MLM prospecting is one of the biggest debates between network marketers. Does one method get better results? Is old-school, belly-to-belly, three-foot-rule style prospecting the way to go? Or is new-school - attraction marketing and lead generation more effective for growing a large team quickly?
Let's Break MLM Prospecting Down
Prospecting is truly "the search for precious metals or stones, a physical labor, involving traversing, panning, sifting and looking for signs of mineralization." MLM Prospecting is comparable; it is the quest for precious persons - you're literally traversing, panning, sifting and observing for signs of a qualified business collaborator.
There are loads of methods and means to go about your MLM prospecting, just as there were at the same time as the gold rush. The larger part of prospectors started out with a pick and shovel and a gold pan and went to toil. These petite-scale operations were at times successful - an intelligent prediction and a little luck could undeniably pay off. For the most part though, success was limited. There's only so much ground you can cross on your own with a pick and shovel.
Think of this mode as your old-school MLM prospecting technique. You head out, equipped with business cards, pamphlets and CDs, driven to share your business with anybody who comes within three feet and has a heart beat. You contact folks, hand out your pamphlets, pitch your opportunity, and pan for likely business partners or product users, and of the thirty people you speak to that day, 3 sign up. Great victory right?! Hmmm. let's look a little closer.
The Issue with Old-School MLM Prospecting
First of all I was being charitable with the numbers - most marketers can't talk with anywhere close to thirty persons a day. most accountability calls with top-notch marketers only insist upon 3 looks a day, and even that is a stretch for nearly all persons. I also gave a signup percentage of 1 in 10. that's exceedingly high for our industry and it's approximated that 4% industry-wide is closer to valid.
At that ratio, if you prospect every day for thirty days, you would get 3.6 new enrolments - we'll round up and say 4. Still, one a week isn't unsatisfactory. But then why aren't more humans successful with this form of MLM prospecting?
Rejection
It's sad but true - folks don't like being "sold." Just think about your own receptivity when a telemarketer calls, or some person shows up to "lock in your energy costs." You don't enjoy it do you? And 9 times out of ten you'll do whatever you have to do to elude the situation all together. And when you can't you either hang up, or listen respectfully until you can create an excuse to get back to what you were doing before the unwanted disturbance. And all the while there is a feeling of discomfort building inside of you. "What are they trying to sell me now?"
You don't appreciate being convinced and neither does anyone else. And the truth is, not everybody is as good-natured as you and I are about saying no. it doesn't matter how thick your skin is, getting hung up on and doors shut in your face is no fun. I know, I've had it done to me. lots.
Does Old-School MLM Prospecting Work?
Evidently it does, for about 3% of humans. I'm not going to tell you not to use these methods - there are tons of very successful mlmers who swear by it. But if this is going to be your strategy I highly recommend growing a thick skin - you're going to need it.
New School MLM Prospecting - What's the Difference?
Back to our gold prospecting comparison - let's make believe that instead of picks, shovels and a gold pan you head out with a metal detector and a magnetic surveying device. You'd do a lot less digging initially, but you'd also save yourself a lot of time digging in the incorrect places. Now let's say you take along an excavator - you get a lot more excavating done, a lot more rapidly right? It's still all you - it's just you on steroids.
That's what attraction marketing, MLM advertising, lead generation and automatic email campaigns do for your MLM prospecting. It can still all be done by 1 person, you can just leverage technologically advanced tools to make your prospecting task easier, faster, more effective.
The New-School Edge: ZERO REJECTION
What is it that makes new-school MLM prospecting so appealing? A complete lack of rejection. All joking aside. If you do this right, the only people you'll ever be in touch with are persons who have specifically requested information from you. The persons who don't want what you have to present will either not put in for information in the first place, or they will unsubscribe from your list. But never will they distrust why you're calling them. they know who you are, and what you do long before the initial conversation.
New School MLM Prospecting by the Numbers
Using the same 4% enrolment rate, let's look at how the numbers stack up. A well-crafted attraction marketing plan can bring in countless leads - literally, unlimited. But for our purposes, let's be moderate and say 10 leads per day. Over thirty days that amounts to 300 leads and translates to 12 enrolments. Over a 1-year interval that equates to 144 new team members in your business, as opposed to old-school means that come in at 48 new enrolments per year.
So Who Wins? Old-School or New-School MLM Prospecting?
In my petite opinion, old-school marketing just doesn't make sense, any more than heading off into the hills with a pick and a gold pan. That's not to say it doesn't work, just that as technology moves forward there are faster, easier ways of accomplishing the same outcome.
Figuring out how to prospect either way involves a learning curve - you just have to determine where you have ambition to invest your time. Are you going to soak up how to prospect like its 1848 or are you going to harness the force of the technology that is right at your fingertips?
Author Resource:
Dawn Marrs is a home business owner, attraction marketing coach and author of DawnMarrs.com.
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