Be All Ears

Guilty Pleasures

Are you guilty of talking more than you listen?  I sometimes am.  I just spent 5 days with my brother who does a lot of public speaking and unabashedly admitted that he loves to get in front of the room and talk about his favorite topic: HIMSELF!  Social scientists tell us that whether or not we want to admit it, that’s true for most of us – we are our own favorite subject.

Do you know that the people most of us like best are the ones who ask us about ourselves?  Who really listen to what we have to say?  Unfortunately, I find that in networking, especially when people get nervous or are a bit intimidated, they tend to talk more than they listen.  If you can develop your ability to listen and ask questions, you’ll increase your income.

Shut Up and Increase Your Income 

That’s actually true no matter what business you’re in. However, in network marketing, people often feel pressed to communicate their business concept.  They get so caught up in delivering the message they forget to spend time asking the qualifying questions.  Never mind spending the time to lay the foundation for ‘know, like and trust.”  We are so committed to – telling them about our business – we forget to take the time to get to know them, learn what makes them tick.  Because of that, we typically never find out what they might be looking for, or may be interested in looking at.

Ask, Be Quiet and Receive

Try a few of these questions, and see if you don’t get further with your prospects:

• If there was one thing you could change about your current financial situation, what would that be?

• What would your ideal workplace be?

• What would you ideal workday look like?  Could you see yourself working like that?
  

• Do you keep your options open?

• If something came along that would allow you to achieve that ideal situation would you look at it?

• What would you do differently if you had an extra $1-2 thousand dollars every month?

• How would that impact you (or your family?)

Really, Tell Me More

Listen to the answers and don’t jump in right away with the solution. Try instead to respond with: That’s interesting – tell me more about that. Or: Thanks for telling me that – I’m trying to learn more about what makes people tick so I can get better at what I do.

Then, let them ask you about what you do if they’re curious.  Don’t jump all over the chance to download about what you do.  Instead, stay a little removed, and let them ask you questions.  They’ll find what you’ve got more appealing, plus they’ll find your approach refreshing.  And, that will very likely draw them closer to REALLY wanting to learn about what you do.

Everything You Do Is Training, Everything

Remember, whatever you do when you’re talking to a potential business partner is ultimately part of their training.  Here’s what I mean.  If they did join you at some point, your example is what they will follow.  What do you want your new business partners doing?  Do you want them to move in with their dump truck and unload everything they know?  Or, do you want them to take the Low-Key Question Asking Approach that will not only put them at ease, but will also keep all their conversations relaxed and amicable.  Which way do you think will work best?

Need Help?

You
don’t have to ask all the questions we suggested above, in fact you most likely won’t (and shouldn’t).  Use your common sense.  Ask
questions that will add to the flow of the conversation.  If you would like some help with this join us for our complimentary coaching call on Monday, April 11th.

And if you are really ready to take your business to a professional level, consider our Power Prospecting Course that starts in May.  You’ll be ready to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime after that course.  That’s guaranteed – yes, guaranteed.  At the end of that course, your approach will get your phone to ring with people asking you questions.  No kidding.

Click here to leave a comment or ask a question

What is it that you are sure you can’t do?  At 5’3” tall (nearly) and weighing 122 pounds (and losing- 13 pounds shed and 10 more to go..yeah!), I’m sure that I’ll never play defense in a football game.  Out of the question.  Some things are just not going to happen.

But then there is the nasty chatter.  The chatter that tells me I can’t do other things (and it is patently untrue).  I hear it in many of you too.  For me it goes like this:

“You’ll never be any GOOD at yoga, you’re too old.  Your knees haven’t been good for years.  What makes you think you can do this?”

Yet, I know there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people around the globe that are similar in age to me with all the same issues that age brings -  who do yoga.  And they get better at yoga every day.  And like me, when I practice (you knew it was coming didn’t you, the practice word) they have their moments of brilliance.

Choose Your Battles

The trick is knowing which things to go for, and which things are truly impossible.  When someone tells me, ‘I don’t have enough time,” I know they are really saying, “I haven’t made getting a handle on time my priority.”  When someone tells me network marketing doesn’t work, I know they have NOT really put their time and correct effort into money making activity that builds a business.

You see, I know that network marketing works.  I’ve made it work for me.  Amy Posner has made it work for her.  Neither of us is any smarter than you or anyone else.  In fact, you know someone that network marketing has worked for.  Every company has leaders making good (often phenomenal) money.  Why not you?

What then is the deal?  What is the dis-connect between you and those who are making money?  It is exactly what the title implies, FEAR (false evidence appearing real) plus time and correct effort in money making activities.  Success will allude you in your network marketing business until you work past your FEAR and put in the time and money making effort to make your business a success.  Bummer huh?

Nothing Wrong With You

But there is not one damn thing wrong with you.  Not one.  You are as capable as Amy, me or anyone else in your company of learning how to build your business.  You have no special limits on your ability, creativity or time that makes it impossible for you to build a business.  NONE.

It is these kinds of statements that earned me the reputation of being “The Not So Warm and Fuzzy Coach.”  But jeez, I see potential in everyone I meet, but too often hear the same story.  I can’t because I don’t have:

•    The time
•    The money

There are different circumstances around those two excuses (excuses yes, they are not good reasons).  Sometimes it even sounds pretty good.  Recently I heard this, “I can’t spend any money until I make some, I promised my wife.”  Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?  In fairness to one’s partner, we’ll not spend any money until we make some.

Catch 22

But the double bind is glaring.  The FEAR is written wide.  With a little probing it became clear that regardless of how many tapes this person listened to, no matter how much he was learning, he was not breaking through his FEAR of talking to people.  This man travels a lot for his job.  He told me his intention was, “…to talk to people while I was in X CITY but that nasty chatter stopped me.”  (I hope you are listening PC!)

At the risk of upsetting some of you (and maybe losing you as readers), this is hogwash.  I don’t believe you are incapable.  I don’t believe that you don’t have the money.  I don’t believe that you don’t have the time.  I don’t believe you cannot get a handle on your nasty chatter.

I Do Believe

I DO BELIEVE that you can join the ranks of the leaders in this industry.  I DO BELEVE that you can build a successful business.  I DO BELIEVE IN YOU.  Are you willing to believe in you?

Are you ready to do your part in order to build your business?  (That would be the showing up and practice part.)  Amy and I have removed the money issue for our Power Prospector Course.  It is fully guaranteed.

We Will Work With You

You get your money back or continue to work with us until you break through (your choice).  All you have to do, of course, is the work.  But we will – this is our promise – work with you through each and every step.  Each and every step.  Promise.  All of them.  Nothing left to chance.

There are no time issues either.  It is all recorded – audio and video – and we’ll work with you to set your personal coaching appointments around jobs or anything else.  No excuses.

You are sitting on your dreams.  Are you ready to hatch ‘um?  Check out the details for the Power Prospector Course here.

We know you can.  We did, so can you.  Go on, take our hand, let us help you.

Equal amounts of:

• Family Fun
• Rest
• Good Food
• Grateful Musings

Plus A Whole Dollop of No Business

How can you “have a whole dollop of no business?”  In other words, just walk away from your MLM business?  Simple. Build in a terrific exit strategy for December and a great re-entry strategy into January. How?

Here’s the deal. A little planning goes a long way during these busy holidays. If you want to take the best care you can of yourself, and all those around you, plus have terrific holidays:

• Plan your December exit from work
• Plan your January re-entry back into work

I guarantee, if you exit gracefully from your business schedule, and have a solid plan to re-enter your business in January, you will walk away guilt free and let go of your business throughout the holidays. Not sure how to do that, relax….

Here is the step by step recipe.

Exit Strategy

Take the time to make a list of what must get done before you walk away from your office. Put only those things that really must get done onto your list. Once the list is complete, take another look and see if something else can wait.  If it can, get it off your list.

This is not the list of “what you would like to do.” It is a list of what-must-get-done-to-keep-you-sane during the holidays. Once the list is narrowed down to only what must be completed, go through the list again and see what you can delegate to someone else.

Do you do everything yourself because you believe no one else can (or will) do it as well as you?  You are sabotaging yourself and truncating the growth of your downline.

Leaders delegate. Good leaders delegate in order to develop new leaders throughout their MLM downline.  Do you need to develop your leadership skills?  Consider taking a Savvy Sponsoring Network Marketing coaching program in the New Year.

The trick is to take the 10 or 15 minutes necessary to do this. We are all busy this time of year. It can easily feel we don’t have time to STOP, and organize our thoughts and prioritize our actions. However, for every minute you spend prioritizing what you have to do and giving each item a time slot in your calendar, you will save not only time (lots of it) but your sanity.

Prioritize and Schedule Time For Each Activity

Prioritize and schedule time in your calendar for each of the must do items. Don’t work on anything else in your business until these items are complete. If you have some office time left when all the important “must do items” are completed, then keep working down the priority list. But get the most important things done first.

Sometimes we move so quickly we forget the basics of a smoothly run business.

• Work out of your calendar.
• Make sure you allot yourself enough time for each activity.
• Get everything (yes, everything) off that “to do list” and give it a time in your calendar.

Not only will you get more done…you’ll have some sanity to enjoy all those important people in your life too.

If you currently don’t work out of a calendar, (e.g. book everything you do into a time slot) you are courting disaster. Running a Network Marketing business from the seat of your pants may be a great adrenalin rush, but it is hell on the bottom line. It is also hell on your nerves and the nerves of everyone around you.

Not sure how to keep a good, easy, make your life sane calendar? Buy your business the Savvy Sponsoring Calendar CD and Workbook this holiday season. I promise, you will throw away your ‘to do’ list, get the important stuff done and be sane!  That is a money back promise and guarantee.

Turn Your Business Mind Off and Enjoy Your Holidays

If you take care of the important tasks and tie up loose ends before you close shop for the holidays, there won’t be anything to bug you.  You create peace of mind for yourself.  All the important issues are handled.  Plus, your calendar is ready to get you started when you return to work.

It is the undone, the unorganized things that keep nagging at you.  Take control of your business and the things that need to be accomplished with sound time management.  If you do, you will relax and enjoy your time with your family and friends.

Hint: To make your holiday time even more pleasurable, take all the things you want to do in preparation for your celebrations, and again, make a list. Prioritize – delegate where you can – and assign each item a time to get done. For example, if you want to bake cookies, why not plan the time so you can enjoy the baking.  Maybe make them with your kids. That is a lot more fun than doing them at mid-night the night before you want them. Hmmmm?

The Re-Entry Strategy

It can be really tough to get back to work after the holidays. If we are not careful, it can be mid-January (or later) before we are back into full swing. That isn’t a problem if it is what you planned.

However, if you do not plan this extra time out of production, how do you feel? Guilty?  Are you fretting about what is not getting done? Are you anxious about your next check?

Avoid the January energy vampire.  If you are supposed to be working but you are not, you are spending a lot of negative emotional energy.  Not only are you fretting about what you are not doing, you are digging yourself into inertia.  The longer you are in this work limbo, the more difficult it is to get a handle on yourself and get back into the business of building your network marketing team.  All of this can be avoided if you simply plan your re-entry.  If you are going to take time off work, then plan and enjoy it!

How to Make Coming Back To Work Easy

Don’t leave to go on vacation until you have booked at least one money making activity into your calendar for the first or second day that you are due back to work. This requires you to show up for business on time right after the holidays.

There is nothing like an important money making appointment to bring us back to work.  The more you book your calendar for right after your vacation with strong money making events, the more likely you are to get back into the swing of things right away.  Let us help you get your January in full swing, join our complimentary call on Wednesday, January 6th.  Click here to register now.

How do You Find The Time to Book For January?

How do you start to book January before you close shop? Simple, on that priority list we talked about earlier of what to get done before you close down for the holidays, book an hour or two in your calendar to make appointments in January. Set yourself a goal of two, three, four or ?? appointments and go for it.

Every appointment you set for January will help to make your time off over the holidays more enjoyable. You won’t have one foot in celebration and one foot in angst because you left things up in the air. Be good to you. Plan your holiday exit and re-entry into your business. You will enjoy your holidays knowing you have taken care of business.

Why not start the year out right living your time rather than just spending it.

Warmly,

Jillian

This is a question we got from one of our listeners that we weren’t able to get to on our last call, but we will on our complimentary call July 7th.

Click here to register and save your seat now!

“We hear on conference calls and at convention great stories about results & financial rewards. But we are not told the nuts & bolts of how to create those results and the great financial rewards. What is it they are not telling us?”

The Magic is in the Detail.

When you hear an ‘expert’ talking about the number of people (s)he trained last or signed up last week, do you ask the tough questions you’d like to know? Or are you quiet (intimidated?) and wonder…

Where did they meet them?

How did they stop them?

Were they nervous?

If yes, how did they get over it?

Here is the deal folks, network marketing is a business of stories. Unfortunately all too often we only get the ‘back end of the story.’ The result. Plus, we only hear the good stories. This isn’t fishing folks. You don’t hear about the one that got away! You only hear about the successes. The key to your success is not about listening to the success of someone else.

The key to your success is getting the details of “how” they created the success scenario from step one.

Too often we are told (and tell our downline) what to do but not how to do it.

How many of you have asked your new recruit to make that list of a 100 and then sent them out to “make calls.” It isn’t that you are wrong. Your new recruit does need to make calls. But you have only told them what to do.

Certainly knowing what to do is important. It is critically necessary. But everything falls apart unless they also know how to make those calls. Do you spend the necessary time to make sure your recruit knows exactly what to say (how to do it).

Nothing stops someone faster than sending them out to do something that they feel they are not prepared for.

I’m not talking about feeling like an expert. They simply need to feel prepared.

Of course, if you only know “what to do” but not “how to do it,” it is tough to train and coach your new recruit.

What do you need to do?

If you are listening to someone who gets results you don’t get, then ask questions. Smart Savvy questions. Lots of them.

What is a smart question? Everything you’d like to know. What questions are running through your mind?

• How after being in this business a zillion years do you meet new people?
• If you’ve just heard this great story about someone they recruited, ask them ‘how did you meet them?”
• How many people did you talk to at the (mall, restaurant, event) before someone was willing to talk to you?
• How many of them told you ‘no’ before someone told you ‘yes.’
• What did you say to open the conversation?
• How did you get their attention?
• How do you get their number?
• How soon do you call them?
• Where they there when you called?
• Did they call you back?
• What kind of a message did you leave on the answering machine? (Do you leave a message?)
• How do you deal with “no.”

Aren’t these the very questions you’d like to have the answers to?

The problem is two fold.

1. Too often the stories we are told are all about results.
2. We don’t ask about the details.

Your Savvy Smartness lies in the details. The details bring out the magic of your business.

If you think this article was helpful, don’t miss our call on July 7th and we’ll have some fun with these questions. You can stop someone in a market and not be rude. You can talk to someone in a restaurant and not be rude. You can approach people with professionalism and confidence. You just need to know the “nuts and bolts.”

Come join us for an hour of coaching to talk about “how to nuts and bolts.”

Warmly,

Jillian

There are two approaches to working with your hard found new recruits.

You are Hands off! You say, “I’ll be here to help you if you need me.”

You work with a strategically designed plan of action that includes scheduled check-ins with you after each step or combination of steps.

Here is what happens with the Hands Off approach.

It works well if you have a self starter entrepreneur who is totally committed to being wrong, — often — as they learn the right way to build their business.

Here is what happens with a strategic plan of action with scheduled debriefing check-ins.

Your new consultant keeps moving forward building their business with a sense of accomplishment. She knows what to do, how to do it and takes strength from you being there. You are her sounding board on which she bounces her mis-takes and successes.

Choosing the Hands Off approach often leads to the 500 pound telephone. Without a solid training system that promotes duplication it is easy to worry about recruiting. Recruits new and old only pick up the phone when they are clear they can deliver their promises.

Building a strategically designed plan of action takes an investment in time, energy, often money. It also builds a strong sponsor and duplicating downline.

The “Hands Off” approach is terrific when it works. However, because it seldom works, it is a terrible waste of dreams, energy and hope

How do you work with your new recruits? Tell us here!

Warmly,

Jillian