Success in network marketing is dependent on finding goal-driven, like-minded people who would genuinely share the same business goals and vision with you. Finding them however, is like finding a needle in a haystack. You might come across people who are initially interested, but are too busy or uninterested to push through because of other priorities (like their full-time job, kids and whatnot).
Talking to groups of people, holding meetings and presentations (even from miles away) is good business practice in network marketing. However, it would be a waste of time, resource and energy if you still end up with only a few prospects that are interested enough to join your team by the end of the day.
To build a good team, you must find quality prospects first. Stop wasting your time talking to people who are hesitant to join you in the very first place. Learn to screen and filter out your weak prospects from the stronger ones. Below are 7 simple ways to help you do this.
Talking to a variety of people is a must when you’re networking, but this is not like the usual friendly chat. Of course, you still need to warm the conversation with a bit of small talk or a short introduction – what you do, where you went to school, etc.
However, much of the talking should be left to the other person. Remember, people love to talk about themselves, and the better you are at listening, the faster you’ll earn their trust. While you’re still making small talk, don’t pitch in your business presentation right away – but do mention that you have a business that you need help with and that you’re willing to discuss it with them at a most convenient time.
Take a look at your warm market again and review which ones actually had a more meaningful conversation with you lately. Have you made your pitch to these people? If you think you have been through with all of them, try to ask any of your friends or family for any referrals that can become your prospects.
Either way, don’t stop reinforcing your stories and lifestyle posts on your social media pages. This is a way for you to immerse your “warm market” in the business that you are in, and you’ll never know if they are just watching and waiting for the right time to join you all this time.
Don’t limit yourself to Facebook – explore other platforms such as Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn. In these platforms, you can always do either warm or cold-prospecting. It is also easier for you to find like-minded people through these channels.
However, always remind yourself that you don’t have to do in-your-face networking on Social Media. If you pitch your business presentation right away through your posts, you’ll look and sound like more of a spammer rather than a genuine entrepreneur who’s looking to build a business. Reveal your pitch through a more personal approach – like through messaging, video chats or voice calls. You can use Zoom, a free video chat app that can be used both on PC and smartphones.
Many entrepreneurial people leave questions and ask for advice on online business boards and forums. Take this opportunity to strike a conversation with anyone that is remotely interested in your type of business (or product). You can also manually collect cold prospects here, and it will be easy to introduce yourself. Just mention the board or forum that they’ve posted in, and tell them how interested you are in what they do and what they said.
If there are business conventions and networking/marketing events near your area, try to check these places out and forge partnerships with attendees if you can. You don’t have to talk about your business right there and then, like everything else, start the conversation with some small talk then pitch the business at a most convenient time.
You can also organize the event yourself and have friends or family invite more attendees to the event. Again, you don’t have to pitch in your business or do a mega presentation right away, just start with a short and general topic – talk about stuff that can be easily understood by an aspiring or newbie entrepreneur.
Although messaging, voice calls and video calls are great ways to pitch your business, nothing still beats personal, face to face presentation. As much as possible, especially if your prospect lives in the same area, always go for meet-ups and personal presentations. You can also try scouring for prospects via meetup.com, where you can meet people who are looking for networking opportunities from your area and everywhere else.
Always remember however that you don’t have to pitch in the business right away. If you want to build a quality networking team, be genuinely interested in your prospects first and get to know them better. Once you know their aspirations and motivations, align these with the business or opportunity that you are offering.
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