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Yes, I realize this flies in the face of what your upline has been drilling into your head for weeks (months/years), but it’s true. It also has the additional benefit of increasing trust with your potential customers, reducing stress, and making direct sales more fun. Oh, and you get to keep your friends. Sweet!
Let me explain.
When you started in network marketing, you were probably told something along these lines… “It’s not sales, you’re just sharing the products” (Yeah, right). Or perhaps you were told… “It’s like recommending a movie or restaurant” (Does the movie industry pay you to recommend their products? How about the local restaurant?) Or my personal favorite…”Everyone wants these products, they just don’t know it yet!” (Again, yeah…right).
So, you are all fired up about your new home based business… you bought business cards and read all the product literature. You spent the extra money because your upline told you it was a good idea, and you bought motivational tapes/CDs/DVDs. You are fired up and READY! You made your list, just like your upline said, and you have checked phone numbers for your 3rd grade teacher, the lawn-guy who did your yard 3 years ago and the mail man. You pick up the phone and make the first call. You decided to start easy so you called your best friend, invite them to lunch. Just after the drinks were served, you start in on this really great product. They listen with rapt attention. You are, afterall, someone they trust. All throughout lunch, you extol the virtues of this amazing (fill in the blank) product. Then comes the time to close them. You say “Oh, I love these products so much, I decided to sell them“. You just started down the path of the NFL club (No Friends Left). You blew it, because you let them believe you were recommending a product just because you liked it. Now, every thing you said is suspect. You lied to them (by omission, but they will view it as a lie just the same).
If you had been a little more transparent with them, told them up front, they still might not buy, but at least they won’t avoid you. Let me give you a better idea.
Don’t ask for the sale, ask for a referral.
You could try something like … “I am now promoting XYZ Diet Pills, because I finally found something that works for me“… pause, give them a minute to absorb that. They might be secretly trying to think of a way to bail on you before lunch is served. Then hit them with your best shot… “Do you know anyone who might be interested in losing weight?” Pause again. Give their brains a chance to catch up. You didn’t just ask them to buy something. They won’t have to turn you down. They can exhale. And when they resume chewing the bread stick, they might actually try to think of someone who would be interested. And if they are, they will tell you so. No pressure.
Best part? (Aside from the referral) You still have a friend. You didn’t lie to them, you didn’t pressure them and you gave them a way to help you (they are your friend after all) without committing to anything more strenuous than the name of someone they know who was venting to them just last week about how hard it is to lose weight.
So, if you want more sales, stop asking for them. Ask for referrals instead. A referral also gives you more leverage when you are speaking with that prospect on the phone. “Hey Jill, Jane here… I was talking to Deb yesterday, and she mentioned you wanted to lose some weight and recommended I call you. Have you lost the weight you wanted to, or are you still looking for a solution?”
It’s a powerful concept. Give it try.
