You have no doubt heard the phrase, “The Fortune is in the Follow-Up”

It’s not just cliche. To be sure, following up is the most important of all the business activities you can do in network marketing.

So how much time are you spending on this activity?

Think about this.  It is critical to your success.  Is it Ten hours a week? Five? Or  Two?

I’m not talking about the auto-response emails you have going out. I’m assuming you’ve taken that into account and have identified a set of qualified, targeted leads.

Don’t count on them calling you!

While you are having fun on your computer doing training, social networking, conversing in forums, or writing articles, ask yourself if you are just doing them to avoid the dreaded 500 lb phone.

If you think you might be, then stop and reconsider where your priorities should lie.

Because in the end, if you are not following up with those people opting into your list, it doesn’t matter what marketing activities you do, or how many leads you get.

You’ll simply be leaving your fortune in residual income on the table if you do not consistently make following up a priority.

That is not to say that learning the skills for success isn’t important, because you’ll definitely want to know how to find and approach your leads and what to say to those people with whom you will follow up.

But it’s not just that first or second call which will bring you your best results.

Statistics show that only 2% of sales or sign-ups ever occur on the first contact.

3% of sales or sign-ups occur on the 2nd contact

And only 5% of sales or sign-ups occur on the 3rd contact

But this jumps to 10% on the 4th contact

And here’s the kicker:

>>>> 80% of sales or sign-ups occur on the 5th to 12th contact!

Someone from a direct marketing business once told me that their the biggest hit happens on the 8th mail piece.  After that 8 mail piece, he saw a success rate of 80%, confirming this statistic.

But, if you are in network marketing, remember that it is a relationship business.  So if you think that an auto-responders can take care of initial contacts, whereby on your first phone call they’ll be signing up, just think about the quality of relationship you may have with the sender of auto-response emails that you may currently be receiving.

Pick up that Phone!

Do you find this a difficult decision to make?

One that is trumped by most other activities that you can think of instead?

If this is true then you may have a slight case of phone-o-phobia.

Is it just on that first call? Well, think about this – if they opted into your list and gave their phone number, then they’ve given you their permission!

Breaking the ice is most often the most challenging part. It might help to realize that when you get right down to it, they’re no different than you, even with different backgrounds we’re all cut from the same cloth.

Remember the FORM – Ask them about their family, occupation, what they do for fun, and whether they might need to make some extra money.

For me, I like asking about whether they are running a business from home, and if so what their biggest challenge is. This usually gets them to open up.

But above all, remain in control of the conversation! You will not be perceived as a leader if you allow them to begin prospecting you or asking you a hundred questions.

Or do you have trouble with that second or third call? Leave them something to follow up with on each call.  If you have a training system then this is an excellent tool for building a relationship over time. Just keep pointing them to the next segment.

When establishing a relationship with your prospects, you will want to ask questions that will establish:

1. A connection with them
2. What their background is, current employment, and home business activity
3. What they like to do for fun (and what they would do if money were not an issue in their lives)
4. What their problems are; time, money, personal issues, etc
5. A Solution to their problems which can be provided by your service or opportunity
6. What their (money) ambitions are; short and long term
7. Consequences of doing nothing or something about it
8. What are their qualifications; are they coachable? Can they invest enough to be on autoship for products in a MLM business?

You should at least be covering the first 4 or 5 in your first contact.

Remember that it is the quality of your relationships that will bring you the largest retention and therefore your biggest fortune for having followed up enough times to actually build that relationship!

If you have been struggling with not only calling but generating leads, there is an industry leading system that provides a way to generate income as you generate leads, along with training on internet marketing skills, personality skills and including prospecting skills. Give it a test drive!

Wishing you every success!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 1:14 PM and is filed under Core Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.