What Purpose Do Tools Serve In Your Network Marketing Business?
Did you join your network marketing company to make money? That may seem like a silly question but it is a question that I think deserves an honest answer. Some people join a particular network marketing company because of their personal preference or passion for the product or service. And that’s great. Some network marketing companies really do have outstanding products and it may very well make sense to join the company so that you can have access to wholesale or distributor pricing.
But this article is going to be specifically for those of us that are focused on building a solid residual income using the network marketing distribution model.
Regardless of which company you have chosen, how their pay plan works, what the various subtleties and differences may be in the bonus structure, and all that stuff, your success comes down to being able to do a few things well:
- Prospecting
- Following Up
- Training
Let’s break these down.
Prospecting is simply the act of contacting potential customers or distributors so you can present them with the information about your product, service, or opportunity.
Following up is simply the act of getting in touch with them again after the presentation to answer any questions and help them along their decision making process.
Training is simply a matter of teaching your downline/team members to do the same thing you’ve been doing.
Now I do recognize that these definitions are over-simplified. But this gives you the basic idea. When it comes to a network marketing job description, you really get paid to do one thing over and over and over again:
Get People To Make a Decision (yes or no) About
Your Product, Service, or Opportunity.
That’s it.
We don’t get paid for Facebook likes or shares.
We don’t get paid for Massive Tweets and Retweets.
We don’t get paid for whatever the latest and greatest social media gimmick is.
Now, I want to be clear. I enjoy seeing someone “like” a post, share a pic, retweet a tweet, follow me on twitter, refer me on some other social networking site, etc… And there’s nothing wrong with any of that.
But we have to be clear and remember to keep our focus on the fact that our pay as network marketing professionals is tied to getting people in to our chosen business, whether that be as a customer or as a distributor.
And this brings me to the point of using Tools in your network marketing business.
I get questions on a regular basis from folks asking for my opinion on the latest and greatest tool, gadget, app, download, e-book, etc… And I always answer the same way: If it will help you accomplish your primary objective as a professional in the industry, give it a try.
If you are considering purchasing some sort of tool in your network marketing business, ask yourself these questions:
- Will it help me with prospecting? In other words, can the tool actually help you find people to talk to about your product, service, or opportunity?
- Will it help me with follow up? In other words, will the tool help you save time, be more efficient, etc… when it comes to following up with your prospects?
If you answer “no” to both of those questions, say “NO” to the person making you the offer!
You don’t need a tool that is “flashy” or “cool” or “slick” or “sexy” or “exciting”. If you are serious about making significant money in this amazing industry, what you need is tools that help you accomplish the tasks of prospecting and following up!
And then … here is where a lot of rookies and newbies get stuck: YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY USE THE TOOLS YOU ARE PAYING FOR!
If you are paying for an advertising or prospecting tool, a lead generation and contact management tool, and you aren’t actually putting them to use in your business plan, you are wasting your money!
I’ve seen it with my own business and team members.
They get a blog, have it set up, and then never promote it.
They get an autoresponder account and then never create followup letters or set up a capture page.
They buy in to or join an advertising system and then never actually run any ads.
(Or they run ads but never test the results and make changes to improve the ads)
The worst part about all of that is that, after they spend their money and/or time getting these tools, they don’t spend any time learning or using the tools, and say something brilliant like “That stuff never works for me”.
Imagine someone decides to become a carpenter. They go to the local hardware store and buy a shiny set of new tools. They have seen the remodeling shows on TV. They heard about a guy that made good money buying houses, fixing them up, and selling them for a profit. They know they can make some money so they get excited, buy the tools, and then …
They sit around the house watching shows about people that remodel homes, flip houses for profit, buy and fix up houses to rent. They may even go out and talk with people in the community about the shows.
Those shiny tools? They’re still in the garage, wrapped up in shrink wrap.
Most reasonably sharp people would be able to predict that this particular individual is not going to do very well, right?
So why do network marketers act surprised about their lack of results when they don’t take the time to learn and use the tools they have access to?
I focus on a few areas to consistently build my income in network marketing:
- Lead Generation
- Follow Up
- Duplication
Let’s break those down:
- Lead Generation: I constantly have new people to talk to about my products, services, and opportunities. Why? I have my own . I promote my blog via advertising. My blog has a capture form on it tied to my which brings me to the second component.
- Follow Up: I have a series of pre-written follow up letters that my autoresponder sends out to my prospects when they fill out the form on my blog. These letters are designed to help me build rapport with my prospects, keep my name and offer in front of them, and sort through the list to find the people that are ready to make a decision.
- Duplication: I show my team members how to generate leads by helping them get their own blog, add a capture form, and begin advertising.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? That’s because it is! It may require some learning. It may require some testing. It may require some patience as you get started.
But just imagine how quickly and effectively your downline will grow when you are teaching your team members how to generate targeted mlm leads, , close sales, and then teach their team to do the same!
About The Author:
Brian Rooney is a home based business professional with over 12 years experience in the network marketing industry. He is the co-founder of , Founder of www.TheOnlineAdNetwork.com, and an Independent Distributor for .
I was wondering if I can copy and paste this and where would it be put for the best results.
I do alot of list programs to send out emails to peopel get a person once in awhile send off samples and the call back repeatedly with no person picking up the phone. altho I contacted a girl on FB that I babysat years ago I have a follow up withherin a few days.
I’m not sure where you would want to place the article, actually. It’s really more of an educational article for people in the industry and most likely won’t be very effective as a marketing article for your particular business.
THANKS FOR THE ARTICLE AND IM DEFINITELY GONNA USE THESE TECHNIQUES FOR MY BIZ AND WEBSITE WHICH HELPS PEOPLE GET BIG UPFRONT MONEY AND RESIDUALS THANKS ALL THE BEST!!!!!!!