Subject: Get your new distributor off to a powerful start
Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 16:41:13 +1000
"137 or less ways to get your new distributor off to a powerful and
effective start when money is tight"
By Tom "Big Al" Schreiter
What do you do when your downline distributor can't afford to purchase
products, sales aids, or training materials?
What do you do when your prospect says that he cannot afford to join your
business?
You ask questions.
Here is the conversation I had with an unmotivated, broke, and
afraid-to-take-personal-responsibility downline distributor.
Big Al: You should at least invest $100 a month ($25 a week) in your
business for products, sales aids, training materials, promotions, etc. Are
you willing to do that?
Distributor: Nope. I certainly can't do that. I don't have any money. Once
I pay my bills, there’s nothing left. Can't I just collect a few bonus
checks first, and THEN build a business?
Big Al: Life doesn't work that way. So let's look at your present
situation. You've worked ten years for the same company. You are an adult.
And, you are telling me you haven't managed to save $100 total in all those
years of work? Are you telling me you haven't had the business skill or
ability to save a total of $10 a year? That’s only one week's work on a
paper route.
Distributor: Yep. The situation is very grim. But, all my money goes to
paying bills. If I had a few extra dollars every month, I would invest it
in my business, honest!
Big Al: How much do you pay for cable TV?
Distributor: About $40 a month. But, I could never give that up. That’s our
only form of entertainment.
Big Al: Do you ever eat out? Or, do you always cook your meals?
Distributor: We eat dinner out about twice a week. I know it’s expensive,
but sometimes we’re just so-o-o-o tired when we come home from work. That’s
about $50 a week, but we do deserve a break now and then. And yes, I buy
lunch two or three times a week too, but I consider it a good break from
the boredom of the office.
Big Al: Do you smoke or drink?
Distributor: My cigarettes are $3 a pack, and I smoke a pack a day, but
hey, I'm addicted. I can't do anything about that. You don’t expect me to
give up smoking to build a business, do you? And don't get on me about my
drinking. It's the only way I can unwind after a tough day.
Big Al: What about weekends? Are they free? Could you take on a few odd
jobs to have a little extra money to build your business?
Distributor: Yeah, of course I have weekends off, but I have a lot of
chores and duties around the house. It's the only time of the week I can
catch up and get a bit of rest, and maybe get in a game of golf.
Big Al: Golf? Do you pay for green fees and clubs and drinks?
Distributor: I'm not putting away my golf clubs just to build a business.
Golf takes only three or four hours of my week anyway.
Big Al: So what plan do you have to free up $25 a week to build your
networking business?
Distributor: That's what I'm asking you. You have to tell me what I can do
to get my business going. Nothing has worked so far. So what are YOU going
to do about it, Mr. Sponsor?
Commentary: None needed.
So this distributor is unmotivated. His desire for golf and cigarettes is
greater than his desire to build a part-time business.
Who is at fault?
Is it me? Maybe I didn’t give a good presentation. Maybe I didn’t
communicate the real value of a part-time business. Maybe I didn’t use
enough "word pictures" to describe the final rewards of a part-time
business.
Or maybe the distributor is at fault. Possibly he just doesn’t care much
about his future.
But if your distributor is serious about building a part-time business,
what can you suggest to raise the money needed to get started?
Well, read on.
How to raise money for your sponsoring campaigns
Here is what you can do to raise $1000 in the next 30 to 60 days to
properly start your network marketing sponsoring campaign without having to
borrow money.
1. Write down every penny you spend for a week. In any given year, most
people "fritter" away $5,000 or more and have no idea where the money went.
If you practice writing down everything you spend money on, you’ll likely
spend less or at least identify "wasted money" and redirect it to your home
business plan.
2. Some financial planners say we can save up to $600 per year by
simply putting the household’s spare change into a cookie jar every night.
If that holds true for your family, after 60 days you’ll have $100 for your
home business!
3. Are you over-withholding on your paycheck? If you get huge refunds
at tax time, you may be able to free up $100 to $200 per month for every
exemption you’re not claiming at work. You’ll have to talk to your tax
preparer and/or human resources officer at work to find out for yourself.
This may be a way to get some extra cash.
4. Are you eating out too much? A family of 4 may eat out a couple
times per week and spend 30 dollars at a time (or more). Could you plan
ahead and cut back, saving $30 per week? In 60 days that would be $250 for
your home business.
5. Can you bring a bag lunch to school or work? It’s not a problem to
"brown-bag it" to save money. You may find that the fewer processed
carbohydrates you eat in the way of french fries, white bread, buns, and
sugary drinks will save you considerable cash and reduce your waistline at
the same time. Maybe this suggestion will make you money just by helping
you look more athletic, suave or professional (at least I’m hoping that
works for me one day!). Instead of buying expensive vending machine drinks,
take a six-pack of your favorite soda to the office and stash it for when
you’re thirsty. Substitute a generic drink to save more money if you can
find one that tastes good. You could be saving several dollars per day this
way.
6. Cut your own grass instead of hiring it out until your network
marketing time is worth more than the gardener’s hourly fee.
7. Television is eating you alive! So cut out this money destroyer!
Here are the problems:
It makes you a brain-dead passive couch potato, too lazy to get off your
rump and do things you need to do in your life. Inactivity costs you money
even if you’re watching free television.
One person I know had an interesting way of breaking the habit. When he was
a young man 20 years ago and realized his salary would never be sufficient,
he decided to start a home-based business in the evenings to supplement his
income. But what about the family television time, he wondered? They
decided that for every half hour of TV they watched, they’d put 25 cents
per person into a piggy bank to donate to charity (Make that $2.50 per
person per half hour today!). Once they started that rule, they found very
little television to watch.
Who knows? If you’re a big TV addict, maybe you can finance your $1,000
this way if you pay your piggy bank faithfully! The point is, if you’re a
slave to television, you’ll never devote time to your business anyway.
8. Stop renting videos! How many times have you simply wasted money on
trashy videos or got so many you couldn’t watch them all? If you have to
watch a new video, go to the library and check them out for free or borrow
part of a friend’s collection if you don’t mind being a mind-numbed passive
couch potato.
9. Cut the cable! You want another $50 to $100 in 30 to 60 days? Maybe
you should cut off the cable television. How much money has it put in your
pocket lately? How much has it taken out of your pocket though?
10. Whatever you do, don’t make up for the lack of television by
going to the movies. In fact, until your business is up and running well,
don’t go to the movies at all! Get a free video from a friend or the
library and have your soda and popcorn at home.
11. Stop going golfing unless you’re out in a cow pasture
somewhere where it’s free. This is just another money waster until your
business is running well. I’m sure you’re tempted to think, "But I could
find new prospects here." Yes, you can if you have a business to tell them
about or are legitimately prospecting. But for now you have zero, zip,
zilch, nothing. You are just getting started. Instead, get your business
going first so that you have a story to tell your golfing buddies.
12. Reduce shopping time for clothes, etc. In fact, while you’re
in this rapid cash accumulation phase, stop looking at catalogs of "want to
have" items and stop "window shopping." It will just tempt you to spend
the money you’ve managed to save so far.
Before you buy something new while you’re trying to fund your business, ask
yourself:
Do I really need it? Will this truly help me reach my dream?
And if the answer is "Yes" ... then can I pay for it with cash? Could I get
it somewhere else cheaper? Have I considered auctions, flea markets and
other sources?
Have I waited for 24 hours to see if the "need" suddenly wasn’t so great?
Is there a less expensive alternative I could use?
13. If you really need the start-up cash fast, hold a yard sale
or a garage sale. Or, take your junk - I mean antiques - or whatever you
think you can sell to the flea market. If you don’t have the time to spend
the whole weekend at a booth in the flea market, find someone who already
has a booth and is selling similar items. Offer to sell him what you have
so he can resell it. You can meet him during the week and never have to
return to the flea market yourself. Of course you would make more cash
selling the items yourself, but you might have personal time restraints.
And who knows? Maybe the flea market seller might ask you why you are
selling these items. That could be a good opportunity to tell him about
your opportunity.
An alternative to the flea markets with potentially higher returns for some
household items is using a consignment shop.
And don’t forget Ebay! Millions participate in this giant Internet auction.
Your junk might just be somebody’s treasure.
What could you sell?
- How about that second or third TV? How about that second or
third VCR? How about that second or third radio?
- How about those expensive power tools you’ve never learned
how to use that you bought from that infomercial?
- How about that old air conditioner sitting in the garage
that still works?
- How about that old lawnmower you replaced last season?
- How about the kids’ old bikes they never ride anymore?
- How about the kids’ video games they’re too "mature" to play
with anymore?
- How about the paperback books you’ve accumulated over the
years? (At the very least, trade your old paperbacks for
something you haven’t read if you’re a reading fanatic!)
- How about the kids’ assortment of stuffed animals, toys,
infants’ clothes, and other outgrown accouterments of
childhood which no longer appeal to them?
- Maybe you could sell the transmitter and receiver system you
used to use to hear your baby snore?
- How about any old appliance that still works?
- How about selling that exercise machine that is like new
because you never used it?
- How about selling that extra computer junk you have lying
around but never use?
There’s bound to be something you can sell! I didn’t even mention selling
your old shoes, old suits and party dresses that have somehow shrunk with
age!
If you really need to bite the bullet to free up money right now and every
month thereafter, here’s a radical suggestion. Remember you asked for it.
Sell one or both of your cars to pay them off completely. Then buy a cheap
functional car you can pay off all at once. Use your monthly payments,
which you now no longer owe, to:
1. Keep your functional car running and
2. To fund your new business.
Of course, don’t use your car to try to impress people in that situation
unless your grandma gives you her Mercedes for free.
If you’re really desperate, you could sell your house and move into
something smaller that would free up more money too. Of course your spouse
might threaten to seriously harm you and that would make it hard to operate
your home-based business!
But you get the idea ... these concepts can free up monthly cash flow that
you can then use in your business!
What if none of these suggestions apply
to you and you are penniless?
It would be better to get a part-time job at a burger place, learn their
system and work there for a few months than to go into debt.
Remember, creating a viable home business that lasts a lifetime won’t
happen overnight. Better to discipline yourself for a few extra months
working a part-time job than to go deeper into debt.
No, this isn’t the glamorous approach of going to an opportunity meeting
and leaping from rags to riches in a few weeks.
This is the decidedly unglamorous approach that can save you from racking
up credit card bills you’ll take years to repay by trying to emulate the
glamorous approach of faking it until you make it!
Want more ideas?
Okay, here they are . . .
1. Plan to resell some or all of your product purchases at retail the
first few months to recover your capital plus earn retail profits.
2. Have your paycheck from work deposited directly into your account to
avoid the temptation of walking around with lots of cash that disappears.
3. If your spouse is more likely to be the saver in the family - give
the checkbook to your spouse!
Still need another idea for some quick cash?
Okay, here’s one that may work. Run a small inexpensive classified ad or
distribute a flyer that reads:
Spring Cleaning Any Time Of Year!
Will clean out rooms, closets, basements, attics and garages and leave your
room in immaculate condition and haul off the junk too for $20 plus
landfill fee!
Lots of people could do this as a small business perpetually, but it does
soon get tiresome. Basically you’re going to go to a messy room of some
sort, clean out all the junk and leave the room looking nice. You’ll use
their vacuum cleaner to tidy up, and you’ll straighten up everything before
you go. Then you’ll haul off the trash.
You’re probably thinking:
"For $20 I’d go broke doing all that!"
Would you be surprised to know that you could probably do this service for
free and still make money?
Here’s how:
Once you leave with a truckload of junk, you don’t go straight to the
landfill.
Instead, you take all the metals and plastics to the recycling center (or
you accumulate a truckload and take it all at once). Collect your fee.
You take old lamps, fixable furniture, and anything potentially collectible
like old games, baseball cards, etc., to the antique dealers who give you
the best prices. If you’re not sure what is collectible nowadays, the
answer is almost anything. Take a trip to the antique stores in town.
Collect your fee.
You take clothes to a not-for-profit secondhand store or consignment shop.
Or you give them to some charity for a tax receipt. Collect your fee.
You may be able to take other things like used golf clubs, athletic gear,
fishing rods, guns, etc. to pawn shops or secondhand stores that will pay
or let you trade for what you need there. Collect your fee.
Old washers, dryers and other appliances may be sold for parts to people
who specialize in fixing these things. Collect your fee.
Salvage toys, games, etc., that are no longer used for the secondhand
shops.
Salvage as much stuff as you can and sell it to the appropriate buyers.
Collect your fees.
What’s left you can take to the landfill. Because you never know until you
sort through things at home just how much you can salvage, you collect the
full landfill fee. If it’s $27 for one pickup truckload, you might have
collected $27 from three different clients. That’s a total of $81 – an
instant profit of $54.
Obviously if other people in town copy your idea and you find out that
you’re only making one trip to the junkyard for every few homes, you may
take a chance and say, "$20 per room with free delivery to the landfill –
we’ll waive the $27 landfill fee!" That’s up to you of course, but you do
have some flexibility.
And the $27 you collected from some homes where you didn’t go straight to
the landfill isn’t all profit. You still had to drive around town disposing
of the goods to various buyers. You are still paying a landfill fee of some
sorts.
Note: If you don’t charge something for your service, people will be
suspicious and likely not call you. They’ll be afraid you’re casing the
joint for a future robbery or something. Or they’ll figure that salvaging
everything is so profitable you should pay them for the favor of rooting
through their garbage. You don’t want your customers having either
perception because neither is true!
Let’s say that for every house you serve you get a $20 fee, a $27 landfill
fee, and you make another $25 on average from the salvage. (Maybe you’ll
make $100 or more depending on the "finds" you make but let’s be
conservative.) That’s $72 per trip for a few hours’ work.
You do four jobs per week or $288. You make two trips to the landfill
($54). Driving around to deliver all the other stuff takes another $30.
You’ve got over $200 to reinvest in your business. In a month you’ll have
your $1000. Maybe lots more. If you save the proceeds and roll it into your
networking business, these profits aren’t taxable because you’re going to
devote them to future business expenses.
If you can develop a good rapport with the people you’re working for, you
might even be able to sell them some of your network marketing services or
products for extra profits.
Now, what are you going to do about this?
Your new distributor or prospect says,
"I just can’t afford to get started."
What are you going to do?
Here are your choices.
1. Walk away. You make the decision that this person doesn’t deserve
the benefits of a part-time business income.
2. Tell the person to figure it out on his own. Tell the person to get
back with you when things are better.
3. Re-sell the person on the benefits of a part-time business income.
Tell the person how it will change his life. Show the pictures and stories
of what a part-time business income can do.
4. Tell the person to read this newsletter. Then help the person get
started to accumulate the money needed to get his business started. It will
be easier for the person to take these steps with your help.
How to break out of the mold of old habits and rituals.
I find that the easiest way of changing people’s habits and beliefs is with
. . . stories.
I often get tired of people saying:
"Oh, that can’t be done."
"We don’t do it that way around here."
"That will never work."
"Don’t re-invent the wheel."
"We could never do that."
So, to counteract these negative crowds, I use as many stories as I can to
open their minds to other possibilities.
You probably have your favorite stories. Maybe you tell the often-used
story of the lady who cuts off the end of her ham before baking. Or
possibly you refer to famous inventors and how they overcame their critics.
Well, here is one of my favorite stories you can use:
Start with a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a
string and put stairs under it. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs
and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs,
spray all of the apes with cold water.
After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result – all the
apes are sprayed with cold water.
Turn off the cold water.
Later, if another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will try to
prevent it, even though no water sprays them.
Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new ape.
The new ape sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror,
all of the other apes attack him.
After another attempt and attack, the ape knows that if he tries to climb
the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new
ape.
The new ape goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous new ape takes
part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
Again, replace a third original ape with a new one. The new one makes it to
the stairs and is attacked as well.
Two of the four apes that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted
to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the
newest ape.
After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the original apes
that were sprayed with cold water have been replaced.
Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?
"Because that’s the way it’s always been around here!"
It’s a matter of perspective . . .
and how you can create it.
Texas and Oklahoma are bitter college football rivals. There’s no middle
ground.
One day a Texas football fan was driving through Oklahoma on his way to
another state. (Texas football fans never drive to Oklahoma, they only
drive through Oklahoma to get somewhere else.) The Texas football fan stops
at an Oklahoma gas station to refuel.
A little girl walks by and suddenly is attacked by a vicious pit bull. The
dog tears her dress and grabs her arm. The Texas football fan sees the
screaming little girl and runs to her rescue. He grabs the pit bull and
struggles valiantly. The dog tears into his flesh. Blood streams from his
arm and leg. Finally, in a desperate move, the Texas football fan gets the
upper hand and kills the pit bull.
A reporter for the Oklahoma Times Newspaper watches the drama unfold. After
the pit bull is dead he approaches the Texas football fan and says:
"Wow! What a hero! This will make great headlines in tomorrow’s paper. Let
me take your picture and ask a few questions."
The Texas football fan wipes the blood off his arm and leg and has his
picture taken. The reporter says:
"We’ll put a great headline and story under your picture in tomorrow’s
paper. Maybe, the headline could read, ‘Hero Saves Little Girl.’ By the
way, where are you from?"
The hero answers:
"From Texas."
The reporter thought for a moment and replied:
"Well, since you’re from Texas I guess we could change the headline to
read: ‘Man Rescues Child.’ I can kind of overlook that you’re from Texas,
but tell me, you at least root for the Oklahoma football team, don’t you?"
The Texan replied:
"No. To tell you the truth, I am an avid Texas football fan."
The reporter left to write up the story. The Texan decided to stay around
for a day so he could read his headline and story in the next morning’s
paper.
The next morning, the Texas football fan picks up the Oklahoma Times
Newspaper and on the front page was the headline:
"Man Kills Family Pet!"
It’s a matter of perspective. Not everyone looks at opportunities and
events the same way. While you may think you are offering a tremendous
opportunity to a prospect, the prospect may see the presentation as a
thinly veiled attempt to take his money.
Empathy: Identification with and understanding of another’s feelings,
situation, and motives.
Would you like to increase your closing percentage? Use empathy.
Would you like to increase your group’s motivation? Use empathy.
Would you like to understand why people respond the way they do? Use
empathy.
Great network marketing leaders don’t sell, they understand.
When giving a presentation, they try to present the opportunity from the
prospect’s point-of-view. If the prospect has experienced a bad situation
with high-pressure salesmen, the leader gives advice and options. If the
prospect is worried about his daily living expenses, the leader emphasizes
the possibility of immediate part-time income. If the prospect is afraid of
what his friends will say, the leader shows how the prospect can market to
strangers.
To understand how effective empathy can be, imagine if a salesman used
empathy to understand your point of view.
Let’s say you were a prospect for a network marketing opportunity. You
sincerely want a part-time income, but also want quality time with your
family. Compare the following two presentations:
Presentation #1.
"You’ll just love this network marketing opportunity. You get to go to
rallies, trainings, opportunity meetings, conventions, and presentations in
prospects’ homes and our weekly idea session. I’ve been in this opportunity
for over a year now and I can’t think of anything else. I’m doing this
business 24 hours a day. You’ll love it too. It will become an obsession."
Presentation #2.
"You’ll just love this network marketing opportunity. It only takes a few
hours of quality time per week. We have many successful leaders who set
aside six hours a week for presentations and group building. This leaves
them plenty of time to enjoy their family, friends and other activities.
Network marketing is great because you can set your own hours."
Since your goal was part-time income and quality time, which presentation
would appeal to you? It’s easy to see that Presentation #2 had empathy
while Presentation #1 only showed self-interest.
Empathy works for recruiting presentations, but it works even better when
trying to develop network marketing leaders. Let’s say you want to develop
Mary into your next superstar leader.
Why not find out a little about Mary’s background?
- Is she conservative or liberal?
- Does she want to earn big money fast, or is she willing to
build long-term?
- Does she want an aggressive upline sponsor and an aggressive
promotional campaign?
- What’s happening with her personal life?
- Is her job fulfilling or boring?
In other words, find out what Mary really wants and help her achieve it.
When the upline leader and the potential leader operate on the same
frequency with the same goals and strategies, magic happens. That’s why
some network marketing leaders can develop leaders and inspire loyalty
while other network marketing leaders never seem to get anyone beyond a
dependent distributor level.
It’s just like the Oklahoma Times newspaper reporter. He saw things
completely different. Succeed in network marketing by seeing things through
other people’s eyes.
Can You Recruit 100 People in One Week?
After a break during one of my Power Marketing Workshops, I asked how many
people in the room could recruit 100 people in the coming week. There were
about 60 people in the room and not one person raised his hand.
I then pulled out my checkbook and pen, and asked:
"How many people in this room could recruit 100 people in the coming week
if you had a check made out in your name for $50,000 just waiting for you?"
This time about half of the people in the room quickly raised their hands.
What changed?
It wasn’t money motivation or any incentive that changed their minds
because they hadn’t received the money yet.
The only thing that changed was this:
They changed their minds from thinking "I can’t" to thinking "I can." And
changing your mind doesn’t cost a cent.
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About the Author:
Tom 'Big Al' Schreiter is the author of the Fortune Now Newsletter, a
generic training resource for professional network marketing leaders.
If you’d like to read some free back issues, go to
http://www.fortunenow.com or get the current issue free by calling
281-280-9800.
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--
Charles & Kerri Green
http://gold.nonilead.com
"ANY Questions, ANY Time, Just Ask!"