We all have a gag reflex. It’s the automatic reflex that makes us want to throw up when we hear someone else throwing up. The gag reflex is also a defense mechanism that helps our bodies get rid of unwanted stuff we ingest, like day-old pizza that never made it to the refrigerator. We’ve all had some experience with the gag reflex.
But did you know that MLM prospects also have a gag reflex? Just try prospecting MLM newbies and you will see the gag reflex in action. With some prospects, all you have to do is mention the words “MLM” or “network marketing” and you can almost see that gag action working in their throats!
Watching the gag reflex in an MLM prospect can be scary. They start making all kinds of excuses to leave and they can make you, the person doing the prospecting, feel like a leper. To skip this gag reflex a lot of business builders avoid saying the word “MLM” when prospecting MLM newbies. They use all kinds of synonyms, like “home business,” or avoid talking about the business altogether. They just focus on the product and figure that they will get around to talking about the business in the next decade or so.
If you follow this approach when prospecting MLM newbies, good luck growing your business because you’ll spend a lot of time tap-dancing and very little time bringing really good builders into your business. With most MLM compensation plans, your check grows according to the number of business builders you bring, not according to the amount of product you personally sell. Face it. You are in an MLM business and your prospects will find out at some point. It is best to say the dreaded word “MLM” and get that gag reflex over with so you can move on.
Lately I have been prospecting MLM business builders through ads that focus on tax savings and increased tax deductions. When prospects call, I pre-qualify them by asking them some questions about their tax situations. For those that pass this test, I go straight to the fact that I am working with an MLM company. I tell them that I can probably help them claim more deductions on their W-4 and increase their tax deductions by helping them start and profit from an MLM business.
Sometimes prospects don’t even skip a beat. Other times, there is a long pause in which the “MLM thing” just lays there between us like a big, dead, stinky fish. Of course, with MLM being a “personal growth” business (my sponsors for over decade keep telling me this) I have become comfortable with the stinky dead fish. I have learned to wait through the silence. If I am feeling particularly impatient, which is often, I ask the prospect, “Is MLM a problem for you?” That question usually opens up a whole new can of worms and either the exchange ends right then or we talk about the prospect’s long and sad history with MLM.
By prospecting MLM business builders this way I get the dead stinky fish part of the encounter over quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I have grown a lot in this business and can tolerate a big stink but I don’t invite it into my life. I also spend very little time with MLM snobs who would rather bash the entire MLM industry rather than test the waters.
So as you go around prospecting for your MLM business keep in mind that whatever method you use, it serves you to throw the MLM stinky fish on the table before you go too far. If the prospect passes the stinky fish test when you mention that you do MLM and does not actually throw up all over you, then you know you have a fairly decent chance of working with a positive person in your business. But if the prospect flunks the stinky fish test then you know it’s time spray a little room deodorizer over the relationship and move on!
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