COPYRIGHT, (C) 1995, by Jeffrey Lant Associates, Inc. ======================== = = = JEFFREY LANT'S = = = = B U S I N E S S = = S E N S E = = = ======================== ------------------ Volume 7, Issue 3 Whole Number 120 May 16, 1995 ------------------ ------------------------------------- ENTIRE CONTENTS, Copyright (C), 1995, by Jeffrey Lant Associates, Inc. Published twice monthly, on the second and fourth Thursday every month, by Jeffrey Lant Associates, Inc. Distributed by BBS PRESS SERVICE, INC., 8125 S.W. 21st Street, Topeka, KS 66615; 913/478-3157 (voice), 913/478-9239 (data), for the use of BPS affiliate bulletin board systems and their registered members ONLY. Any other use or further redistribution of this material without express written permission of the copyright holder is forbidden. ------------------------------------- ============================ HOW TO GET YOUR DOWNLINE TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION AND BUY PRODUCT ============================ By Dr. Jeffrey Lant One of the constant complaints of people in network marketing is how little their downline members do once they've been recruited. "Yeah, they're in," they wail. "But I can't get them to do anything." Sound familiar? Well, stay tuned because, by the end of this report, you're going to know what to do. And you're both going to do it...and insist that people in your organization do it, too...or else! The Solution To This Nagging Problem Begins Before The Prospect Is Even In Your Organization ---------------------------------- The other day, a guy in network marketing told me, "When I was new to MLM, I took anybody in my organization, and I mean anybody. I didn't ask any questions. Didn't ask for anything. And -- didn't get anything back, either. Now I've learned!" Good for you, boyo. The solution to a non-functioning organization comes partly from what happens before the slothful get in in the first place. In other words, you've got to qualify your people to ensure they're going to be the kind of people you want to invest in. What do you do? Assess. Ask prospects tough questions like these: ## Do you have at least 6 hours weekly to make this endeavor successful? If not, sayonara. ## Do you have at least $100 a month to invest towards getting this off the ground? Money for products, advertising, phone, fax and mail follow-up, etc.? ## Do you have the will to make this successful? Are you going to take "no" for an answer, find lots of excuses for non-participation, and generally for opting out? ## Will you take the time to study the company, learn about its products, its marketing and compensation plan, etc? ## Will you carry the company's message to both people you know and people you don't know, seeking the best qualified to recruit into this opportunity, discarding the rest? In short, will you WORK? I bet not even 3% of people in MLM ask their prospects these kinds of sensible questions. Result? Sure, they recruit a couple of people every once in a while. But these people, never having gotten a clear message about what's expected of them, perform accordingly: doing nothing with all possible speed. Disgusting. Put Your Expectations In Writing -------------------------------- I'm not an old college professor for nothing. I believe in putting my expectations in writing...and making sure the people in my organization agree. In my organization, for instance, we divide into two tiers: the elite "50 future millionaires" have to sign an elaborate statement promising, among other things, to make weekly reports to me on their progress. I even specify what must be covered in these reports. More pedestrian candidates have a less rigorous regime. But even they are told that there are directions to follow and that they'll be given my assistance only to the extent that they follow them. Do the same. Once you've got an indication that you're dealing with a suitable prospect, push ahead. Send your expectations in writing; preferably by fax. Cover the key points mentioned above. Then ask the candidate if he/she agrees to them...and listen carefully to the answers. Real prospects, prospects who understand how the world works, understand that to achieve prosperity they've got to work. They want to know what they have to do; equally, they want to know how you're going to help. The discussions are precise, focused, specific. By the same token, unreal prospects are past-masters at vagueness. They can't be pinned down, won't answer, will never say what they will or won't do; instead, they want the discussion focused on what you're going to do for them. NOW HEAR THIS: These people don't deserve the time of day from you. One of the absolutely amazing things to me about network marketing is how futile and self-defeating any number of prevailing practices in the industry are. If you were applying for a sales job with a Fortune 500 company, you know they'd grill you on your skills and attributes. You'd expect it; indeed, you'd be surprised if they didn't ask you a series of tough, probing questions. In MLM things are, stupidly, different. Here, it's considered acceptable to ask no questions whatsoever of prospects and for these prospects to take umbrage if you press them too hard, asking them just what they're going to do. THIS IS IDIOTIC. MLM is nothing more than a leveraged sales operation. To make it work, you've got to ask your prospects deep, serious questions about what they can and will do to build the organization. People who won't answer these questions should be avoided like the plague; they are profoundly bad news. Only those who come up with real, credible answers should be dealt with seriously. Making Sure The New Recruits Purchase Product ------------------------- One of the crucial assessment elements is whether your prospect will purchase and use the products of the company you're selling. Astonishingly, I keep running into people who try to get me into their "opportunities" but who don't think it at all strange that they don't support this company by purchasing its products. AMAZING! Let me be very clear about this: a person who won't buy product is a person who isn't worth any time or attention. Worse, this person is a perfect parasite, who should be avoided at all costs. That's why you must INSIST that all recruits buy and use product. And I mean INSIST! By all means give them guidelines. Say, "People like you generally start off with ." Similarly, if the recruit is unclear about what to buy (which may well happen, particularly when the company sells a variety of health care products) make suggestions. But don't just stop with the suggestions; take the order, too! Right on the spot. Then, fax it in. Better, don't just take an order; enroll the new distributor on any "automatic purchase" or "insured purchase" plan whereby the distributor is committed to purchasing a certain amount of product monthly. Personally, I regard participation in these plans as crucial. Indeed, I go so far as to say that people cannot be top distributors if they don't participate in such plans at the top possible level. Why? Not least because your downline members do what you do. If you tell them it's okay not to be on an insured plan (which you are most assuredly doing by skipping participation yourself), then they'll feel perfectly okay doing the same. More, it's easy to forget to purchase product monthly. On the insured plan, however, your products arrive like clockwork, allowing you to focus on other, more important, things. Turning Your Distributors On To "The Awesome Power of One" ------------------------------- All distributors need sales objectives. All. The plan I prefer is entitled "The Awesome Power of One." Here, distributors are told to recruit just one person monthly...and work with the people they recruit so that they, in turn, recruit just one person monthly for a minimum of one year. The resulting organization grows like this: # of distributors month 1 1 2 2 4 3 8 4 16 5 32 6 64 7 128 8 256 9 512 10 1024 11 2048 12 Your independent distributors need to be shown a couple key aspects of this system. ## the galloping growth occurs after month 6. Indeed, only about 1.5% of the resulting organization is in place by month 6th. This suggests the need for patience and the development of system. Unfortunately, in the topsy-turvy MLM world, most people have dropped out long before the sixth month. This system shows just how stupid that is. ## the focus each month should be on meeting the quota. If people meet the quota month after month and work with their downline members to do so, exponential growth is inevitable. ## everyone must do their "bit". No one can be excused from work and effort. No one. Acting Like The Team Leader; Ensuring That Everyone Does Their Bit ------------------------------------- It's amazing to me how many people in MLM think you can just sign up a couple of people and walk away, expecting the thing to grow without further effort. Dumb. Once you're in MLM, you've got to start functioning like a national sales director or team leader. That is, you've got to set objectives and work with your distributors to achieve them. Thus, each month you need a game plan...and must do what's necessary to achieve success. ## As soon as possible after the first of every month, get your hands on your downline genealogy report. Find out who's in your organization and how much product they purchased. Then notify your downline people about who's failing to live up to the expectations of your organization and have them call to i) find out what's going on, ii) take the necessary orders and iii) make the necessary kicks in the pants. Note: it is not your responsibility to call and otherwise contact everyone in your organization, quite apart from the fact that as your organization grows you just won't have the time to do so. No, it's the responsibility of each upline leader to handle his immediate downline and get things moving in the right direction. MLM is essentially a group activity. Everyone must do his part to make it successful. But it is your job to make sure everyone in your organization understands the entire system and does his part. ## On or about the 15th day of the month, repeat this process. Get a current genealogy report. Review it. Who's still not buying product? Share this information with your downline people. Get them on the phone. Their job? To ensure that all people in their organization both purchase product and recruit one person each for the month. Note: the 15th is a good time to do this because there's still sufficient time in the month to contact everyone and to get them motivated to do what they're supposed to do. At this point, you're going to hear lots of complaints and "dog-ate-my-homework" excuses. Don't listen to them and don't accept them. Accept your fate as the Marine Corps drill instructor. Your job is to get the recruits off their backsides and up and at 'em. If your personal style is to sweet talk them into doing that, that's fine: so long as it works. Personally, I use the old tug and bark method. I understand that I cannot achieve my monthly quota unless all the people in my organization achieve theirs. I know that it takes work to do what's necessary to succeed. I know that I must sacrifice to reach the goal. And, therefore, I am by no means sympathetic to any moans that I hear from others along the way. If I can do it...so can they. Case closed. ## The last 7 days of the month will always be busy. People being people, procrastinating to the last possible moment, will put off until tomorrow what they could have done two weeks ago. So be it. But this means that you've got to work especially hard during this period...and must make sure your top distributors do, too. Each night for seven nights make a minimum of 5 calls. Call the people who are your workers. Remind them about who still hasn't purchased product...remind them they have a quota to meet. Remind them, in short, there is still a lot of work to do. And monthly commissions to fatten up! Then urge them to get on with the job! A Look At Lead Generation ------------------------- When you're in contact with your distributors, always bring up the matter of prospect leads. One of the silly ideas still floating around MLM is "warm marketing," that is building an organization by focusing solely on aunts, uncles, cousins, co-religionists, office colleagues, neighbors, etc. This is witless, indeed. It's a crazy theory that doesn't wash anywhere else in corporate America and which should long ago have been ejected from MLM, too. When you go into MLM you need to ensure your lead-generating sources at the same time. Why? Because "warm marketing" cannot begin to supply you with the number of leads a profitable organization needs. Every independent distributor needs regular sources of prospect leads, and the names on a Christmas card list are laughably inadequate. Personally, that's why I insist that the people who join any of my network marketing opportunities also do what's necessary to get the prospect leads they need, things like... ## join Ad-Net, Inc. Ad-Net is a lead-generating company that provides between 30-50 prospect leads per month (your choice). Since it's also an MLM company, Ad-Net pays "fast-start" bonuses when you enroll someone and monthly commission checks. ## run space ads. If the company you're in doesn't have camera-ready ads, it's certainly a backward enterprise. But, if you still believe enough in what they're selling, have the ads done yourself. A place like The National Copywriting Center (Jim Van Winkle, Director) can help. Call 1-800-438-2506. ## run card-deck ads. Card decks are bundles of post cards that go to targeted audiences. You can run one-line (60 character) ads or full cards (either 50,000 or 100,000 circulation). My own decks have the lowest costs in the entire industry. Call me at (617) 547-6372 for details. Whatever you decide, be clear about one crucial fact: if the distributors you recruit don't have regular lead sources, they'll fail. It's as simple as that. When you've got 30-50 leads coming in monthly for each person in your organization, that organization is going to grow. Guaranteed. When you don't, it's going to be very, very difficult to achieve any growth, much less the sustained growth that "The Awesome Power of One" mandates. Conclusion ---------- It's no mystery why MLM organizations grow. The people in them -- all the people in them -- do precisely what's necessary to make them grow. Having read this report, ask yourself if you're doing what's necessary -- or are you just sitting around waiting for lightning to strike, hoping for the best? ------------------------------------- Dr. Jeffrey Lant is well-known as author of the key 148-page resource MULTI- LEVEL MONEY: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO GENERATING, CLOSING & WORKING WITH ALL THE PROSPECTS YOU NEED TO MAKE REAL MONEY EVERY MONTH IN NETWORK MARKETING ($25.95 post paid). There is also a new 50-minute video based on this book ($33 postpaid or $45 with the MULTI-LEVEL MONEY book). He is also publisher of the quarterly 100,000 circulation Sales & Marketing Success Card Deck. Further, he is the #1 distributor in Ad-Net, Inc. and active in many other MLM programs. To get his book, information on participating in his card deck and for your free year's subscription to his quarterly 40-page Sure-Fire Business Success Catalog, either call (617) 547-6372 or write J.L.A. Publications, P.O. Box 38- 2767, Cambridge, MA 02238. =================== Copy Coach tm Copywriting Tip #17 =================== Four Easy Ways That Entice Your Prospects To Read Your Marketing Communications ----------------------------- By Jim Van Winkle, Director, The National Copywriting Center Think about this. Response follows reading your marketing communication. Sounds logical, right? Well, then it stands to reason that you should be doing EVERYTHING to get people to read your marketing communication, right? Sadly, this is precisely what lots of marketers DON'T. In fact, it often seems to me that they go out of their way to make it difficult for their prospects to get their crucial message, thereby sabotaging themselves day after day. Ridiculous! But here are four little tips that will help you capture your prospects' attention and get them to do what they must in order to respond. 1) Don't set your headline in all capital letters. You may think that capital leters will make your headline stand out, but type set in all caps is more difficult to read -- not less. Capitalize just the first letter of each word in the headline...and make it easy on your reader. 2) Use sub headings to break up body copy. Large sections of solid copy can be intimidating. Break up your copy into digestible sections -- no more than two or three inches high -- and begin each section with a heading that presents the benefits of what's coming next. 3) Use captions with photos and illustrations. Most people will scan your marketing communication without reading all of it. Captions are usually read by scanners, so make sure you use them. Hint: don't just put facts in your captions, either; stress benefits! 4) Use bullets and numbered lists. If you have a series of facts, features, or benefits, put them in a list and number them, just as I have here. The human mind likes order. Numbered lists help provide it. Too, use bullets, arrows, astericks, or some other attention-getting device to draw your prospect's attention to what's really important to him! ------------------------------------- Dr. Jeffrey Lant's National Copywriting Center specializes in producing copy that gets people to stop in their tracks NOW --- and respond NOW! To make sure this is what your prospects do when they get your ad, flyer, cover letter, brochure or other marketing communication, contact Director Jim Van Winkle, the Copy Coach, at (815) 827-5050 or fax (815) 827-3194. Don't forget to ask for your copy of Dr. Lant's 480-page resource CASH COPY: HOW TO OFFER YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES SO YOUR PROSPECTS BUY THEM... NOW! ($39.50 postpaid from The National Copywriting Center, 17520 Keslinger Road, Maple Park, IL 60151.) WATCH FOR MORE BUSINESS SENSE COLUMNS -- TWICE A MONTH ON THIS BBS! ========== END >>>