He clears his throat and shyly confesses: "But I've got a real problem. I just can't do this." The little party inside you goes quiet. You raise your eyebrows slightly and bob your head forward as if to say, "Problem? What problem?"
"I can't do this kind of thing. I just don't know anybody. You need to know a lot of people to do this kind of thing. And I don't know enough people. Thanks for showing it to me, but I just don't know anybody, and I'm not good at meeting people."
The ball is back in your court. This is your moment. What do you say? -- Coy Barefoot
Kathi Agueda is a Two Star Diamond with LifePlus:
What if I gave you $10 for every name and phone number you could write down on a piece of paper-- do you think you could come up with a few names then?
I think we all underestimate how many people we actually know well enough to pick up the phone and call. It's normal to think you don't know many people, but you do. You know hundreds and thousands of people. It's just something we're not used to asking ourselves: How many people do I know?
Let's just assume for a minute that you literally don't know anyone except maybe your family and five other people. The great thing about Network Marketing is that that is plenty-- that's enough to be successful if you really want to be. You don't need hundreds of people. You just need a few people who are willing to share some names of the people that they know-- and so on, and that's how it begins.
Double Diamond John Brown has been with Enviro-Tech for almost seven years:
I believe that any time someone gives an excuse there is usually a fear underlying it-- usually a fear of failing. I think they basically are testing you, to see if you are really going to be there to help them and support them. So why not demonstrate that right away?
I don't ask people for a hundred names. I ask for two-- just two. Can you come up with two names of people you know you'd like to share this opportunity with? Almost anybody can come up with two names. Right then and there I will call these two people and set up an appointment. I'm not only getting the ball rolling, I'm showing the prospect that I am there to help them, that I will show them what to do.
You don't need a ton of names. You need two. Then, do the same with those two people, just ask for two referrals from each. And keep moving.
It's also important to return to their dreams whenever any excuses come up. Establish their "why"-- what they would want to do in life if money was no object. Get them to focus on the end result, and remind them that Networking can offer that. It's amazing how excuses disappear when you are focused on the dream.
Jiri Hradsky is the top income earner and a member of the Corporate Advisory Boards with Life Dynamics:
If it gets to the point where I have done my presentation of the business and someone says, `I can't do it because I don't know anybody,' then I did something wrong. If you present the business the right way, that objection should never even come up.
My approach is to handle all those concerns during the presentation-- to be proactive about any objections.
For example, as I explain the marketing plan I will draw a circle and put your name in it. Then I will draw lines out from your circle to some other circles. I will then ask you for the first person that comes to mind who has as much desire as you do, or who might benefit from this product. We will put the names of people you know in those other circles. That way, the program I'm explaining is not some hypothetical model to you. It's personal, and you can see yourself and the people you know involved in it.
In the process of presenting the business like this, I get people to identify ten names right away. Everyone can think of ten people they would want to share an opportunity with, that's easy. When I am done, we already have ten people to talk to.
Chris Thomas is a new Diamond with LifePlus:
I have been in this industry for almost ten years, and the thing that I say at this point that I have found works great every time is: `Before you can say whether you can or can't get involved, or you know a lot of people or you don't, I'm going to ask you to use the products first. Before we can even talk about a business, you have to use some of these products.'
I think this is a critical point here. If someone doesn't get any results from the products, and can't honestly endorse them, then our discussion about building a business is moot. If you don't believe in the product, then how can you honestly work to distribute it to people?
We can work on a names list later. Every Networking program has a way to generate names, whether it's cold or warm markets or Internet leads, but that will be of no use unless you have something you want to share. I believe that every single person out there-- once they have an opportunity to use products that really do work, and can plug into a system that has a positive effect on their lives-- will get involved in the program.
James Macfarlane has been with Mannatech for almost four years. He and his partner/ wife Diana have reached the level of Twelve Star Presidential distributors:
My first reaction is to empathize with them. I understand how they feel, because I felt the same way when I first saw the business. We know what it's like to wonder if you know enough people to present the program to.
Then I try to get the person to think a little bit about who they really do know. I might shock them a little bit and ask: `If you died today, who would be the six people to carry the casket at your funeral?' Or I might ask: `Whose name do you give as credit references?'
I also share some of our experiences, to give people an idea of how easily it is to meet people in Networking. I met one of our most promising associates while waiting for luggage at the airport. The customer service woman at our local telephone company is one of our most excited associates; so is the principal from our daughter's high school; even our insurance agent.
I'll explain the Three Foot Rule to them-- that you talk to anyone about the business that comes within three feet of you, as you are out walking around on the face of the earth. When you apply that rule, you have all the people you'll ever need to build your business. You know, we encounter people every day in our normal schedules that we could offer the opportunity to, and your upline is right there to help you learn how to do that.
Share your best "What Do You Say?" with us! Send your, or your team's, proven Networking one-liners, phrases, questions and answers, to Coy Barefoot at the Upline address, or email them to barefoot@cstone.net. We'd love to include them in a future publication. Be sure to include your name, company, and a little neat information about who you are.
Reprinted with permission from Upline, What Do You Say - October 1998, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
