Effective Prospecting - Who? How? and How Many? by Dr. Joe Rubino

One key to network marketing success is speaking to enough people. But, how do you know how many people are enough? Well, that depends upon your goals and your ratios. By goals, I mean how many people you want to bring into your business. Your goal must be grounded in your ability to take the actions required to accomplish that goal. In other words, your daily level of activity needs to be able to support your goals and expectations. This is where ratios come in.

By ratios, I’m referring to the average number of prospects you will need to approach to put one person into your business. For many new distributors, this approach number may be fairly large-perhaps 20 or more. As a new distributor gains confidence and knowledge and learns to recognize and communicate effectively with potential leaders, this number, and the accompanying ratio, will decrease.

So let’s say that you (as an average new distributor) need to speak to 20 prospects before one will agree to join your company. And let’s go on to say that for every 10 new distributors, one will fit your definition of a leader out to build a large business in partnership with you. From these ratios, you can see that you would need to prospect 20 people to find one new distributor. And you would need to sort through 200 prospects in total to find your one leader. If your goal is to find one new leader per month, you had better be prepared to speak with about 200 people every 30 days to stay on track.

Ratios are intended to give you a starting point to judge the level of activity you will need to reach your goal. As your enrollment skills improve, your ratio will decrease, and you’ll be speaking to fewer prospects, yet achieving the same result. Every month, keep a log quantifying your actions and results to see what your projected ratios will need to be for your next month’s activity.

Now you have a place to start. You have an estimate of how many conversations you’ll need to get going. So, who will you talk to? Where are you going to get your prospects? That’s your next step.

Prospecting Sources

Traditional network marketing teaches us to construct our names or notification list based upon who we know in our circle of influence, or warm market. This includes family, friends, acquaintances, associates and business contacts. In short, just about everyone you know or know of. This is indeed a good place to start building your list. You can then leapfrog with these prospects to see who they know and use their referrals to further expand your list of prospecting names.

Another often-used technique to create a list of prospects is to use a memory jogger like the yellow pages. Ask yourself, “Who do I know who is an accountant, an architect, an attorney ...” Think in terms of occupations and affiliations, always asking, “Who do I know who...?” Include all professional acquaintances, business sources, former school classmates, clubs (Toastmasters, Rotary, Lions, Elks, VFW, etc.). Include study clubs, church groups, networking groups and all other organizations where people come together in community.

Now, this approach is a two-edged sword. Many distributors use this warm market list to attract powerful people with whom they have credibility. But the downside, for most people, is that until you have proven yourself successful in this business, it’s often uncomfortable or distasteful to “hound” friends and relatives. Also, what do you do when you run out of your personal names list? In addition to prospecting all those you know or interact with on a daily or weekly basis, several strategies exist for actively prospecting different groups of people in a variety of proven ways.

Depending upon your company’s product line, your focus could be a generic one, such as targeting entrepreneurial individuals (i.e., anyone seeking an opportunity, which today means nearly everybody!). Or, if your products are appropriate for a specific group of people, you could use a more targeted approach, prospecting them as a group.

For example, if your company has a skin care line, you might direct your approach to cosmetologists, salon owners, estheticians or women’s organizations. Likewise, if your products are dental, automotive, pet-related, nutritional or home-protective, you would prospect those people who have an affinity for your particular product line. Given this, it’s especially valuable to enroll those professionals with credibility in a particular field who would personally use and recommend your products to others who respect their reputation.

Know What Makes Your Company Unique

What makes your company, product line or opportunity special and attractive to your prospects? Before you prospect person number one, you’ve got to develop a clear picture of what makes you and your opportunity unique and valuable for people. Write each point down clearly and succinctly so that you will be able to speak them to others effortlessly. In our over-communicated society with nearly 8,000 advertising messages hitting people every single day, you must distinguish yourself and your products as attractive, unique and exciting to your market. When you speak about your company in such a clear and compelling way, people understand why you are unique and how special you are. It makes you stand out from the me-too crowd. At the same time, you can motivate your prospect’s curiosity to find out more.

Examples of Unique, Concise Company Statements

Randy Gage, marketing guru extraordinaire, teaches of the importance of having a concise, hard-hitting “USP”, or unique selling proposition. Your USP defines how you and your company are special and attractive to others within your target market. Your company may fit more than one description. In fact, the way you describe your company and opportunity must be tailored to the individuals you’re approaching. The following statements are all appropriate for my company, Oxyfresh Worldwide. I use these as examples to give you an idea of what you can create for your unique company and product offering. When I’m prospecting, I choose the one Company Statement from this list that best fits what I perceive my specific prospect’s core interests to be:

1. We are a health professional network that allows health experts, just like you, to create a second royalty-type income that can lead to early retirement.

2. We are a leadership development company recognized as a role model for the MLM industry, that supports people like you in developing lucrative second incomes.

3. We are a health and wealth company committed to contributing to people’s health, longevity and financial freedom. What do you do?

4. We are a cutting-edge nutritional product company committed to people’s well-being. We’re rapidly expanding and are seeking business partners now. Do you know anyone who may be interested in earning an extra $5,000 to $10,000 per month?

5. We are a professional home-based business opportunity that helps people leave the rat race behind. Do you know anyone who is unhappy with their current job?

6. We are a debt-free, stable, 13-year-old networking company committed to developing financially-free leaders in the world. Do you know anyone who might want to develop an additional royalty-type income?

7. We help people quit smoking in seven days-guaranteed. Do you know anyone who would like to be smoke-free?

The list could go on and on depending on the variety of individuals I plan to prospect. The key is to interest people while, at the same time, creating an opening for them to have a conversation with you. Now...

How to Use Your Company Statement When Prospecting

There will be occasions when you’ll only have one or two minutes, or limited space, to present your company to people. This is where your Company Statement comes into play. Use it as a starting point until you are better able to explore what is important, of interest or concern to your prospect.

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About the Author:

Dr. Joe Rubino is an internationally acclaimed trainer, author, success coach and the CEO of The Center For Personal Reinvention, an organization that provides personal and group coaching as well as productivity and leadership development courses. He was featured on the cover of Success Magazine and in the cover story, We Create Millionaires, because of his ability to champion others to succeed. Joe is the author of the best sellers, Secrets of Building a Million Dollar Network Marketing Organization from a Guy Who's Been There, Done That and Shows You How To Do It Too, The Magic Lantern: A Fable about Leadership, Personal Excellence, and Empowerment, and, most recently, The Power To Succeed: 30 Principles For Maximizing Your Personal Effectiveness, Book I and The Power To Succeed: More Principles For Powerful Living, Book II. For information about The Center for Personal Reinvention and its services or to order any of Dr. Rubino’s books, visit http://www.CenterForPersonalReinvention.com . To contact Dr. Joe about the possibility of hiring him as your personal success coach, email: DrJRubino@Email.com or call 800-999-9551 ext 870.