August 6, 2020
Lead with the product
“When Everyone Else Is Focused on MLM Opportunity Leads, Learn How To Sneak In Under the Radar and Generate Rabid Customer Leads”
“The Only Stability in Network Marketing is in Product Sales …”
Something important I have learned is how to actually market products and services, instead of just a “business opportunity” like we are taught in the MLM world.
Trouble-Shooting for an Old MLM friend…
Susan called and told me that she wanted to create a product-based lead system for her Herbalife Business. She said she had trouble recruiting people into Herbalife because it’s such a well-recognized brand and people immediately make assumptions before she has an opportunity to present her business opportunity properly.
Therefore, she very wisely has chosen to lead with her products.
The reason this is a good idea is that most people generally want to believe that they know something about what you are talking about.
If they have any previous experience or knowledge of what you are presenting to them (no matter how inaccurate), they immediately draw from those experiences and make decisions based on that, NOT what you presented to them, (i.e. their listening is off.)
So leading with your opportunity when you are involved in older companies like Amway, Herbalife, USANA, NuSkin, etc is usually not the best approach.
Leading with Your Products
Aside from stability, the big benefit that these big MLM companies offer is that they are constantly producing new products for their distributors to sell.
So while the opportunity brand may be old and stale, you can still lead with a novel new breakthrough product.
In speaking to Susan, I suggested that she focus on one great product, with a nice profit margin and which can produce immediate effects for her customers. She immediately knew what product that would be.
I then advised her to come up with the top benefits of this product — What pain does it relieve? What problem does it solve? What immediate results can people expect? What kind of person would need this product?
She could then use this information to craft her capture page at the workshop.
Writing Newsletters that Sell Product
Next I asked her if she was knowledgable about health and wellness and if she would feel comfortable writing about it? She said yes, she was.
So I suggested she write a few newsletters providing free and valuable information on health and wellness.
But what I suggested she write her first few newsletters on was on how to solve or provide the benefits of her lead product, without them needing to buy the product.
“Huh?”
This might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but that is exactly what I told her to do.
I explained that her email newsletters and lead system need to stand alone as valuable content and information. If you do this you’ll accomplish three things:
- She’ll gain the trust of her reader and build a relationship she can monetize overtime via info product promos, affiliate programs, thus creating a second stream of income.
- If something were to happen to her Herbalife Business, her lead system could be easily be transitioned to promote other non-Herbalife products.
- She’ll have established a valuable brand and possibly a new company with more potential than any MLM business can provide — YOU, INC.
When you deliver on your promises and blow people away with the value you have provided them, they will trust you and have the confidence in your knowledge to purchase any other products you feel will be beneficial to them. They will be more open than ever to any product recommendations you will make.
So the newsletter format I advised her to use for all her emails is as follows:
- Write newsletter content, which delivers as best she can, on what she offered on her capture page without them needing to use the product. Make it stand alone as valuable information.
- At the end of the newsletter, write something like “If you wish to enhance the benefits described in this newsletter, I highly recommend [product]…” This is where she could plug her product.
- Have an opt-in form where people can request a FREE personal health consultation on how to properly implement the advice she has provided in the newsletters. This would be an opportunity to examine their overall health needs, take orders and recommend other products. In short, to focus on what the customer is looking for.
Some MLM companies may prohibit you from having sales copy or links on any website or email promoting a product (especially a nutritional product), so in that case, you may want to skip #2 and make product recommendations part of your personal health consultation.
The important thing to remember here is that your goal is to become an authority/expert first! Avoid the temptation to pitch your product right off the bat.
Ideally, what you want to do is create a business relationship with your prospect even before they’ve purchased any of your MLM products. This could be some kind of info product or affiliate promotion.
If someone is willing to give you money for advice, then they will definitely be willing to give you money for a product you recommend, which can potentially solve their problems.
I expect big things from Susan and I want the same for you.
All the best!
