The 10 Overlooked Online Sponsoring Sins by Joshua Shafran This issue we will continue with the other 5 Top Online Sponsoring Sins for Network Marketers... are you doing any of these??? ================================================================= SIN #6: Too Much "COOL" - Not Enough Marketing ================================================================= I'm continually blown away by how many people create masterpiece sites and never spend any time promoting them. They just put the site up and wonder why they aren't generating any sales from it yet. Then (as if that's not bad enough) they throw their hands in the air and exclaim the Internet isn't effective. That's like opening a retail store in a zero population area, never advertising it, and then getting mad when a customer never walks through the doors. You've got to keep your eye on the ball. A great site does noth- ing if nobody ever sees it. The world's greatest salesletter won't sponsor a soul if no one reads it. Shuffling business cards or updating the site doesn't make money... getting people in front of the sponsoring message does. Sound simple? It is! ================================================================= SIN #7: No Third Party Stories For Credibility & No Fear Removal ================================================================= Here are two fundamental marketing facts that most understand but hardly apply: 1) Anything you say directly in a sponsoring situation (written or otherwise) is automatically suspect in your prospect's mind - but if a third party makes the statement for you, your prospect almost always accepts it as fact; and, 2) The more you remove the fear your prospect has about taking a risk (i.e., sponsoring in), the more people will respond to your offer. So, make sure you never neglect the awesome selling power of testimonials (real testimonials) in all your marketing efforts. They really drive home your claims and make them believable. As for removing the fear, simply brainstorm and test different better than risk-free offers. I've found a very effective way of overcoming the fear of responding is to turn the tables on the prospect. Let the prospect know you're very selective about the people you work with. That not everyone qualifies, but they are welcome to apply and see if they qualify... that you'll rush them a complete info package so you can see if they are right for you and if this is right for them. This usually will move people to action because people generally want what they can't have. ================================================================= SIN #8: Not Walking A Mile In Their Shoes ================================================================= Your website or email message (any type of salesletter for that matter) is the lowest pressure form of salesmanship there is. It's not interactive so you have to make sure you answer all their questions and handle any possible objections ahead of time. You don't have the luxury of customizing your presentation for each specific prospect. Your prospect will, at the click of a mouse, jump to another site or trash your message. So you have to anticipate their every move and stay one step ahead. One the most valuable things you can do is sit down and brain- storm all the reasons you can think of why someone will NOT take you up on your offer. If you were to look at your opportunity objectively, what would your objections be? What concerns would you have? What questions would you have if you were the prospect? Try to come up with 15 questions and write them down. Then answer them one by one and incorporate them into the copy. ================================================================= SIN #9: Wasting Time Trying To Sell Non-Prospects ================================================================= Have you ever heard the saying "you can't say anything right to the wrong person"? Many people waste so much time and energy trying to sponsor non-prospects. This carries over to the way people design their online sales messages. They try to address the masses instead of writing specifically for the ideal prospect they'd like to sponsor. Done right, your marketing should turn away as many people (if not more) than it attracts. You don't want to waste time with unqualified people. Who's your ideal prospect? Think about it. Get into your prospect. Who'd be your fantasy new enrollee? Write directly to that one person and make it a passionate personal letter just to them. Remember, a prospect will NEVER be bored in print. So every word you write should be exciting, relevant, and necessary to prove your case... and never be boring. ================================================================= SIN #10: No Follow-Up ================================================================= It's online suicide! And the sad part is 999 in 1,000 don't even know they are committing it. "What is it?" you ask. The number one online mistake is failing to build a bonded relationship so that your prospect can trust you, and believe in your opportunity. Let me explain. Trust and Rapport are two of the hardest things to create online. They come from building a bonded relationship with your prospect. To successfully sell or sponsor online, you've got to have a system that gets your sales message in front of people, turns surfers into readers, readers into friends, friends into believers, and finally, converts believers into buyers. In other words, before you can sell anybody, anything, you've got to get them to like and respect you, (by proving you're trustworthy, reliable, and believable), and, there must be logical reasons for the prospect to do business with you. "I already knew that, Joshua," you might be thinking. Well, here's something that you may not have given much thought to- This process takes time! And this where most people fail. They set their business model around a one time sponsoring effort, and leave the potential for future enrollments behind while they move on. No follow-up, No relationship building over time. Just wham, bam, sponsor in now ma'am/man. How long it takes to build enough of a relationship with your prospect for them to sponsor in varies with the individual prospect. Some will trust you immediately and sign up the first time through. But most - the majority - will not! It takes time for them to like and trust you. Some people are slow to believe, and require proof over time. Their motto is, "Talk is cheap, prove it!" That's why the richest and most savvy marketers in the world will follow up with a prospect 7 to 10 times before giving up on them. They stay in contact with them on a frequent basis, constantly reminding the prospect of the benefits of doing business with them. They invest time and money in the follow-up process because they came to the realization that 75%+ of all their sales came after the 6th time they asked them to buy. Follow-up is key. ------------------------------------------------------------ Joshua has been in the top of 1% income earners in his company, the top trainer in his region and considered one of the most respected and sought after speakers in his company. His highly recognized and 100% generic training site and MLM Training Tips Newsletter can be found at - http://www.mlmsuccesstips.com/t.cgi/XXXXXX/tipsltr.shtml Copyright © 2000 by Joshua D. Shafran. All Rights Reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------