Social Media, phone calls, emails, meetings, coffee dates, events, etc… All of these are great opportunities to share your new passion with contacts and prospects. In addition, each and every one of these avenues play an integral role in your success and cannot be left out of your business plan. The percentage of time and effort you put into each one should be individualized to your particular business and opportunity. Some businesses lend themselves to being presented more through the Social Media platforms, and even then the response volume can be broken down into the various types of Social Media avenues available, to find the one, or the group that is most profitable to your model. Other businesses and opportunities present better by being presented and explained in person, through demonstration, or through more of a one on one approach. Regardless of which avenue you choose to focus your attention on primarily, subsequently, and so on – You need to come across in ways that are successful at eliciting the response you desire from those you are engaging with.
I would first ask you, what are your feelings toward those random flyers you get in your physical mail, or the emails and pop ups that tend to clog up your inbox and other sites. You LOVE them, right? Kind of a no-brainer question, isn’t it? In fact, you probably winced or had to suppress a shudder just reading those phrases. How many of them go instantly into the garbage and/or delete folder? I am sure the number is real close to 100%.
On second thought, how do you feel and react when you get a message, physically or electronically, from a friend or acquaintance? An individual who you know cares about you as a person, their opinion on topics is important to you – they personally mean something to you… Those are the special ones who undoubtably your thoughts rested on. In fact, a smile probably comes to your face while you think about them and recall your history together. Bottom line is that you have a positive response.
Let’s remember how each of those groups make us feel – negative vs. positive.
The goal is to be genuine in our relationships. No matter how brief those relationships have been in existence. A real interest in others and knowing that our products/opportunity has the means to make their lives better will shine through. Conversely, the opposite of that is also true. If money is your only motivator, sure you might make an initial sale – but, you will not have loyal customers and team members who believe in you and your sincerity of purpose.
The way to come across in a manner that doesn’t involve unreturned messages, missed appointments, and a lack of attendance at your events is to pay close attention to the following ten things:
1) Get to know someone “before” presenting your opportunity to them.
How genuine and caring can you possibly be if your whole M.O. is:
“Hi, nice to meet you – I don’t know anything about you or what matters to you most in life, but you are going to get everything you could possibly want by using my product or joining my team.”
2) Stay away from sounding “salesy”.
There is a reason that the term “Used Car Salesman” causes people to duck and cover. Think of every negative feeling and experience you have ever lived through with a salesperson – Don’t be that salesperson.
3) “Cutting and Pasting” messages to a large audience is a recipe for alienation.
Have you ever received a message addressed to someone else, with content that didn’t really pertain to you, and perhaps was a bit off in punctuation and tone? You were probably a victim of inattentive “Cutting and Pasting”. If you do decide to use this tool – Be careful and cut and paste responsibly. Your friendships and business relationships will be better off for it.
4) “Re-establish” relationships before pitching your product/opportunity.
Don’t be the Person who gets in touch with your classmates from third grade only to tell them they need your product and/or opportunity. Get to know them again. Show them “more caring and less sharing”.
5) “Spam” is always a four letter word.
Eight posts an hour, or emails in a day will get you unfollowed or unfriended faster than you can click “send”.
6) “Respect” the person and their response.
The word “No”, or term “Not at This Time” is not really code for “Please harass me – I don’t know my own life right now.” That doesn’t mean that the time will never be right, or circumstances don’t change – just be sensitive, not selfish.
7) Be “specific” about why you thought your products/opportunity would be of benefit to them personally and their family.
By telling them why they came to your mind based on what you know about them, their personal and professional goals, family situation, etc… you show yourself genuinely interested in their success with a focus on their circumstances.
8) “Share” yourself and your experience/journey.
How did you get involved with this business, their products, and what have they done for you personally and professionally? What goals have you been able to reach? Who introduced you to these products? What made you desire to join their team or start your business? You have a story – Share it.
9) Follow through & keep in contact.
If they said “No”, don’t neglect to keep in contact. When you do that it screams that you only viewed them as a sale. Nobody just wants to be a sale. If they ever do change their mind about your business/opportunity, you can depend on the odds being against them contacting you. But, if you stay in contact you will know if their thoughts or circumstances change.
10) Building relationships is NEVER over – they should never reach completion.
Just because someone signs on the dotted line doesn’t mean they take care of themselves from there on out. Not if you don’t want to read their names on your canceled order or inactive team member lists. Check in. Answer Questions. Be there for them – Mentor your Team, and Educate your Customers.
When you follow the above suggestions, you will be well on your way to success on all levels. The contacts you make, new or re-connected ones, will be genuine. You won’t have to worry about them avoiding your calls and messages – you will be counted as a trusted resource that they will turn to and seek out. They won’t just be Contacts and Prospects, they will be Friends with a mutual platform of “sharing less” about your opportunity and “caring more” about others.
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Feel free to comment with your thoughts or questions. If you would like to contact me personally you can do so at my email:
brandsgeddes@yahoo.com
Until Next Time –
Brandis G
Lifestyle Entrepreneur
The Biz Blog 