Network Marketing Tip: It's Your Fault That Most of Your Prospects Say No

In this Network Marketing article, I'll show you why most of your good prospects say no to you. It’s what you're doing more than anything else that drives them away.  This is good news because you can change what you're doing.

I’ve just been pulling together some recent studies I’ve seen.  It appears that 80% of people are looking for some extra income; two thirds of people in employment in London are looking to change their job because they're dissatisfied - either because of the work or the lack of money; three-quarters of Americans, especially those over 40, are looking to start their own businesses. 

Now with all these statistics, almost anybody you talk to is likely to be a candidate for your network marketing business, so why don’t they join?

To start this article I’m going to invite you to do an experiment that will show you, in very clear terms, why most people say no.  I invite you to find a friend and ask them to do this simple exercise; usually it takes less than 20 seconds.  It’s important that you don't tell them what’s going to happen because I want you to watch their natural reaction.

Ask them to stand facing you, about 50 to 70 cm away, the exact distance doesn’t matter.  Raise one of your hands to about shoulder height with the palm facing towards them and midway between you.  Ask them to place the palm of their opposite hand against yours.  Now everything is set.

All I ask you to do is to apply a slight pressure towards them and you'll find that nearly everybody responds by pressing back, if you press a little harder, they'll press back harder.  That’s the exercise done - now for the learning. If we force people, they’ll apply force back! 

So, applying this to Metwork Marketing conversations, if somebody starts to resist you then it’s a clear sign that you’ve started to force them to go to a place they didn’t want to go.

Prospects raise objections (and I distinguish objections from genuine questions) when they feel you’ve pushed something on them they didn’t want.

The dreaded question “Is this one of those pyramid deals?”  Or maybe “How much are you earning?”  These are almost always posed as a reaction to something you said to them immediately before this.

Now you can’t get this principle 100% right because everybody has their own internal stuff going on.  Each person has a set of prejudices and dislikes that you can’t know about.  However, you can reduce the resistance you get by communicating in a different style.

So what is this style?  Let me answer this by going to a slightly different place. 

You're probably aware of the growth of the subject called ‘Coaching’, especially ‘Life Coaching’.  Why is this proving such an effective method for helping people to change?  Well, the answer to this is simple; a Coach asks questions rather than directing the client.  All the client is doing is providing the answers that, in turn, give the momentum and direction to the conversation.  (It isn’t possible to explore Coaching in this short article, but there is much written about it elsewhere.)

When talking with potential business partners you can take the same line.  By asking questions that help them to discover answers for themselves, it means they will keep an open mind.  Why? because it’s their stuff not yours.

So, let’s summarise this network marketing tip. Understanding the principle that people naturally respond against any force put upon them, is the clue to changing your communication so people stay open, with the result that far more of them say yes.