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Before we get into the mechanics of the title, we first need to squash a couple of misconceptions popular in some Network Marketing circles.
The first one is- Close is not a dirty word! Yes we do close prospects when we are Network Marketers. I hear a lot of experienced marketers say "I don't close people" If you are selling memberships or signing people up to join your business, you most certainly do close people, and there is nothing in the world wrong with that.
The definition of close, courtesy of "The Free Online Dictionary"
Close- "To complete the final details or negotiations on: close a deal."
People close doors all the time. Detectives close cases, which means the mystery has been solved and the case does not need to be opened any more. It has been completed.
When we close prospects, they have completed their period of prospect status and are now joining our team in business. Isn't that a better place for your prospect to be? Of course it is.
The second one is this crazy notion that Network Marketing is not sales. People like to say silly things like "I am not in sales. I don't sell anything. I share information" Yeagh whatever. Keep telling yourself that, but do it at the risk of missing out on a lot of good information and training out there on how to become better at what we do everyday. That's selling. Go look in the mirror and repeat after me three times: "I am in Sales. I sell products and services." Remember- 3 times. Now wasn't that liberating?
Okay. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get into it.
First thing to remember: Although we are in sales, do not come off as Sales-ey, needy, pushy, or desperate at all. Ever. I was on the phone with a Network Marketer a couple of weeks ago who claims he's been in MLM for 13 years. He was trying to recruit me into his business for about 20 minutes. In the first 90 seconds he told me to hold on and then he started a recorded call with no warning that it was coming. He had me curious on how he was going to try to close me so I listened to the whole call anxiously awaiting for him to get back on the line. When he came back, he asked " So, what did you like best about what you heard?". I said, " Hey man, it sounds good. Really. But I'm not interested. I have a business." From there he went to straight up pushy mode. I started to ask him if that's how he always approaches prospects, but he kept trying to push his business on me. He was even bragging to me about how much money he was making. God Bless him if he is. I can't see how when he comes off as that desperate and pushy. Always be professional when you are representing your company. If you don't, it will come back to haunt you. I promise.
People like to buy, more than they like to be sold to. Always remember that. The secret to getting people to want to buy is to create a buying environment. The only way to know how to create the proper buying environment is to do a thorough assessment of your prospect to find out what problems they are currently facing, what needs they currently have, and what wants they have. Keep in mind, most people don't make it a habit of telling strangers things like that until they feel they can trust you. Once you have established trust, you can then start to explain how you can help them solve their problem, want, or need. You have to link your product or service to the specific things mentioned by your prospect though. If you did a proper job of linking the two together, ask if there are any other questions or concerns about the information you provided. If yes, answer them honestly. If no, ask for the sale. If at this point you receive an objection, find out what the problem is, address it, and ask for the sale.
Some people just have a problem pulling the trigger sometimes.
Last summer I needed a pair of new sneakers bad. I was out shopping with my wife one day when we stopped in a store and I saw a pair that caught my eye. I showed them to my wife. She told me that she liked them too. She told me to see if they had my size. They did. The price was also right in the range of money I was looking to spend. But for some reason, I told my wife to forget about it. I decided I would get a pair somewhere at another time. My wife Lori grabbed me by the arm as I was turning to leave and said "You need a pair of sneakers. You like these, they are the price you were looking to pay, they have your size and color, what are you waiting for? Just buy them. She was exactly right. There was no good reason to not just buy them. She closed me. Sometimes people need help making a buying decision. Remember this story because it will happen to you sooner or later.
There are a lot of different closing strategies and approaches. If you just remember to let the prospect do most of the talking, and you really sincerely listen, you will learn the skills to quickly decide which way you need to proceed. The more you do it, the better you will get.
