Does face to face selling still work? Someone sent me an email yesterday asking me that question. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I figured it would make a great blog post.
To answer the question: YES, face to face selling still works. It is proven and time tested. It is effective. Nothing is more personal than looking someone in the eyes, reading their body language and closing the deal. In a perfect world, we would always meet with our prospects face to face.
Many companies still use face to face selling. In fact, many of the things you current buy are sold via face to face selling, sometimes without you even realizing it. Some examples include:
- The waitress who sold you on the shrimp tacos over the Italian sandwich
- The gentleman at the dealership who sold you your SUV
- Your realtor® who helped you find the perfect home
- Your mechanic who sold you on the tire rotation as an upsell to your oil change
- The lady at the grocery store giving away free samples, which enticed you to buy some of the sample she was handing out
These are just a few examples to put things in perspective, but there are literally thousands of examples.
What’s really crazy about these examples is that YOU might not even consider it selling. After all, how many people think of their waitress or mechanic as a salesperson?
Face to Face Selling in Network Marketing
Network marketing is traditionally built face to face. That’s the way it has been done for ages, dating back to the early Nutrilite® days in the 1940s and 1950s.
Every company I know of in the network marketing industry still teaches the warm market approach. They do this because it is simple, and anyone can do that. It doesn’t take any special skills to make a list and go recruit Aunt Martha.
While I am not a fan of this approach, it does work for some people. Many top earners use and teach this strategy to their team, because they know that most people have ZERO chance of success in the cold market, especially if they don’t have good sales and marketing skills.
That aside, it is painful, time consuming, extremely inefficient and definitely not the ONLY way to build a successful network marketing business (face to face).
While I do enjoy meeting with people face to face from time to time, I’d much rather be home in my pajamas with my wife and laptop computer. How about you?
Yes, when you can meet with someone face to face when needed. But, why do it if you don’t have to?
The Downside of Face to Face Selling
While selling face to face might be the most EFFECTIVE way to sell something, it is also the least efficient. Time is your most precious asset. It’s the only thing you can’t get back and can’t get more of.
It takes a lot of time to schedule a meeting, drive there, conduct the meeting, and then return to your office or home. Sometimes it can take three to five hours to do just ONE face to face meeting (factoring in travel time).
When you factor in no shows, people who are late for the meeting, and bad prospects, it can be very frustrating AND time consuming.
What I Do
I might have a “smaller” closing rate by doing non face to face selling, but I can meet with 10x the prospects in the same amount of time, using automated strategies, such as direct mail, email, videos, conferences and webinars. Even with a smaller closing rate, I can expose more people and make more sales using technology and working smart.
That’s why I gave up the “old school” way of building a network marketing business and embraced technology.
I use the internet to meet people. I have an automated presentation. I then use the telephone and SKYPE to follow up with my prospects (plus my autoresponder) and close the deal.
This saves me lots of time and lets me work smart. I suggest you educate yourself about the process if you are stuck getting no where fast.
My Advice to You
My best advice for you is to do what is best for you. I believe in different strokes for different folks. What might be the best for me might not be the best for you. Figure out what makes you the most comfortable, using your own strengths and talents, and then pick a strategy you can follow.
It might be face to face selling or it might be technology or it might be a combination of the two.
What are your thoughts? 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