They say attending events is the key to having success is network marketing and today, but there is one particular generic event I attended this past year which was a game changer for the industry.
Spending a week in Vegas for many, including myself, can prove to be a great learning experience.
Just being around top internet producers and sharing ideas was a lifetime business builder.
Also, rubbing shoulders with beginners and people who are just starting their network marketing business was exciting. Can you learn from beginners? Of course. They also have ideas and challenges to learn from.
At this event, I made lifelong friends who like my self was building a network marketing business and expanding our affiliate marketing.
There was a lot of ideas we discussed at this event and the really awesome thing is that this year, there was no secrecy clause mentioned, which means I have a lot to share, which will hopefully provide insights for those who aspire to be 6-figure and 7-figure producers one day.
But for now, I’d like to focus in on what was probably the most important thing that was shared and discussed that entire week in Vegas.
Industry Leaders in Network Marketing Admit “Internet Marketing Works!”
Friends of mine, who have earned tens of millions of dollars in network marketing, finally conceded that using “Internet marketing can work!”Now, I’m not talking about prospecting people on social media. That’s not marketing. That’s just traditional prospecting, as it’s applied to the Internet. (Totally cool if done right, totally annoying if done wrong.)
‘Internet marketing’ means using advertising, Facebook fan pages, blogging, email blasts, sales funnels, etc., to build.
It always perplexed me that many leaders had this belief that Internet marketing was a “distraction,” given the fact that many of them built their online brands using… well… Internet marketing!
Specifically, a type of Internet marketing we call “attraction marketing,” which focused on building a loyal following online and creating a trusted brand where people will literally buy anything you recommend.
Over the years, I had seen many people build successful network marketing businesses using the Internet, but apparently, my top networking friends hadn’t, so they maintained the belief that it can’t be done and referred to it often as a “distraction.”
But standing in that room of about 200 6-figure & up earners, were many people who had built their organizations partially or entirely online using pretty diverse Internet strategies, whom were acknowledged for their success and demonstrated that network marketing can be done using internet marketing, among other online strategies.
And believe me, I was paying special attention to these people when they stood up and shared, as did everyone else.
Therefore, I’m gonna share with you top 3 Internet strategies that are actually used to build network marketing businesses today!
Strategy #1: Social Media Prospecting
Now prospecting on social media is NOT “Internet marketing,” however it still beats camping out at Walmart.
This is the process my client, Jason, who is a 7-figure producer in network marketing teaches to his team, after their warm market runs out…
1) SEARCH – Use Facebook Search to find ‘friends of friends’ who live locally (at least to start with).
There are a few reasons for doing it this way…
First of all, Facebook allows you to directly message ‘friends of friends’ so that your message goes into their main inbox, instead of the “Other” inbox, which most people don’t even know exists. (I didn’t know either, prior to this).
Secondly, you start with local, because it will allow you to eventually meet face to face with them to form a more powerful personal connection. Given that you have no prior relationship, it’s important to meet.
2) QUALIFY – Next, you take a minute to look at their profile and identify key interests that might resonate with you personally, your business or your products. You are also looking for more subtle things, like are they smiling in their pictures? Are they outgoing? Do they seem to be a positive person?
Bear in mind, you are prospecting, but you are also qualifying them.
For example, an interest in Robert Kiyosaki might indicate an interest in entrepreneurship or diversified income streams. An interest in CrossFit indicates an interest in health and wellness and that might resonate with your company’s products. Herbalife interest are people interested in health and wellness as well as building a home based business.
3) MESSAGE – Then you craft your first message to them, which believe it or not, follows a somewhat standard prospecting approach.
You can come up with a template, but each message will be tailored to them specifically. This message will mention friends you have in common. You mention that you’re a recruiter for a “health & wellness company” or whatever the niche is, you’re “expanding in the area” and you ask if they are “open to earning extra money?”
As Jason described it, “You throw the ball in the air and see if they swing back at it.”
You DO NOT want to be posting copy/paste messages with links to sign up for your opportunity. Not only is that not effective, it’s considered SPAM by Facebook and can get your account shut down and get your company in trouble too.
In this initial message, you aren’t giving them any info or links. You are simply trying to get them to express an interest.
4) BOOK – If they “swing back,” book a face to face meeting, if local or at the very least get them on the phone. You just let them know that details are better explained in person and, “if we were to work together, it’s a good opportunity to see if we would like each other! ;-)”
At this point, if they meet with you, hopefully your company or upline have defined a solid process for you to follow here.
According to Jason, he and his team experience about a 30% positive response rate.
If they don’t answer back, there are some different approaches here. Some play it safe and leave the 70% that didn’t answer back, alone.
Jason is an advocate of following up with a 2nd message 4-5 days later, if they don’t answer back. It’s a short message simply to see if they a) received the 1st message and b) to see if they are interested. Sometimes they don’t get the first message or see the message when they are in the middle of something and forget to answer back.
The 2nd message, will usually double his overall results vs only sending 1 message.
Sending a 3rd follow-up message is not recommended. At this point, you assume a “NO” and move on.
Speaking of moving on… here’s another cool strategy…
Strategy #2: The ‘Mouse Trap’ Method
This process is pretty simple and depending on your personality, may or may not be great for you. This pretty much involves posting your results on social media (i.e. setting the ‘mouse trap’) and waiting for people to express an interest via the comments or private message. (i.e SNAP!!!)
Additionally, to boost results, you can add a CALL TO ACTION to message you, if they want more info.
From a ‘leading with the opportunity’ angle, this would involve posting pictures and announcements about your ‘rags to riches’ story, income results, and the impact it’s made on your lifestyle. (Obviously, you can only do this if you’ve gotten results.)
I’ve seen people whom I know personally deploy this strategy with great success, but I’m a person that is very wary of this approach and I could see you running into compliance or even legal problems, if lots of people in your company are doing this. I personally don’t like this angle because it can piss off your real life friends & family, but I know it can work well too, because let’s face it, most people have a desire for more income.
Alternatively, with a ‘leading with the product’ angle, the mouse trap approach could be very powerful and usually more friend & company safe, especially if the results you are posting has to do with a personal or customer case study. This angle will help you generate more customers and a few of those customers may express an interest in the business, after they fall in love with the product.
We’ve seen this angle run rampant with weight loss challenges & case studies, which still work amazingly well, but can also work with other products, if there is a clear and visible result that was produced from product use.
For example, I’ve seen people in travel businesses, post pictures of their luxury vacation/trips and reveal how little they paid for that experience.
Or you can post pictures of yourself running a marathon, triathlon, or whatever, which would not have been possible without certain supplements.
Essentially, show everyone connected to you on social media a desirable change in your life, achieved in part or as a direct result of your product.
Once they express an interest, you follow whatever process you’ve been taught for closing people.
For closing offline after using strategy #1 or #2 for getting the prospect, I would recommend training by Tim Sales on presenting, closing, and enrolling new reps.
But if “closing” people is not your thing, then there’s my favorite Internet strategy, which I’ve employed in my business for the past 9 years…
Strategy #3: ‘Attraction Marketing’
I think we will all look back at this event as the tipping point for when Internet marketing (i.e. passive online selling & recruiting) was finally legitimized as the force it deserves to be recognized as, in network marketing and building a home based business.
Person after person, stood up at the 6-Figure Summit saying they built their MLM businesses, primarily using Internet marketing.
Now, if they were only 6-figure earners, what has happened in the past is that ‘old schoolers’ would dismiss their success as a ‘fluke’ or ‘non-duplicatable.’
However, 2 seats from me sat a woman named Hayley who stood up when 7-figure earners were asked to identify themselves and she openly said that she built online and she described her strategy.
What she outlined as the blueprint for her business was exactly a method we’ve been teaching at Elite Marketing Pro for years, which we call ‘attraction marketing,’ outlined in our FREE 10-Day Online Recruiting Bootcamp available here and published an e-book on called Attraction Marketing Formula.
In addition to Hayley, others stood up and shared very similar approaches.
These folks didn’t message strangers online templated messages like in Strategy #1.
They didn’t fill their friend’s News Feeds with thinly veiled promotions for an opportunity or product as in Strategy #2.
What they did was they created a truly passive way of making sure that when they woke up each morning…
They would have an inbox full of notifications, letting them know that there were 10, 20, 50, or even hundreds of new prospects, interested in learning more about their opportunity or product.
They would also have an inbox full of notifications of 5 – 10 new CUSTOMERS waiting to receive their product and excited about the possibility it holds for them.
They would also have an inbox full of notifications of 5 – 10 new DISTRIBUTORS ready to get signed up (or already signed up while you slept), waiting to be led in their new exciting venture.
You see, just about every other type of business in the world is now using proven, passive and scalable online marketing & advertising methods.
So why NOT your network marketing business? The only reason would be if it wasn’t a REAL business. But you and I know better.
There is a proven way to build online and you can learn more about it here via my bootcamp.
Just like anything else in business, this will take work and study.
But ultimately, enhancing your skill set by moving you into the 21st century. Are you ready for this journey?
Best advice for any network marketers or anyone interested in building a MLM business or home business is to get a copy of Attraction Marketing and the Free 10-Day Bootcamp. This will be one of the best investment you can make for your “Three Proven Ways to Grow Your Network Marketing Business, Using the Internet”
Look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,