3 Crucial Yet Ignored Skills To Memorize For Your Direct Selling Or Affiliate Sales Business
If one thing is constant and reliable in Direct Selling and Affiliate Marketing, it’s what leaders do to automatically grow their business. Here are the 3 most important skills to memorize to boost sales.
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1. Your Personal Story
I am amazed at how automatic it is for network marketing leaders to share their personal story, of how they discovered Direct Sales and how it changed their life.
It doesn’t matter where they are, whether they are doing a webinar or shooting a video, the leaders can share a powerful, often times tear-dropping story within three minutes.
It is crucial to write down your story, your testimonial of how you changed your life with your company’s products or how the overall Direct Selling industry changed your life.
The more honest and vulnerable you are the better.
It is important to add other people in your story, how you helped others achieve success. Direct selling for men and women is all about helping and networking with others. It doesn’t matter if the extent of your helping is only helping someone get a few hundred bucks. A few hundred bucks to someone, especially in a third world country, is a lot of money and does help.
No one likes a direct sales leader when they just talk about themselves.
Really think about the larger picture. Sure, in the beginning we all want more money from this business opportunity, but the business evolves into so much more. It truly does change people’s lives. You can see this magic happen at network marketing events.
You hear about a son who is now making seven figures a year thanks to Direct Selling and can buy his parent’s a new house, or a daughter who helped her mother with financial difficulties, etc.
Direct Selling is about sharing stories and helping each other out.
This is the way business should be, not cut-throat and deceitful like the traditional corporate world. Direct sales could directly improve your life if you do it right.
Here is my affiliate marketing, MLM, and direct selling business story for an example:
“I was working 14 to 16 hours a day in hot, stressful kitchens. People in the restaurant business tend to party after work to forget about the stress of the job. The hard work along with the hard partying breaks people down. In fact, I had a heart-attack when I was 32 while training at a new cooking job.
I eventually quit drinking, but I discovered I was very anxious around people. I realized I hadn’t really socialized with anyone before while sober. I looked to the internet for a natural solution. I didn’t want to get on toxic prescriptions. I discovered a company and was surprised that it was a network marketing company. I had always wanted to promote a network marketing company online because of the residual income aspect. I had never made any significant money online, but once I saw the company-provided websites our distributors got, I was really ready to go for it. The reception I received online was great. Although, it took time to figure out the business and developing a team, I was hooked forever. Now, my anxiety is gone and I have helped a lot of people around the world live a better life, financially, spiritually and mentally.”
This is my story in top direct selling companies. It changes a little every time I tell it, but this is the jist of it. Your story establishes yourself quickly with your prospects and the more they can relate, the quicker they will want to join you.
Prospects are more intrigued by the leaders who seem to be going places and seem unselfish and truly want to help others before helping themselves.
Don’t worry about not sounding perfect. Everyone starts from scratch and get better with repetition. Eventually, you will be able to tell your story effortlessly and it will transform you and your business.
Obviously, you want a genuine story. If you make it up, you are dead in the water. So, get with a Direct Selling company who offers products you can stand behind and your story will shine.
2. The Sales And Marketing Scripts
This is where a lot of distributors overcomplicate things. I basically have a script for Online and Offline, Direct and Indirect.
Twitter has been one of my biggest lead sources. I have an autoresponder set up to message all my new followers on Twitter.
Here’s the message:
“Thanks! I have a new business and I’m looking for partners. Are you open to other business ventures? Here: *insert custom shortened tracking link* (My shortened link)
Here’s some basic prospecting for offline:
(Indirect)
“Do you know anyone who is looking for extra income?”
(Direct)
“I’ve started a new business and I’m looking for some partners. I’d love to work with you. Are you open to other business ventures?
(notice, I use this for Twitter prospecting as well. You will find a way of saying things that works for you.)
Or
“I respect the way you do business. Would you be open to a side project that didn’t interfere with what you’re already doing?”
That’s it!
You can experiment, but the ideal script doesn’t pressure your prospect. You want to peak their interest, not turn them off.
If they are interested, schedule a time when they can view your company video, a recorded webinar, or take a tour on your website.
Get them to commit to an exact date and time.
Ask twice and confirm that the date and time will work for them.
If they miss the call, give them one more chance.
If they miss that one too, cut them loose.
There are too many people in the world looking for an online home-based business to be wasting your time with one lead.
3. Objection Handling
Since, I promote most of my business online, I don’t deal with that much objection. They are either interested or not in your direct selling or affiliate marketing proposition.
I don’t waste time on Twitter with people who ask me “what is it?”
This means two things when they say this:
- They are too lazy to open the link and look for themselves. This might be a reflection of how they would be in your business: lazy.
- They don’t have a strong enough curiosity to go further. Why should you waste your time explaining your entire business to someone who can barely utter three words? “What. . .Is. . .It?” That’s lame.
Here’s some quick objection handling skills that get to the point fast:
They ask: “Is this a Pyramid scheme?”
You say: “That’s illegal.” (or) “Why, are you looking for one?”
They ask: “Is this a Ponzi?”
Same answers as above.
They say: “I can’t afford it.”
You say: That’s exactly why you need this. When will you ever have enough money to do the things you want to do?”
They say: “I don’t have time.”
You say: “Exactly. When will you ever have time to do the things you want to do? This business gives you the ability to fire your boss and get your time back. Interested?”
They ask: “How much can I make?”
You say: “That’s entirely up to you. This business pays what you put into it.”
They say: “I don’t want to do Sales.”
You say: “Good! This isn’t about pushing product onto people. It’s about sharing an opportunity to people who are looking for something more.”
There’s other techniques to see where your prospects are at, like the magic wand technique.
If your prospect still has reservations after addressing their objections, ask:
“If I were to wave a magic wand and you could get whatever you wanted out of this business, what would that be?”
Or, get them to scale their interest by saying:
“On a scale of one to ten, ten being sign me up now, what number are you?”
If they say they are above a 7, ask:
“Sounds like you’re ready to join!”
If under a 7, keep addressing their issue and uncover their secret issue, or cut them loose from your sales proposition.
Double Up Your Direct Sales And Amp Up Your Affiliate Marketing
Direct selling, affiliate sales, and network marketing is a very powerful business when done correctly. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Use a simple system like this and share it with your entire team.
Your business will grow a lot faster when all your distributors are on the same page and use a simple duplicatable system.
