Great idea from Brian

One of our subscribers, Brian, e-mailed me this tip: I just thought you might like a story with regard to pre-judging a prospect. Two of my colleagues were recently made redundant, so I sent them recruiting videos and said that I would call later to see what they thought. Both said, "No." They were looking for proper jobs, but a daughter of one was looking over her father's shoulder and asked, "Why can't I do it, Dad?" My reply was, "You can." And now she is off to a flying start, having retailed more in her first month than I did when I started. We all make too many assumptions on whom to approach. The simple answer is to approach everyone you can think of. I also sent the recruiting video to a colleague who, like me, wasn't let go. He joined and is starting a group in Scotland.

What is the key to getting referrals?

The most important part of getting referrals is letting your customer or prospect know what you're going to do to their friends. Assure the person giving the referrals that you will be giving a short, no-pressure presentation - and then allowing the referral to make a decision based upon what's best for him.

Take an expert to lunch and get cheap advice

Last week I had lunch with Chris Gullo. I like taking Chris to lunch as he shares his best business-building ideas. This time Chris told me how to get a distributor to BELIEVE that he or she can move $20,000 in product a month. To get a new distributor the vision of moving $20,000 product a month, this is what Chris says: "You could go out and sell $20,000 of products personally, but that would be a full-time job. So why not consider sponsoring just one person? Then each of you would only have to sell $10,000 of product each. "Or, maybe you and your new distributor could each sponsor one new person so there would be four of you. Then you would only need to sell $5,000 in product each. "But if you really wanted to make it easier, maybe each of you could sponsor just two people each, etc., etc., etc." What a great way to help a new distributor BELIEVE that it is possible. By the way, lunch was only $14 for both of us at my favorite Mongolian restaurant.

Speak their language - cash

Tell your prospect how the cash flow from his networking business can help. If your prospect is a real estate investor, say: "What if your MLM income was only $100 a month? You could use that $100 to eliminate the negative cash flow on one rental house. In 20 years, your rental house will be paid off. You'll own a free and clear title to a $300,000 house."

When you don't have time to build a relationship.

When you contact a referral, or when you call a prospect from a list of leads, you don't have days or months to build a relationship. So how do you present your opportunity? Don't start with all the neat benefits of your opportunity. Don't tell the prospects about the wonderful bonus checks, the trips, the cars, the incredible products, the company founder's background, etc. Instead, remember that people buy things to solve a problem. So position your presentation to solve a problem for your prospect. Talk about how your opportunity will make it easier for the prospect to take more time off work, how your opportunity will make it easier to pay bills with that extra check every month, or how your opportunity will provide the extra car for the spouse. Prospects don't care how great your opportunity is. They simply care about their problems. That's the shortcut when you don't have time to build relationships.

Telephone Techniquest That Work

I'm sure you listened to Tom Paredes' CD series, Telephone Techniques That Work. It's a great way to quickly focus prospects on what they want, and how you can get it for them. This is from one of the out-takes (stuff that didn't get included in the final version). Conversation with an unqualified prospect: Prospect: How much money can I make with your opportunity? Tom Paredes: How much money do you want to earn? Prospect: I want to earn $10,000 a month. Tom Paredes: Have you ever earned $10,000 a month before? Prospect: No. Tom Paredes: Do you know what it takes to earn $10,000 a month? Prospect: No. Tom Paredes: What are you willing to do to earn $10,000 a month? Prospect: Well, I don't want to have to make phone calls, and I can't go to opportunity meetings because I work nights, and I can't afford to mail postcards. Plus, I don't know anybody. I won't go out and meet strangers - that's just not me. My relatives won't talk to me . . . and if I can't earn at least $10,000 a month with your opportunity, well . . . then you just don't have a good plan. End of call.

Don't sell features. Don't sell benefits.

Instead, base your sales presentation on your prospect's most pressing problem. Then you'll have your prospect's attention. For example, if you talk about the weekly bonus checks, that's a feature. If you talk about the benefits of weekly checks (not waiting until the end of the month, getting your earnings quicker, instant gratification for work performed, etc.) - you're doing better, but it still won't rivet your prospect's attention. Try talking about your prospect's most pressing problem. For example, you might say: "Next Tuesday your mortgage payment is due. That could eat up most of your paycheck. Wouldn't it be nice to get a check from our company that would pay the mortgage payment for you? Then you'd have your entire paycheck to do what you want." See the difference? Your prospect is constantly thinking about his problems - not your benefits.

You're only one good prospect away from a $1,000,000 career!

Sometimes we get discouraged. That's human nature. But we also have the ability to cheer ourselves up. Here is one way to create a positive outlook when we feel discouraged. Just imagine that you continue promoting and talking about your business. At some point, you will cross paths with a prospect who is looking for an opportunity to change his life and you are the answer. Maybe you don't know this prospect now. Maybe it will be some chance encounter sometime in the future. It doesn't matter how you meet this prospect. It just matters that you were still enthusiastic about your business and impressed your prospect. What can one good prospect mean to you financially? The prospect could mean a million dollars over several years. And thats a powerful incentive to be persistent in your business. There are many networking leaders today that enjoy powerful incomes because of just one good prospect. Why not join them?

Boy, did I learn a lesson.

I was in Tampa on Sunday, and mentioned how hard it was to get your mom to get interested in your products or business. Mary from Naples, FL corrected me, and told me that it was easy to get your mom interested. She said all you had to do was to say this to your mother: "Mom, I'm going to market two CDs, Please listen to both of them and tell me which CD is the better one." And that is how she sponsored her mom. Want more neat prospecting ideas? Go to http://www.Sponsoringtips.com or http://www.FortuneNow.com

Magic sentences.

We will change to a new autoresponder to send out the Big Al Newsletter shortly. Why? Deliverability on the Internet is a challenge, and many more subscribers can get Aweber emails through their spam filters. So here is the bribe! Just send a blank email to: BigAlReport@Aweber.com I'm going to send you: "7 mini-reports of amazing, easy sentences that create new, hot prospects." I just finished these mini-reports and you'll love them. Remember, tell your friends too they can send a blank email to: BigAlReport@Aweber.com They too will be able to start using these magic sentences immediately.

The "Eavesdrop Approach."

Do you have trouble getting prospects on an opportunity presentation teleconference call? Are they afraid of being "sold" by listening to the sales presentation? Relax your prospects by offering to have them listen to a "training call." They can listen to one of your teleconference trainings without the fear of being "sold." This is a great way to involve your MLM leads and prospects without creating resistance. If you work hard to find MLM leads, why not do your best to help them see your business in a stress-free way?

Stupid things we say.

Q. Why don't prospects see what we see? A. Because of what we say and what we do. For example, when we say "financial freedom" - our prospects think an insurance salesman is approaching. When we say "time freedom" - our prospects know we're telling a lie because nobody has any free time anymore. When we say "residual income" - our prospects know that residual means "leftover stuff that nobody wants." Our prospects will see the same vision that we see -- if we communicate that vision clearly. So let's not tell our prospects: "If you work hard, you can retire in five years." Let's describe it this way instead: "My friend is going to college for five years to become a professional. At the end of those five years, he graduates. Then he will start his career. Another friend is building his network marketing business for five years. At the end of those five years, instead of starting a career, he will retire." Notice how the second example helps our prospects to see what we see? Remember, it's what we say and what we do that makes the difference. And remember, you can always go to http://www.fortunenow.com/ and http://www.sponsoringtips.com/ for more free MLM help with your business.

Does your network marketing company make you successful?

Good question. Many new distributors in MLM think that choosing a different MLM company will make them successful. These MLM distributors think that success is "outside" of them, and that the external factors will make the difference. But success in network marketing is an "inside job." You have to learn some skills. And if you don't have skills, changing MLM companies just means that you'll be unsuccessful in a different company. If you can't recruit now, changing companies won't fix that. In every network marketing company there are some successful distributors, and some unsuccessful distributors. So it is not the company that makes the difference. Learn how to prospect, learn how to sponsor, learn how to build ... that makes the difference. Then you can be successful anywhere you choose :)

"Quitters" tip for fresher leads.

I don't know why distributors keep buying MLM leads. It's like being addicted to "crack". Why? Everytime you need to expand your business, you have to buy more leads. If that is the only way you know how to get leads, you are an addict, held hostage by the MLM lead seller. But this post isn't about how to create your own fresh leads. This post is how to be more effective if you are caught in the trap of having to buy leads. So let's see how we can be more effective against our competition when we buy MLM leads that are being sold hundreds of times to our competitors. A distributor buys some MLM leads. That was the easy part. MLM leads are cheap. However, the follow-up time and effort are expensive. So what will most distributors do? Quit. They start with the "A" names . . . then "B" . . . and by the time they get to leads that start with the letter "C" - they're already thinking of quitting. So if you want to talk to fresher MLM leads, untouched by low-energy quitters, do this: When you get your list of MLM leads, start at the bottom. Start with the letter "Z." Most quitters never get this far and these MLM leads are virtually untouched.

Great signature files.

A cheap and easy way to send people to your home page is to use attention-getting signature files. Don't use boring signature files such as: * The world's best home-based business opportunity with lifestyle enhancement features. Go to: http://www.boringopportunitypage.com/1234/id=j2kt4 Now, that's bad. Instead, use your imagination. Make a signature file that creates curiosity and interest. Here are a few examples: * Click here to see a picture of my wife's stomach. * Click here to see a picture of my boss' face when I told him I quit. * Click here to see a picture of the new car I won. See the difference? And all this is free. Yet, of all the emails that I personally receive, only 50% use a signature file. Time to make a signature file or improve the current signature file, right? This is a way to create free MLM leads for your business. And if you want to have more free MLM lead ideas, go to: http://www.FortuneNow.com and read some of the back issues that are posted free at the site.

Where to get hot prospects.

Most distributors approach prospects and say something like this: "Want to be a distributor?" That's almost as bad as walking down the street and asking people: "Want to get married?" No wonder distributors get rejected. Smart leaders do this. >>> They pre-sell their prospects. It is easier to sell a prospect who WANTS to buy. And you can make that happen with just a little bit of marketing. How? Educate your prospect. That's the first contact. Then, if the prospect wants to buy, or wants to join your business, the presentation is easy. No rejection. So how do you educate your prospect? You can use an educational CD about your product or business.Or, maybe printed materials. Just make sure the educational materials are not some sort of corporate sales pitch. That turns off prospects. I use the book, "How To Get Rich Without Winning The Lottery", as it educates and pre-sells the prospect on wanting to get a network marketing check. Makes my presentations easy. So don't try to do it all in just one exposure. Educate lots of prospects, and then just take the volunteers :) If you don't have a company specific educational tool to pre-sell your prospects, try using "How To Get Rich Without Winning The Lottery" as it will create hot prospects. You can check out this inexpensive book at: http://www.fortunenow.com/resources/howtogetrich.htm Make sure to read the free 14-page report at the bottom of the page. Great ideas for prospecting.

When you don't have time to build a relationship for your MLM business.

When you contact a referral, or when you call a prospect from a list of MLM leads, you don't have days or months to build a relationship. So how do you present your opportunity? Don't start with all the neat benefits of your opportunity. Don't tell the prospects about the wonderful bonus checks, the trips, the cars, the incredible products, the company founder's background, etc. Instead, remember that people buy things to solve a problem. So position your presentation to solve a problem for your prospect. Talk about how your opportunity will make it easier for the prospect to take more time off work, how your opportunity will make it easier to pay bills with that extra check every month, or how your opportunity will provide the extra car for the spouse. Prospects don't care how great your opportunity is. They simply care about their problems. That's the shortcut when you don't have time to build relationships. Network Marketing is a lot easier when you know what to say and what to do.

Who are better networkers? Men or women?

Finally there is proof. Make your best guess and then go to: http://www.fortunenow.com/flash/networkers.swf Pass it on to your downline, they will enjoy it :) You can get more free MLM training for your downline at http://www.sponsoringtips.com/ - pass on the word. And if you go to http://www.fortunenow.com/ you can download a lot of the Fortune Now Leadership Newsletters. Just check the left hand column. You will find interesting views on MLM leads, prospecting, where to find leaders and more.

MLM Thailand

Yes, MLM and network marketing is alive and well in Thailand. However, there is little MLM training material in the Thai language. So I hired someone to translate my book, "Big Al Tells All: Sponsoring Magic" into Thai. It is now posted on the Internet where anyone can download the entire book ... for FREE. So if you live in Thailand, or have a downline in Thailand, here is the link to downloading the book for free: http://www.fortunenow.com/thailand I'm looking forward to speaking and doing some "live" training workshops in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore later this year.

Your action picture is worth a thousand words.

If you want to get traffic to your pages, use pictures. People love to look at pictures. A good place for your teaser copy is in your signature file. Use a link to a picture that your prospect might find interesting. Then, you can put a bit of sales copy on the page with your picture. Want an example? I might sign off my email by saying: Tom "Big Al" Schreiter To see me staring down a 13-foot python, click here: http://fortunenow.com/python.htm (You're going to love the sales copy examples.)