The Benjamin Franklin Close (also known as “The Balance Sheet Close”) is one of the classic old time sales tactics used to close a sale. Never heard of it? Shame on you — not enough sales training.
      
The scenario is this: You’ve made your presentation, but the MLM prospect is on the fence, and won’t make up his or her mind.  You’ve tried everything, but can’t get them to budge.

Then you say, “You know Benjamin Franklin was one of our wisest citizens, wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Johnson?” (Get prospect’s agreement) “Whenever he was faced with a decision — and he had some pretty big ones back then — he would take a plain piece of paper, draw a line down the middle and put a plus (+) on one half, and a minus (-) on the other.”

“In his genius he discovered that by listing all the positive elements on the plus side of the paper, and the negative things on the minus side, the decision would become obvious — pretty sound concept, agreed?” (Get prospect’s agreement) Read the rest of this entry »

If I mention the words “photocopier” or “overnight delivery” or “personal computer,” chances are that a specific brand name immediately pops into your mind. When you go to the grocery store, don’t you gravitate toward certain products over and over because you know them by name and think to look for them each time you walk down the aisles?

In each of these situations, you’re activating “mental shelf space” — the automatic association of a product or service with the person or organization delivering it. That is the kind of powerful mental connection that each of us needs to develop for our MLM business. If you’re an expert Networker, not only will the people you know think about you when the MLM product or MLM service you’re associated with comes up in conversation, but your name rolls off their tongues as quickly as the recognized brand of overnight delivery service.

Please understand, we’re not talking about a right or wrong way to network. Even a broken clock is right twice a day; however, different Networking styles produce different results. Is your Networking style appropriate for you, your Networking partners, your markets, your MLM products and services, and your own goals and objectives? Will it bring you to the results you’re after? Only you can answer these questions.

Take a moment to think — when your network of acquaintances thinks about you, what do you guess comes to mind? Analyst, insurance person, that guy from the office, international marketer? You know the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? Ask yourself who knows you. Do they know what you can do for them? When they think of the MLM product or service you provide, do they automatically pull your name off the shelf? There’s no reason they shouldn’t; you need to decide what perception you want to create of yourself.

I tell my prospective MLM distributors that passively thinking about something does nothing for their wallets. Remember when you were growing up, and people told you to “think before you speak”? Sage advice to be sure, but focused, targeted action must follow the thoughts!

You and I will work very hard over our lifetimes. Hard work is not the challenge. Working smart is. Short of scientific inquiry and space exploration, there’s not a lot of “new” information; this means it’s in your power today, through your choice of a Networking approach, to create mental shelf space for yourself in enough people’s minds to build a booming MLM business.

What style are you employing and what methods are you using to become known to your MLM target market? Read the rest of this entry »

Building an MLM business can be a scary experience for some people because it involves talking to other people – and talking to other people means exposing yourself to the possibility of rejection and disappointment.

No matter how often you tell yourself that when someone says no they are only rejecting the MLM opportunity (and truthfully, their own potential) and not you, it still hurts!

No matter how often you tell yourself that you get paid for telling your story, regardless of the outcome, or that every no is a valuable learning experience, it is still disappointing. Read the rest of this entry »