B00CLEM7J0 EBOK (9 page)

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 exposure 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 setting up the next follow-up exposure, then the next and the next, until they made a decision. When I made this small improvement, my results improved dramatically.

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 exposure in both cases.

If they say no, they didn’t have a chance to review the materials, 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 sometimes 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, including the date and time of the next call (the next exposure), then hang up and call them when you said you would.

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 being 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 questions. 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 interest. 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 interest. 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 answered, “What did you like best?”

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 materials 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 happened from this one small change in mindset.

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 hammer 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 exposure 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 Marketing were prospected for years before they finally made the decision to take part in the opportunity.

Keep your urgency—but have patience.

Concept #4–Condense the exposures for better results

Posers prospect someone once and move on. Amateurs prospect someone through several exposures over time. Professionals 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 conference call. Then a month later, have them attend to 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 distracted 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.

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 intelligent. They don’t want to seem easy, so they throw out objections to feel better. How you respond is extremely important. 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 offer 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 overcome 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 categories. 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.

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 objection, 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!”

Or,

“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 approach 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 objection. 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 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 plenty 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 themselves 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?”

Let’s start with the one that strikes fear into the hearts of most people in our profession—“Is this MLM?” or variations like, “Is this one of those things?” or, “Is this a pyramid scheme?” or, “I’m not interested in MLM.”