Hello All,

I have a network marketing primary business, and this weekend I have been speaking to prospects. One loved the idea of my product, but could not understand why if it was so good, why the backing company had not (using his words) "put it on supermarket shelves".

This is what I said to him, and later put in a letter with some other information he wanted. I am sorry it has a UK bias you can think of any large retail outlet and the same applies.

"It is a win-win product all round.

We talked about wide scale marketing, say via supermarkets. It is incredibly difficult to get a product onto the shelves through large retailers. They want volume discounts and to see collateral marketing campaigns, such as “Get your WHATEVER at "the store"”. In these campaigns, it is often "the store" who gain, because their name is the familiar one.

Each year 10,000 new food products are released in the UK. Each has a hefty advertising campaign, high volume initial production, warehousing a distribution costs. The product is virtually given away to the supermarkets. They actually have the power to kill the success, simply by poor display and promotion.  Less than 500 products ever, I mean ever, see a second production run.

Most of the products released have few merits other than another way of eating sugar and fat, but in amongst them will be brilliant products, which can improve people’s lives. However, they fall at the first hurdle, because the access to customers is frustrated by the big retail outlets.

In marketing jargon, apparently, a product has to be seen five times on average, in five different ways, before a member of the public will start to remember it. Yet, if someone we know speaks positively about something, only once, we remember, and will probably follow their recommendation.

For instance, if you go to the cinema and see a great film, and tell your friends. If they take your recommendation they are mutually applauding your taste in films. A chain of events begins, because your friends will tell others who will go and see the film. It will lead to someone you don’t know, have never met, nor ever will, going to see a film based on your recommendation.

This is the power of network marketing. It takes out the incredible costs of bringing a product to market and removes the power of large retailers to kill a good idea, because they do not present it properly. The good news for the network distributors is the money saved on big advertising campaigns is shared out amongst them.

He was impressed with this explanation, and I know went away to consider my primary business in a completely different light.

If you have a difficult prospect, who questions the wisedom of network marketing when you are aimimg to sponsor them, and they come out with the excuse; "if its so good, why isn't it being sold on the shelves of......" Try paraphrasing some or all of the above.

If they are just looking for an excuse to count themselves out they will reveal themselves quickly, then you can thank them for their time and get off the phone fast.

But if it were a genuine concern, I hope this helps you get over this broadside question, that can and does scupper a good opportunity to sponsor someone new into your network. The failure is all because you have not got a sound message to help them get out of their comfort zone and received wisedom.The received wisedom that if its on the shelves in a shop they should buy it. And buy it no matter how superficial the product claims are.

One last message that comes out of this point is about time. You must all be wary of prospects wasting your time. Time is your most precious commodity. Every minute spent talking with a prospect who has no intention of joining your team or buying your product is nothing worse than theft to the networker.

Make sure you read the sights. I am ringing around 50 people a day at the moment. This is split roughly 20 new calls, 20 re-calls due to answerphones on the first call and 10 follow-up calls due to apparent interest. It is these last 10 where the problems can start.

If you have qualifying stages or hurdles, be clear about passing over them. Comments like, "I have not got time for that now", or "I know you asked me if I could check out you site two days ago,but I just have not had time", are strong alarms. They are telling you this person is not going to be in your team. They are not even a tyre-kicking "opportunity seeker". Instead, they are your worst enemy, a "time-waster".

Always be polite, because you just might have got them wrong, but find a quick way to break off the call.

One challenge I try, albeit sparingly, because it can have equally negative effects, is to ask them if they are serious about finding an extra income or financial freedom. Harder still is to cut them off by saying you do not feel you want them in your team, because they do not have the right attitude. These are strong challenges that polarise the outcome of the conversation.

Some prospects will attempt to prove you wrong and step up to the plate and follow through the qualifying stages efficiently. They may never join your team, but at least they stop being hard work. Others will take offence at the implication they are a loser. They may become abusive. All in a days work, never rise to the bait and argue with them. Just accept they have proven you right and end the call quickly and with grace.

There is one last stage I would always consider. If I can, I will do this by e-mail, but as you can see it requires you to have their e-mail address in the first place. I will advise them I am too busy to continue calling them, but I will place them on my e-mail list and send them updates, should they feel a change of mind. I would also do this with anyone who said "no", straighht away.

The e-mail list then takes over to, as a colleague of mine calls it, "drip on them". Sounds messy, but what it means is without wasting my time, replicating what the advertiser does by getting the same product or message in front of a potential customer five times before they take notice. Each "drip" will contain an opt-in to an autoresponder system to continue the familiarisation.

I have found maybe 1 in 20 opt-in. They are then getting my message about my primary business or any of my sub-businesses, but at no time cost to me. I accept it is rare for anyone to join a network via an automated system, but I can claim two since November 2006 have done just that.

Anyway, it is now nearly 2am in the UK. Time to get some sleep.

All the best

Mike Johns-Turner

johns-turner@btconnect.com