How do you start a telephone call with that lead or prospect? You know that if you fall at this stage, chances are you won’t get another opportunity to correct it! Having said that, you will grow and learn and become more and more comfortable over time. There are no mistakes – there are only lessons! Be yourself! Always check you have their name before you make the call!

There are some principles of communication to follow:

Posture, Attitude and Authority – believe you can and you will become a master communicator. Attitude is everything – being excited by your business, having a great mindset – being a winner.

It is of the greatest help to undertake some self-mastery before you make any calls – listen to the top guys close some sales, make the choice that you are going to be a 6 figure earner – and talk from that standpoint.

It also helps if you breathe out before you start speaking as it has a grounding effect on your voice. Try it – breathing in and then speaking – sounds a little like a parrot!! A breathless squawk! You are not in control at that point. On the other hand when you breathe out first before speaking – your voice comes out a lower point and you are in control immediately.

Posture yourself like lion – fearless! Not hard, but knowing who you are and what you want – no doubt in your mind about that! Envision yourself as the CEO of a multi million dollar business before you make the call. I Am!

Think, be, do and have. Your prospect needs to respect and like you but never ever communicate from a lower status than them. If this is an already successful business person – you must speak as if you are on an equal footing with them – you control the conversation. They need to prove to you why they are someone you want to work with!

Look out for whiners, complainers and energy vampires!! These are people who are not serious about committing or investing time and/or money into making a successful business. If they are looking for get rich quick – you don’t want them!

Ask why they are looking for a business/more income/online business. If the answers come as ‘might be’ or ‘maybe’ or something along those lines then say that you are looking only for absolutely positive, definite, committed yes!

You are looking for entrepreneurs – what are they currently doing? What is their job or business?

Smile – no, they can’t see it but they can certainly hear it in your voice! It makes a huge difference when the person on the other end of the line can hear that smile. Have fun with the call – let your personality shine through – be energised – you love what you do! Be enthusiastic – Don’t however talk too fast! One pitfall that often happens when you are really into what you are saying. A guaranteed turn off if the other person can’t hear what you are saying as it’s all running together!!

• Don’t be attached to the outcome – enjoy what you learned.
• Be respectful of their time as well as your own.
• Ask some personal questions – you want to get to know this person – you are offering a business opportunity and it is important that they fit the bill as much as you fitting the bill!
• Are they married? How long? Do they have children? What sort of monthly income are they used to? Are they looking to supplement or replace it? What would they like to do if they had more time available?
• Engage with them – joke if it’s appropriate – humour is important! It makes you real!
• Tell them what you/your company are looking for – what qualities you want in a business partner. Explain that not everyone is a fit for the business. Only certain types will be accepted – those who have:

1. A burning desire to be a 6 figure earner
2. A positive ‘can do’ attitude
3. Someone who is teachable, coachable and ready to learn

If at this point they ask you questions that you know you are not qualified/experienced enough to answer just direct them onwards to where they can undertake due diligence and be given more information to help them.

Don’t get caught up in answering questions – you will lose your position of authority. The person you are talking to is a lead not a customer! Tell them that further information is available at such and such a website where all their questions will be answered and if, after watching and learning, they have anything further to be asked you will give them the telephone number of a business coach.

Ensure that they are directed to top earners videos or testimonials where they can be confident in what they see and hear. This is the time to finish the call – don’t let it meander or you will lose your authority – your time is precious and expensive! Keep that in mind!

Follow up the call with an e-mail. Always follow-up.

Remember – you are the authority – you are in control of the conversation!

http://inspiredbypro.com Where my training has come from and one of the greatest training platforms for me. Following the ins and outs of network marketing or direct selling from the beginning as a ‘newbie’ is confusing to say the least.
Without a mentor and a teacher it is almost impossible today to not get caught in the maze of options and trainings and videos that are out there.

Hopefully I am able to pass on some clear ideas for those in need! We all started in the same place!

I am Jane Selwyn-James and I am passionate about helping people at all levels with health, mindset coaching for success and life at all levels. My goal is to empower others to be all that they can be.

This is probably the number one question that many newbie marketers are asking themselves! There are a few reasons but looking at the main ones that have reared their ugly heads may be of some help and hopefully guidance!

Marketing OnLine – Overwhelm – Here you are – ready to give it your all – ready to commit your time and energy to your new business, whether full-time or part-time – and… suddenly you are in a zoo – a maze – a deep pool of ads and guidelines and websites promising you this is the next best thing out there. The next shiny ball that you absolutely, simply ‘must have’. Widgets, copy-writing skills, traffic sites to give you 1 zillion hits per hour, free leads – at least 1,000 per day (free!!??) and the list goes on. Where do you go and what do you do. You are now in the clutches of one of the ugly sisters – Overwhelm!

Marketing Online means you need to have the experience of those who have gone before and made a success of it. If they did it, then they should know how they did it – makes sense right? So who do you trust? Who should you follow? Is it the highest price for their offers? Is it the biggest website with the brightest colours? Is it the one who sends you 1,000 e-mails every day – they must be great or they wouldn’t do it – right? Wrong!!

Failing At marketing online is down to the fact that you cannot get past this barrage of offers of people and companies who know they know better than you. There is a huge difference between them and you – you are unique – you are your own Unique Selling Point- there is only one of you and thousands of them!

Here is where you start some serious due diligence – you need a mentor – that much is clear – so where do you start? Initially you are looking for integrity – a must in today’s marketplace of so many get rich quick scams. Check out the leaders of the companies you look at – how do you feel about them and their stories? Is their raison d’etre just more money? Do you feel that they might actually care about people? What do they offer? What support is there for the newbie who doesn’t have a huge budget? What is on offer for the business owner who wants to do it differently rather than spending 70 hours a week away from his family? What is on offer for the mom who wants to stay at home with her children? Look at all the levels of what is offered.

Marketing Online – Training – Next step is to look at the training that is offered – are you given a smudged blueprint, charged a monthly fee and told to get on with it? It will be alright – just keep on making the calls, e-mails, blogs, articles etc? If you are – forget it! What you need is what you want – detailed training in the form of webinars covering all the subjects you need such as SEO (including what that means!), how to generate traffic, how to run social media sites and why, how to market yourself, how to brand yourself, how to make videos (gulp!), where to put your content – why is content important, how often, how many etc etc. This is training – somewhere you can ask all the questions you need answered – real people there to hold your hand and give you guidance as to your mistakes and then pat you on the back when you get it right.

Marketing Online – Support Systems – One other area that is so important is what is available for you to use that is already set up. Personally having spent days, hours and weeks trying to set up my own ‘professional’ website I realise that this is an area that I am not professional in at all and no search engine worth their salt is going to find much of what is hidden in its deep and dark pages of my life! Help?? That is why it is important when you are starting out – whether successful business person or newbie – to have systems already in place for you to use.

A sales funnel already set up – you just guide towards it. Sounds simple that statement doesn’t it? Possibly not so simple but with the right training as I have shown it becomes less of a mountain and more of a small hillock! Without a professional sales funnel this is definitely Everest! So, having this done for you – professionally – understanding the wide mouth, the layers, the levels, the pricings, the offers etc is paramount to you.

An amazing offer or product second to none – this is fairly important (!) – seriously if it appeals to you then chances are it will appeal to others – back to your due diligence. It isn’t always the highest price – sometimes it is what is behind the price – the ethos of the founders, their stories, their training levels, their care, their willingness to support everyone. Their genius if you will. Remember – it was this that created their companies in the first place!!

Marketing Online – A Final Summary – The foregoing is an idea of what you should be looking for in your search – it doesn’t matter if you have a lot of money to invest and are looking for a top-tier programme or product or if you are a newbie with a smaller budget – top-tier does not necessarily mean the price – it can mean the training, the commission, the back-end products and the bonus – residual income!

One of the fastest ways to find new customers and partners for your business is to get out of the house and start networking. But to make networking pay off you need to know what to say when the conversation turns to”…. and what do YOU do (for a living)?”

When this question comes up, you have only a small amount of time to communicate who you are and what you do (in order to grab the other person’s attention and generate a positive response).

The Big Mistake – The most common mistake women make when asked “what do you do” is to talk too much about OURSELVES. It’s so easy to launch into a detailed explanation of your company, or share all the interesting facts and science related to your products. (When you have something unique and valuable, it’s hard to not get carried away!)

You may find yourself saying something like “Well…. I’m a wellness consultant with XYZ company and we’ve been in business for 30 years and we have a line of bionic products featuring the latest in nuclear science that keeps anti-aging radicals at bay… (blah blah blah)….”

If you’re like me, and have made this mistake many times – you can pretty much predict how others will respond. They stare blankly (like a deer in headlights), take your business card, make some polite excuse and then wander off. The real crime is that they leave with no real understanding of what you do and, more importantly, what you can DO FOR THEM.

If you really want to grab people’s attention – in a way that’s going to lead to new sales and business for you – you need to focus your conversations on other people (not yourself); the easiest way to do this is with a well crafted “elevator speech.”

You’ve likely heard the term before; if not, an elevator speech is a short, compelling message you share with a prospect during a brief encounter (such as going up a few floors in an elevator) to communicate what you do in a way that will generate some positive interest – and leads to a next step (exchanging your business cards at the very least, or another chance to connect and have a more detailed discussion).

What Should I Say? – The best way to format a compelling “elevator speech” is to keep it simple, and focus as much as possible on “what’s important to the other person” vs talking about yourself. You want to position “what you do” in a way so that other people can easily “get the value” and recognize how your products or business can help them. Here are a few examples you can use to start crafting your own killer elevator speech:

Sample One:

I help ___________________ (your prospect) ________________ (achieve benefit or result you know is important to them).

For Example:

• I help moms to make a great income working from home.
• I help small business owners to boost their monthly income with an extra source of revenue.
• I help baby boomers to feel healthy and have tons of energy.

Sample Two:

A slightly more complex elevator speech focuses on both the IMMEDIATE benefit and LONG TERM benefit of your product/business. The long term benefit captures the overall feeling or experience that the prospect ultimately wants.

I help ________________ (your prospect) to ________________ (get this result/benefit) so they can ________________ (have this experience or feeling, what they REALLY want).

For Example:

• I help moms to make a great income working from home so they can spend more time with their kids during the most important years.
• I help small business owners to boost their monthly income with an extra revenue source so they can retire early and spend more time on the golf course.
• I help baby boomers to be healthy and have tons of energy so they can feel fabulous and really enjoy their retirement years to the fullest.

Sample Three:

Another variation of the elevator speech communicates what people AVOID by using your product/business. Many people will do more to avoid pain than gain pleasure. This approach grabs attention and motivates people to take action.

I help ________________ (your prospect) to _______________ (get this result) so they don’t have to ________________ (feel this pain/or deal with this problem).

For Example:

• I help moms to make a great income working from home so they don’t have to feel guilty about missing out on time with their kids.
• I help small business owners to boost their monthly income so they can sleep better at night, knowing they don’t have to worry about their retirement fund.
• I help baby boomers to feel healthy and have tons of energy so they don’t miss out on the fun retirement years they’ve worked so hard for.

Write It Down  Using the above examples as a guide, write your own elevator speech. Be sure that it:

….Focuses on your PROSPECT (not you)

….Communicates clearly what you can do FOR THEM (results, benefits, experiences, feelings)

….Shows what you help them AVOID (pain, problems, costs, etc.)

….Focuses on WHY (they should use your product or join your business) over WHAT (what’s involved, the details, logistics, etc.).

“Why” connects people to their emotions. It provides them with reasons and motivation to buy your product or take action. “What” focuses on information and logic, such as the features of your product or business. (“What” can be interesting but it won’t motivate people to take action in the same way that “why” does).

Memorize and Use It:  The most important aspect of creating an elevator speech is to MEMORIZE IT.

There’s no point in writing a killer elevator speech if you don’t have it memorized and ready to go. And be sure to practice it-at home, with your kids, on your friends, on your pets (any captive audience will do)

Whether you’re in an elevator, on a play ground, or at a business association meeting, you can use your “elevator speech” to grab people’s attention – and turn a brief meeting into a coffee date or phone call where you’ll have more time to share about your products and business and transform “casual connections” into new customers and business partners.

Sonia Stringer is a professional speaker, coach and popular mentor to women in the network marketing/direct selling profession. Known as “The Women’s Business Coach,” she is fast becoming the “go to expert” for women who want to build a 6-7 figure business from home. Sonia’s unique approach can help you earn a great income AND set up your business so you have more time (to spend with your family or doing what you love). Visit her website and to grab a free copy of her audio CD, “Six Figure Success Secrets for Network Marketing Women”. http://www.SavvyNetworkMarketingWomen.com

We have ALL experienced what you are about to read.  I have not read a truer article in a very long time and I think Julie Anne Jones does an exceptional job explaining to us why it’s so important to “get real” with your direct sales business.

Successful relationships are the foundation of all success in life: both professionally and personally. Professionally, effective relationship building skills can mean the difference between triumph and defeat, particularly in a sales and/or service based environment. The importance of building strong, long-term professional relationships by taking the time to effectively “follow-up,” cannot be overstated. Yet many sales specialists such as realtors, pharmaceutical sales representatives and small business or home-based business owners simply fall short in this area, not for lack of trying, but simply because they lack guidance and expertise. Following-up is an art form that once mastered, will be an invaluable element for sales success. As Robert Collier once said, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

The Importance of Follow-Up? Everyone wants to feel special, valued and remembered. Our frenzied schedules often leave very little time to think about, appreciate or thank anyone in our lives, especially new contacts. However, that’s the essential ingredient to successful relationship building. By taking the time to make someone else feel valued you make yourself stand out in a crowd, helping to build a positive rapport of trust and respect with prospective and existing clients. To paraphrase the principles of the Law of Attraction, whatever you put out into the world is what you will get back in return. Thus going the extra mile, which might only take an extra few minutes a day, to appreciate your clients and/or prospective clients is a must to attaining your goals. Focus on giving instead of getting and remember that relationship building takes time, organization and perseverance but it is well worth it in the end.

ALWAYS Follow-Up With… -It’s always a nice touch to follow-up in both your professional and personal life. However, sometimes it’s hard to follow-up with absolutely everybody. Thus, professionally you’ll want to do so with associates and people you meet at seminars and other events; existing clients i.e. on their birthday; referrals from existing clients (make sure to thank the source of the referral as well); prospects from sales meetings; coworkers who have assisted you in some way; friends; people who may have sent you a compliment or congratulations on a sale/accomplishment, or remembered a special event, anniversary or holiday. Think of how nice it feels for you when you receive a follow-up call, email, note or card. The same is true for everyone else as well.

The Elements of Flawless Follow-Up – Set defined professional goals prior to attending networking/connection events, prospect meetings and collecting business cards. Some people you meet will be good for business leads and referrals, while others might act as mentors and/or coaches in the future. Thus, take the time to have an active conversation with new people to find out more about them and their interests and expertise. When you make a new contact, immediately afterward, make sure to take notes regarding why you want to contact them in the future, note something specific you discussed and how best to follow-up. This will help you stay organized and will allow you to maintain a personal touch in your follow-up. It let’s the other person know that you were actually listening and were genuinely interested in learning more about them.

Stay in on-going contact with your new prospects…in fact think of them as new “friends.” Consistency is key to building a positive rapport. The more of an effort you make to stand out, the more likely that they will remember you, your company and services/products as a resource for their own personal or professional needs down the line.

Most important is the type of follow-up you choose and there are quite a few options. Use the annotations you made after your initial meeting to assist in choosing the appropriate method of follow-up. The following are the tried and true of sensational follow-up:

• Thank you notes: Take the time to show your customers your appreciation. Not only will they feel great, they will also almost certainly refer other clients your way. Poor time management often leads Entrepreneurs to neglect this small but effective touch so if you “follow through” you’re one step ahead of your competitor. Consider opening an account with an online greeting card company that will stuff, stamp and mail for you. This is a fantastic and more cost effective way to track contact information, set scheduled mailings, set reminders all while providing that extra special touch.
• Remember to mark special occasions: Keep a database to track client information (online greeting card companies allow for this and will automatically remind you of your clients/prospects special occasions). Birthdays, anniversaries, baby on the way and the like, are important to your customers, so they should be important to you as well. Remember their special day with a greeting card and they won’t soon forget you!
• Send a thoughtful gift: For an extra special “thank you,” consider sending a well-timed gift. For instance, following a real estate transaction send a personalized greeting card along with a gift card for a home remodeling or design store. Or send a gift basket that includes a restaurant gift card, delivery menus for the area and a free movie rental to welcome new homeowners. Going the extra mile will engender lifelong loyalty. Once again, certain online greeting card companies provide the gift card option right on their website, thereby saving you time yet allowing you to go the extra mile…without actually having to physically “go that extra mile!”
• Send out monthly mailings: Use these pieces to provide interesting, fun and informative information. The goal is to make the recipient smile while simultaneously reminding them that you’re still around. Send postcards, pamphlets, newsletters or greeting cards with useful tips, monthly calendar fridge magnets, client of the moth profiles, contests to win free movie passes, recipes, community events etc…
• E-mail updates: Once a month email your clients to keep them updated on your latest sale, achievement, product/service updates and personal milestones.
• Face time: Try to schedule some one on one time with clients, either over coffee or a quick lunch. Take an actual interest in their lives and they will remain loyal customers.
• Quality assurance: Call your clients to inquire as to the quality of service they received. What worked for them? What, if anything, didn’t and could be improved upon? Most importantly, are they happy overall? Customer satisfaction is job one!
• Set up your own client referral program: Use your client database to generate business for them as well as for yourself. The sincerest form of flattery is a referral. Send business their way and they will do the same. Give to get back…it works!

It’s proven and unequivocal, the essence of establishing long term, profitable business relationships is first-class follow-up. Time and time again, those who are the very embodiment of professional success; people like Jack Welch former CEO of GE and Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump, confirm that they make follow-up a top priority. If you want to turn that new lead or contact into a loyal client, the secret is simple…follow-up is foolproof!

Sources: Realty Tracker Online/LookSmart: Find Articles Online/Business Creator Pro/”Following Up Builds Business
Relationships” by: Kelle Campbell.

Barbara Theodosiou is the founder of Mommy Mentors. Mommy Mentors goal is to encourage and assist every woman to share her inspirations, hopes and dreams with other women throughout the world. We know that by sharing our weaknesses we can build strength, and by sharing our strengths we can become stronger. To learn more visit www.mommymentors.com

If there’s one thing many people dread when running a home business, it’s promoting themself. It’s not a comfortable thing for most. You’re taught for so long not to brag that talking about yourself, your skills and your business becomes quite uncomfortable.

Unfortunately for those who aren’t comfortable, it’s also quite necessary. The trouble with this is that you are assuming that your offer will be rejected, that it is unwelcome. You don’t know that this is the case, but you assume so. The reason you often feel like what you are going to say is going to be unwelcome is that you think of it as a sales pitch. No one enjoys listening to a sales pitch. But they can enjoy hearing about something you are enthusiastic about. I did medical transcription from home for 3 years.

When I told people about it, obviously I wasn’t trying to sell them on the concept. Yet I constantly had and still have people asking how they could get into it. My enthusiasm and interest in that career brought out their dreams of working from home. That’s one of the best ways to talk about your home business. Any time you can guide the conversation towards work issues, it has the chance to come up naturally. The people who are interested will ask you.

Of course, if you aren’t recruiting but only selling you will want to guide the conversation toward something relevant to that. The key is to keep things relevant to both yourself and the other person. If you do nothing but talk about how great your product or opportunity has been for you, that’s great for you, but may not be so interesting for the person you’re talking to.

Then there’s one of the easiest forms of self promotion – the business card. If you keep a stash of business cards with you, you can hand them out any time someone wants your contact information. They get just a touch of information about your business at the same time.

Find what works for you. If it’s not comfortable for you, it’s not going to work. Talk to other people with home businesses and find out what they do to promote themselves and their business. Even if it’s not something you would do, you may find inspiration. And don’t forget to have fun. If you aren’t enjoying your business, why stay in it? The best ways to promote your business can be fun.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips & hints, Points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques & insights pertaining to promotion, Do please browse for more information at our website :- www.greatpromotionsite.com