You don’t have to be a salesperson to prosper in direct selling, but you do have to get people to say yes to your offer. Whether you call it closing, helping, facilitating, sharing, teaching, or any other name, there is a process involved in getting people to buy your product.
Aim for an Immediate Result
The pace of life for the average citizen is fast, so in order for you to get someone’s attention, your product or opportunity has to produce a measurable result right away.
For example, Don’s friend Mike was bitten by a brown recluse spider. Even after a trip to the doctor and antibiotic shots, the swelling had not gone down after a couple of days. Don got his friend to try a new product (he had listened to a tape where someone got immediate relief from a similar bite), and within a few hours the swelling subsided. Within 24 hours, the skin around the bite looked normal. Based on that immediate life-saving result, Mike signed up and started buying the product regularly.
The same rule of getting a result right away applies to motivating new business builders. The faster you can help them earn that first $300 check, the faster they get motivated. A person holds a compensation check in hand, sees the dollar amount, and cannot help but get excited.
Provide Social Proof
Evidence has shown we tend to follow the crowd, especially when uncertain. We are affected by the actions of those around us; even more often when surrounded by people like us. We even look for what others have done in order to make our own way easier.
Nowhere is social proof more useful as a marketing tactic than in opportunity meetings and company conventions. Getting people to large meetings allows you to influence a person’s decision to commit by making it easier for the person to follow others than to take time worrying about what to do.
In a study treating young children who had a terrible fear of dogs, children simply watched another boy play happily with a dog for twenty minutes a day. After only four days, 67 percent of the children climbed into a playpen with a dog to play with it.
Use social proof in your messages to make it easier for people to decide to act. For instance, “243,665 householders have replaced their old, unhealthy aluminum cookware with our completely safe stainless steel pans. So should you.” Include images of people using your product as further proof.
Involve the Customer’s Senses
Increase your sales by involving your prospects’ five senses. According to Gilmore and Pine, advisors to Fortune 500 companies, “The best way to market any offering (goods, service, or experience) is with an experience so engaging that potential customers can’t help but pay attention and pay up.”
When making a presentation, exhibiting at an event, or just talking to someone over coffee, come prepared to engage one or more of the senses with your product or offer. If your product line is edible, have samples of the best-tasting items. Make great tasting recipes using ingredients from your line. Essential oils can be smelled and applied to the skin. Use sound and sight with a DVD presentation.
Retail businesses are using smells to affect shopper’s moods. It’s one of the top 10 trends to watch, according to Advertising Age. “People will make quicker decisions, be willing to pay more, and most likely be so emotionally engaged that they are removed from the rational part of their behavior,” says Martin Lindstrom, author of the book, Brand Sense.
The above article is excerpted with permission from Guerilla Marketing for Direct Selling; Your Personal Marketing Plan to Generate More Leads, More Referrals, and More Repeat Business.
Guerrilla Marketing for Direct Selling is the essential lead-to-loyal customer system for anyone looking to take their direct sales or network marketing business to the next level. If you like insightful words of wisdom, rags-to-riches success stories, and expert advice, then you’ll love this must-have manual.
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“A recent meta-analysis of 42 studies involving over 22,000 participants concluded that a few words, placed at the end of a request, are a highly effective way to gain compliance, doubling the likelihood of people saying “yes.”” Read full article at http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/13/why-behavior-change-apps-fail-to-change-behavior/