Alright, how about something a little more “meat and potatoes” today?  Let’s talk about PROSPECTING!  In a standard brick and mortar business, we call this advertising.  Advertising works differently in Direct Sales. Direct sales is a networking business.  There are basically five methods of finding new consultants, hostess and clients: Personal Contacts, Active Prospecting, Shows, Networking Groups and Booths.

Let’s start with the people you already know.  I call my beginning prospect list “The FRANKS”.
-Friends
-Relative
-Associates
-Neighbors
-Kid Connections
-Significant other’s contacts

I am always amazed when people say “I have exhausted my personal contacts”.  The average person has 250 people in their circle of influence and each person in that circle has a circle of 250.  So it really isn’t possible.  I think what they mean is… I sent everyone I could think of an email and I left some messages.

Here are some tips on effectively working your list.

1. Think hard.  Use memory joggers like your Christmas card list and facebook to help you.  Go for a minimum of 50 names on your first attempt.

2. Don’t auto sort.  I find that people automatically discard names in their head.  “Oh she would never…”.  Or we do not even write down the men in our lives!  Men KNOW women!  Write EVERYONE down.  EVERYONE is a doorway to 250 other people if nothing else.  And sometimes they might just surprise you and say yes.  If you don’t ever ask the question, the answer if definitely NO!

3. Think 4! Everyone is 4 opportunities: A potential business partner, a hostess, a client AND a source of referrals.  Offer everyone all 4.  Your business is like a buffet.  It is your job to set the table and let them choose what they want.  Always put yourself in a position to slide down the mountain not to climb back up.  You do this by sharing the consultant opportunity first, then hostess, then client, then referrals.

4. Mine your list for referrals.  Ask EVERYONE…. Who do you know who would be interested in a biz?  Hosting a show?  Purchasing my products?  This one step will ensure that you NEVER run out of prospects to share with.

5. Don’t stop until you get a NO!  When I coach someone on Prospecting the conversation usually goes like this:

Her.”I have talked to everyone on my list and NO ONE is interested”
Me “how many are on your list”
Her “about 25”
Me  (hmmm that is a 10% list) So I coach on broadening the circle.  Then I say “Well tell me what kinds of responses are you getting?”  At which point she tells me she really hasn’t heard back from anyone!

Sound familiar?  A lack of a response on their part is not a no.  Perhaps their husband checked the answering machine, maybe the email is in spam for some reason.  Sometimes those non-answers feel like “No’s” to us.  They are not “No’s”.  So try, try again!

6. Keep good records.  Make a tracking list and keep up with: methods of contact, questions and replies.  It will help you get real about how hard you are really working and how many “No’s” you actually have.

7. Keep everything together.  I suggest a Power Hour Binder.  I have personally used and taught this method for years.  We used to call it a business on the go binder. You need a three ring binder and some pocketed tabs.  1 pocket is for Prospecting.  You start with your FRANKS list but also add a form for “active prospecting”.  I will cover this topic tomorrow.