Trust is becoming a rare, but very valuable commodity in
the world today. Thanks to widely publicized incidents of
identity theft, scams and so many other stories of
unethical or illegal behavior, many people understandably
have their guard up, especially when it comes to
interacting with strangers. Especially strangers who are
pitching "business opportunities." Like, umm... network
marketers.
If you've ever worked a cold lead list, you probably spoke
with more than one person who already had been flooded with
calls from dozens of kooky-sounding, suspicious,
get-rich-quick-scheme promoters. Needless to say, by the
time you got them on the line, they were pretty skeptical.
These are the extreme cases. Then there are the everyday,
run-of-the-mill interactions with family and friends who
have written you off as "one of those MLMers" - someone
who's always pitching their product or opportunity. (And in
all honesty, in this respect, a lot of network marketers
are guilty as charged. I know I certainly alienated my
share of warm market leads in the past.)
Distrust and skepticism create the biggest hurdle facing
network marketers today. How do you get over this
roadblock?
Even better, how do you avoid getting in this situation in
the first place?
Here is a short, true story that sheds light on this
question.
Many years ago, our 10-year-old heat pump died. Our
contractor had installed it when the house was built, and
it had come to the end of its useful life. So I took a
deep breath, gritted my teeth, got out the Yellow Pages,
and started calling around, looking for the best deal on a
replacement.
Most of the sales people I spoke with just asked me how big
the house was and then gave me a price on the same BRAND A
our contractor had used. BRAND A was a popular brand -
highly advertised - no doubt you've heard of it.
Then I called an outfit called Dave's Heating and AC. Dave
himself happened to answer the phone, and when I explained
my problem and asked him for a comparison quote on a new
Brand A heat pump, he proceeded to explain to me why he
didn't recommend that brand.
He spent the next fifteen minutes patiently educating me on
the intricacies of heat pump mechanics, comparing the
features and reliability of BRAND A with the BRAND B he
preferred, answering all my questions, and generally
impressing me with his expertise and honesty.
Here was a guy who knew what he was doing!
At that point, a weight lifted off my shoulders, and I
didn't care anymore about the price. I had found someone I
wanted to do business with, and that was all that mattered.
I bought the heat pump, immediately signed an annual
service contract with Dave's Heating and AC, and I've been
a loyal customer ever since.
What was going on here? What did Dave accomplish in that
first phone call that the other companies did not?
First, he gave me a pile of very useful, free,
no-strings-attached information that helped me solve a
problem.
Second, by doing this, he also established himself as an
expert in his field.
Third, he won my trust.
Basically, Dave invested his time in me before I even
became his customer. He runs a busy operation, and I'm sure
he had plenty of other things he could have done with the
fifteen minutes he spent talking to me, but for some reason
he chose to teach me about heat pumps instead. Maybe it
was a calculated business decision on his part, or maybe
he's just a nice guy. It doesn't really matter.
By the way, if you happen to live in Northern Virginia and
need help with your heating and AC system, Dave's phone
number is (703) 450-9600. (And I'm not making any money by
telling you this.)
So what does the story about Dave have to do with network
marketing?
If you want to win your prospects' trust, do what Dave
does. Invest in them before you even know them. Freely give
something of value that helps solve their problems - useful
information.
How do you accomplish this?
The Internet makes it easy. If you don't have a website,
start one. You'll need to pick a niche, and this could be
any one of a number of topics. For example, you might
provide information about a problem that your products or
services help address, or even network marketing itself.
Position yourself as a solutions provider. Make people want
to linger at your site and read what you've written simply
because it's so useful. Give them good reasons to trust
you.
After a while, they might start contacting you first.
If you already have a website, take a good hard look at it
from the point of view of a new visitor. Is it mostly just
a pitch for your products and opportunity, or does it give
real, valuable information to your visitors? Be honest -
if you were a visitor, would you be attracted to stay and
explore the site further, or would you take one look at it,
say, "Uh oh! They're selling something!" and hit the back
button.
Don't get me wrong. There is definitely a place for a
product and opportunity site in your overall marketing
system - AFTER you've built the trust and AFTER your
visitor expresses a desire to know more. But it makes a
lousy first introduction.
Say goodbye to skepticism and distrust forever. Start
investing in your prospects by giving them what they crave
- solutions to their problems in the form of free, useful
information.
----------------------------------------------------
Liz Monte is the author of a free online course which
provides basic training in the latest Internet marketing
strategies for network marketers. If you would like to
learn more about taming the trust factor and attracting
qualified prospects with your own website, please go to
http://www.wisenetworkmarketer.com .
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