Every prospect is a prospect for life. People are prospects for your business opportunity, products or services until they buy or die. Never forget that.
A lot of network marketers make the mistake of not staying in touch with their prospects on a regular basis. They talk with someone one time and if the person does not join or buy, they move on to the next person. This is a HUGE mistake as I see it.
By all means, keep talking to new prospects every single day. Never stop doing that. But while you do that, keep a detailed list of EVERY person you have ever talked to about either your products or business opportunity.
This includes people you know, people you meet, people who respond to an advertisement, referrals, people you connect with at a networking event, people you meet at your company’s convention, people who join your team, people who attend a home party, and so forth.
Get a notebook or computer database and keep a detailed list of these people. At a minimum, get their name, address, phone number and email. Why? Because this is an untapped gold mine.
Your most valuable asset is your list.
You must constantly keep adding new people to your list and stay in touch with the people on your list frequently so you can build up the like, know and trust factor.
It’s All About Timing
The truth is everyone is a good prospect for your products or business at SOME POINT in their life. They might not be a good prospect today, because the timing isn’t right for them, but if you stay in touch and treat them well, many of them will eventually be a good prospect.
People’s situation in life can change. It will change.
People get married. They get divorced. They have kids. They lose their job. They get a new job they hate. They move. They start a new career. They realize they don’t have enough saved for retirement. They get a new crazy boss.
I could go on and on here, but timing is everything.
The Numbers
Your goal is to talk to minimum FIVE new people every day, at least Monday through Friday. If you did that for a year, you would have approximately 1,300 prospects in your notebook. If you did that for five years you would have approximately 6,500 prospects in your notebook or database.
If you simply stayed in touch with all of these people once every 90-days, many of them will EVENTUALLY join your team or become a customer.
If you keep a detailed list of everyone, after a few years, you will NEVER need to prospect anyone new. You can just tap into your list.
Try to stay in touch with everyone on your list at least once every three to six months. Send them an email. Give them a call. Send them a handwritten note. Text them.
Just do SOMETHING to stay in touch. Don’t try to hard sell them or annoy them. Just tell them you were thinking about them and wanted to know how they are doing.
If they start asking you questions about your business opportunity or products, by all means give them the information.
The Truth
You will frequently find that some of your best people might take you five to ten YEARS to recruit.
Many folks will sit on the sidelines for years and watch you build your business. Or, they will become serious when the timing becomes right for them in their own life. That’s okay. Better late than never.
One of my favorite MLM Mentors, Jeff Roberti, said that his best person took him more than a decade to recruit.
Was it worth it? That person has made him MILLIONS of dollars. Some things are worth waiting for.
My takeaway from this is that he never GAVE UP on the person, but he did not sit around and wait for them to join, either. He kept recruiting and kept building his business.
The bottom line is that every prospect is a prospect for life. Take the long-term view with your business and you will do fine. Stay the course and many of the people who tell you NO today will be on your team five years from now.
Do what most people aren’t willing to do and you will get what most people don’t get.
- Meet people.
- Treat them well.
- And stay in touch until they buy or die.
That’s some of the best advice I can share with you.
Final Thoughts
What are your thoughts about this simple concept? Do you believe that every prospect is a prospect for life, or not? Why do you feel that way? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Yes, I agree Chuck.
This is why it makes sense when you first start talking with a potential prospect, you should ask them for their business card and contact information immediately.
Just simple acts of contact every once in awhile will eventually bring that prospect in as a customer or distributor.
I believe that when you can, it also helps to hand out a free sample. In our MLM which I won’t name, we have a bath soap that you can smell from what seems a mile away. I have considered cutting these bars up into chunks and handing the small pieces out as a small sample so prospects can smell the delightful fragrance.
Just little things like these will help prospects make a definite decision at some point, as long as high pressure isn’t used.
Good points, Greg. Staying in touch with people is paramount. Everyone will be a good prospect at some point in time.