How to succeed in multi-level marketing

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A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm.” — Charles M Schwab

A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm.” — Charles M Schwab Report by Phillip Chichoni

Last week I heard probably the worst sales pitch in the world. A person I didn’t know asked for time to meet me. He explained that he had joined this multi-level marketing business and he wanted to get rid of the slow moving stocks.

He asked me to help by buying some of the items.

My first reaction was to be sympathetic while kindly explaining that I didn’t have the money to buy the products. He kept on trying to persuade me, telling me how good the products were.

Fortunately, I was saved when my phone rang, giving me a chance to escape. We all know that the economy is tough and we are not able to buy all the things we need every month.

Now imagine someone asking you to “make a donation”, to help him out by buying something you might not even want or need!

If you see people avoiding your calls or visits when you are selling something, it’s most likely that you are using a selling approach that chases away customers.

Thousands of people are making money in multi-level marketing. Organisations like Tiens and Oceane are two popular ones, where many people have succeeded. At their annual award-giving day, they celebrated the achievements of their top sales agents, with some receiving cars and other expensive gifts for reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. Surely, they must be doing something good that pulls customers rather than chasing them away.

Multi-level marketing is a multi-billion dollar business globally. We can learn a few things from the stories of those who are succeeding and making huge incomes in this industry. Here are a few tips:

Choose an organisation with a genuine business model A search for “Ponzi” or “pyramid schemes” on the internet will show you that there have been and still are thousands of scams that purport to be genuine multi-level marketing businesses while stealing people’s money.

You need to investigate carefully to ensure your chosen organisation has a good reputation and sells genuine products or services.

Make sure there is a real need for the product or service It is a common mistake to think that if you have a good product or service, people will automatically beat a path to your doorstep. In a tough economy like ours, people are trying to stretch their dollar by buying only those things they really need. You need to research and find out if people do want and need the product you intend to sell.

Analyse and see if there is a viable market A need alone is not enough.there must also be buying power.  Find out if people in your target market can afford your product. You also need to find out if there is a big enough market to give you adequate income.

Because you will rely on commission for income, work out the minimum quantity of products that you need to sell to reach the income level you desire. Then analyse and see if it is possible to sell that much.

Acquire effective selling skills We are not all born with super selling skills. If you are not naturally gifted in this department, you need to learn because you cannot succeed in multi-level marketing, and in any other business, if you are not good at selling.

There are so many books and courses that can help you acquire effective selling skills. At BusinessLink, we run such programmes.

You can find out more about the next Essential Business Skills workshop set for October 23-25 at my website http://smebusinesslink.com.

Use innovative ways to grow your market The internet has opened up so many avenues for reaching people on a social level. Successful marketers today are making use of social media to stay in touch with customers and reach bigger markets.

Social media marketing is low-cost, fun and exciting; and it is effective because it enables you to hear customers’ feedback almost instantly.

You can only grow your market by reaching out to more people. Start networking and attending events where your target customers go.

The more people there are in your network, the more potential customers you have. If you are passionate and enthusiastic about your business, people will feel it and will want to know more, opening up opportunities for them to buy.

You can start acting to grow now by downloading my free eBooks on low-cost marketing and social media at my website.

Learn to develop sales relationships One thing you need to understand is that people essentially buy from people they know and trust.

You must start building relationships before trying to sell.

Instead of being seen trying to sell, create opportunities for people to want to buy.

Have meaningful conversations with potential customers to find out their real needs, rather than making a sales pitch.

  • Phillip Chichoni is a business planning and financial management consultant who works with entrepreneurs and growing businesses. You may contact him by email on [email protected] or visit http://smebusinesslink.com

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