Nothing throws water on a new multi-level marketer’s (MLM) enthusiasm than to have a prospect hang up the phone or scoff in their face when being approached with a business opportunity.
Since the lifeblood of your business depends on a strong, independent base of distributors for your downline, you’re faced with the difficult task of reaching fresh prospects, which isn’t an easy task.
Then to make matters worse, even if you can manage to recruit a new downline, you face the challenge of keeping them motivated and growing – not to mention succeeding. Assuming you’ve been in network marketing long, you may have already run into that wall of “How do I get and, more importantly, keep a downline that’s active and growing?”
Problem #1 – How Do You Reach Serious MLM Prospects?
When you’re prospecting for new IBOs (independent business owners), you want to focus your reach toward those who are actively seeking a home-based business and not use the scattergun approach to hitting up everyone you know.
In the past, the only way prospects were contacted was through what was affectionately known as the contact list. When you started you were told to write down the names of anyone and everyone you could think of, including your great Aunt Sue and the family dentist – basically anyone who breathed.
Everyone in your sphere of influence was a prospect.
The problem was that not everyone on your list really wanted to be a prospect. Most weren’t even remotely interested in selling what it was you were trying to share with them. Consequently, Multi Level Marketing opportunities have gotten a bad name simply because of this “everyone is a prospect” approach.
Who wants to be tricked into attending a business meeting, right?
There’s a better way, thanks, in great part, to the advent of the World Wide Web and social media networks that expand your search to all four corners of the world, and not just your local geography.
But even if you succeed in bringing an ample supply of prospects to your downline, you might still be stalled by the second obstacle.
Problem #2 – Convenient Training and Encouragement for New Recruits
Once you have a new member in your downline, how are you supposed to get them the training and encouragement they need? You can’t rely on a prospect to hunt around the ‘net digging up kernels of knowledge about how to succeed with MLM – because many either won’t go searching or don’t know how to find the information.
If you’re new to MLM yourself, then you have no credibility to speak of, which makes it even harder to motivate your downline to succeed. While it’s true that many MLM companies provide excellent training materials and kits for their IBOs, unless the new distributor has regular contact with an active upline support system, they often flounder and eventually “die,” meaning they abandon the opportunity and further spread the misinformation that MLM is just a scam.
What you need is a way to keep in touch with the new and growing members of his downline in a way that’s convenient for both him and the recruits. While some training is best done one-on-one, most can be accomplished through websites accessed through the Internet.
In the next article we will look at some solutions to these problems for MLM recruitmen
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