Ideas Of The Month
Executive Director with Pre Paid Legal Services, Art Jonak sent in this tip after the objection above was the topic of one of the What Do You Say columns. It was too good not to publish, so here it is...
When a distributor doesn't know how to handle this particular objection, I ask them, "Do you really believe that this person will become one of the three or four leaders you are looking for to build the business with you?" Probably not. The odds of turning this prospect into a leader are slim to none; convincing them is an exercise in futility.
The distributor objects, "But, Art, once they really saw how this business worked they wouldn't feel this way." Obviously they don't understand, so I share the following: Imagine you're at your high-school prom and there are a 100 girls waiting for you to ask them to dance. You ask the first one and she says, "No way, get away from me, you creep!" At this point you can do one of two things. You could spend the rest of your time handling her objection, changing her attitude, manipulating her feelings and any other cheap sales methods you've been taught-- or you could move on to the next girl.
Now the last dance is playing and you're either still convincing the first girl to dance, while all your buddies are out there dancing and having a ball, or you've already moved on and found a girl that wanted to dance with you.
By the time you convince the girl to dance, the dance is over. You could miss the entire dance and all the other girls that would've eagerly said, "Yes!"
I use the following to drive this principle home further: Imagine you have an hour for lunch and you go to a really long buffet. You grab a salad plate but the salad doesn't look quite right. You ask the server to go back and recreate a beautiful custom-made salad just for you. One hour later, he returns with your new salad.
By this time, your friends have eaten all the other delicious items on the buffet. As you drive home, you realize while you where convincing the server to get you another salad, everyone else was pigging out and you left the restaurant starved.
While you are busy convincing somebody to join your business you are missing all the other good prospects that want to join your business. The bottom line is: How many people do you need to be succeed in this business? Three or four people just like you-- and this person isn't one of them, take a hint. This business is built upon leaders-- not distributors.
-- Art Jonak
Prospects don't care what you would like to do. They know that what you would like to do is sell them your product, service or program.
When you try to get an appointment or give your presentation to a prospect by opening the dialogue with: "What I'd like to do now is ... (set an appointment/give you a demonstration/show you how you will benefit, etc.)" it comes across to the prospect as if you are saying: "What I'd like to do now is shove this down your throat whether you are interested or not because I get to make money off of you."
A better way to open this type of dialogue would be to say: "With your permission, I will show you ... (my program/how you will benefit, etc.)"
Another way would be to ask: "May I make a suggestion? (They will say yes.) Why don't you allow me to ... (meet with you/show you how you will benefit/show you my program, etc.)"
All of this conveys to your prospect that they are in control and they are allowing you to take the next step instead of feeling that you are forcing something on them that is important only to you.
This tip comes from Hilton Johnson's MLM University Helper Tips and "MLM Sales Coach" monthly newsletter. To subscribe, email majordomo@mlmu.com with "subscribe mlmsalescoach-list" in the body of your email message, or learn more on the MLM University website www.mlmu.com.
I recently asked a friend who was familiar with Network Marketing if any of her neighbors from Canada might be interested in my business since we just opened there. She was delighted to be able to help me and immediately set up an appointment for me to do a presentation at her house for her neighbor. My friend's husband also joined us at the dining room table.
As I began my presentation, my friend started asking a question here, then one there; all the time her husband kept saying, "Never mind, dear"! After a while, he then started interrupting my presentation to the neighbor himself with his own questions. Soon I heard him say, "Dear, write the check, go on write the check!"
I did not sponsor the neighbor, but he does want his daughters (two in Canada and one in Atlanta) to see a presentation. If they are interested, they will be sponsored by my old friend and new rep!
While presenting to a referral, having the people who referred him there, too, can make them see the business in a whole new light. The result is a low-pressure presentation for both of them. You can bet I'm really cultivating my referrals with new finesse. In fact, I'm prospecting with a greater emphasis on "referring"!
Thanks to Joan Hulek, who wins a free one-year subscription for contributing this Idea of the Month. Got a great networking idea yourself? Jot it down and send it to the Editors at Upline or email editors@upline.com-- if we publish your idea, you'll win a free subscription (or renewal) too!
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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Ideas of the Month - November 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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