Retention and Persistence

Retention

05-28-2013

It has been said by many leaders in this industry, “MLM is the Great Equalizer.”

Regardless of background, experience or education,
anyone will succeed if they JUST DON’T QUIT.

 

PERSIST in WHAT? Gathering new leads, introducing
products and opportunity, making phone calls, sending
emails, posting on blogs and social media, etc.?

Yes, but what did we mention last week that ALWAYS
comes first?…

RAPPORT comes first, second, third, fourth, and always
forever!

The biggest struggle I hear repeated by most leaders is
RETENTION – keeping their distributors and customers.

When do we STOP building Rapport? When a person finally
buys our product or joins our Team? When a distributer
sponsors their first person?  When a distributor
achieves a leadership pin level?

I told You last week that my sponsor quit and his
sponsor quit. This happened with my first MLM back in
1974, and again with my current MLM.

So, why did I hang around when those whom I knew, liked
and trusted left? In both cases my up-line leader BUILT
know, like and trust with me – and NEVER STOPPED.

This also been said by many leaders, “The fortune is in
the follow-up.”

Is follow-up all about product and skills training? NO!
The main thing is Rapport, Rapport, RAPPORT!

Now, how do You Build Rapport? There are 3 simple
elements…

1. SMILE – mentally and physically forever and always.
This HABIT will lift Your sprit when it needs lifting –
just talk with someone.

2. SHUT UP & LISTEN – Yes, just STOP TALKING. Ask
questions, give positive feedback, be curious, probe
deeper.

3. PASSION – find out what someone really cares about
most. (“I’m just curious, what do You like to do in
Your free time – weekends, holidays and vacations?”)

These 3 make follow-up and Building Rapport so easy and
physically un-demanding – the other person does most of
the talking! Plus, at the end of the conversation, they
will tell You how much better THEY feel because of
talking with You! (And YOU feel better too, but that’s
a secret.)

Yes, answer any questions they may have – but focus
mainly on the RAPPORT.

So, why do people quit (other than Your failure to
build Rapport with them)?

A deficiency in one or more of these 3:

1. A clearly defined WHAT. Knowing everything about
What they want – the look, sound, feel, smell, taste,
etc. of it.

2. A strong, passionate WHY. The Chief Aim in life that
drives the Emotional Feelings about what they want.

3. An unshakable BELIEF. They must FEEL they deserve
what they want, are worthy of it, and are in the
process of achieving it.

You see, folks get distracted or discouraged by
focusing too much on the HOW – and want a new tool,
script, skill, technique, sponsor, product or
opportunity – but not enough focus on the 3 things that
matter.

Beating the same old drum here, SELF-TALK is the device
for building the Strength of the Three.

Build the Three, and the HOW will take care of itself –
even the mistakes are good.

It’s perfectly okay to take a “recovery” day or two
after an exhausting weekend, week, month, etc. – as
long as the “recovery” days don’t string along into a
new Habit of Procrastination.

Ken Klemm – Florida, USA

P.S. The grass is always greener on the other side of
the fence… until it’s time to mow.

The Secret Opportunity

Shhh, it's a Secret!05-21-2013

(This is an excerpt. Read the full article HERE.)

It is useful for us, as marketers, to realize our
prospects Decide to Act (buy our product or join our
team) based on EMOTION, not Logic.

Thus we can stop wasting our precious time trying to
CONVINCE folks with Live Presentations, Audios, Videos, PDFs and Websites full of facts, figures, charts and colorful graphics…

At least not until AFTER they have already Decided to
ACT.

In his recent Big Al Workshops, Tom Schreiter asks us
to place these four activities in their proper order:
Ice Breaker; Presentation; Close; Rapport.

Rapport (Know, Like and Trust) is ALWAYS first. Then
the Ice Breaker (introduction), followed by the Close
(decision), and the Presentation is ALWAYS last.

Huh? What? That’s not what they taught us in sales
training!

Let’s see if my sponsor followed this formula when I
joined my first MLM, back in 1974…

I was in college. My sponsor was my best friend, a
fraternity brother. (Rapport.)

One day he approached me extremely excited, “We’re all
gonna be rich!” (Ice Breaker.)

When I asked how he replied, “I can’t tell You. It’s a
secret.” (The Close – Curiosity. Dammit, I was IN! I
just wanted to know how we were going to do it. Being
in a fraternal order, I trusted the secret would be
revealed at the proper time.)

His sponsor, another close friend and frat brother,
reinforced this excitement and secret stuff. I was yet
unaware they were following a proven, duplicate-able
system.

By the time I saw the Plan (The Presentation), I was
BEGGING for it!

Now, here’s a piece of real GENIUS: At the end of the
presentation, I was STILL not permitted to join!

I had to see the presentation a SECOND time along with
guests I invited to see it with me. Then, and only
then, would I be permitted to join.

I did not know enough about the company, products, or
compensation plan to screw things up! I had to resort
to, “I can’t tell You. It’s a secret.”

Before long, I was traveling the East Coast by
Greyhound Bus toting my blackboard and overnight bag to
reveal “the secret” to friends of friends of friends.

Not long after I joined, my sponsor quit. Later on his
sponsor, my other friend, quit.

But by then, my up-line leader had become a close
friend. (Rapport, again!)

Now, this exact method will not work today in 2013.

Shoot! For one thing, we have much better presentation
tools. In 1974 we did not even have whiteboards! (Back
then I used any available chair to prop up my
blackboard. I did not want to tote an easel on the
bus.)

In many ways, this story is similar to my current MLM
experience…

My sponsor and his sponsor quit, and my up-line leader
has become my best friend.

The biggest difference is we all met on-line and built
Rapport over the telephone.

Today we have built a Team on three continents –
without leaving the house, and without ever ASKING
anyone to join!

No buses. No chalkboards.

So, how do You build deep rapport with folks You meet
on the street or on-line?

THAT secret is revealed in Michael Dlouhy’s book,
Success in Ten Steps,” and the skills are taught by
Mentoring For Free – to anyone who demands them at no
cost.

Ken Klemm – Florida, USA

P.S. When You don’t ASK, nobody tells You, “No.”