Online Business Myth 3 "There is NO selling involved in this business…"

Seems like a ridiculous thing to even say, but there it is…

Online Business Myth 3

MLM companies know that most people hate the thought of selling anything, and the reason why this is so, is because their consultants are not taught how to sell effectively and professionally.
But use your head for just a moment. What is a business? Any business?

A business is an environment where goods, services or information are exchanged for money. Yes?

And there is nothing wrong with this process. There is nothing terrible or shameful about accepting money in exchange for quality products or services. I’ll digress for a moment and say that if you have a problem with this concept, I would suggest that you possibly have a little work to do on your mindset about money (this is terribly important – money issues will hold you back in your business if left unaddressed).

The fact is, all business is about selling. There is nothing wrong with that.

But consider this. People hate to be sold. They do however, like to buy stuff.

Now, if MLM and Network Marketing companies were even remotely interested in the success of their consultants, they would be teaching effective sales techniques. Mostly new consultants are taught to “share” their products and opportunities with everyone they know. This sets them up to fail from the start. Read more

The first and most critical thing to understand about great salesmanship, is that it is NOT about convincing. It is not about talking people into buying your ‘life changing’ product or ‘ground floor’ business opportunity. Frankly, they could not care less about either of these things.

People want to know one thing only. Pay attention now.

This is the only thing you should be concerned about, and it involves putting yourself in your prospects shoes.

WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?

That’s right. Your prospect is only concerned with how your product, service or information can help them in their life to solve a problem, meet a need, or get what what they want. And that is all.

An effective salesperson will listen to what their prospects want in the first instance. If what your prospect is looking for does not match what you have to offer, move on immediately. To try and persuade someone that you have what they want, even though it is transparently clear that you don’t is disrespectful, unprofessional and a complete and utter waste of your time and theirs.

You will go NOWHERE in your business engaging sales strategies like this. Great salesmanship is about developing an intelligent and appropriate response to feedback from your prospect. If you do feel that what you have to offer is a great match for what your prospect is looking for, then you supply them with all of the accurate and relevant information they need to arrive at this decision on their own. Remember, you are not selling a commodity in this environment. Your prospect cannot ‘try before they buy’. They must be very certain in their own mind that they want to proceed.

If someone is looking at your business opportunity, they are going to need to be given the time and space to complete a thorough due diligence before they make the commitment. If they have been given a ‘push’ by you to sign up in your business, believe me when I say that the chances of them forging ahead in their own business are slim to none.

Now all of these techniques are dependent on you having a highly targeted marketing system in place in the first instance. One which qualifies your prospects before you even speak with them. So your time is not wasted by “tire kickers” who are ‘just curious’.

In the Internet age, learning how to market online will be the key to creating this type of automated system. Being told that there is ‘no selling’ involved in a business opportunity should raise the alarm bells in your mind. If you are told this by a potential sponsor, be aware that you will most likely receive sales training that will equip you nicely to do business…in 1980.

If it sounds too good to be true…it is.