Network Marketing: Increase Your Effectiveness In 1 ON 1 Presentations.

==> INTRODUCTION <==

The 1 on 1 presentation should be given by you only once you become familiar with your opportunity and have begun seeing good results. Until this time, you should always have an upline leader with you to assist you and to bring credibility to your opportunity. Your prospect will come to see your business most likely because of YOU. However, your prospect will most likely listen more to someone else who has more credibility and success in the business than you have.

The purpose of any presentation should be to make the sale or close the deal. If your intended result is making a traditional product/service sale, or gathering a new customer for your Network Marketing project, or sponsoring a new Affiliate/Representative/Distributor into your Opportunity, a sale will occur in all cases.

Most people resist selling, or anything that looks like it, and for good reason. No one wants to be sold stuff. Selling inevitably implies "pushing people into buying something". There's pressure involved in traditional selling. Only 10% of the people you meet will ever feel good about the idea of selling so try to avoid coming across as selling your goods at all costs.

Before we go any further, let me assure you that this my article does not aim to "get you to increase your selling ability". However, I fully intend to empower you as you begin or continue tackling your 1 on 1 presentations. In this article, I will be distinguishing some, if not all, of the most important elements of a 1 on 1 (face to face) presentation.

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==> WHAT DO YOU MENTALLY REHEARSE? <==

Beware of your "Mental Rehearsals!"

Hey! We all do it whether we like it or not. That's not the problem. The Director of the movie may, however, have to do a checkup from the neck up. Imagine, if you will, being the director of a new movie and you constantly complain about the actors, the lighting experts, the special effects, filming and editing crews every single day. Do you think your movie will be a hit? Do you really think that your staff will be empowered to follow your lead? Of course not!

Now! Imagine YOURSELF AS THE Director of the movie about YOUR LIFE and YOUR BUSINESS. Do you see where I'm going here? Most human beings get caught up in "negative" mental rehearsals before acting out the very stories that they entertain in their head day in and day out. Hey! I'm the first to acknowledge that I am guilty. I catch myself regularly.

First, get that there's nothing wrong or right about that but "do get" that it is this way. You have to constantly expand who you are BEING around your Business and your Life if you hope to break through to another level of effectiveness.

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Jim Edwards, one of my favorite authors, says it best;

FIRST -> You need to know WHAT you really, really, REALLY want...
SECOND -> You need to know WHY you want it...
THIRD -> You need to expand your current ability to influence others...

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Now that we've identified the biggest danger (YOU) in a 1 on 1 presentation, I want to dissect the process for you a bit so that you may get a better handle on your effectiveness scale.

==> THE BASIC GUIDELINES TO AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION <==

1. People love to talk about themselves
   
2. Take a genuine interest in their lives yet qualify your prospect
   
3. Always start with the end result in mind (sponsoring them and helping them succeed)
   
4. Show the business in this order (Industry - Company - Product/Service - Opportunity - Close
   
5. Be genuine and state the facts
   
6. First find out what they want and need, then show them how to get it

==> WHERE TO HOLD A 1 ON 1 PRESENTATION? <==

Ideally, your Network Marketing Business is home-based. I rarely do make a 1 on 1 presentation at my prospect's home. I often invite them to meet me at my home office.

Why do I do that?

First, because this is a very powerful way to establish posture.
Second, it allows me to verify if my prospect is truly serious and
Third, I don't waste time with "no shows".

I'm not saying that I won't sometimes meet my prospect half-way. When I'm convinced that a prospect is qualified, I will meet him or her maybe at a donut shop. But remember that the more your prospect has to travel to meet you, the more time he/she will have to get excited about discovering your project before even meeting you.

==> THE 1 ON 1 PRESENTATION <==

Knowledge equals Power! What kind of knowledge am I referring to? I call it the "Who you're talking to" knowledge."

Some of the greatest masters of our industry (Tom Northfleet taught me this in 1992) have said, in one way or another, that the level of influence you have with someone will be in correlation to the amount of information you have about this person.

So, what kind of information do you want to have? How do you gather this information? And how do you use this information during your presentation?

FIRST... you should be the one asking questions from the get-go because you're the one with the opportunity and until you've qualified your "suspect" as a serious prospect, you really shouldn't be presenting your opportunity at all.

Knowing your Prospect represents one of your key elements that determine how successful your 1 ON 1 presentation will be.

Use some of the following "Pre-Presentation" Questions. These should give you an idea of who you're talking to.

==> QUESTIONS TO BEGIN WITH DURING THE INTERVIEW? <==

Don't hesitate to take charge here! You might even want to have these questions ready on a piece of paper. I'll be glad to provide you with a master form upon your request.

Just e-mail me at: questions@small-business-options.com">questions@small-business-options.com asking for my Pre-Presentation Questions. I'll be more than happy to oblige.

I consider goal setting to be...
1) Very Important
2) Somewhat Important
3) Not Important

I consider myself to be...
1) Professional Business person
2) Semi-Professional Business person
3) Non Professional Business person

Have you ever owned your own business?
1) Yes
2) No

Which time of day would best describe your type of personality?
1) Morning Person
2) Evening Person

How do you treat your appointments?
1) Always on time
2) Sometimes late
3) Never On time

Do you enjoy helping other people?
1) Very Much
2) Some of the time
3) Not Often

I would like to earn an extra...
1) $500 per month and will work accordingly
2) $1,000 per month and will work accordingly
3) $2,500 per month and will work diligently to make it happen
4) $5,000 per month and will do what it takes to make it happen

How much would you invest to start your own business if you could earn it back in the first 30 days?
1) None
2) $250 - $500
3) $500 - $1,000
4) $1,000 - $2,500

How much time would you spend each week working at your business?
1) O - 5 Hours
2) 10 Hours
3) 15-20 Hours
4) More than 20 Hours

Do you consider yourself to be coach-able?
1) Yes Always
2) Sometimes
3) Never

However, the above questions, although important, might barely get you on the "effectiveness" scale for your 1 ON 1 Presentation.

==> NOW TRY THESE QUESTIONS ON FOR SIZE <==

Have you ever been in business for yourself before and if so, in what field of activity?
1) Direct Sales
2) Real Estate
3) Insurance
4) Network Marketing
5) Retail Sales
6) Franchise
7) Internet Business
8) Manufacturing
9) Other

Have you ever had a home-based business?

Tell me a bit about yourself and your past employment...

What do you do for work at the present time?

What do you like most in Life?
1) Traveling and Relaxing
2) Family and Social
3) Business and Earning lots of money
4) Sports
5) Reading
6) Internet
7) Writing
8) Helping others grow
9) Contributing to my favorite charity

What do you like least about your job or career?
1) Alarm clock
2) Having a Boss
3) My work schedule (Hours)
4) Traffic
5) Vacations too short
6) Not enough income
7) Too much stress
8) No employment security
9) Too much time away from home

If you find a project that matches what you're looking for, when would you be ready to start?
1) Now
2) 1 Week
3) 2 Weeks
4) 3 Weeks
5) 1 Month
6) 3 Months

Which characteristics describe you best?
1) Promoter
2) Peace-maker
3) Expressive
4) Analytical
5) Sales-oriented
6) Skeptical
7) Driver
8) Reluctant
9) Hard working
10) Honest
11) Integrity-driven
12) Persevering
13) Inspiring
14) Motivating
15) Trainer at heart

If you find the project you've been looking for, how much money would you be prepared to invest?
1) $100
2) $250
3) $500
4) $1,000

==> INFORMATION GATHERING OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE <==

Of the two question categories above which one is the most effective, in your opinion, that will yield the kind of information that gives you the most influence? I'll let you answer that question but I think that the answer should be obvious to you by now. Remember! More you know about your prospect, more you will be able to direct the presentation toward a powerful close and the intended result.

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Know your prospect's style...

The Promoter style? The promoter needs a challenge.
An Analytical style? The analytical person needs information.
The Conciliatory style? The conciliatory will buy to make you happy.
The Expressive style? The expressive style needs to touch and feel it before he buys it.

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As you begin making your Presentation (which should last no more than 20 minutes), always keep the information you have gathered in the back of your mind because, as you move through your opportunity, it'll be easier for your prospect to relate if you address some of their goals and/or issues along the way.

I call this process "Speaking into the Listening."

Remember that you'll never be able to say the right thing to the WRONG PERSON. By the same token, you'll never be able to say the wrong thing to the RIGHT PERSON.

How you deliver the Presentation will ultimately have little to do with the result. It's WHO you choose to deliver it to and HOW MUCH INFORMATION you have about that person that will make that all-important difference.

==> CLOSING REMARKS <==

Your Suspect first becomes a Prospect then he/she becomes either a Customer or a Rep. on your Team.

Keep a win-win-win attitude at all times and understand that your business is NOT for everybody. Furthermore, not everybody is made for your business either. Play to win but accept to lose a few and move on to the next prospect.

Nothing happens outside of conversations:

1. Conversation for Possibility: Probing to see if there is a possibility to show the business
   
2. Conversation for Opportunity: Probing to see if there is an opportunity to show the business
   
3. Conversation for Action: Appointment to show and Presentation of your Opportunity
   
4. Conversation for Results: Customer or Rep - Training and Assistance
   
5. Conversation for Fulfillment: Empowering your new partners to grow.

When you think of it, Life is a full of conversations and nothing happens without...

Requests and Promises!

I hope you got value from this article and that you will begin applying some of these principles in your Network Marketing Business.

"It's not a question of "IF THEY WILL BE JOINING YOU IN THE NETWORK MARKETING INDUSTRY", it's only a question of "WHEN THEY WILL START, OWN AND OPERATE THEIR OWN BUSINESS IN NETWORK MARKETING"!

Stay tuned for my future articles.

Peter Newell
Mission Marketing Global

Peter Newell is a successful Canadian FULL-TIME Network Marketer. Peter enjoys the freedom and advantages of owning and operating a TRUE http://www.small-business-options.com">Home-Based Business since 1999. Editor of http://small-business-options.com/MMGVision-E-zine.html">MMGVision, a generic network marketing e-zine d-zined to empower Network Marketers worldwide to succeed, Peter believes in bringing the NET into the NETwork Mrketing equation. Click Here Now => http://small-business-options.com/MMGVision-E-zine.html">http://small-business-options.com/MMGVision-E-zine.html

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