So you joined the MLM party a while ago now.
What’s the matter...not seeing those results that everyone who recruited you raved about at the beginning of the party?
There are actually a few key reasons for that and here I will explain some missing pieces of the puzzle and more importantly I will show you how to use a sales funnel to build your business.
Now listen, first you should know that I’ve been there personally!
And it probably happened to you a lot like it happened to me: you watched a presentation or a video that someone inside the business shared in which they painted a beautiful picture of such a great opportunity, and you likely also saw another video at some point in which the company highlighted one of their top earners showing off how they are making seven-figure salaries.
You felt like the video spoke directly to you and it got you all excited and wanting to earn a seven-figure salary too → so you started your network marketing business shortly thereafter and joined the company.
But then after your first 90 days, you arrive at the realization that you just aren’t seeing the money rolling in like it did in the videos and presentations you saw three months ago.
Hey, you have to know that you’re not the only one.
It happened to me too - and exactly in that order! LOL!
There is a basic problem at play here which is that the tactics and strategies that you have been taught and have been trained in are totally outdated and way too well, basic.
The business world has reached a point in time in which owners and entrepreneurs across all industries must step into the present and start using digital marketing along with a sales funnel to achieve their goals and reach their targets.
And this includes you, fellow network marketer!
Introducing the heavy duty high-customer and prospect conversion machine: Your Customized DIY Sales Funnel. (1)
(Learn how to run your entire MLM business strictly online.)
Right about now is when my excitement level starts to rise off the charts because it actually becomes fun and exciting to experience your own personal and business growth with a few key digital ninja tactics that you undertake all on your own!
But, before I even start to explain to you how you can use a sales funnel to build your network marketing business, first I have to cover which of those ‘old school’ methods are actually killing your productivity in the grander scheme of things.
And, I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that you have been taught at least one of the following ineffective methods by your upline and leadership team - and more likely than not it is the very reason why you are still reading this article right now looking for help and guidance for you business.
When you launched your business by recruiting all your friends and family you may have experienced the inevitable embarrassment of rejection and failure on some level.
And, your go to “warm list” may have been quickly depleted only to leave behind a trail of loved ones who will likely start avoiding you at all costs for the foreseeable future.
That kinda stinks.
Here are some more of those useless and outdated tactics that your up-line and leadership team has taught you:
They Tell You That It Is A “Numbers Game”....
I call this “Hope Marketing” because you’re literally throwing it all towards a wall and hoping that something sticks.
Your leadership has literally told you - in no uncertain terms - that you need to approach as many people as possible because the more “No’s” you get is directly proportionate to the more “Yes’s” that you will get.
I’m here to tell you, that just isn’t valid today.
While the law of averages does in fact play a significant role in this so-called “numbers game,” it doesn’t come anywhere near the numbers that you would amass if you were to use a planned sales funnel!
(Become 10x more accurate at prospecting dream clients and partners by learning the secrets on how to use the Internet and its systems.)
Following your up-line and leadership’s sales model (or lack thereof as it were) you will basically waste a lot of precious time on contacts that never really had much promise of signing up (think of all the home parties you’ve had so far) that you could have invested instead on much more qualified contacts.
“Don’t Worry, You’re One Recruit Away”...
It is both puzzling and troubling why MLM and network marketing leaders say this.
This is what I call “Hopium” - false hope. And it is easily addicting.
And what’s more it is a major disservice to you because all it does is keep you from seeing the big picture when you become all-too-focused on gaining that next recruit.
You have to completely ditch the idea, thought, and mindset that your next recruit will be the key to your business’s exponential growth! It’s complete baloney!
The truth of the matter is that the one and only thing that will ever make your network marketing business succeed, flourish, and exponentially grow is YOU.
And in this digital age, the way that you can make it happen is by shifting your focus towards the strategies that you can immediately implement through my guidance and help with building a profitable and highly converting sales funnel.
They Tell You To Spend Most Of Your Time Looking For Prospects...
Every network marketing company lauds the praises of the so-called effectiveness of getting in front of as many people as you can and sharing with them the product or the opportunity.
Again - total baloney.
This is nothing more than another total waste of time if this is your go-to tactic.
Listen you have to once and for all kill your ‘employee mindset’ and embrace the mindset of a business owner.
If you are going to be highly effective and successful then you need to work on your business and not in it.
All in all, going out and finding prospects is just one of the many aspects of your network marketing business, just ONE!
And this is exactly the reason for which you need to incorporate into your daily operations a really good sales funnel that handles all aspects of your business and not just simply one aspect.
I call this working smarter and not harder!
But nothing was more cumbersome to me that this next outdated tactic:
Hosting Home Meetings/Parties
Talk about outdated methods!
For those of you who are work horses - diligent, and determined to make it big in this industry I already know that you have followed all the trainings to a tee:
1.) You have worked very hard at organizing your regular home meetings/parties and spent countless hours securing your attendees’ RSVP’s.
2.) You’ve handed out flyers at the local supermarket while standing in line, etc.
3.) You’ve organized lunch meetings.
(The amount of time you used to dedicate to gatherings and meetings for your MLM business will become a thing of the past.)
And my dear, I am sorry to say that there is a very high likelihood that you have in essence simply wasted your time in undertaking any or all of these efforts.
I mean, how did that all work out for you?
Not very well at all, right?
But don’t feel bad - I get why you did it all - and I especially get it because I have personally experienced how upper leadership in MLM organizations incessantly harp on “duplication,” “coachability,” and “following the system.”
There is no arguing today with the fact that there are so many more ways to recruit for your business.
Ways that are better, much more efficient, and above all modern.
Examples of modern business tactics for the MLM industry include: email marketing, social media, landing pages and paid traffic. (Make sure that you get the very best tool on the market right now to integrate each of these elements.)
Ok, well enough about the Debbie Downer topic of what not to do in your MLM business.
Let’s move on to the more exciting point of this article and how you can immediately implement and use a really cool sales funnel to build your network marketing business.
First Things First: Finding Interest
The first stage of any sales funnel is as intuitive as the first stage to your business itself and that is to find prospects.
But unlike what you’ve been taught to do, you never ever need to leave your home, bring cards and flyers everywhere you go, or host parties in your home, etc.
I mean, before you read this article, you probably were not aware of the fact that you can find thousands and thousands of prospects right from the comfort of your favorite chair and in your favorite room in your house.
But, my friend, this is the reality of the modern way of doing business - any business!
Today just about everything is digital.
The way we now communicate with each other is digital (remember that not too long ago cell phones were only for the super rich - and they were bigger than a masonry brick for that matter….but I digress).
The way that we now look up and find answers and information is digital.
How we learn has taken a massive shift in the direction of digital.
And yes, even how we work and secure our livelihoods is now largely dependent on the digital realm.
Do you really need any more reason to re-adapt your network marketing business digitally and thereby stay relevant and really make that much sought-after impact on your bottom line?
But stay with me, I’ve got more!
There are quite a few pathways to finding interested folks at your disposal right now.
Here are some of them.
I. The Ever-Present Social Media Channels
Social media is far and away among the very best places in which you can tap into online to find prospects for your MLM business.
(Social Media is overflowing with thousands of your dream clients and partners!)
I already know you tapped into all of your friends on Facebook - am I right?
But did you ever give any consideration to the plethora of possibilities within your Friends Of Friends?
No doubt you have already exhausted your own friends list so moving on to that next level is a prudent and appropriate move - and they would still be considered a somewhat warm market.
Before allowing doubt to kick in and poison the positive mindset that I have been building for you so far tell me: Did you know that you can totally send direct messages (DM’s) to friends of friends in your Facebook account while you won’t be as successful if you were to do so with strangers?
When a stranger’s DM comes into your Facebook inbox, it gets immediately filtered and archived and who knows when it will ever come to light, if ever.
So you can send DM’s to friends of friends with utmost confidence because as long as you’re connected somehow, then Facebook will deliver your message into their message feed.
OK, but what if you have already exhausted your list of friends and of their friends and need more sources of potential customers and partners?
Well then you move on to find people in groups or pages, and you can also pay-per-message in some cases (because if you don’t and send messages to ‘strangers’ outright, then that message will be sent to the archived inbox that no-one ever sees.).
But do notice that this is still what I consider ‘manual prospecting’ and we really want to move away from that in order to be most effective.
II. You can invest into: Paid Traffic
Paid traffic is another really good way to get very laser targeted prospects and leads.
By using Facebook/Instagram Ads and AdWords you can laser target very specific demographics and reach people who best suit your target and niche audience.
Isn’t this so much better than “Hope Marketing?” Now you can have a confidence level like never before and what’s more is that you no longer have a need to recruit everybody and anybody on your way to the top!
Because you will be employing on-purpose and highly focused targeting your precious little offer will only be shown and seen by people who are most likely going to be interested in it.
This. Is. Awesome.
And check this out: Recall the age-old marketing “Rule of Seven” which holds that a customer needs to see the offer at least seven times before they will buy? Well, there’s an even better and far easier way to get this done online!
There are these next-level ninja tricks in the digital realm called “re-targeting pixels” that you can seriously put to use by putting one on your landing page.
What it does it keeps track of that person after they have left your offer/site.
So let’s say that a prospect keeps visiting your page/site/offer but doesn’t join your business, then your pixel will go to work and basically follow them throughout the Internet!
And as it follows them throughout the Internet, it makes sure that your ad will magically pop up wherever they happen to be on the Web and remind them of your offer.
(Once you learn the secrets to running your MLM strictly online, you gain a whole new level of freedom as you start earning money auto-magically.)
Cool, right?
But in order to make sure you are using paid ads and general advertising to your highest benefit you will absolutely need to make sure that you have crafted a very strong offer and that you have targeted the right audience.
If you can bring those two parts of the advertising direction together then you have a solid strategy to put yourself in front of people who want to buy what you’re selling.
A solid strategy is achieved when you succeed in joining these two pieces of the advertising puzzle together and because you will seamlessly and effortlessly place yourself in front of the very people who actually want what you’re selling.
And take note: this applies to selling both your product as well as your opportunity.
Now: How To Generate Prospects?
So far you have discovered how to find the places at which prospects are congregating and concentrating on the Internet.
Now the next thing to tackle is how to get them interested in your offer.
OK, don't go back into your old ways now - this doesn't mean that you have to pick up the phone, do a three-way-call, or any of that in order to explain how the business works.
And you most definitely don't have to meet them at Starbucks of Panera to do a demo-presentation.
You can do all this with your company's video or slideshow presentation online.
With an online sales funnel, cold-calling becomes a thing of the past.
Do you see how it becomes a whole heck-of-a-lot easier to sell your MLM product or opportunity when a business prospect has willingly signed up to listen to something you’ve got to say?
And this happens so easily in the digital realm because the way that sales funnels are structured makes it so that your offer was shown to them at the right place at the right time.
The next step in the MLM sales funnel is the all important landing page.
III. The Landing Page (AKA “Squeeze Page” or Lead Page)
So let’s say you started rocking out your online game and have found thousands of prospects.
None of it will matter if you don’t capture their email addresses and add them to your prospect email list because otherwise they are lost to you forever!
And it is worth mentioning that although your business “Back Office” has it’s own CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software that you can use as a brand partner, you must understand that the emails collected by that software will belong to the company and not to you.
God forbid the company goes under, so then will your hard earned customer list!
And what if you decide that you are no longer aligned with the company and you leave to find an opportunity elsewhere?
You won’t be able to easily take your hard earned customer list with you.
So it is important for you to build, keep, nurture, and communicate with your list all on your own terms because regardless of the fact that you are a brand partner with the Company, those customers are yours and yours alone!
(Work your business where you want to, how you want to!)
So in order to capture your customer and prospect email addresses and grow your list, you need to build a super-sexy, appealing, and highly converting landing page.
That very important landing page needs to have the following: a place/box in which to submit the name and email of the client, a super captivating headline, brief bullets or key points and benefits of your offer and most important of all a compelling call-to-action (CTA).
And your landing page has to be 100% congruent with and relevant to the paid advertisement or the social media message that you put out there and which led the person to your landing page to begin with.
This bit about relevance and congruence is key and essential.
If you put together a landing page that is disconnected from the advertisement that you are running you will end up with a lot of very confused people, lots of bounces off the page and therefore very few opt-ins.
Next comes the direction and instruction piece.
IV. Your Call To Action (CTA)
People need to be told what to do.
Sounds harsh? It’s not really.
You see, you are just wasting your time putting out an awesome offer and a sexy landing page if you don’t direct your client/customer/prospect towards the next step that they need to take.
You literally have to tell them what to do.
It is a matter of taking that person by the hand and leading them to the next step in the purchasing cycle.
And it is not as simple as making sure your action button merely has the word “SUBMIT” on it.
I have had the most success when that action button is highlighted with a cool contrasting color and it speaks directly to the user with words such as “Watch The Video Now” in bold lettering.
Do you see the difference?
Now, with precise instruction, your prospect or client is 100% clear about what they will get after filling out the form with their name and email address.
See that? No confused people and lots of clarity!
OK, So What About Converting Prospects?
Great Job! You've gotten to where you have a sweet little list of customers and prospects to work with - now it is up to you to cycle out the recruitment process by reassuring and nurturing.
This is the money maker and as such is the most important phase of your sales funnel.
By now your prospect has a pretty good idea of what your offer is, who you are, what you stand for because they have read your Social Media message and have watched your online product/opportunity video.
In the case of prospects who haven’t yet joined, this is the time at which to reach out with further information and make yourself available to answer their questions.
V. The best way to follow up with them: Email
Why is email marketing the very best way to follow up with those prospects who haven’t yet purchased?
For starters, remember how I explained the importance of keeping your hard-earned customer list yourself and not let it exist on your MLM’s back office?
One of the main reasons why that is so important is because that list that you have worked so hard to grow and expand is basically proprietary data.
And because you now own that list and everyone who is on it willingly gave their email address to you, you now have the right to reach them whenever you want as long as they remain a subscriber.
Through email communication you are able to effectively reach out to your list periodically and share success stories, promotions, new offers, and FAQ’s.
Purposeful and targeted email communication with your list of prospects will ensure that you easily overcome their objections, answer all of their questions, and continuously reassure the doubters that they too can totally gain from the financial benefits that network marketing has to offer.
But here’s a word to the wise: before too long, separate your lists between buyers and non-buyers because you will be speaking to each segment of your email list differently.
You will want to always craft your messages to each specific customer and prospect type accordingly.
This way you are guaranteed to have higher quality prospects as you build a stronger relationship with the people who have expressed and shown an interest in your offer.
More importantly however, you are reiterating your personal brand into their lives and further establishing that your prospects know, like, and trust you more and more.
(Relationship building is the same both online and offline...the roadmap isn't different at all!)
Staying Relevant And Moving With The Times
So you see now that the main idea of this entire article is all about the awesomeness of Digital Marketing.
To be clear, it really is about automating your business online.
It is about growing your businesses automagically!
And you also see how you need to leverage the Internet in order to reach that much sought-after success and secure that future filled with financial freedom that got you into the MLM game in the first place.
Now is the time for you to reassess and restructure how you find and recruit your prospects, how to work smarter and not harder, and how to become most efficient and stop wasting your time on old-school and seriously outdated tactics and strategies.
The world is teeming with people and prospects for you and it is simply a matter of getting your awesome funnel in front of them (through traffic) and effectively converting them with it.
Did you get a lot of value from this?
Like, comment, and share the goodness with other people in your networks who you know will benefit from this article!
See you around!
C.C. Estrada-Kuzmanovic, Social Media Expert
(1) A sales funnel is the process that customers are led through when making purchases.