Recently I spoke to over 868 people on a conference call and afterwards this relatively new distributor named Alexander immediately took a proactive approach and hunted down my contact details and asked me for some advice.
I always respect someone who takes the initiative to ask for advice so that they can get better. That is the first sign of a potential leader!
After learning a little about Alexander, he shared his specific challenges that he is facing right now.
Below is his exact message to me:
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Hi Simon!
Thank you so much for replying!
I started USANA mid September. So, my USANA life is very young. I just hit sharer 3 weeks ago, and I’ve been having a few trouble trying to get a more solid business going. My sponsors and mentors have been amazing help and I have learned a immense amount from them. However, I want to learn more and absorb more to better my business. I have trouble “prospecting” I feel like when I go out and put myself out there, I don’t get much end results. Before USANA, I never had problem meeting people. But now, I feel like it’s been harder to get them to the general idea about usana or the business aspect. I’ve listened to many personal development tapes that introduce prospecting and how to improve. And I still can’t seem to find what I’m doing wrong. Also, I have no problem starting a conversation, but I don’t know how to lead questions in asking them about their health and life without sounding like I’m trying to get something from them.
Another thing, I have trouble closing. I have met people presented and fail at closing. I’ve gotten used to rejection, but having better end results would be awesome!
I know these are all speed bumps, and I need to get over them. I know my why I’m doing this, I know what I need to make it work, and I want to get to a position to take care of my parents. I just need some more guidance.
Thank you so much again for replying!!
All the best,
Alexander
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How to REALLY Communicate
Dear Alexander,
I can relate to your prospecting challenges because I was almost in the same shoes as you were but actually worse. I was a pathetic failure my first 2 months in network marketing until the big aha moment came after I read Zig Ziglar’s Selling 101.
The main problem with what you are experiencing now is like you said
“without sounding like I’m trying to get something from them.”
Sorry to be direct and blunt (that is my NO BS NO Hype approach)… but the problem is YOU! You meet people because deep down you don’t care about them. You DO WANT TO GET SOMETHING from them!
Before you did network marketing, you had no problems meeting people because you had no “secret agenda” but now you do have an agenda. And you are suffering the consequences from this approach.
Your goal should be to meet people regardless of whether you want them in your business or not.
When you approach people, right now, deep inside you DO have a hidden agenda and people can sense it. Call it the Law of Attraction or whatever you want but if you have something deep down that is bothering you or thinking about, people will notice it!
Just ask yourself… have you been in a situation where your spouse or good friend was bothered by something but didn’t tell you? But without them revealing that something is wrong, you KNEW something was going on!
We have a built-in BS radar that senses things.
So right now, the people you meet sense what is on your mind.
Also, the more you have to “think about” what you should say, the more unnatural it is and the BS radars go off like crazy.
People sense it.
The Worst Time to Meet People and Make a Sale
The worst time to meet someone and sell to that person is when you are DESPERATE! And I can sense some desperation from you.
When you meet someone new, the first thing they ask is:
“Who the Heck are you and why should I listen to you?”
Seriously… let’s humble ourselves for a second and ask yourself that question.
Why should people EVEN LISTEN to you? What do they have to gain?
If you can’t answer that question, then no wonder you can’t connect with the people you meet.
Build Trust First
Even if you can answer that question, the next question is, would you buy or listen to someone that you just met?
I know the 3 Feet Rule (you try to sponsor everyone within 3 feet of you) works for some but it requires tons of persistence and thick skin.
I like a variation of the 3 Feet Rule which says that you build relationships with everyone you meet but you DO NOT sponsor them.
What?! Did I just say that?
Yes… you do NOT sponsor anyone that you meet. Instead you work on building a lasting relationship of trust first.
The easiest way is to find a way to help that person. Provide value to them. Go hang out with them. Become friends.
After trust is established, they would be much more open to what you have even if you “say the wrong things.”
This approach may seem to take longer but is actually a much shorter and less painful approach than trying to sponsor someone that you meet immediately without trust being established first.
So make sure you set a goal of building NEW relationships EVERY DAY. The worst time to meet them is when you have to sponsor someone cause you will be desperate and sound like a salesman.
And the best time is when you don’t need them to join because you have tons of other prospects to talk to first.
Asking Questions that Get Your Prospects Interested
After trust is established, here are 3 simple questions you can use to get your prospects to open up and see that what you have to offer is something that can help them.
1) What are the 3 biggest challenges you face right now?
2) What are your 3 biggest goals for this upcoming year?
3) If you were able to achieve your 3 biggest goals, how would your life change?
After they reply, you can then easily fit your network marketing business and ask them if they would be interested to take a look at something if it could help them achieve what they just told you.
What To Do Next
Here are some helpful training resources that will help you immediately. Make sure you invest the time to go through them.
1) 5 Star Prospecting Workshop
If you have not done so already, go download and get your FREE copy of my 5 Star Prospecting Workshop but do it FAST since it will no longer be free and available after Feb. 2013. Make sure you download it while it still lasts.
After you download it, make sure you pay close attention to the training on “The Invite” and “Communication”
2) Invest time and go through these additional trainings on Communication.
If possible, watch them in this order:
Learning the Most Important Skill in Life: Communication
Learn the 5 Simple Steps to Improve Your Communication Skills
How to Communicate in Network Marketing
3) Watch my training on the 5 Core Production Activities
Go Learn about the 5 Core Production Activities that you MUST do each day in order to be successful.
4)How to Build Relationships with People
And finally… do NOT skip this training on 3 Ways to Get More Prospects to Talk to
Listen, Learn and Implement!
Now that you have the resources, it is up to you to take action!
Let me know how it goes!
I look forward to hearing about your upcoming success.
Sincerely,
Simon Chan
P.S. Many of you have contacted me and enjoy the lessons that I have included in my past blogs. If you are hungry and want to learn more tips on how to increase your productivity, improve your life and become more successful, I would like to invite you to become a member of Simon Chan Insider’s Circle. For a limited time Membership is FREE. Click Here to learn more.
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Do You have a Coach?
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Every successful network marketer including myself rely on coaches and mentors to become successful.
But do you have a mentor and coach that pushes you to take your network marketing business to the next level?
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Thanks so much to Simon Chan for sharing lessons on how to make my prospects interested to my call. I am 6 weeks as Usana distributor in the Philippines and I am hungry for learnings to be successful in my Usana business. I want to help a lot of relatives and friends to improve their health and also achieve financial freedom. More Power to all!
Very well written post. It will be beneficial to anybody who usess it, as well as myself. Keep doing what you are doing – for sure i will check out more posts….