Is this still even possible, given the stigma that the Network Marketing or the MLM industry has been attached to? Hello…pyramid scheme people?!? Despite the stigma, I think the answer is a BIG BOLD YES (realize the big bold font?!?).
You might be thinking, yeah right, of course she will say so since she’s a Network Marketer herself! Why should I trust her? My answer would be, you don’t have to. Seriously. You can do your own research. I did my research, which I’d like to share with you below:
Hot Times Ahead – When Recession Hits the Economy, Network Marketing Booms
Here’s a quote from the article:
Grab your hat and prepare for the next boom in Network Marketing. If you are a newcomer, study the industry closely (and quickly). If you are an old-timer, get out your contact lists for the last two to ten years. In a recession, they will be solid gold! All you have to do is get out there and help people out of their economic duress. Now is the best time to grow your Network Marketing individual business or start your company! Whether you are a veteran or a beginning network marketer, the future is bright. Soon consumers will be looking for the best quality at the best prices. Where do they find it? In the quality products offered by your Network Marketing company .
Recession causes people to open their minds to gaining alternative sources of income. If they are still employed, they are worrying about the possibility of losing their jobs or having them downgraded. If they are unemployed, they are seeking ways to build their income without spending large amounts of money to start another business.
Here’s a quote from the article. On the website, you can also watch a video by Jim Kramer, the CNBC Financial guy, giving his
Take on some of the big companies that employ direct selling, aka network marketing, like Avon, Herbalife and Tupperware. Not every company struggles during a recession. In fact, direct sellers like Avon tend to do quite well. As cost cutting forces employees out of traditional jobs, the company’s door-to-door sales force swells in number.
Direct-Selling Gains an Edge in Recession
Here’s a quote from the article.
As the economy shrinks and more Americans lose their jobs, some people are turning to direct selling to bring in a little extra cash. And, in this case, what’s good for the consumer is very good for the seller.
Additionally, just few days ago, I found out that a friend and a relative of mine are doing Network Marketing. And my friend was telling me that our mutual friends are joining as well. After doing my research and hearing that my friends and relatives are doing Network Marketing as well, it made me more confident that there are a lot opportunities to be made in whatever Network Marketing business that you and I are in. This consequently will bring more opportunities in the arena of Internet Network Marketing, which is a method of marketing your Network Marketing business using the Internet. That’s the good news. At the same time, with the spur of the number of people who join the Network Marketing industry, this makes the industry to be very competitive. Normally, when a market becomes competitive, marketing your business will become competitive as well. If you want to succeed, it has become imperative that you learn the new marketing method for your Network Marketing business, to add that to your already known marketing arsenals or possibly abandon the known ones altogether if they have not brought you the results you want. Your known marketing arsenals would be the 3 foot rule prospecting, the let’s bring prospects to the hotel meetings, etc. The new marketing method would be marketing your business using the Internet, also known as the Internet Network Marketing. Even for the Internet Network Marketing method, if you don’t do it right, the chance of you getting the results you want is also slim. How do you do it right? You can read my past articles for this. If you need my help, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
- Different Phases in Marketing Your Business using the Internet
- The Renegade Network Marketing in a Nutshell…
- Internet Network Marketing – Step by Step Guide
- Internet Network Marketing – Step by Step Guide Part 2
- Internet Network Marketing – Step by Step Guide Part 3
- 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing #4 – We Have The Best Product Ever!
Okay. So, after knowing the outlook of the Network Marketing business in the times of recession and its impact, how does one find people who may like to join a Network Marketing business? The easiest and most obvious answer to this is to look for people who are already exposed to what Network Marketing is all about. When I say exposed, exposed with either neutral or good experience in the Network Marketing. After you find these people, you can try those with not so good experience, i.e. those that have been burned in the past in the Network Marketing business. Please don’t do it the other way around as it will not be a good use of your time. I mean, who would you try to sell a book on how to pick your first puppy first? To those that love animals, or to those who hate animals because of whatever their past experience with animals?!?
This group of people who are already exposed to what Network Marketing is all about has probably:
1) Tried network marketing before and although they have not had any success in their previous opportunity, is willing to give it another try by looking for another opportunity.
2) Are already involved in a network marketing opportunity and they are looking for a chance to switch over into a ‘better’ opportunity or go under another upline who is more capable.
3) Their previous Network Marketing company has recently shut down due to many different reasons and they are looking for a venue to start their network marketing business all over again.
These 3 groups of people are considered your target markets (which are the people who may like Network Marketing).
So what is the most effective way to target these people? Is it possible to bring them into your network? For starters, the biggest problem most newbies in network marketing is to try to use the comparison tactic to get people to join their network marketing opportunity. They attempt to tell them that my product is better than your product, my compensation plan pays more than yours, my management team has more experience and my upline can help me ‘close’ more prospects compared to yours.
This kind of ‘my company is better than yours’ approach doesn’t usually win people over because even if you win the argument, the result is they will lose face when they lose the argument. And it’s only human nature to not like to lose face!
For ALL types of prospects, the people that that fall in the three groups mentioned above and those that might have not so pleasant experience with Network Marketing in the past, the better way to prospect these people is to first, brand yourself as a network marketing expert. Only when you find a way to provide value to other people will they even begin to consider your network marketing opportunity. Building relationships first is more important than entering into a shouting match to see whose company is better. When you can show your prospect that you can add value to their life (their knowledge, their income, etc), they will be more likely to join your network marketing opportunity in the future. The Internet makes it very possible to become a value provider in the short time in the most efficient way .
Imagine this scenario. You only have $50 for your business monthly marketing budget. You googled “Network Marketing efficient prospecting” as you’re interested to know if there are any other Network Marketing prospecting methods other than what your upline has taught you. You then come across tons of websites claiming that they provide service or training to help you prospect more effectivelly and efficiently. After doing your thorough research, it finally boils down to 2 websites. One teaches you right away how to build a basic website, free of charge, right on the very 1st page. It even shows you what templates to use, specific to the Network Marketing business. The other website has all sorts of banners and advertisements that you can’t really read the content on that website without getting distracted. Which one would you more likely to trust to help you learn? The first one or the second one?
The next question would be, how can you become a value provider, especially when you’re just starting out?
Step 1: Commit yourself to become a value provider. This would require you to change your mindset of “what can I get out this (whatever it is you’re selling)” to “how can I help my prospects to succeed in their business”.
Step 2: Commit yourself to learning how to become a value provider.
Step 3: Learn how to become a value provider the right way. Mingle with other value providers to learn and emulate how they provide value to their clients. Learn how to build trusts with your prospects so that they’ll come to you for guidance.
Step 4: Implement what you learn immediately. Try not to analyze everything before you get started. You don’t want to get trapped in the analysis paralysis mode. Take that baby step to start marketing your business online.
Step 5: Don’t give up! Generating your own tons of leads and prospects using the Internet won’t happen overnight! Keep tracking your progress and tweak your Internet Network Marketing efforts based on your tracking results.
Through the progression of these steps, don’t forget that what you’re primarily trying to sell is YOU. I wouldn’t recommend that you start selling your Network Marketing products and business opportunities to your prospects. Why? If you want to build a Network Marketing business that’s long lasting, building trust with your prospects that can be either your future retail customers or team members shall be at the top of your list. Paraphrasing what Mike Klingler from the Renegade University said: Prospecting is like dating. You have to court your date before asking her to marry you. You don’t ask your date to marry you on the first date. Also, remember this phrase: Give and you shall receive? Well, this statement totally holds true in the Internet Network Marketing world. This video by John Reese explains the concept very clearly. Feel free to watch the whole thing , but if you’re short on time, start at minute 6:30. John Reese is one of the Internet Marketing guru who’s shot to fame in 2004 when his Traffic Secrets course was released and made him $1,000,000 in one day. So, his stuff is definitely worth checking out also!
What do you think? How are you going to start becoming a value provider for your prospects? See any value in doing so?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, I