Leads are the life-blood of your MLM business. Without leads you are nowhere. There are two distinct schools of thought here. The warm market leads and leads generated through advertising. Let us examine them at some length because this is very important.
WARM MARKET LEADS
There are very successful network marketers who have built huge MLM business only through warm market leads. Warm market leads have some distinct advantages. Firstly there is already an ongoing relationship of trust. MLM is a relationship business. To succeed you have to build a special relationship of trust with the person you sponsor. In the case of warm market leads this relationship already exists and makes your job easier. Secondly it is easier to share your excitement about a product, service or business with someone you already know than with a total stranger. This transference of excitement and sharing of joy is very important in building your network marketing business. MLM works on recommendation and the person who will listen to your recommendation is someone who already knows and trusts you. Lastly and most importantly your warm market leads don’t cost you a dime. Advertising can be very expensive and you can max out your credit cards and still not reach your target audience.
The problem with warm market leads is the poor conversion rate. This is because you are talking with leads that are not looking for a business opportunity. For most of these leads timing may not be right. Some may be going through change of jobs, transfers, shift of residence, new arrivals in the family and all kinds of other family issues. A NO from your dear ones can hurt and feel like a rejection. The NO can spring from lots of reasons totally unrelated to the business opportunity and it is definitely not a rejection of you as a person as long as you don’t pester them and make them feel uncomfortable. You have every right to share your enthusiasm for a product and an idea. If they are closed to your idea there is nothing to feel upset about.
MLM has been given a bad name by some people who will not take a NO for an answer. They will badger their contacts with the hope of wearing them down and change their minds. Please remember everyone will not be as excited about the opportunity as you are because the timing may not right for them. You discuss the opportunity with the next person in the list. That is why they say you should make a very long list. A sort list will create problem. As you start making money and your belief in the business goes up you will find a sudden change in the attitude of your warm market. You will find very easy converts to your cause. People who initially said NO will ask you to join the business. This is how the business works. You have to remain calm, consistent and focused regardless of views of your warm market in the initial stages of your business. DO NOT TRY TO CONVINCE…….JUST SHOW THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE YOU KNOW. You will win if you take MASSIVE, CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT ACTION. And remember, you cannot say the wrong thing to the right lead, and you can never say the right thing to the wrong lead!
The key to succeed with your WARM MARKET is to start them on the products, and not pitch the opportunity to them straight away! Once you get your family and friends started on the products (It doesn’t cost you that much considering that you can claim tax breaks) and once they see results from it, they will start buying and promoting the products to the people around them because of the benefit they experience! Some may even decide to join the MLM business opportunity!
You can never run out of warm leads. Once you have sponsored a few people into the business you have to start supporting them and work through their leads. Sooner than later you will find active network marketers who share the same vision as you and your business starts growing.
NOT-SO-WARM MARKET LEADS THROUGH ADVERTISEMENTS
The leads you generate through online and offline advertisement are highly motivated leads. These people are searching for home businesses. They will look at various options before deciding on the best opportunity. The conversion rates from these leads can be fairly high. You can build your business very rapidly through advertising. The best part being that there is very little or no rejection factor as in the case of warm leads.
One thing I can warn you from the very start NEVER EVER BUY LEADS because these leads are sold over and over again. The only thing you will achieve is to pay for these expensive leads with no returns to your business. To be successful in MLM business you have to generate your own leads. There are no SHORT CUTS.
The problem of leads through advertising is not only the prohibitive cost but also skills needed to reach the target audience. If you choose the advertising route you will be competing for attention against big companies and budgets for attention. If your advertisements are not focused and targeted they will not reach the right people. Either you have to become a master at marketing which include developing copy-writing skills, knowing the right medium to advertise to gain maximum impact and also know how to monitor the cost returns on advertising. Without proper monitoring systems in place you will blow up your budget without any tangible returns. If you are advertising on the internet then you have to develop special skills to market on the internet. Most average people do not have the necessary skills to advertise effectively and if you are one of them then you can spend thousands of dollars and achieve very little or no results. There are unscrupulous upline leaders who will ask their members to embark on expensive advertising to grow their business even when they don’t have the specialized knowledge to guide their team.
There are also advertisement sharks especially on the internet that try and sell you leads and many other fancy gadgets like ad blasters, blog blasters, banners etc which produce little or no results…….the only aim being to empty your wallet. Can you remember the last time you clicked on a banner? The other option is to hire a professional to do the job for you and monitor his results. In both cases advertisement can be very cost prohibitive until and unless you have the necessary skills or very deep pockets.
Another problem with generating leads through advertisements is that there is no relationship with the lead. To succeed you have to build a relationship of trust. This takes time and effort. The problem is compounded because the leads that you generate may not be from your local area. You have to set up systems for long distance support by taking advantage of modern day communications. The support systems have to go in place before you start to advertise. You will need to budget the additional website and communication costs.
There is no doubt that advertisement can greatly help your MLM business to grow rapidly but you have to master the art to succeed. If you are a beginner it is advisable to stick to the warm market leads till such time you reach breakeven point in your MLM business and are in profit. You can then slowly start advertising at first by using free resources. There are various avenues of free advertising and we shall discuss some of them later in this book. As your income from business grows and skills improve you can slowly start experimenting with paid advertising. But remember every dollar you spend on advertising must be monitored and should have positive result in building your business or you are simply wasting money.
For someone new to the business the best option is to first work with the warm market leads. Next step is to generate leads by adverting through FREE resources. Paid advertising should be attempted after having gained the necessary skills, setting up the organization for long distance support and once the business is in profit. The only exception to this rule is if you already have the expertise in advertising or have deep pockets to hire an expert.
Dave Dube MLM Leads lead generation, MLM Leads, not-so-warm market leads, special relationship, Stop convincing, warm market leads
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