What Your MLM Prospects Are Thinking

Let's try an experiment ...

A few months ago I created a poll asking people what they thought would help them in building their MLM or network marketing home-based business.

The response was excellent for 2 reasons (according to the feedback you gave me):

1. People enjoyed being able to give their input and express themselves.
2. People found that looking at the results of the survey gave them insight into the minds of their potential prospects and what they are looking for ... thus helping them to target their marketing efforts more effectively.

So let's try another survey, and here's the question for today:

Traditional MLM has taught for decades that we should build our business through our "warm list" and the "3-foot rule." Some argue that it's still the best way to build a downline because MLM is all about relationships.

Others contend that the world has changed. We now live in the Internet age and must adapt with the times. Marketing online allows us to reach more people and is more fun.

What's your opinion? Is Internet marketing for MLM superior to the traditional warm market approach or is it all hype?

This time instead of using Squidoo to create a poll, I think it would be more interesting to see people's actual comments.

So I invite you to click the "Comments" link immediately below this article, and a window will pop up where you can type in your opinion on this question. You can also read other people's comments there.

Feel free to write as much or as little as you want, and even ask questions.

Thanks for participating. This could be a provide some great insights for all of us!

Shiny Happy MLM Distributors

Thank you all for the extremely kind response I received from so many after my last post about my near death experience.

I received pages and pages of emails, and even flowers and gifts in the mail! Way beyond what I expected.

I'm humbled and grateful to have so many people caring for me.

Then there were a couple of letters that said something similar to this:

"Gosh, Barry, I can't believe you admitted that you had a health problem. Aren't you concerned that this will make people think your MLM company's products don't work?"

It's an honest question, so I don't want to be too harsh on those who asked it. But it really does point to something that has been, and continues to periodically raise it's head as a problem in our industry:

HYPE!

Do you really think that there is any nutritional network marketing company where EVERYONE who takes their super miracle juice has been able to avoid having a heart condition, or cancer or diabetes or a stroke or ...?

Obviously the truth is quite the opposite: Every nutrition company has people taking their products who have those conditions.

There's a reason that nutrition company's have to put disclaimers on their products, and it's a good reason: Nutrition is not medicine.

Distributors sometimes treat those disclaimers as annoying big-brother controls imposed by an evil coalition of the government, the AMA and the "money-hungry" drug companies.

It's convenient to have such an enemy, and it makes for a great story. And there may be just enough of a partial truth to it to make it believable. I acknowledge that.

But there have been times when our industry brought some of this on ourselves by making inappropriate claims for the products we market.

The best way to keep the government from over-regulating our industry is for us to self-regulate and stop making outlandish medical claims.

Look at the history of network marketing. There have been some exciting new product launches promoted with tremendous enthusiasm as an incredible product that was going to change the world.

Where are those products now?

They're still on the market. But the initial excitement isn't there any more for any of them.

Why?

Perhaps after people took them for awhile they found that they still got sick, had some health problems, and they weren't the "cure-all" promised.

This doesn't mean they weren't good products with excellent benefits that could be promoted with enthusiasm. It just means that they were sometimes hyped beyond reason.

In fact, if you look at some of the companies that hyped those "sizzle" products, you'll find that most of them have sizzled out. They're out of business, have shrunk dramatically in size, or have switched their product focus.

Why?

Because you can't sustain a business on hype. It's a self-defeating business model.

I'm of the opinion that most legitimate MLM companies have good products. We can share the legitimate benefits of them without having to make medical claims, and without having to pretend that they are cure-alls.

By promoting our products enthusiastically, but without hype, we can build long-term businesses without fear of government intervention or dramatic customer attrition.

The power to give our industry a bad name, or to repair it's reputation, is largely in our hands.

Are "Funded Proposals" a Good Way to Prospect?

Another great question came in through the "Ask Barry" service from one of our fellow blog readers. It asked about whether leading with a "Funded Proposal" is a good way to build your primary network marketing company.

The answer is ... well, let's start at the beginning:

What is a funded proposal?

The quick and easy explanation is this: Instead of advertising your business opportunity or your MLM products, you advertise something else that you sell, usually an educational report.

You sell this up front, and then use your MLM as the "back-end offer."

The reasoning is that you make money by selling them something on the front end, therefore lowering or even eliminating the cost of generating leads.

Does it work?

Yes, but only IF you have an excellent offer to sell.

• It must be attractive from a marketing perspective (so you sell a lot of books).
• It must contain content that has real value (so your customer will appreciate it and come back to you in the future).
  

Some people object to this approach saying, "Why don't you just use your own MLM company's product to use as the front end offer and retail that?"

You absolutely can, and that's a very valid idea. However it is a different angle and doesn't produce the same results (I'm not saying better or worse; just different).

Here's why:

In marketing, as in life, you get what you ask for. So if you're asking for a customer for a nutrition product in your ad, then that's what you get ... not a business builder.

Sure, a small percentage may become distributors, but not many because that wasn't what you targeted in your advertising.

On the other hand, if you advertise a book on the super secrets of how to succeed in multi-level marketing, then you will attract people who are interested in a MLM business opportunity.

BUT ...

You will also attract people who are most likely already in a network marketing business!

So here's the deal:

The funded proposal is a great approach, but it is more of a long-term approach. You can use it to help fund your building of a list of serious MLM entrepreneurs (they did spend money to learn about MLM success after all), stay in communication with them, build a relationship with them, and over time, when they are ready (i.e. if they quit their current company), you will be there to sponsor them into your business.

Sure, you'll find some who are ready to join you right now, but the ratio will be much lower than if you directly advertise your business opportunity.

So what should you do?

I do all 3 approaches:

1. I advertise my network marketing company's product to get customers.
2. I advertise my network marketing company's business opportunity to get distributors.
3. I advertise funded proposals to develop relationships with serious networkers who aren't ready to join with me now ... but may later.

Oh, and one more thing that is really BIG:

I've found one of the BEST parts of having a funded proposal (that most people don't do) is this:

Instead of using it only as a front-end offer, you can use it as a back-end offer to.

Most prospects who consider your business opportunity aren't going to enroll. So ...

After they've decided not to enroll, offer them your e-book, special report, etc. You'll be surprised how many will buy it! And this will help offset your costs of generating the leads that don't sign up.

Here are the 2 best funded proposals that I know of.

• Magnetic Sponsoring
• Renegade Network Marketer
  

Both of these are proven to be attractive offers, are reputable affiliate programs, and offer education that has real value to the people who buy them from you. I personally use them both and have found them to be excellent.

Prospects Tell You How To Enroll Them!

What's the best way to uncover what prospects really want from you?

Ask them!

But there are problems:

1. Not everyone knows what they want.
2. Not everyone knows the options.
3. Not everyone is educated enough to know what's best for them.
   

So here's what we do:

1. We only ask educated network marketers.
2. We only ask serious prospects.
3. We ask enough people, over a period of time, to give us substantial statistics.

Enter: The Squidoo MLM Survey!

This survey is a free tool for you and you can access it right now.

As of today, I'm opening it up for those serious about MLM and network marketing.

Simply go to:

http://www.squidoo.com/mlmsurvey

... and complete the simple 5-Question multiple-choice survey yourself.

After you've completed the survey (it takes about 90 seconds), you will receive instant access to the results of everyone's answers.

Go back periodically to see what prospects are looking for in a business opportunity. They will actually be telling you what they want you to put in your marketing materials, e-mails, letters and phone calls!

This is great market research.

I haven't opened this survey up to everyone. Only people who are doing active searches on the Internet for MLM opportunities and also those who are already seriously involved in network marketing.

This will give us lower numbers, but will provide a survey of the kind of people we actually want in our downlines - people who take initiative, who are serious ... people like ourselves!

The survey is just starting, so to motivate you "early-birds," I'm providing a free gift to encourage you to be one of the first to complete the survey ...

You'll receive my brand-new 5-Part VIDEO Series on how to build a downline FAST that reveals the new ... "MLM BLITZ METHOD"

This training is absolutely cutting-edge. These videos have never been seen by anyone, anywhere before. But you can get them for answering 5 simple questions that will take you less than 2 minutes.

... and you'll get the benefit of viewing the results of the survey (updated in real time) over the weeks and months to follow, to help with your own marketing.

So this is your invitation to go there right now:

• Complete the 5-question multiple-choice survey.
• Get the 5 free videos on how to build a downline fast using the MLM Blitz Method.
• Receive access the survey results to help you in building your own downline.
  

Quickly go to:

http://www.squidoo.com/mlmsurvey

... and complete the simple 5-Question survey yourself right now and have prospects tell you how to sign them up!

P.S. There's also a section there where you can provide suggestions on what other questions you'd like added to the survey. I look forward to your input and will add your ideas to make this a community effort that benefits us all.

Ask Barry: "Is there anything I should worry about when prospecting: Can you lose a friendship?"

The new "Ask Barry" feature has been a huge success. I'm getting many people sending me questions ... and I answer every single one of them personally!

If you have a question for a MLM mentor, use the form and send me your question.

You can access the form from the "ASK BARRY" box on this page (5th box from the top in the right column).


Here's a question that recently came in:

"Is there anything I should worry about when prospecting: Can you lose a friendship?"

The answer I'm "supposed" to give you is, "Don't worry about it. If you really believe in your business, then you should want to share it with your friends and family first."

That's the "company line." And there actually is a lot of truth to it. However in real life it's not that simple.

There IS a danger of hurting friendships by approaching them with your business.

Many people do not like to mix business and friendships.

Money issues have broken many great friendships, and have even been cited as the #1 cause for divorce.

When you go into business with a friend or family member you are essentially becoming business partners. And everyone in traditional business knows that becoming a business partner with a friend is a very risky venture.

This doesn't mean that you should never do it.

It does mean that you should think about it carefully before you do.

It depends on the nature of your friendship and the other person's personality.

The best way to evaluate it is this: Imagine the worse case scenario - they join with you and they lose a TON of money! Now, can your friendship survive that?

Having said that, I have gone into business with a friend and our friendship survived just fine (though it was strained at times). But that friend and I are both extremely entrepreneurial ... in fact that's what brought us together. So it was already at the heart of our relationship. Plus there's a tremendous amount of trust between us, and I know my friend always takes full responsibility for everything in his life, and would never feel bad about losing money on something I told him about, because he knows he didn't have to do it. But I knew that about him before we started.

So take it on a case-by-case basis. I would certainly encourage you to approach your entrepreneurial friends if you know that your friendship could weather their failure in the business.

Again, you won't hear this from most Network Marketing trainers ... except me!

So congratulations to you for thinking about this and for valuing your friendships. A great friendship is invaluable. I'm so happy to see that you're treating it with care and sensitivity and not just blindly following what someone else tells you to do.

Keep thinking for yourself. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and a good heart too.

To your success,

Barry Burns

Distributors or Customers - Which is More Important?

"Hey Barry, you talk about 'entrepreneurs' being the key to success in MLM, but isn't it really the customer base that is most important?"

Great question, and yes, customers are absolutely the cornerstones to your MLM business, and there are 2 reasons for this:

1. If everyone was a distributor, and no one was a customer, then you would have a Money Game, and not a legal MLM business.
2. Mathematically, not everyone in the business can make money! The numbers simply don't work. So you need MOST people to NOT make money so a smaller number of people can make a lot of money.

This would be unethical, unless the largest number of people weren't even trying to make money – they were happy paying for and getting the benefits of the products without seeking any monetary compensation.

So yes, customers are the cornerstones of any MLM business and of your downline. However, they don't give you leverage and therefore will never make you rich.

So if we need both, what do we do?

I run separate campaigns for customers and for entrepreneurs, however, customers are much easier to find than entrepreneurs. Therefore I focus on finding entrepreneurs.

Here's why finding customers is easy:

Most of the so-called "entrepreneurs" you invite into the business either will not be interested or will join the business, but never actually DO the business. However if you have a great product, many of them will become product users.

Therefore my approach has been to spend most of my time looking for the entrepreneurs (there are so few of them that if I don't focus on them, I'll never find them). But in that process, most of the prospects end up becoming customers anyway.

Because my company offers products of real value, many people order them month after month for the health benefits alone, and everyone wins.