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("How To Recruit Locally!" The Lost Art of Recruiting & Training Face To Face! : MLM Network marketing secrets - is another great article about mlm, network marketing and a little about home based business on mlm network marketing "How To Recruit Locally!" The Lost Art of Recruiting & Training Face To Face! Recruiting people you know is refereed to as "warm marketing." Much has been written and talked about "warm marketing" by people who have either tried and failed, or worse yet, who have NEVER tried it at all!)

"How To Recruit Locally!"
The Lost Art of Recruiting
& Training Face To Face!
By Robert Blackman

Recruiting people you know is refereed to as "warm marketing." Much has been written and talked about "warm marketing" by people who have either tried and failed, or worse yet, who have NEVER tried it at all!

Remember the rule of teaching people only what you have experienced? This also applies to "warm marketing."

To relieve your fears about myself, YES, I have and still am recruiting people in my "warm" market. I, too, early on in my MLM career down-played the significance of this method -- mainly because I misunderstood it's effectiveness.

This chapter will dispel any and all of the myths surrounding this method of recruiting and give you insight as to why people shy away from it -- and how others have retired using it!

There has been a increasingly noticeable trend towards recruiting people into your downline with any and all methods imaginable EXCEPT with warm marketing. Why is that? What has given warm marketing such a bad name?

Does it work so poorly that using it as a method to build a residual income would be fatal? Or, is talking face to face with a prospect so "anti-tech" that by using it your not "with-it." Or, do people lack the credibility with their family and friends to convince them to get involved in MLM? Good questions. Here are the answers.

Warm marketing got it's start back in the late 50's and early 60's. (To be completely honest, warm marketing is simply the oldest method known to mankind when it comes to relying valuable information -- in person.

But, for MLM's sake, the 50's and 60's will do for this example.) During this period in time, fax machines, computers, e-mail, overnight delivery and MTV weren't even born. The only reasonable method to spread the news about your MLM was by word of mouth -- or warm marketing.

The basic premise was everyone had a spectrum of influence that no one else had. A name list exclusive only to you. The goal was to meet with every member on your name list and share your MLM with them. Because they knew you, they trusted what you had to offer and most of the time, listened intently.

"Bugging" your friends and family members about joining your MLM wasn't what you envisioned when you think about building a lifetime residual income. And the vision you get when you think about talking to your warm market does anything but excite you. The reason you feel that way is because you don't have any kind of credibility when it comes to being financially successful -- and your friends and family know that!

That's one of the reasons you can be so successful using national ads and them mail -- your prospects don't know you, your past and that you just spent $650 on a mailing that you didn't have! That doesn't mean that you "lie" to your prospect about how well you are doing in your MLM.

But, you can start fresh with every new prospect you talk with. That's why it's more comfortable talking to strangers about making money than it is your family and friends.

I believe these reasons are why many people today frown upon MLM in general. And, if they do entertain the idea of joining a MLM, they do so only under the pretense that they don't have to talk to anyone and use the mail as their only device of recruiting.

This is where I believe a major breakdown occurs. As I stated earlier, if simply mailing 4-color brochures really worked, why would the companies need you? Think about it for a minute. If recruiting sales people and selling a product or service was so profitable through the mail the companies wouldn't be a MLM at all. Instead, they'd mail their catalog direct to every single human being alive!

The problem with direct mail and MLM is it is being used IMPROPERLY by over 95% of those in MLM today. Licking a stamp and walking down to the post-office won't set you financially free in MLM! So stop relying on it to do the work you should be doing! It must be used in conjunction with a number of other devices in order for it to work properly!

Cost

The biggest advantage of Warm Marketing over any other type of recruiting is that is VERY inexpensive. There is no outlay of $300 to $700 to place an ad or mail a rented list. With the exception of your starter kit and a few samples, you can realistically expect to start your MLM for under $250. The cost to talk to people is nothing more than your TIME.

Since time is a irreplaceable asset be careful in how you value it. If you work full time and have a family you're probably saying, "I don't have any time to talk to people, that's why I want to recruit people through the mail." Although you may be limited on time, you must realize one thing about warm marketing -- it is more effective in sponsoring people than using the mail!

Why? Because it is much easier for someone to say "NO" to you 1,000 miles away than it is in person! Plus, if someone is willing to meet with you in a one-on-one basis, or go to a Hotel meeting, you know they are definitely "looking."

It takes a highly motivated person to get out of their routine, get dressed and meet with you in person or down at the Hilton. I find that if someone will meet with me and listen to my presentation, or that of the speaker's, that 50% of them join my MLM!

I also find that out of the other 50% who don't, I can turn 25% of them into a customer by giving them a free sample after the presentation by saying, "Here's some free samples, if you like them, I can get you some more." Don't give away more than $1 to $5 worth of samples -- but ALWAYS give something away for FREE after your presentation!

How To Make A List Of Names

The biggest drawback I saw to warm marketing was that I didn't know a lot of people at the time. I had just moved from my hometown of 28 years into a town where I knew about 8 people! When I was asked to make a list of names of people I knew I came up with 8!

Fortunately, my sponsor was sharp enough to personally help me make my list. When we finished two hours later we came up with over 300 names!!

I was amazed at how many people I had missed the first time around. If you need help in making your own name list from your warm market, get with someone in your upline who has already made a huge name list -- they can help you get started!

We broke my names down in three areas:

1) Local Names
2) Names within a 3 hour drive
3) Names outside of a 3 hour drive

To my surprise, my sponsor was willing to call for me and set appointments that were over 2 hours away! This not only impressed me, but it showed me the reason that this method of marketing works so much better than long-distance marketing.

By driving with my sponsor for 2 hours I was able to "pick his brain" about the program. I learned more in that 2 hour drive from him than I had from anybody else in the industry! Why? Because he had been trained by a man who makes $1,000,000 a year from his MLM!

When you first join your MLM and you're not ready to make presentations in person yet, then ask your upline to make them for you. If they aren't willing to do it, then go to their upline and so forth.

This is also a very good question for you to ask your prospective sponsor, "who will be willing to give presentations for me until I get trained to do them myself?" Don't join with someone in a warm marketing venture unless you have this same kind of support.

How To Contact Your List

Now that you have your name list of 300 people how do you contact them? The traditional method is to call them up and say, "Hey, Joe, this is Robert, how are you doing?" Go ahead at this point and do some small talk and do some catching up if necessary with their life and yours.

Then say, "I don't know if I ever told you or not Joe, but I've started a business that is going very well for me and I'm looking for 2 or 3 key people to bring on in the next 30 days and train them. What's your current situation, are you in the market for some extra income?"

Of course everyone can use more money, the problem is they will want to know what it is and what they'd be doing. Instead of giving someone too much information of the phone (so they think they can make a decision on the spot) I recommend that you create a little curiosity and say,

"Joe, it's difficult to give you an interview over the phone, instead what I'd like to do is sit down with you for about 15 to 30 minutes and let me map you for you EXACTLY what I'm doing. Then based upon your available time and ambition level, I can tell you which area you'd qualify for."

If they say they probably wouldn't be interested then ask for a referral.

Say, "Joe, do you know of anyone who is sharp, ambitious and would be interested in making an extra thousand or two a month?" You'll either get a "NO", or a "wait a minute, I'd be interested in making that kind of money."

Very seldom will you get a referral. Out of every 50 "No's" I get the name of somebody -- so don't expect a flood of new prospects to call.

The purpose of say this is to re-establish your posture with your prospect. You're checking to see if they are just "blowing you off" or if they really aren't interested! If they are re-interested then you have regained posture.

Set the appointment quickly and say,

"Joe, I have two times left this month. One is on the 14th and the other is on the 24th. Which night is best for you?"

Don't even give them a chance to ask anymore questions. Take control, set the date and get off the phone!

This is what I say -- and it works. If your upline has a different script that works, then use it. My goal is to inform and educate you, not CONFUSE YOU!

The point is, when you're calling someone and they are looking, they'll meet with you regardless of what it is and what you tell them. Many of the prospects I talk to say, "when can I meet with you and where?"

If you get someone who wants you to explain the entire program over the phone or they won't meet with you, then my experience has shown me that they aren't "looking." Or, they are looking for something that is "easy" and doesn't require any work or time (like that program exists!).

Pass these folks up. If they persist simply say, "Joe, like I said, my business is going very well and I only work with 2 to 3 people a month. My objective isn't to interview you over the phone, I do that in person. If you don't think you have the time to meet with me, then this probably won't work for you."

This is what I call the "take-away" technique. You're looking for lookers. You must maintain your posture throughout the entire interviewing process or you LOOSE. If your prospect thinks they have control of the conversation then they are in charge of calling the shots.

Tandem Phone Calling

When you first begin your new MLM venture you feel like you have no creditability. You haven't had time to make any money. You're wondering how you can convince someone to do something you haven't yet accomplished! This is where your upline comes in handy. When I first started calling my warm market I realized that many of my friends and business associates knew that I already spent many hours at my office and that I didn't have the time to make another business successful.

That's when I realized that I needed to take advantage of my upline and use what I call the "tandem script." Here's how it works. You call the people you know on your list. Do a bit of chatting and then say, "Joe, I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but I've started another business recently.

I working with a gentleman out of (x town) with a company called (x company). It's going really well for him and he's looking to bring on two or three key people in the next 30 days to help him with his expansion plans. He's in town today and we're out at my office and he asked me if I knew anyone who was sharp and ambitious and I thought of you." At this point the prospect will either say, yes, no or what would I be doing?

Instead of you trying to answer all their questions simply say, "Joe, the best thing for you to do is talk with him, he's the expert. He's sitting right here next to me and if you want I'll give him the phone and he can answer all your questions."

This script has a 75% success rate of booking a appointment with my prospects. It works best when used in the first 90 days with your NEW downline. This script gets them on the phone as early as the very first day! When possible I try to have several of my other team members meet with me out at my office to do all our calling together.

This creates an atmosphere of competition. It also allows my newest members to see me get "No's" and "Yes's." When this happens they start thinking, "if Robert can do this, so can I." I also recommend that you read directly from a script when you're in front of your downline.

Why? Although you may have your script memorized, they don't. If you start talking on the phone with no script they are going to be saying to themselves, "I'll never be able to do that!" But, if you are reading from a script and you set an appointment, they'll say, "that's easy -- even I can read from a piece of paper!"

The whole point is to always be sure everything you do is duplicatable. I had a very hard time with this at first. I didn't the restrictions of a "system." Instead, I liked being a maverick and doing things my own way. But, what I found out is that the simpler your system is, the easier it will be for the "average" person to duplicate you.

Giving The Presentation To Your Prospect

Depending upon your program there are several different ways of showing your presentation. The two most common methods are doing them in person at their house or yours or inviting them to a Hotel meeting where several people can see the presentation at once.

The Hotel meeting is very effective because USUALLY the person giving the presentation is already financially successful in the program they are showing can give a personal testimony to that effect. It's not absolutely necessary for the person showing the presentation to be making money -- but it sure does help!

But, if it's not possible you can simply talk about the person in your upline who presented you the same opportunity and that they are training you so you'll have the same success. The bottom line is if someone is interested and excited about the program, they don't care WHO showed it to them!

Always try to show both the husband and wife your the presentation at the same time. You'll find that if you show just one or the other, that your success rate will drop in half. Why? Because the person who just saw the presentation won't be able to remember all the key points by the time they get home.

They'll try and explain it to their spouse and fail miserably. I know when I saw our first MLM presentation via warm marketing, I wasn't all that excited. I thought it looked good, but I said to my wife, "I'm too busy to do it." But, she saw the beauty in the program. It was because of her excitement that I took a closer look at the program. So be sure both husband and wife are present when showing your presentation -- your results will double.

Most men are afraid to join a MLM because their wives might find out. This is true. Over the last year and a half I have discovered an amazing fact about our culture -- the women run the world! Why just last night I called to confirm an appointment from one of my phone calls I made last week.

When I got Mark on the phone he said, "I talked to my wife and she says I don't have any extra time to do anything else!" I wanted to say, "then let me talk to your wife, since she seems to be the one who runs things around there!" But, I didn't. I saved his ego. The point is simple.

Get the wife excited and you'll find that she can do much more to motivate her husband than you can ever think of! Most men are lazy. Especially if they are over 30 and stuck in a dead end job. They've given up on getting ahead and have settled for a "settled for lifestyle."

But, I have found that women rise the to level of their husbands ambitions. If their husband is lazy they seem to be content with that -- for a limited time -- thus our 50% plus divorce rate. But, if their husband is ambitious they rise to that also. The only exception is where some guy has join a zillion programs and quit them all simply to join another one and tells his wife "this is the one, honey!."

Another key point to know is that women are always dreaming -- regardless of where they live and their income level. Unlike men, who get depressed, feel sorry for themselves and quit. Women seem to put their dreams in a little capsule and store it away for a rainy day.

When a wife in this condition sees a way to get out of debt and come home from her job, you better believe she gets excited! The man on the other hand just sees it as more work for him to do. If this is the case, get the wife involved.

There are many women in my organization, single and married that do a better job than most men in my groups. Why? Because they are masters of detail. Plus, most men would buy something from a women before they would a man!

And, our society agrees that men are mostly liars and will say anything to make a quick buck, where women remind them of their MOM -- and you know MOTHER KNOWS BEST! Think on this for a while. Monitor the facts on your own and see if you don't get the same results. Your best bet is to get the wife excited and the husband will follow!)

Hotel Meeting

The beauty of a Hotel meeting is that you don't have to worry about giving the presentation. You can bring guests and have someone else show the program for you. Plus, it's a great example of time compounding.

Which would you rather do? Show 5 presentations in people's homes 5 different nights of the week? Or, have someone making several thousands of dollars a month show all 5 of your prospects on ONE night of the week?

That's why you should always try to get your prospect to your Hotel meeting first. Then if they can't make it, book an appointment for you or your upline to show them the presentation at their home.

What do you do if there is no Hotel meeting in your area? Develop your own. I suggest that you start with no less than 10 active distributors.

You'll need to charge at least $2-$3 to every distributor to help pay for the Hotel room. Get your upline to come to the Hotel once a week and give a presentation for you and your group. As your group starts to grow, then you'll want to get someone different to show the presentation every week.

This will keep the distributors from getting tired of seeing the same person each week give the presentation. Plus, you'll want to have people from out of town come in and give the presentation to show that the program is working all over -- not just your town.

Try to dress professional. No jeans, T-shirts or shorts. Men should wear suits and ties and women should wear dresses. What you're trying to do is create an atmosphere of a "professional business meeting."

If you went to your monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting and everyone was in shorts and T-shirts, what would your perception of them be? Most people are skeptical about MLM to begin with. The more you can do to help improve their impression about the you, your program and the industry, the better results you'll get in sponsoring them.

Keep the meeting to an hour. No more. It's hard enough to get someone to the meeting, don't hurt your chances by having a two hour meeting when you've told them it will be one!

After the meeting is over, get the proper information (written literature, cassettes or videos) in the hands of your prospect and schedule another meeting within 48 to 72 hours. Ask them to write down any questions that they have and you'll be happy to answer them then. The next step is the follow-up!

Home Meeting

Although my organization meets once a week, every week of every month I don't tell my prospect that. If I did, it wouldn't create a sense of urgency for them to get there. When I give my prospect TWO different dates for that month I have told them "I'm busy, you better meet with me one of these two times or you're going to miss out."

This is also a good time to remind them that you're only able to work with 2 to 3 people a month and that you are conducting several interviews now for next month. If they can't meet with you at either of your two times ask them, "Joe, is there anyway you can reschedule?"

This also tells them that what you're doing is so important that you feel it's necessary for them to reschedule what they already have planned (which in the overall scheme is less important than what you have to talk to them about).

There will be times that your prospect can't reschedule. In that case say this, "Joe, I am all booked up for the rest of the month, but if you are really interested in what I'm doing then I would be willing to squeeze you in at x time."

Throw out another date that you know you're available. If that works schedule to go to their home and show them your presentation. If you're not ready to do that, bring your upline with you and have them do it.

The point to remember is that you want to maintain posture throughout this entire process. Regardless of where they see the presentation, at their home or at a Hotel, if they are "looking" they will get in!

When you are at their home ALWAYS show both the wife and husband. If you can't, go ahead and show one or the other, but be aware that you are significantly reducing your success rate.

The only problem with home meetings is that right in the middle of your presentation the phone will ring, or their 5 year old will come streaking through the living room screaming at the top of their lungs, or the cat will jump in your lap! You can't control these things. In fact, the more patient and fun-loving you are when these things occur, the more rapport you'll gain with your prospects.

The only exception to this rule is when you DO have control over what happens in the house. If you're inviting guests over to your home, or you're showing a presentation in the home of one of your downline, then you want to do a little preparation.

1) Before the meeting starts unplug the phone.

2) Get a baby-sitter for the kids.

3) Put the dog and cat outside.

Also, make sure you serve refreshments that anyone can serve. You wouldn't want to have Red Lobster cater the event with shrimp and crab legs. Why? Because your new prospect would think that they'd have to duplicate that if they ever had a meeting in their house. Just serve coffee and snacks -- nothing elaborate.

When we do a home meeting we take advantage of our product line and serve our very own coffee, cookies and fingerfood. Then after the presentation we say, "do you know that everything you're eating and drinking tonight you can get from your very own business?"

This is an excellent closing tool. So always try to have your product (if applicable) available for your prospects to see, feel and smell -- it will add believability to your presentation!

How To Follow-Up

If you book a follow-up ALWAYS meet at your prospects home. Why? Because they will feel more comfortable in their own home. Always have a successful game plan when you do a follow-up. Don't go into their home and say, "what do you think?" Never ask a question that you don't know the answer to. And NEVER ask a question where the prospect can say "NO."

What I like to say is, "Joe, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but before we get started let me ask you a question. Would you like for me to show you how you can make an extra $40,000 a year?" (Yes, Joe could say "NO" to this question, but if he does, then I know immediately that he isn't a prospect to become a distributor, but you might be able to turn him into a customer).

In other words, show them the exact plan that you and your upline are using in order to be successful. It may be $10,000 a year or $200,000 a year -- whatever it is be sure you have some numbers and data to help it make sense. I like to show how many people (on average) that they'll have to call, interview and give the presentation in order for them to reach a certain financial goal.

I also show them exactly what I will do to help them. After giving this brief presentation I ask them, "do you have any questions?" If they do, answer them. If they don't, proceed like they are going to get in. In other words, assume that they want to join. People hate to make decisions. Most of us have someone at work that "tells" us what to do all day long.

So, don't be surprised if your prospect has a hard time making a decision -- they're not used to making them! If you book a follow-up, go to their house, show them EXACTLY what they need to do in order to succeed and you leave with a "NO", then you've done something wrong during the process. If they don't say "YES" that still means "YES", until they say "NO."

Don't spend 4 hours at their home either. Spend 1 to 2 hours at the maximum. If they haven't said "NO" during your follow-up then I like to say, "Joe, would you like me to show you what your first step should be?" Then help them become familiar with your product or service and schedule a time to develop a list of names to introduce the program to.

Don't depend upon them make the list of names on their own -- they just won't do it. Instead, schedule a time to come back to their home within the next week and make the list together. If you have a weekly meeting, invite them to see the presentation again. This will help "lock" them in.

Showing Your Family & Friends

The best way to contact your family and friends is to have your sponsor or someone in your upline show them the presentation. Get these people out of the way early on in your MLM adventure. I suggest you gather them all together at one time to have them see the presentation. If there is a local meeting in the area, go ahead and invite all of them to see it on the same night.

The problem with your family and friends is they see you for who you have been in the past -- not who you have the potential in being. They know all your problems -- especially your financial ones! It is very difficult for you to present a program to these people about the possibility of making lots of money. You have very little credibility.

Instead, use the credibility of your profitable upline. Let them present the program. This way, you can use their credibility and your enthusiasm to help sponsor them. Don't be surprised though, if NONE of your family or friends get in with you. Some will say, "when you start making money I'll join." In reality, they never will join.

This is just another nice way of saying "NO"! That's okay. If you survive your friends and families negative comments you're a step ahead of most. Don't expect any of them to join. That way, if someone does, you'll be excited!

Robert Blackman is President of Diversified Enterprises Inc. A printing and Direct marketing company. He is also President of The Profit Network, a Voice Mail & Fax-On-Demand MLM company. Not only is Robert successfully making money in 7 different network marketing ventures, he also provides a discount printing, writing, designing and ad placement service! Want to know how to make money in any MLM? Now you can! Robert Blackman's two cassettes & book entitled, "How To 100% Absolutely Guarantee That You Make Money In Network Marketing & How To Sit Back & Get Rich In Any MLM" is now available. For complete details on how to get them today; contact Robert Blackman via email at: robert1mlm@aol.com or call him at: (918) 335-3726