Cold Market, Gold Market - For MLM Success

A top income earner in Network Marketing once told me to stop being afraid of the Cold Market and start looking at it as my Gold Market.

What he meant by that is this –

In most organizations, the big hitters under you do not come from people that you know, they come from people that you meet as you build your business.

And, those heavy hitters come from all different sources.

First, you must know this – in Network Marketing, nothing works, and everything works.

What?  I hear you saying!  Here is what that means….

If you ask 10 people in Network Marketing how to sponsor reps and build a business, you will get all different answers.

Does running advertisements work?  Some say yes, some say no.  The real answer, however, is that advertising DOES work.  You may have to advertise for a while, however, before you recoup your investment.

There are zero cost, low cost and higher cost ways of building your business.  We’ll talk about several in each category.

In one well known company, the number two income earners came in off of an ad.  The guy that ran the ad, and consequently sponsored the number two income earners is now a top 5 income earner himself.  Largely, thanks to the efforts of the number 2 earners.

If you ask either of them if advertising works, they will both tell you YES!  No surprise there.  But, the ads were running for almost a year and he was diligently driving an hour and a half to meet with people who no-showed him, decided not to do the business, got in and did nothing, etc., before he sponsored the hot shots.

Was it worth it?  I think he will tell you it was.  He’s a millionaire today.

I believe the secret to advertising is to know that you are going to have to try it for a while before you’ll get results.  Advertising statistics tell us that it takes an average of 7-9 times of seeing an ad before we are compelled to act on it. 

If you stop advertising after 1 run, you’ll never know what the true results could have been.  So, if you are going to run ads, be prepared to invest some money into the program.  Free type and Penny Saver type papers usually yield more unqualified prospects.  By this, I mean prospects that do not have the initial start up money, or any money to put toward building their business.  So, be aware of where you are running ads.

That brings up another point I wanted to make.  And, remember, these are just techniques and ideas that I use in building my business!  There is more than one way to skin a cat, however!  (No offense meant to cat owners/lovers)

When I am working in the cold market, I qualify people very extensively.  After getting a babysitter, scheduling 2 to 3 hours out of my day and driving miles in the Arizona Heat, I want to know that the person I am meeting is qualified.  I’m tired of being stood up, meeting with people who are negative about MLM and people who do not have the initial start up fee.

I make sure everyone I meet with understand that it is Network Marketing, knows that there is a cost associated with starting their business and have a pretty good idea of what we do and how we do it.

A low cost way of reaching the cold market is through business networking events held in your area through your local chamber of commerce or other business groups.  I have worked this particular method for a while and it has a lot of great benefits.  It identifies you as a business professional.  It raises the integrity of the industry and it really puts you in front of some go-getters in your community!

Also, morning and lunch leads groups are great for getting customers and sponsoring business builders!

Check with your local chamber of commerce, or look in the business section of your local newspaper for details.

Finally, a few ideas for free or very inexpensive ways of reaching the cold market is through flyers and sizzle cards.

Put up flyers in phone booths, bulletin boards, hand them out around malls and other busy areas where people congregate, etc.

Sizzle cards are generic business cards that contain a catch phrase and a phone number.  These are designed to create curiosity about your business.

The phrase may say something like – Would you like to work from home, be your own boss and create a dream lifestyle?  Call 1-888-XXX-XXXX.

Or, Get out of the corporate rat race, call 1-888-XXX-XXXX.

A key here is to use an 800 number, if possible and have them dial into a 2 or 3 minute recorded message.  In fact, this is the way to handle it with advertising too!

You need to be in control when you call the person!  So you want them to leave a name, number and time to call back! 
  

Jackie Ulmer has worked from home for over fifteen years, coaching and training thousands on the secrets to success in a home business. Contact her through her website at http://www.streetsmartwealth.com 

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