The MLM industry has been striving for a professional image for decades now, and for the most part achieving it. That’s a good thing, a really good thing, because nothing sucks more than prospecting someone only to get slammed for working in a “shady” industry.
I mean really, if you’ve been doing MLM for any length of time, you finally reach a point where you can’t stand to hear words like “scam,” “ponzi scheme,” or “shady deal” one more time. Am I right? Ok, so professionalism is a really good thing in MLM.
On the personal level, presenting yourself in a professional way is also useful. It gives people the impression that you are serious about your business, as well as knowledgeable. It inspires confidence. But, there are times when being totally professional all the time can actually hurt your MLM business.
Online MLM: Why You Shouldn’t be Totally Pro All the Time
If you want to market your MLM business online, then there are some cases where you shouldn’t be all pro all the time. There is a time and place for a little “grunge factor” in the online world, especially for MLMers.
Now why wouldn’t you want to present a totally professional image 24/7 online? That’s because contact on the internet, in contrast to contact on the phone or in person, is already somewhat impersonal. With most MLM websites, people can’t hear you, shake your hand, or easily get to know you.
Sure, you can put up pictures of yourself, post an audio of you discussing the MLM business, or even put up a video of yourself, but most of these don’t come across as part of a prospect’s first impression of your online MLM presence. At least not the audio or video pieces, since these require the prospect to click a few buttons.
So if a prospect wanders to your online MLM website, and all she sees is a bunch of slick graphics and some words, chances are she’ll leave, quickly. That’s where the grunge factor comes in. If you can throw up some interesting headlines on your website that will catch a prospect’s attention as well as show her that you have a sense of humor, then that’s good.
Online Photos and the Grunge Factor
If you post pictures, post a mix of professional and personal shots of yourself. The professional shot shows that you are serious about your business. The personal shots, especially if they show you doing something you love, give the prospect some visual clues about who you really are. For instance, say you post a picture of you taken right after a soccer game played in the mud. Your hair is messed up, you are sweaty, and you have streaks of mud on your smiling face. You are wearing a jersey and carrying a soccer ball. That’s a perfect “grunge” picture that conveys a lot about you to a prospect, in an instant. It shows that you:
- are not afraid to get your hands (and the rest of you) dirty
- don’t mind the rest of the world seeing you a little messed up
- play soccer and like sports
- are physically healthy (this is important if your product is health related)
- like to have fun
- probably like to win, which implies a drive to be successful
… and so forth. So as you think about what pictures to post on your website or blog, don’t forget that a little grunge can go a long way in the online world. In the example above, with the soccer picture, not only will the picture show a little grunge, but it may even help you put your website in a niche market: soccer lovers. See what I mean?
Words Can Be Grungy, Too
So a few personalized pictures scattered throughout your online MLM presence is a great thing. The other place you can add a little grunge factor is in the way you write. If you write pretty much the way you talk, then you’ll have achieved a little grunge in your writing.
When many online MLM newbies first start writing their blog posts and articles, they churn out pieces filled with stiff language and uncomfortable phrasing. The articles are difficult to read and even harder to digest. Ick.
Instead, write with a little less formality while still conveying useful information, facts, figures, and logic. Go to Alltop and look up some of the top blogs in your topic area. Read their posts. Find a style you like. Adapt it to your own personality. Then start to write. You’ll probably achieve a nice balance between information exchange, humor, interest, and personality.
As with everything, online MLM is about striking a balance in tone. You want to demonstrate that you have expertise in your business and products, but you also want to come across as a real person. A real person has likes, dislikes, pet peeves, hobbies, warts, kids, good and bad days, and more. Get it? Be professional but remain yourself. This approach also helps you keep your business fun and interesting, rather than “nose to the grindstone” boring. Your MLM business should never be boring … if it is, change it up or QUIT!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Or contact me if you want to join an MLM team that is teaching people to dive into online MLM head first … successfully! I’m holding out for a few good people. Really.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaina_marie/ / CC BY 2.0
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