TRANCRIPTS-
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skill #4— Following Up With Your Prospects
In MLM, they say the fortune is in the follow-up. I think that’s true, because most people in MLM don’t follow up at all, at least not as professionals. You need to understand some important concepts if you’re going to master this skill.
Concept #1–Follow-up is doing what you said you would do.
If you say you’re going to call at a specific time, then do it. The Network Marketing Profession is full of people who get all excited one minute and then go missing in action the next. Run your business through a physical or electronic calendar. Be the person who does what they say they’re going to do. People will respect that.
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I sold real estate the year before I got involved in Network Marketing. My father and his partner owned the company. One day I was in the office and a gentleman by the name of Chuck Aycock showed up for a 10 a.m. meeting with my dad. It was 9:55 a.m. and my dad wasn’t in the office yet. I greeted Chuck and told him I was sure my dad would arrive soon. At 10 a.m. exactly, Chuck got up and said, “It’s 10 o’clock. Your dad isn’t here. Have him call me if he wants to reschedule the meeting.”
I couldn’t believe it. He came all the way to the office just to leave 30 seconds after the appointment? I told him, “Mr. Aycock, I’m sure he’ll be here any minute. There’s no need to leave.”
And then he told me something I never forgot. He said, “Son, either you are early or you are late. He’s late and my time is valuable. Have him give me a call if he’d like to reschedule.” And he left!
My dad showed up at 10:10 a.m. expecting to meet Chuck. I told him what happened and he was as stunned as I was. My dad wasn’t habitually late or anything. That particular morn- ing he was just a little casual with his time. He rescheduled the appointment and I noticed over the years that my dad was ALWAYS early for his appointments with Mr. Aycock.
What is the lesson in this story? For me, the lesson was that people respect a person who does what they say they’re going to do. People also respect a person who values their
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own time. If you say you’re going to follow up at a specific time or in a specific way, either do it or reschedule well ahead of your appointment.
Concept #2–The only reason to have an exposure is to set up the next exposure
When I got started, I would conclude every exposure by saying, “What do you think?” No one told me that was one of the worst things to do. It felt like a natural thing to say, but my results were terrible.
I asked one of my early mentors for help and he said, “Eric, the only reason to have an exposure is to set up the next exposure.”
That blew my mind. I thought the reason to have the ex- posure was to get the person signed up! He went on to explain that if you finish each exposure by setting up the next one, the prospect will eventually become educated on the opportunity and make an informed decision.
The goal in my mind changed from “getting” the prospect on the first exposure to just keeping the process alive by set- ting up the next follow-up exposure, then the next and the next, until they made a decision. When I made this small im- provement, my results improved dramatically.
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We talked earlier about how to professionally invite your prospect to take a look at what you have to offer. At the end of that process, we went through several steps to set up the NEXT exposure, meaning your follow-up call. That was your next appointment.
When you make that call, you’re going to ask them if they reviewed the material. They’ll say, “No, I didn’t,” or they’ll say, “Yes, I did.” Let’s talk about how you’ll set up the next expo- sure in both cases.
If they say no, they didn’t have a chance to review the ma- terials, it’s important you don’t show your displeasure at their lack of follow-through. It sounds funny, but a lot of people just jump on their prospects with, “I thought you said you’d be able to see it for sure!” Obviously, this won’t help build that good relationship you’re working on.
The best way to respond is, “That’s okay. I understand some- times life gets busy. When do you think you could do it for sure, for sure?” Now, you might say “for sure, for sure” is a little much, but I’ve used that for decades in this follow-up situation, and I do it because it works. In any case, use whatever language you’d like to use to set up the next time and walk through the same steps to get the commitment. Once you have it, includ- ing the date and time of the next call (the next exposure), then hang up and call them when you said you would.
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Skill #4—Following Up with Your Prospects
If you call them at the scheduled time and they still haven’t reviewed the material, just repeat the process until they do. Remember, they are setting the appointment and you are be- ing the professional by following up like you said you would.
If you call your prospect and they say yes, they’ve reviewed the material, you’re going to ask them a few intelligent ques- tions. First, you’re NOT going to ask, “What did you think?” This just invites the critical part of the prospect’s mind to come up with objections to try to sound smart.
The best follow-up question I’ve ever used is, “What did you like best?” This question will take you in a very positive direction and will give you clues as to the level of their inter- est. If they say “the product,” then your next exposure will probably be product-related. If they say “financial freedom,” then your next exposure will be opportunity-related.
Another great question to ask is “On a scale of one to 10, with one being zero interest and 10 being ready to get started right away, where are you right now?” With this question, anything over a one is GOOD. It says they have some inter- est. Most of the time you’ll get something like a five or a six. No matter what number they give you, all you’re going to do is ask them how you can help them get to a higher number. Usually that answer will go along the lines of how they an- swered, “What did you like best?”
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If the answer is very positive and the number is fairly high, you can go directly into the closing process (we’ll cover that in the next section). If it isn’t an obvious green light, then you’ll just schedule the next exposure.
They might want to try the product, so you help them do that, and set a follow-up date—a time to call them and check on the experience (the next exposure). They might want to understand the compensation plan, so you set up a time to get together and review it (the next exposure). They might want to talk with their spouse, so you send them home with mate- rials they can share with their spouse and set up a date and time when you’ll follow up (the next exposure). Whatever it is, you never finish one exposure without setting up the next one. Never! If you do, it’s over.
That’s what used to happen to me at the beginning. I would have someone look at the opportunity. When they’d done that, I’d say, “So, what do you think?” They’d usually mumble something like, “I’ll let you know,” or, “I’ll get back to you,” or, “I need to think more about it,” or something similar. And poof, they were gone. Then, when I tried to call them back, I was just bothering them. The whole thing felt uncomfortable.
Once I changed to never finishing one exposure before setting up the next one, everything changed for the better. I was being professional. I was in control. The prospect had more respect for me and for the opportunity. All of this hap- pened from this one small change in mindset.
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Concept #3–It takes an average of four to six exposures for the average person to join
When people don’t understand that the only reason for an exposure is to set up the next exposure, they put too much pressure on their prospects and on themselves. In the “some will, some won’t, so what, next” MLM culture, people ham- mer on a person once, and if they don’t join right away, they move on and never follow up. In many cases, they take it a step further by damaging the relationship with the prospect with their attitude.
Professionals understand that it takes an average of four to six exposures for a prospect to become involved. Their goal is education and understanding. It’s hard to educate someone in one exposure. So they take them from exposure to expo- sure to exposure, knowing it will eventually sink in. Through that process, they also build a stronger relationship with the prospect. They strengthen the friendship. That helps build trust, and people enjoy working with people they like.
Four to six exposures is an average, which means that for every person who joins on the first exposure, there’s going to be a person who takes more than 10 exposures to join. You just never know. Some of the best people in Network Mar- keting were prospected for years before they finally made the decision to take part in the opportunity.
Keep your urgency—but have patience.
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Concept #4–Condense the exposures for better results
Posers prospect someone once and move on. Amateurs prospect someone through several exposures over time. Pro- fessionals condense those exposures into the shortest time possible.
People are busy. They are constantly distracted by life. When you are approaching them to take a look at something new, it’s important to keep their interest; the best way to do that is to stack the exposures as close together as possible.
If you go slow, you might start by having them check out a video. Then a few weeks later, have them listen to a confer- ence call. Then a month later, have them attend a webinar. Then after another month, invite them to a three-way phone call with you and another distributor. This slow process is difficult because between each exposure they tend to get dis- tracted by life. It can almost be like starting over every time.
On the other hand, if you have them check out a video, then join a conference call, then try the product, then get on a webinar, then participate in a three -way call, then come to a live meeting (or whatever combination of exposures you use in your company), and do it all in one week, you give them the opportunity to really think about how this could change their lives.
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Questions and Objections
At every step in the recruiting process, you’ll come across questions and objections. This is natural. A lot of the time, your prospect will just be bringing them up to sound intel- ligent. They don’t want to seem easy, so they throw out ob- jections to feel better. How you respond is extremely impor- tant. If you act defensive, you’ll plant a seed of doubt in their minds. If you act offensive, you’ll chase them away.
Remember, our goal is education and understanding. It’s not to win an argument. Our job is to help blind people see. When someone brings up a negative question or if they of- fer you an objection, all they are really doing is helping you to identify one of their blind spots. It’s helpful to know what these are so you can assist your prospects in eliminating them.
I’m going to give you some specific tactics to help over- come objections, but the thing I want you to remember and spend more time focusing on are concepts. Tactics come and go. Concepts are timeless.
I’ve found that objections fall into one of two cat- egories. The first is the prospects’ limiting belief in their abilities. They aren’t sure they can be successful. The second is a limiting belief in Network Marketing. They aren’t sure Network Marketing will help them achieve their goals in life.
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For both categories, one of the best concepts is empathy— how you relate to people. And the best way I know to relate to people is to let them know you’re just like they are. You had the same doubts, the same questions, the same fears, and you overcame them. Believe it or not, your story (and the stories of others) will do more for you in overcoming objections than anything else.
There’s an old tactic called “Feel/Felt/Found.” It works with the concept of empathy. When a prospect offers an ob- jection, you respond with, “I know how you feel. I felt the same way. But here is what I found.” You can use that quite literally and with great success. You can also modify it based upon your story and your prospect.
When Prospects Have a Limiting Belief in Their Abilities
The common objections in this category are:
“I don’t have the money,” “I don’t have the time,” “It’s not my thing,” “I’m not a salesperson,” “I don’t know anyone,” or “I’m too old/too young/have no experience.”
Some people teach fancy approaches where you make yourself seem smart and the prospect seem stupid.
“You don’t have the money? Do you have a cable bill? Do you have a cell phone? Do you ever go out to dinner? You have lots of money. C’mon, wake up!”
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Skill #4—Following Up with Your Prospects
“You don’t have the time? How long do you want to have that reality in your life? You have to change if you want your life to change!”
How does it feel when you read that? How would it feel if someone were to say it to you? Pretty bad, right? A better ap- proach is to relate to the person and tell your story.
When a person tells me, “I just don’t have the money right now,” I respond, “I had the same exact challenge. I didn’t have enough money to pay my bills, let alone start a new business. But when I thought about it, I realized if I didn’t have enough money to pay my bills now, how was I going to change that in the future? I was tired of being behind. I was tired of always scrambling. I wanted more out of life. So you know what I did? I found a way, and it was the best decision I ever made. Let me ask you something… if you really felt this was a chance for you to take control of your financial future, do you think you could find a way to make it happen?”
Nine times out of 10 they would agree they could find a way. Again, forget the exact words and focus on the concept. I told them I was the same as they were, with the same objec- tion. I told them about my pain. And I told them I found a way to solve it. As a result, we bonded. We related to each
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other. We were in the same boat with the same hopes and dreams.
And if I didn’t have a personal story that would compare with theirs, I would tell another person’s story. There are plen- ty of stories inside your company that can relate to virtually every situation. So when a prospect tells you their objection, you can say, “I know what you mean. I have a friend who had that same exact problem and let me tell you their story.”
Can you see how that approach would work with all the objections based on a person’s limiting beliefs about them- selves and their lives? The concept is simple, it’s proven, and the results are amazing.
When People Have Limiting Beliefs About Network Marketing
This category includes:
“Is this MLM?”
“Is this one of those things?”
“Is this a pyramid scheme?”
“I’m not interested in MLM.”
“I don’t want to bother my friends,” and, “How much are you making?”
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Skill #4—Following Up with Your Prospects
Let’s start with the one that strikes fear into the hearts of most people in our profession—“Is this MLM?” or varia- tions like, “Is this one of those things?” or, “Is this a pyramid scheme?” or, “I’m not interested in MLM.”
Some people go a little crazy when they hear this ques- tion. They say, “Pyramid scheme? Like every corporation in the world? Like the government? You mean like THAT?!”
Instead of going crazy on your prospects, it’s important to understand where this question comes from. My experience has shown me that they usually knew someone who joined with no success or else they’ve done it themselves (usually they just purchased a virtual lottery ticket like I described ear- lier and it didn’t pay off). This scenario represents well over 90% of the people who will ask this kind of question. The rest of them have heard of opportunities like this and are right- fully skeptical of the promise of getting rich quick.
If they ask this kind of question with any sort of emotion, I know they’ve been involved at some point, so I say, “Wait a minute. You have a story. What happened? Were you involved in Network Marketing at some point?” Then just let them tell you their story. It opens them up. It lowers their defenses. And it allows you to ask some questions about their experience.
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Let me give you a typical example. I’m going through my invitation process when the prospect says, “Wait a minute. Is this MLM?” And they say it with emotion. I reply, “Oh, you have a story. Did you try it out at some point? What happened?”
They say, “Yeah, I joined a company a few years ago, bought some product and lost my money.” I reply, “What do you think was the reason you didn’t have success?”
They say, “Well, my friend talked me into it. I didn’t have a lot of time and I thought more people would join right away but they didn’t. I guess I just lost interest.” I reply, “Do you think you really gave it a fair shot?”
They say “No, not really.” I reply, “Do you think Network Marketing was the problem? Or do you think maybe your timing wasn’t right?” They say, “It was probably the timing.”
Do you see the dynamic? I’ve had thousands of these con- versations and they’re all slightly different, but if you ask some questions and are friendly through the process, you have a strong opportunity to help them get rid of their blind spot and take a look at what you have to offer.
In addition, you can relate to them by saying you had the same objection initially and telling them how you overcame it. If someone uses the word “pyramid” with me, I always say, “Oh no. Pyramid schemes are illegal, and I would never be involved with something illegal.”
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For people asking without the emotion attached, I usually respond with, “Yes, this is Network Marketing. Do you know anything about it?” Again, I’m asking questions and waiting for answers. From those answers, I ask more questions, and through the process I can achieve my goal of education and understanding.
“I don’t want to bother my friends,” is slightly different. Again, I relate to them by telling my story or someone else’s story. And then I ask questions like, “What makes you think you’d be bothering your friends?” or, “If you truly believed in the product, would you let your friends know about it?” and, “If I could show you how we share this product with others without it feeling or sounding like a sales pitch, would that help you?”
The last in this category is, “How much are YOU mak- ing?” If you are making money already, this is a great ques- tion. If you’re not, your answer depends on how long you’ve been involved. If you’re brand new, you can tell them you’re just getting started. If you’ve been around for a while and not making big money yet, you can tell them you are working this part-time and are really excited about your future. You could also say that you’re excited about your future with this com- pany because you knew things weren’t going to change if you didn’t do something to change them.
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The other way to answer it is to tell your story and then tell stories of people you know who ARE making good money. You can even suggest setting up a phone conversation with those people so they can feel more comfortable about the op- portunity.
All of this takes practice, but if you get the concepts down, you’ll find it becomes easy. And the other thing that should encourage you is you’ll only have this handful of the same ob- jections for the rest of your career. There’s nothing new here. What I’ve listed in this section is about all there is. Remember, our goal is education and understanding. This is a part of the process that makes that goal a reality.
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