MLM has evolved tremendously in the last few decades and prospecting methods have changed considerably. In the 21st century things are completely different, especially since the Internet has changed advertising methods and the ways of contacting new prospects.
There are a number of prospecting techniques that have become virtually obsolete thanks to the Internet:
(1) cold calling. There was a time when people weren’t bombarded with constant calls from insurance agents, banks, and cell phone companies. People hate cold calling now, and salespeople hate having to do it. Today, we have access to the Internet and ways to find everything we need at our fingertips. We don’t need the intrusion of having our phones ringing and having to listen to a sales pitch.
(2) Advertising in newspapers. Newspaper ads have also lost their effectiveness. Most people look at ads and miss them, even the really flashy ones. Also, ad space is getting more and more expensive because everyone wants the premium spot.
(3) References. People are not as willing to give references anymore. There is simply no incentive in it. Another reason why people are so cautious is because they know that there are a lot of scams out there. You will not be thanked for giving names and presenting your friends with a dubious opportunity.
(4) Call warm or hot prospects. You can still buy lead lists from defunct MLM companies or other sources, but these leads are either out of date or of poor quality. You will simply waste your time and your phone bill calling any of these leads.
(5) Talk about it. There was a time when if you told your friend that you had a great opportunity and that he could participate, he would have been excited and wanted to know more. Nowadays, people think that they are wise at everything. They’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s another MLM scheme’ like it’s a bad thing. Trying to cover this up or do it stealthily just makes you look desperate and never works.
(6) Snap closure. There are still network marketing companies that consider this type of hard closing a skill. They try to sell or force a prospect to sign up, even before explaining all aspects of the business or giving the prospect time to do their homework. This never works, even if they sign up you won’t have established a successful connection with them. You want them to work hard for you and then develop your own downline. If they felt cheated by the opportunity, they are unlikely to want to repeat this!
Don’t use these outdated techniques to develop leads and grow your business. You will be wasting your time and efforts.