Stop Wasting Your Breath!

Here is how it goes...

"O'mygosh, these products are AMAZING!

• Did you know that they don't have ANY harmful synthetic chemicals in them?


• Did you know that they are made fresh with FOOD grade ingredients?


• Did you know that the company is ethical and mission oriented and even plants trees to offset carbon emissions?


• Did you know that the founders are genuine people who care about us?


• Oh, and did you know that the products are actually CERTIFIED ORGANIC by several third parties to guarantee authenticity?


• Did you know that you can eat the products?


• Did you know that shipping is a flat rate of only $4.95 anywhere in the world and FREE over a hundred dollars?


• Did you know that Narelle, the founder, was just eight years ago a stay home mother with a dream for safer skin care?


• Did you know that our products are cruelty free?


• Did you know that by purchasing our products you are making the world a greener place by supporting sustainable agricutlure?


• Did you know that ONE Group is partially funded by GRANTS for organic agriculture?


• Did you know that we are the FIRST and to date ONLY company with such an extensive range of ...."

Prospect is thinking, "Did I leave that laundry in the washing machine this morning?"

Yes, I know all those things we say are exciting... TO US. And perhaps even one, if not all of those statements above are things that led US to buy the products or to represent the company. But for the average person, that stuff is just that... stuff.

What do you think is the missing element in the above statements?

If you said, "There is nothing in it for the customer," than you are correct!

In all those wonderful TO US statements, where were you providing a VALUE to the THEM?

Nowhere.

Truth is most people don't give a flying kite about ANY of that stuff.

Now, you may be thinking, "Our target market cares!"

Maybe so. Maybe they WILL care about those things AFTER the VALUE of what the products will do for THEM is demonstrated.

Repeat after me...

Selling is about LISTENING... NOT about SPEAKING.

Selling is about ASKING... NOT about TELLING.

I can't tell you how many times I hear, "I just don't have the gift of gab," or "I am not a born salesman," or "I don't like selling..."

Truthfully folks, NO ONE likes selling. I could probably count on my hands the number of people in this world who actually like selling. Even the word "selling" makes the skin crawl. Images of the used car salesman in the mismatched leisure suit come to mind. Telemarketers come to mind. That salesperson who sold you down the river comes to mind.

Truth is - selling has a bad rap. And with good reason... NO ONE LIKES BEING SOLD.

However... PEOPLE LOVE TO BUY.


Fact: YOU ARE IN SALES

Truth is, if you haven't already figured it out, network marketing is all about sales. You are a salesperson my friend. Sorry to break the news.

There are a few choices you can make when this realization kicks in:

1. Run like the dickens and don't look back


2. Delude yourself into believing you are a missionary


3. Embrace the idea and learn to become a great salesperson

So, assuming that you haven't run away, let's look at the two remaining options.

The Missionary Principle:

"I am not selling products. I am educating people to make informed decisions about the products they use on their skin, while providing products of unrivaled purity for those who decide organic is the choice for them."

Wow, yes - sounds intriguing doesn't it? (GAG!) This is what I personally used to say.

The bottom line is; I was simply deluding myself and others. The whole sentence is just a fancy way of saying, "I sell organic products."

Was it a false statement? No, not really. We are out here educating others to make informed decisions - but with what intent?

To sell our products, right?

Why? Because we are in sales.

I hear my little missionaries out there saying, "No, that isn't true. I REALLY DO CARE about what other people use on their skin and I am simply educating them."

The first part of that is great! Yes, we DO care. If we didn't, most of us wouldn't be with the company. It is that genuine passion and conviction that allows others to gravitate to us and passion is a key element to success in any endeavor.

However, if you honestly don't care about selling the products to these people, then you must ask yourself why you are in the business. If educating is your passion, you could simply begin doing seminars.

Of course, because you are not into selling - you would have to do these seminars for FREE. Because if you begin doing seminars for profit - guess what?

Yup - you are in sales again.

Embracing the Concept of Being in Sales

Every person on this planet is in sales.

Don't believe me?

We sell our spouses on the idea of putting the cap back on the toothpaste. We sell our children on the idea of picking up their toys. We sell our friends on the idea of coming to a barbecue. We sell our bosses on the idea of giving us a raise. Children sell their parents on the idea of allowing them to spend the night with a friend, or go to the mall, or for money - and lots of it! :-)

Why should you be ashamed of being in sales when you are in fact representing such an ethical company with such an amazing line of products that REALLY do make a difference in people and planet?

You shouldn't.

The truth is - you should be PROUD of this!

When Sales is Sales

There are people out there looking for you and will say, "Where have you been all my life?!" And then there are people out there who would rather spend $1.50 on a bottle of Suave from Wal-Mart and not care one way or the other about the environmental impacts, or the health implications of their purchase.

Sales gets a bad rap from those out there trying to force these consumers into atone for their actions. Can you educate them? Well, do they want to be educated in the first place? That is the question you must ask.

My little missionaries are saying, "Well, it is my JOB to educate them!" And I am here to tell you that, "NO - it isn't."

How many millions of dollars have been spent on "educational" messages on the risks of smoking - or eating greasy fried foods - or not exercising? How many people do you think heard them? Well yes, millions upon millions. How many people took action?

A handful.

People don't always want to know these things. People don't always care about these things, and people want to make their own decisions, come to their own conclusions, and take actions only when they are good and ready to do so.

So - where is your time better spent... educating someone who doesn't want to know or wants to know but doesn't care, or finding those people out there who are looking for YOU who care and want to know what you have?

How to Tell the Difference

Remember how I said that selling is asking - not telling? This is called "qualifying a prospect." The reason you want to qualify a prospect is because your time is valuable and so is theirs. By qualifying them, you will discover this and save you both time and frustration.

You could be blunt and say, "I sell organic personal care products. Would you like to hear about them?" And ironically, many of you freak out at this idea - yet have no difficulty telling product benefits to people who don't want to know. Which of the two is the harder sale?

But truth is we don't want to ask yes or no questions. We want to qualify our prospects, and do to so, we need the most information possible about them. Thus, we should ask an open-ended question that tells us everything we need to know, such as: "What do you think about the new trend of people going organic with their food and products?"

This answer will tell you what they think, why they think it, and probably what they are basing their decision on. This opens the door to walk away or to continue. This will tell you how informed they are - or misinformed. This also opens up the chance for you to further qualify by asking more questions relating to their answer.

Who knows - they may say, "I have been hearing some things but am not really sure what it is all about." You say, "Would you like to know more?" Remember - don't jump in spewing your spewage! Ask more questions!

I Qualified them - Now What?

Remember - ASK, don't TELL.

You are still gathering information at every stage. Don't spew here either. Remember, you must create VALUE, and the single best way to create value for a prospect is to let the prospect create the value for you.

But you want to tailor this to their objections - because typically you will find that they will tell you a value - followed by an objection. For example, let's say that they mentitoned that they want to use organic products because they know it is so much better for them and they have a family history of cancer, but it isn't in their budget to do so.

What I say is this, "Going organic is not an all or nothing step, but any step you take is a step in the right direction. Giving up just one of your traditional personal care products - such as your deodorant, which is laced with aluminum and parabens (hormone disruptors that are being found in the breast tissues of cancer patients) can make a significant impact on reducing your body's chemical burden. Would this be a good place for you to start?"

99% of the time they respond with, "Yes, I can do that!"

So you see, though in the beginning of this post, we were asking questions - they were not true questions. Asking, "Did you know that our company is carbon neutral?" provides little or no value to the average person.

Asking, "What do you think of companies that offset their carbon emissions by going carbon neutral" is better. Asking, "Did you know that our products are certified organic to international food grade standards," is not nearly as effective as, "What do you think about people going organic with their food and products today?"

Let's Succeed Together!