SUCCESSFUL PROSPECTING—Part I: The Phone Is Your Friend

Using Leads & A Successful Phone Script To Qualify Prospects For Your Business

There is plenty of information available to the Network Marketing Entrepreneur on "Inter-Networking" models of prospecting and finding new people using e-mail, Websites, pop-up ads, and other means.

 Global communication allows this effective process to take place, but at times lacks the "high-touch" needed to build a successful Network Marketing business. The basis for "high-touch" has been formulated by many successful Network Marketers and coaches in the field-and "high-touch" can be combined with "high-tech" to create a growth rate with unbelievable results. The mix of the right communication tips, Internet activity, and old-fashioned speaking or listening will create the environment for success. One of these ways is to incorporate phoning prospects into your high-tech approach, leaving an excellent and memorable first impression with your prospects.

This concept has been covered in many books with four books standing out -in my opinion-as the best resources and coaching to create success. Two of the books are by John Milton Fogg: The Greatest Networker in the World, and Get Rich Slow. Richard Brooke's Mach II With Your Hair on Fire is an excellent book on communication and the art of listening. Recruit Your Way to Millions by Fred Stege, a master list builder and prospector, provides proven strategies and scripts for contacting, filtering, and qualifying your leads by phone. 

High Tech: Finding Leads

Finding quality telephone leads from a respectable and trusted source is your first priority when beginning a successful prospecting campaign combining the Internet and your telephone. There are many lead companies out there, and those readers involved in Network Marketing may have suggestions from their upline. 

Always check with your upline enroller and/or sponsor to see what they're using and find out its success rate. CEM (Cutting Edge Media) and Traffic Oasis are two highly respected lead companies that have offerings that include telephone numbers. When looking for a good lead source, two or more conditions must be met for a successful campaign. In the "required" category are Exclusive Leads (non-shared, sold only to you, never re-sold—or at least offer exclusive use for a specified period of time—and Fresh Leads (the sooner the better; a good rule of thumb is no more than 30 days old at maximum). Other things to look for are Surveyed Leads. Most companies provide two question, four question, or more qualified leads. 

The questions can include when the prospect can start, how much they are willing to invest, and how much time they're willing to put in for the right opportunity. As you would expect, the more qualified a lead is, the more it is likely to cost, but a good response rate is worth a great deal of time and money to the serious entrepreneur.

As with any lead source, some phone numbers will be disconnected, some e-mail addresses will no longer be valid, and some prospects may already be involved in the company you're going to promote with the leads. Unless your company provides an exclusive lead source or deals with a lead source provider, this is common. However, most companies will have a 72-hour replacement policy on phone numbers and e-mail addresses. 

This also encourages you to contact leads quickly, while they're still fresh. In my experiences, no more than 4% to 5% of the total leads will be unusable due to the reasons listed. More are already involved than bad phone numbers, but bad e-mail addresses can be common. Many people when filling out these types of surveys will use a free e-mail address, and those can change quickly.

You may think that you don't need a list of prospects with both e-mail addresses and phone numbers if you're going to primarily do telephone prospecting, but if your company has a Website and you want to follow up by e-mail, a prospect with an e-mail address will ensure that they have access to the Internet and can receive follow-up information by e-mail. This will save you time in the long run.

High Touch: Preparing an Effective Phone Script

The book Recruit Your Way to Millions has some good examples of phone scripts that are designed to quickly connect with your prospect, get their permission to send them information, and get off the phone. By doing this method of recruiting, sometimes called "dialing for dollars" or "power prospecting," you can quickly get through your leads list and have those that aren't interested weeded out before you begin your second approach (which starts with sending them the information they agreed to receive). 

Developing this script should be used based on your own company (or service or product), how the primary delivery of information is completed (e-mail with links to a Website, audio tapes sent via mail, or a prospecting mailing kit), and your own personality and energy. 

One of the tactics that is very powerful and effective is "keeping control" of the call by making it clear through the words that your time is limited (but not rushed) and valuable (present the fact that at that moment, your time is "more important" than theirs-after all you're doing the business, and they are simply possible business partners, and time is money). 

Never, never waste time on the phone trying to explain the company, explain the compensation plan, or try to defend Network Marketing as an industry. The individuals who immediately throw up the defensive question to the Network Marketing industry are not prospects, they will only waste your time and will never build a business successfully. Some people will take issue with that, because you can overcome the common defense, but on the initial prospecting call, essentially "sorting" your leads, it's not worth it—it drains energy, and will affect any further energy levels during subsequent prospecting calls.

Another tip is to always start out the phone conversation with, "Hi, first name?" Obviously pay attention to gender, and if you're unable to determine it, ask for the person by first name. By saying their name right out, assuming it is them, it tears away the immediate defensive measure most of us have when answering the phone. If someone mispronounces our name, calls us by full name or Mr./Ms., we know it's a telemarketer (defenses go up) and that could blow your chances of a successful call.

Tell the prospect who you are and where you are calling from. Adding "calling long distance from…" into the statement is also helpful and assists in setting up the time frame for the phone call. "Hi, Chris? This is Daniel Dashnier calling long distance from Madison, Wisconsin. How are you today?" is my standard opening to every prospecting call. It is also the successful first statement based on information from many established Network Marketers and coaches in the industry. Continue with your phone script as you set it up. It should cover the principles mentioned, and you can use a version of the phone script below (designed for e-mail, along with assuming a Website where you can enter the prospect's information):

"Hi (first name), this is (your full name) calling long distance from (your city, your state), how are you?" [Listen to the prospect's answer. It will give you an immediate indication of mood, receptiveness, and even if they're going to be good in the business. With practice and time, you'll pick the prospects just by their response!]

"Great, (first name). Your name was referred to me as someone who is interested in earning extra money working part time from home. Is this still correct?" [If no, end the call by saying "Okay, no problem (first name), I'll just go ahead and take you off my list." They are not a prospect. If yes…]

"Great (first name)! Before I go any further, let me give you my name and number so you have that, do you have a pen? Okay, again my name is Daniel Dashnier and my number here is (608) XXX-XXXX."
"(First name), I've got about [45] other people I need to call back today who are all serious about making money from home. This thing is just exploding, so all I really called to do was to just ask your permission to send you an e-mail with all the details about our program. Is that OK (first name)?" [If no - "OK (first name) tell ya what I'll do. I'll let you go and take you off my list. Take care now."]
"Yes - Great! Let me just confirm that I have your email address correct: name123@isp.com.

"(First name), watch for an e-mail from Daniel Dashnier. When you get it, just click on the link inside and tour the Website that I'm setting up for you now. Watch for more e-mail about other people I'm putting into the system under you as well. [for downline building type systems only] It's pretty neat how this works. If you like what you see, or have questions, give me a call and we'll go from there."

End the call cordially. If the prospect asks questions, simply state something about needing to run (because of those 45 or so other people) and that the information they need is available in the e-mail and Website. 

Remember, you're simply qualifying them. You may want to set up a call back time within 24 hours if possible, and inform them to call you with any questions. If they're persistent on questions, simple answers, stressing the statement above can be given. Just note that if this happens frequently, it will become a waste of time and diminish your call control when contacting prospects. I sometimes say "I have enough information for this call to last 12 hours, so really it is in your best interest to just check out the Eebsite, look at the information, and we'll discuss it again soon to see what questions you may have then. Sound fair?"

"The Fortune Is In The Follow Up"

Once you have qualified your prospects with your own unique script, following up by phone within a 24- to 48-hour time frame is crucial. The timing, of course, counts from when you send them the e-mail or when they would receive via mail the materials you're mailing out. If the company you work with provides information on when a person visits their site or through an opt-in confirmation, begin the countdown from there. Learning and memory retention studies go hand-in-hand with a good follow-up as it applies equally to a prospect learning about your business for the first time. 

These studies have shown that the retention rate is as much as 90% if reviewed within 24 hours and drops to only 50% in 48 hours. In 72 hours, if information is not reviewed or followed up on, the retention will be 10% or less. Contacting your prospect within 24-48 hours if they have not contacted you first is crucial to building the foundation to further qualify the prospect.

This follow-up can be done via e-mail if you choose, however, there is a chance that the prospect may not see your e-mail within the maximum information retention time-frame. If you told the prospect you would contact them via phone in a certain amount of time, make sure you do! If you don't, you put your credibility on the line, and that has obvious effects on developing a partnership with your prospect. Base your conversation on what they may need to know and finding out a bit more about them. 

In Review

By using the simple steps outlined in this article, you can grow your business faster and have fun doing it. I suggest taking a look at the books mentioned; especially focus on how to build relationships with your prospects through listening (truly listening). Once you've talked to someone on the phone, you've established a relationship already, so follow-up phone calls can be easier to make and even more fun. By integrating the techniques of "high touch" with the power of the Internet, taking your business to the next level is literally a phone call away.

Be sure to contact your enroller or sponsor and discuss any proposed prospecting plan. They should be open to it if they do not build their business that way, and it is ultimately your decision on how to build your business. However, building together with your sponsor (they may even conference in on calls with you to help in the beginning) is an integral part of successfully building a Network Marketing business. 

Three of the books listed in the sources section are available for free at The Greatest Networker Website. You must be someone's "guest" to gain access to the books. If your sponsor is involved with The Greatest Networker, then make sure you get their personal URL for the books and sign up as a guest beneath them. E-mail addresses are collected, but no e-mail is sent unless it is a pass-along regarding the Website. There is no longer an affiliate program associated with The Greatest Networker, but before using the links for the books, exercise integrity by contacting your sponsor first, please.

And most of all…enjoy your new avenue of prospecting. Have fun with it, do a lot of it, and you'll surprise yourself and your upline with your results!