Know Anybody?

Referrals.

The best friend and "go to" technique of Real Estate, Insurance, Encyclopedia (Remember them?) Vacuum Cleaner, Window and Siding, and many other kinds of "Direct" Salespeople for...well...eons!

Why? One reason may be that over and over again it has been proven that word-of-mouth customer satisfaction is the STRONGEST form of advertising known to man.

For decades, the assertion of regulatory agencies or others who would disparage network marketing has been that only distributors are customers and that most companies' product lines are merely an excuse for a compensation plan or recruiting opportunity.

So when people become loyal "preferred" customers without any financial incentive, as a distributor would have, and are willing and able to tell others in written or live testimonials, about their "unbelievable" results; Why wouldn't a savvy promoter take advantage of this to build and broaden their business?

Incredibly, for some reason, very few do.

Whether this is because they haven't been taught or are just unaware of this simple, logical, obvious, and NATURAL process remains undetermined.

Maybe not so obvious, however, is a variation of the referral method that can actually initiate a sale by offering a simple choice that doesn't make the prospect feel "targeted." ie: Do you know anyone who feels they need to lose weight? Have you heard anyone complaining about the economy and looking to earn more income? Do you know anyone who would like to add an EXTRA six figures to their income in the next two years?

All of these enable any individual to 'escape" with a simple "No, not really" or alternatively, an enthusiastic reply of: "Yeah! What about ME?"

Now let's go one step further..." outside the box" so to speak. When most think of referrals, they think of them in relation to only product sales.

What if, in your prospecting efforts for building your team, you stopped thinking of individuals as just potential distributors and expanded your thinking to include the possibility of a "resource" for others who may be interested or prospects?

I call this the "E.F. Hutton" or "Center of Influence approach" to referrals or prospecting."

Remember the old "E.F. Hutton" Commercials from the '70s? Well, at least the "Boomers" and Generation Xers, should! A crowded room, lots of noise. Two men in dialogue and one says something like: "MY broker says it's a real GOOD buy! What does your broker think?" And the other person responds: "Well my broker is E.F. Hutton, and Hutton says..." Suddenly, all the noise stops and you can hear a pin drop, as EVERYONE is listening. Then comes the tagline: "When E.F. Hutton talks, EVERYONE listens!"

Some people are not prospects...but they are RESOURCES for prospects. They may not be interested in your product or business, but they may KNOW the perfect person to REFER you to! The best thing about that is you now have immaculate credibility because of who you have been referred by!

You can build an entire business and network, just by prospecting Influential people and those they will introduce you to...

For more on identifying Centers of Influence and how to utilize them as a resource for prospects, see Success by Design's Untraining.

Russ DeVan is proud to be a contributing Editor to The Network Marketing Magazine

Founder of Success by Design Global LLC and the creator of The Un-Training tm