It's time for a sista to go back to school with Randy Gage! It is no secret that I am a huge fan of network marketing "Guru", Randy Gage. I enjoy his "in your face, tell it like it is" style when it comes to what it takes to build a lucrative direct sales/network marketing business. I always highly recommend anything Randy produces, writes, suggest, etc. Why? Because Randy's systems work! There are many successful black women in network marketing that swear by Randy's systems, books and resources, he has proven to be a great resource for many. So, without further ado....check out Randy's words of wisdom on the woes of prospecting and the solution called, edification! Enjoy!

See you at the TOP! British

Prospecting

excerpted from How to Build a Multi-Level Money Machine by Randy Gage

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they join the business is they start to think, who can I sell this stuff to? This is completely off base - the opposite of what a successful distributor should be thinking.

Here's the reality.

Every Monday morning at 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., alarm clocks all around the world are going off. People are groggily hitting the snooze button, desperate for another five minutes of sleep. They get up at the last possible second, rush through their shower, and then either microwave breakfast, skip it or buy it in a drive-through window on the way to work.

We know that 80 percent of people are going to a job they don't like, or actually hate, and 99.9 percent of them think they should be making more money. Most of them will slog through the day in a comatose state, and grab dinner at another drive-thru window on the way home. Then, they will plop onto a sofa or recliner, and spend the night rubbing the hair off the back of their heads, drinking cans of rancid, fermented hops, watching mindless sitcoms until they're ready for bed.

Until Tuesday morning, when the process starts all over ...

'Til Wednesday morning ...

'Til Thursday morning ...

'Til Friday morning ... thank God it's Friday!

And you know what that means - it's payday. So, at five o'clock, when their boss whistles them over to fetch their meager pittance, they can feel - if for only a few brief moments - like the check is theirs.

Now, of course, that check is already spent, because they have a stack of credit card bills waiting for it. But, for those few glorious moments - it feels like it's theirs. This calls for a celebration. This means tonight they can eat out! So, at least here in America, that means off to Pizza Hut for a stuffed crust, meat-lovers, double-cheese, double-meat pan pizza, which of course they'll wash down with a Diet Pepsi, because they need to "watch their weight."

From dinner, it's off to the neighborhood video store, where they'll stack up 6 to 8 videos - which is just enough to keep them from thinking about their life of quiet desperation all weekend. Until Monday morning, when the alarm clock goes off, and they start the process all over again ...

Do you understand something? You don't need these people. They desperately need and want what you have to offer. So, stop thinking, who can I get to do this? Start thinking, who would I like to offer this opportunity to?

You may think your product is vitamins, or skin care, or discount long distance service, but it is none of those things. What you have to sell is freedom. Never lose sight of that.

You're offering people the opportunity to become their own boss and control their own destiny. For most of them, it will be the first opportunity they've ever had with unlimited income potential. It's also the first time they've had a chance to become successful by empowering others. Obviously, everyone would be interested in this, right?

No. Actually, many are not.

Why?

Because it means getting out of their comfort zone. Because it takes a belief in one's self that they don't possess. Some of them want success, but not if they have to do any work to get it. They're playing the odds, figuring a rich relative is going to die, or that the next time the phone rings, it will be the Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol calling for their cross street. And, many more think they want success - but are actually taking actions to prevent it, because they suffer from "lack" consciousness, and don't even know it. So, while the universe of people who need what you have is vast - the group who will seize the opportunity you're offering them is much smaller. You have to screen out the people who have a dream and are willing to do something about it (the prospects) from those who are waiting to hit the lottery (the suspects).

Of course, the first question to arise is, where do you find these people?

The place to begin is with friends, neighbors and relatives. This is the natural place to start, and it makes the most sense. You won't have to make cold calls or talk to strangers. People who know you will give you the benefit of the doubt and usually at least look at your Pre-Approach Packet, or meet you for a one-on-one over coffee.

A lot of people are reluctant to talk to the people they know, fearing that they'll become the victim of the can't-be-a-prophet-in-your-own-hometown syndrome. There is some truth to this. If you've been working alongside Joe for the past ten years, and now come along with this opportunity to get wealthy - Joe is probably going to be a little skeptical. That's okay. This is where edification comes in. Let me explain.

Edification works on the principle that for most people, the expert is the guy from out of town with a briefcase. Also known as the fact that many people place much more credibility in strangers than they do in their own daughters, husbands, fathers, etc. After all, they know all their baggage.

Your family and close friends know every mistake you've ever made, from the lemonade stand you had when you were six that lost money, to the time you tried to make money franchising ant farms. They haven't been able to achieve a happy, fulfilling life (and they figure they're a whole lot smarter than you), so they can't understand how you would know.

So, here's how it happens a lot of times. You join a network marketing company, and you're excited about the possibilities. You start to think about whom you would like to help, and naturally your thoughts turn to your parents. You call them up, go over to the house and make your presentation. It's a beauty. You sit back and relax - waiting for the grateful appreciation your parents are about to express - thankful that you've found a way to repay them for all they've done for you over the years.

Mother leans forward, about to speak, "So, Mister Big Shot, you're going to make all this money. Don't you remember when you had the paper route and you couldn't wake up in time? Your father had to deliver all the newspapers ..."

You're devastated. Here you're trying to do some good, trying to help them, and they're reacting like you were offering them a gift certificate for a complimentary office visit with Dr. Jack Kervorkian.

You've just experienced the prophet-in-your-own-hometown syndrome. No one is immune from this. To this day, I still maintain the hardest presentation I've ever given was to my sister Leise. This is the reason most people are afraid to talk to their friends, neighbors, and relatives (their warm market).

There is a solution ...

Edify your sponsorship, line and bring your first people to them. Your warm market is your best market. But, when you first begin the business, you shouldn't be making your own presentations. Your sponsor (or, in cases of fast growth, someone further up your sponsorship line) should be making your initial presentations, while you're taking notes and learning the presentation. This is the time to get to all of your can't-be-a-prophet people. Get them to a one-on-one, or give them the Pre-Approach materials. Make sure you let them know that this is a brand new opportunity for you, you've just discovered it and were introduced to the business by someone with a savvy business mind who's really good at helping people reach financial freedom. By edifying your sponsor in advance like this, you're already building up their credibility in the mind of your prospect.

Your friends and family will hear things from strangers that they cannot hear from you. If you want to start fast and get the best results, get these people in front of your sponsorship line and let them do the presenting. To break through with your warm market, you must take your ego out of the equation and edify your sponsor. This allows your sponsor to give you the most support. If your sponsor is already successful, bill them as "an expert in the business." If they're relatively new, moving up, but not mega-successful yet, refer to them as a "rising star." What you're doing in this scenario is leveraging the credibility you have with your warm market for maximum effect.

Here's why.

If your sponsor were to cold call one of your friends, neighbors or relatives, and try to tell them about an opportunity - they'd probably hang up. If you try to tell your friends about the opportunity, you get the hometown prophet treatment. But, here's the secret ...

Your warm market trusts you enough to review some initial materials, like a Pre-Approach Packet, or meet for coffee. If it looks interesting, they'll be intrigued enough to meet someone with you (or come to your home for a meeting). And, because you said you're new to the business, don't understand it all yet, and you've edified this person as an expert - they will hear things from them that they couldn't hear from you. This is the secret to getting started fast, and it really works!

Over the course of time, while you are learning the presentation from your sponsor (usually a five- to eight-week process), you'll be bringing in all your "chicken list" people. (Your chicken list consists of the people who are the most busy, successful and ambitious people you know - the ones you're "chicken" to make a presentation to.) Just get them in front of your sponsor. And during this time, your own presentation skills will be getting better; and you'll be gaining confidence and getting new distributors into your group. By the end of your first week, you'll be able to do a one-on-one presentation by yourself. By the time your five to eight weeks are up, you'll be quite capable of holding home meetings yourself. Here's the best part:

When you have people that you're still nervous with, or who still give you the hometown prophet treatment, just edify your sponsorship line and bring those people to a second-look meeting, where your sponsorship line is presenting! This is the way huge organizations are built! It's completely warm market, non-threatening, and very easily duplicated. Anyone can build a group this way.

-RG

Keep learning! Randy Gage has a resource that specializes exclusively on finding and contacting quality prospects. It's called "Recruiting 101," and it is packed with more in-depth information on this critical facet of the business. It has six audiotapes and a follow along workbook.

You will find numerous examples of direct and indirect invitations, so you can discover the ones that work best for you. And there is one more thing. And it's very important. On one of the tapes, you'll learn how to actually program your subconscious mind! So if you are afraid to approach people, are shy, have beliefs that people are skeptical, etc.-you can actually reprogram them out of your mind, and replace them with beliefs that serve you! This tape alone is worth a hundred times the cost of the entire album.

So if you want to find more prospects, and sponsor them more effectively, the "Recruiting 101" album is exactly what you need. You can get all the details at www.networkmarketingtimes.com