What are the best ways to initially contact your prospects about your products or business opportunity?
Depending on who you ask, you will get different answers.
I’ve tried many different things myself in the past.
Some methods worked very well.
Some didn’t.
I’ve also learned that everyone has a different method of communication they prefer to use.
Some people do everything through text.
Others love the phone.
And some people love to talk face to face.
The methods listed below are ranked in order of effectiveness (as I see it) for initially contacting your prospects about your business opportunity or products.
# 1 Phone
The phone is your friend. Smile and dial baby. If you don’t fear the phone, it will be your most powerful business tool. It’s effective and efficient. You can contact 10-20 people in less than an hour. To clarify, I am talking about using the phone to contact prospects you already know to make the INITIAL contact to set an appointment. Never, ever try to explain the business over the phone. The downside in today’s world is that a lot of people screen ALL of their phone calls and don’t answer their phone. Everything goes to voicemail. However, if you’re reaching out to someone you already know, you should be able to get through.
# 2 SKYPE
SKYPE can be a great way to make an initial contact with your prospects. You can see them. You can read their body language. They can also see and feel your excitement.
# 3 Text
We live in a world where lots of people love to text. I’m not a fan of it myself, but many people have most of their day-to-day conversations through text. You could text people for the initial contact to set an appointment with them to show the plan, or take them to a presentation.
# 4 Email
You could initially contact your prospects by email. It can work, but I really don’t recommend it. You don’t know if the email gets delivered, opened, or read. That is the problem. Most people get so many emails every single day, they don’t even open them or read most of them. A lot of emails hit the spam folder, so the person doesn’t even know they got an email from you. Also, you want your prospect to know that what you have is important. If you send it by email they might not take you as seriously.
# 5 Facebook Message
Some people spend their lives on Facebook. Most people don’t. Sending a Facebook message could work with certain prospects, but only if you are trying to set an appointment. Never send a link or video through Facebook on the INITIAL contact.
# 6 Face-to-Face
I believe this would be the worst way to INITIALLY contact your prospects. I know, I know. Some of you might be thinking I have lost my mind. Why do I say this? Because if you are face-to-face with the person, they are going to ask you a ton of questions, and it will be hard for you to be in a hurry. What usually happens is that they will ask you a ton of questions and you will try to explain everything and then talk them out of the business. I believe this is the most effective way to share the business, but the most ineffective way to make the initial contact.
My Best Advice
I want you to remember that the purpose of the initial contact with your prospects is to set the appointment, not to try and explain the business to them. Sell the appointment first, and then let the appointment sell the business. If you get nothing else out of this article, please remember that. The less you say during the initial contact, the better. Pique their interest, set an appointment and get the heck out of dodge
Here are a few tips for success when making the initial contact:
- Tell them you found something they might be interested in
- Be excited
- Be in a hurry
- Sell the appointment, not the business
- Ask them to do you a favor
- Confirm their decision
- Keep the conversation to three minutes or less
- Do NOT explain anything in detail
Final Thoughts
In summary, these are the best ways to initially contact your prospects about your business opportunity or products, as I see it.
I’ve reached out to people using all of these methods at some point or another in the past and this is what I found to be most effective.
What are your thoughts?
What do you think are the best ways to initially contact your prospects about your products or business opportunity?
Leave a comment below to let me know what you think.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Great post Chuck!
Personally, I believe the telephone is one of the best devices invented for this.
It does not have the face-to-face touch, but many people are adapted to the telephone and if you handle it properly, it can be a great tool.
Skype is also a great tool if it will run properly, and people can now do the same as Skype right through Facebook.
But overall, I believe the best initial contact is face to face if it is possible.
Yes, the telephone is a great way to get ahold of people.