("Crafting 'killer' Voicemail Messages That Save You Time; Eliminate Face-To-Face Rejection; And Make You Money Quicker!" : MLM Network marketing secrets - is another great article about mlm, network marketing and a little about home based business on mlm network marketing Crafting 'killer' Voicemail Messages That Save You Time; Eliminate Face-To-Face Rejection; And Make You Money Quicker! If you are promoting your MLM through active advertising where people respond to an ad, postcard, etc. to hear your)
"Crafting 'KILLER' Voicemail Messages That... Save You Time; Eliminate Face-To-Face Rejection; And Make You Money Quicker!"
By Joshua Shafran
If you are promoting your MLM through active advertising where people respond to an ad, postcard, etc. to hear your "free recorded message" - voicemail can be a very effective tool...if it's used properly. The problem is that most people don't use it correctly.
Many people try to sign people up directly through the voicemail. They think their 800# will get flooded with calls from people who get so excited by their message that they will leave a message that says, "Where do I sign? Send me that paperwork... I can't wait to get started." The fantasy continues as they spend their imaginary money -after all, the people they sponsor will use the same voicemail system and in 90 days they will have 10,000 people in their group.
Sounds good. Looks good on paper. All the numbers calculate out. But reality is a WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT!
Understanding what you CAN and CANNOT do with voicemail is vital to using it effectively. Voicemail is just a tool (but a valuable tool when used correctly). Think about the tools it takes to build a house. Even if you have all the tools you need, you still won't be able to build that house without the proper PLANS and the SKILLS to execute the plan.
So, let's talk about a plan for developing both the voicemail message and how to develop the skills you need to pull it off in excellence.
First, it's important to understand how this tool fits into your overall sponsoring strategy and system. It is an effective business building tool for FILTERING OUT the people who ARE interested and well suited for your opportunity from those who are NOT. If you're marketing your MLM outside your warm market, you want to (you NEED to) spend your time only with the people who are truly INTERESTED and QUALIFIED to work with you.
You will NEVER make any real money if you get tied up wasting your time and getting nowhere with non-qualified prospects. Voicemail allows you to sort through to get right to the people who have the highest probability of being productive in your business. People who DESERVE your time.
It's a screening process - a way to evaluate all your prospective "applicants" to see who is qualified to work with you. There's an old cliché in our industry called "SW to the 4th Power." Which stands for "Some Will - Some Won't - So What - Someone's Waiting." You see, MLM is right for everyone - but not everyone is right for MLM. The quicker you move past the people who are not right for MLM (instead of wasting time trying to talk them into it), the quicker you will reach success.
This does something else very important for you. Give up? It builds posture into your sponsoring process. Now, you know from the tips at my web site and from the info in my MLM home study course, just how important posture is in effectively prospecting and recruiting. It's the foundation of how to make prospects stand in line and beg to join your network. When you have the right Posture Power people feel lucky to be "let in on it."
Voicemail gives you posture, control and confidence. When you call someone, you control the conversation. When someone calls you they're in control because they can catch you off guard. After all, they know they are calling and are already mentally prepared for the conversation (they have rehearsed the conversation in their head) but the callee is caught unprepared.
When you call a prospect back (after they've left a message on your voicemail line) YOU have time to mentally prepare. Which gives you the upper hand because you know exactly how you're going to direct the conversation. Plus, they are EXPECTING your call and therefore you KNOW they are interested. And remember, when you know that someone wants what you have - you have the control and the right posture! It puts you and your prospects in the right mindset.
It goes without saying that when you only work with people who are interested in what you have to offer - sponsoring is a much, much easier game.
How to make sure your voicemail message will NOT work...
Before we talk about what works let's discuss briefly what does not work so you don't fall victim to "voicemail death." The fastest way to make absolutely sure your voicemail will NOT work is to talk about what interests you (the speaker) - instead of what the listener finds interesting. How do you craft a message that the listener will find interesting? I'm glad you asked...here's how:
STEP 1: It's about the PROSPECT, not you.
Sit down with a paper and pen and think about who your IDEAL prospect is (someone who would develop into a dream distributor). To sponsor effectively, you've got to get into the mind of your prospect. You've got to think about life from THEIR perspective and what THEY want - NOT your perspective and what you want! That's the first key.
It's the step that 99% of all MLM'ers seem to overlook. They talk about THEIR opportunity on the voicemail, they talk about THEMSELVES and how great the company is, how much THEY love products, how great the founder of the company is and how he started the home planet network.
But the cold, harsh reality is that your prospect doesn't give a rat's ass about you, your company, its products, the pay plan, or that your sponsor made a Gazillion dollars last year. No!!! Your prospects are selfish. They only care about themselves. As world famous sales trainer, Brian Tracy says, "All prospects listen to radio station WIIFM."
Which, of course, stands for "What's In It For Me?"
It stands to reason that if you want to communicate effectively to your prospect, you've got to speak their language. If all prospects speak WIIFM as their primary language - then YOU had better learn to speak it. otherwise you may get them to call your voicemail - maybe they'll even listen - but the likelihood that they will truly HEAR your message (and that it motivates them to the next step) is slim to none!
Think about it from your own perspective. Do you like to listen to someone who drones on and on about how great they are, how important they are, detail all their past successes and accomplishments? Of course not! But we all know people like that, don't we? And what happens when we see them coming? We roll our eyes and run the other way as fast as we can, right?
But you'd listen forever to the exact same person if they talked to you, about you. And all of a sudden that person will become the smartest, most interesting person in the world in your eyes. Funny, huh? That same person who was arrogant, self-centered, and cocky is now one of your best friends.
Well, it's the same for your prospect. You've got to talk to your prospect, about your prospect. Do this effectively and prospects will tell you how smart you are, how they feel they have known you their entire lives and how much they like you. It's a powerful rapport building tool.
So, everything has got to begin and end with the prospect in mind. IT'S ABOUT THEM. This is true for every way to build your business - but it is especially true when it comes to the use of voicemail because it's not an interactive. It's not a two-way conversation so you can't ask questions to thereby customize your presentation to what your prospect wants to hear. You've only got one shot, so make it count by "listening" to what your prospect wants before recording the message.
Let me explain.
As soon as you're done reading this, sit down with a paper and pen and carefully think about what's important to your prospect. (Actually this is a very useful exercise to do even if you don't plan to use voicemail as a business building tool. This is vital no matter how you build your network - phone, in person, meet-ings, conference calls, web sites, email, etc.)
What does your prospect's life look like? What are their concerns? Where do you think they long for more in their lives? What do they want? What are they looking for? What are they frustrated with? What are their problems? What pains do they face? Are they looking for more money?
Are they trapped for time freedom? Are they trapped in a job and desire to breakout and own their own business? Are they earning a good living but their life is not their own? Are they business owners whose businesses really own them? How HUNGRY for more are they? And so on.
Get the idea?
If you're new to MLM or you're having a tough time answering these questions, look to your upline. Go up the ranks in your organization until you find an upline leader (one who has a sizable organization and is consistently earning a five figure monthly income) and ask them to help you answer these questions. They will be able to tell you the specific benefits - the "hotbuttons" - that your opportunity offers.
STEP 2: Keep 'em curious and wanting more.
The key to sponsoring well is to always move your prospect to the next step, so each time they see a little bit more of the big picture. You need to feed them in bite sized pieces that they can handle. Otherwise they will "throw up" on you. Your prospect will only get to see the most miniscule part of the picture when they first hear your message... but that's all they're ready to hear at that point. Your message has got to give 'em just enough so they want more.
So, does your company have something like a free car program or free house program? If so, these are the kind of chief benefits you can use to tease and tantalize them in your message. Some-thing like this, "Would you like to learn how you can drive your dream car for free and make yourself rich at the same time?" Anyway, whichever benefits you choose to promote in your message, make sure you present them in a way that makes your prospect want more. It's like the dating game - play hard to get.
One of the most motivating human emotions is CURIOSITY. If you speak your prospect's WIIFM language, offer them the benefits they are looking for - but don't quench their thirst for the details of your opportunity (keep 'em curious) they are sure to want more. Done right, they will jump right in your lap. You'll drive them crazy with desire to know more. Now they WANT to hear from you, which makes sponsoring them much, much easier.
Watch, I'll show you how to use curiosity to leave 'em wanting more. Are you ready to learn the rest of the secrets of crafting a "KILLER" voicemail message?
See how I did that? Pretty clever, huh?
Apply the same principle in your voicemail message and you'll leave people wanting more.
So we were discussing the power of curiosity in your presentations. Specifically using it to drive your prospects crazy with desire in a voicemail message.
As you'll recall I promised to reveal to you:
The 4 stages you must move your prospect through for any
presentation (voicemail or otherwise) to be successful.
· How to make your prospect think they are having a REAL
conversation with you even though they're NOT! (Master
this and your prospects will feel like they've known you
forever when you first meet.
· What the most important part of your message is and how if you
don't do this right, your message will have a snow ball's
chance in hell of working.
· How to make your prospects feel lucky if they get a call back
from you.
So let's get to it. We'll pick up where we left off with...
STEP 3: Give 'em a headache
Read (or re-read) the "Give 'em a headache and make them ask you for the aspirin" tip before you write the script for the message.
Although this tip was written primarily to help with 1 on 1 and 2 on 1 presentations, you will find it valuable in this situation too. Use the info you learn there in a few face to face presentations and you will develop the framework to predict exactly what your prospects are thinking and will say. Combine what you discover here with the info from STEP 1 above and you'll create the feeling in your voicemail message that you're actually having a regular conversation with them. And in a sense you are... you've just done your listening ahead of time (on paper) in the form of your research.
STEP 4: Review the basics of crafting a "KILLER" presentation.
There are four parts that any effective presentation has to include. And your voicemail message is a mini-presentation. These steps have to be addressed in their EXACT order if you want your presentation to work:
1. ATTENTION
2. INTEREST
3. DESIRE
4. ACTION
The most important part of these 4 steps is getting your prospect's ATTENTION. If you get their attention, they will give you the opening you need to build in them some INTEREST for your offer. So, when you start your message, it's vital you snap them out of their preoccupations. To accomplish this: Wake them up a bit by talking TO them, about them. Pick the top 3 or 4 benefits you can offer your prospects (the specific things your opportunity WILL DO FOR THEM) based on the info you compiled from STEP 1 above. This will build their interest in a major way.
Now comes the DESIRE stage. After interest is built - use curiosity to build the desire in your prospect to want more. If you've done the first two stages properly then this is easy. All you have to say is something like:
"If you like what you've heard so far, then you're gonna be blown away by the rest of the inside information I have to share with you. In fact, if you knew the full deal, you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight."
Can you see how (if you've got their attention, their interest, and their desire is building) the approach above would drive them nuts and make them wonder what the complete picture looked like?
After that, move swiftly into the ACTION stage (which is also easy to do if the other steps are handled correctly). A good voicemail message will tell the listener exactly what to do next.If you plan to follow up by phone, say something like:
"Here's what you need to do next. Leave me your phone number along with the best times to reach you. I'll need to ask you a few questions to see if this right for you and I'll answer any questions you have. Don't forget, leave me your name, phone number and the best times to reach you."
Get the idea?
You've got to talk them through it exactly. Leave nothing to chance. Direct them. Even though they know how to leave a message, you need to control the process. Here's why: They may be on the fence as they come to the end of your message. If you tell them what to do, they will usually do it. But if you leave it to chance (because all prospects battle against their fears) they will automatically say "NO." It's the preprogrammed response they use for protection.
So remember, each of the 4 stages is the foundation for the next one. You can't skip or short-cut steps. A prospect will not take action (in this case the action you want them to take is to leave you a message requesting more info after hearing your voicemail) if they don't have enough desire for your offer.
You have no chance of building desire if they don't have an interest in what you are talking about. And it's absolutely impossible to build interest if you haven't captured their attention so that they are even listening to begin with. See?
STEP 5: Add posture and stir.
After completing STEP 1, you'll see just how much your prospect is hurting and wants more for particular areas of his/her life.You have the cure for what ails them. So, remember, your offer holds tremendous value for the prospect. Keep that in mind as you craft your voicemail and you can have some fun with your prospects.
Here's what I mean: Make sure they know you select very carefully who you partner up with. You've got the goods, and you are going to be the one to spend the time to help them build their business... you're not willing to spend your time with everyone who's interested. They've got to qualify to join your team.
Here's an approach you'll find works very well:
"I must reserve the right to accept or reject any applicant. Please don't be disappointed if you're not selected this time though. All applicants can reapply at a future date. Thanks." Now that's posture!
Here's a softer approach:
"I make every attempt to return calls promptly. But please be patient with me because sometimes I get too many calls for me to handle timely. So if you don't hear back from me within the next four days, please call again and leave me a reminder message. Thanks."
Follow the 5 steps just outlined and you'll create a KILLER presentation. And that holds for ALL presentations - voicemail, 1 on 1's, conference calls, monthly opportunity meetings, in print, or for audio tapes, and so on. The same techniques will work for ANY presentation you want to create.
Here are some miscellaneous tips to help out:
1. Let your prospect know they have to qualify - that not everyone who leaves their name and number for more information will be able to capitalize on your opportunity. Invite them to APPLY but let them know (subtly) that you're picky who you choose to partner up with. (And, remember if you are building properly, you don't want to work with just anyone.
You want to make sure you only spend your time with the people who are serious and show you something. They can't just WANT it - they've got to be willing to actually DO something to achieve success. Otherwise you'll spend a ton of time trying to motivate someone into doing something that they just won't do.)
2. Once you write out your script, print it out in a large font size and practice reading it ALOUD until it sounds conversational. You're just having a casual conversation about your opportunity.
3. When you are ready to record the message, sit down with another person and talk directly to them as you record it. This will make your voice more personal, and conversational, not like you're reading some script. More people will respond to your message if you speak TO them (not AT them). This is key.
You can craft the perfect voicemail message according to all the criteria I've set forth in this newsletter and still have it fall flat. That's because there is a big difference between WHAT you say and HOW you say it. So record yourself several times until it sounds like you're just giving your best friend a 2-minute overview of the deal and why they should be excited about it.
4. If you stumble over a word or two, I personally would leave it in the recording (not if it's REALLY bad - but if it's minor, like you repeat a word or say the wrong word and correct yourself slightly, leave it - it makes you come across more HUMAN to the listener. Think about it: When you're talking on the phone - having a regular conversation - sometimes you stumble over your words - it's normal.
So, if you goof up a little bit, you stumble over a word - unless it's so major that you soundunprofessional - I would leave it in. This way you come across as a regular guy/gal who is just like your prospect. This makes you more believable. This will make them feel like you are speaking directly to them on a one on one basis.
So when you call to follow up with them, they'll feel like they already know you. It builds trust and rapport like crazy. If your message sounds too polished or too rehearsed then the listener has the tendency to feel like you're trying to con them. People will have their guard up and are always looking for the excuse to say "See I knew it, I don't trust him/her" - CLICK!
5. Talk how you always talk. Don't try to be something or someone you're not. If you try to put on some radio announcers voice and come across slick and polished, then people wil distrust you and they may not even know why. They will instinctually sense that you are acting. On a subconscious level people have the tendency to say if he/she has to act to make this sound good, it must not REALLY be all that good. So JUST BE YOU.
6. Test, test, test your message. If you're not getting the results you're looking for rework the first 20 seconds of your message and try it again. The first few seconds of your message are the most important - it sells the prospect on listening to the rest of it. So rewording the first sentence to pack more punch can turn a dud into a stud (hey I'm a poet and didn't even know it. I know, I know, don't quit my day job).
Combine this info and you will be able to craft incredibly powerful presentations that will make the prospect feel you're inside their head... that you know what they are thinking. Which leads your prospect to the "just like me mentality." When they think you are like them they will automatically like you. Like leads to rapport and creates a bond. Rapport is the foundation of trust. Trust is what builds massive networks and deliciously outrageous incomes.
Copyright 1999 by Joshua D. Shafran. All rights reserved. This document may not be copied in part or full without express written permission from the publisher. All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. For more jealously guarded 'Insider' MLM secrets that will make prospects stand in line and beg to join your network marketing program click here
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