Persuasive presentations for network marketing

When you are doing the business of NWM as a professional and in the manner that is intended by “networking,” you are making lots of presentations. Some are one-on-one in person. Others may be for a group of people. You may be doing the presentation over the telephone.

Whatever the circumstance and whatever the number of prospective product customers or prospective business partners, you must be persuasive in your presentations.

Certainly you are trying to attract people to your team and to be involved in the business opportunity. Or you are trying to attract people to your line of products and become customers that continuously consume the products. You are definitely attempting to create a residual income.

Persuade The Encarta® World English Dictionary defines persuade as: “to make somebody believe something, especially by giving good reasons for doing so.” Synonyms for persuade are: influence, convince, sway, advise, urge, encourage, promote, market, and sell. These are all positive activities that can bring to pass positive outcomes. That is exactly what we want to accomplish as we give presentations for our NWM business. The concept of persuade implies more effort and energy than simply to “share” the product or opportunity with others.

Focus for a moment on the “by giving good reasons for doing so” part of the definition. That would surely eliminate the hype and misinformation from any presentations that we should be giving in NWM. It also means that when we believe in something, it is very appropriate to get others to believe too! It’s great to be persuasive. Just don’t be pushy, or obnoxious, or rude, or overbearing.

Persuasive Selling After business school, I worked in sales management with Proctor and Gamble. All managers and salespersons were taught the Persuasive Selling Model to increase the effectiveness of their selling efforts. The most important principle of the model that assists us in having persuasive presentations is “to sell the benefits.” People are always asking, “What’s in it for me?” They want to know how the product or opportunity will benefit them.

In order to give persuasive presentations, you must teach about and stress the benefits.

Product Features and Benefits The president of a large corporation once remarked, “We do not buy products; we buy what the products do for us.” In making presentations, many networkers give the features of the product or service they are trying to sell. They do not effectively communicate the benefits the person enjoys when the idea is accepted. The outstanding, persuasive NWM professionals are those who consistently talk in terms that interest the prospect. They are the ones who answer the prospect’s question: “What’s in it for me?” They are the ones who stress customer benefits, not product features.

What is the essential difference between a benefit and a feature? A benefit is a favorable result the buyer enjoys from the purchase. A benefit appeals to the buyer’s selfish motivations by answering the question “What’s in it for me?” Whenever possible in discussing benefits, you should try to be specific. Many specific benefits of NWM are: financial independence, flexible schedule, income diversification, and limitless profit potential. Some of the benefits of nutritional products that we share are: eliminate pain, more energy, heart health, enhanced immune system, and protection against germs and disease.

A feature is any characteristic of a product or program that provides the favorable result or benefit. Features could include: ingredients, specific amounts of this or that, simplicity, no territories, duplicatable, no business experience required, and certain procedures. The persuasive networker stresses benefits, not features.

Use the features to communicate what the benefits are, and reinforce how they impact upon the prospect.

Enthusiasm Makes the Difference When thinking about persuasion, I immediately went to Norman Vincent Peale’s book Enthusiasm Makes the Difference. In the chapter “Enthusiastic Persuasion,” Peale says, “There is a magic formula for success: find a need and fill it!” Think about that. You’ll discover that it is guiding you to the “sell the benefits” principle. You’ll also come to the understanding that you are thinking win-win when you are giving persuasive presentations. You are not trying to take advantage of anyone for your own gain. Contemplate the many needs that we can fill: current financial needs, quality retirement lifestyle, health challenges, energy needs, vitality needs, and the desire to belong. To be successful in networking, we simply must find those with these needs and persuade them that our products or our program can fill the respective needs.

Responsible Persuasion Listen to what Peale teaches: “Success is not based on smug cleverness, sharp practice, shady promotion, or super high pressure. Loud talking, simulated enthusiasm that is usually coupled with high pressure is another false procedure that doesn’t have what it takes to persuade and communicate and produce long-lasting results.” Bravo, Norman! Oh, that more distributors and leaders in NWM would read and apply that counsel.

We need responsible persuasion. We have high-quality products that certainly need no false propaganda or “shady promotion.”

We have the business of NWM in which people can make money. We need responsible persuasion. Those who continue to create a bad image and sorry reputation for our industry need to get rid of the “smug cleverness,” and outright misrepresentations that deceive the unwary.

10 Principles for Persuasive Presentations in NWM Here are ten principles that can get you better results from the presentations that you are making about your products and your business opportunity.

• Be Prepared This is the motto of the Boy Scouts. Great advice for life. Great advice for presentations. Henry Ford said, “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.” In order to make effective presentations, you do not have to know everything, but you do need to have an idea of what it is that you should cover. You must have a track to run on. You must get your ideas and information organized.

You should have mini-presentations about 1) the company, 2) the products, 3) the distributor support organization, 4) the compensation, 5) NWM and 6) dreams. Be flexible in how and when you present each segment to your various prospects.

When you are properly prepared, you can be comfortable in visiting with prospects and responding to their questions and needs as opposed to giving them a “standard” presentation that you give to everyone. Preparation provides flexibility.

As you present, confirm understanding and acceptance with appropriate open-ended questions. Listen to responses. Re-emphasize what you have told them and sell them with enthusiasm and persuasion.

• Be Yourself As you present persuasively, you must learn to “visit” and be at ease. The more comfortable you are the more your personality comes through to the prospects. NWM is a relationship-building business. Through your “presentations” {your visits}, you are creating a connection. You are bonding with someone. I have also found that the more that you act like yourself the more fun you have in NWM. That is certainly a huge benefit of NWM. We love what we do because we have fun!
• Present with Passion, Excitement, Pizzazz Successful NWM is a business of energy. It’s like the energy of a magnet. You are attracting people to YOU! You are attracting people to your products! You are attracting people to your opportunity of making money. This takes excitement! This takes sincere enthusiasm! Be responsible and do not degrade yourself or the industry with hype, exaggeration, misinformation and false propaganda! Don’t fall for it when you hear it and don’t do it to others.

At certain times the energy of magnets also repels. Use your energy in a positive and productive manner. What kind of folks do you want to attract? You’ll attract folks that are like you! Responsible passion, excitement and pizzazz are not only compelling, but fun and effective.

• Present with Persuasion in Mind Red Motley said, “Nothing ever happens until somebody sells something.” Sell the product! Sell NWM! Sell the business opportunity!

YOU must be persuasive. You must believe in what you are selling.

You must motivate people to get involved and stay involved.

Be dynamic! Verify the wants and needs of prospects. Explain how the benefits of your products or the opportunity match up to their wants and needs. Understand the difference between features and benefits. Features tell, but benefits sell!

Communicate at the level of the prospect. Use language that the prospect can understand. Teach them the “lingo” {the vocabulary and language of NWM} as you go along. Demonstrate that you know the business, the industry, your company, your products, but not in a demeaning manner. Be kind and considerate. Build on truths that you discover when you are visiting with people. Build their self-esteem. Make the appropriate connection of trust and you are persuasive.

• Practice! Practice! Practice! We have often heard that “Practice makes perfect.” The concept of practice is powerful, but I like: “Perfect practice makes perfect!” You must learn and use good principles to employ “perfect practice.” Work on getting the required knowledge and information. Prepare the track to run on. Then, practice on family members. Practice on team members. Participate in group discussions whenever possible. Use conference calls to practice your “mini-presentations.” Practice on actual phone calls with prospects, knowing that you are practicing and you’re not going to worry about “blowing it.” With preparation and this kind of practice, you get good at making persuasive presentations.
• Testimonials It is this simple: Facts tell! Stories sell! In our group, we have the motto: “Take the Products! Talk to People! Show the Plan!” This business starts with you taking the products. You confirm that you like them and that they are effective and quality products. You develop your personal testimony regarding the products.

You don’t have to have a personal testimony regarding all of the products in order to use testimonials. After you have given yours, feel free to use the specific testimonials of others. At meetings, on conference calls, off of websites, in personal conversations, learn to accumulate testimonials. Write them down. Use a testimonial journal. Write down names, locations, and key facts.

This not only builds your belief, but also gets you prepared to share testimonials. It is this simple: Facts tell! Stories sell! I am talking about using legitimate, valid, true stories.

• Closing the Presentations We must clearly understand that a “close” is the natural consequence of an effective, persuasive presentation. Far too many networkers fail to ask

closing questions. One reason for that is that they fear putting pressure on people. When done appropriately, following effective presentations {or parts of presentations}, there is no pressure that is put on prospects through the closing process. In a minute I’ll teach you the best closing question that I’ve ever come up with for NWM presentations.

First, more motivation for closing. Someone once wrote: “Believers are closers. The word, ‘close’ begins with a ‘c,’ and the ‘c’ stands for conviction. Without that conviction, there is no convincing {persuasion}, and NO sale.”

Herb Farrell said, “A key to closing presentations and sponsoring business partners is overcoming objections.” You need to understand that objections are simply requests for more information. They are a natural part of the closing process. So, when you ask closing questions, be prepared {principle #1} to answer objections {questions}, and then ask the closing question again.

Here’s the best closing question. When you feel it is time to ask the closing question, ask: “What would you like to do as the next step?”

It is not a pressure question. You are trying to find out what is going on in the prospect’s mind. You don’t have to learn the various kinds of closes that are taught. This one question is a powerful closing question that can be used by all networkers. Other forms of the question would be: “What’s next?” “Where do you want to go from here?” “How do you want to proceed?” You also can come up with suitable variations of “What would you like to do as the next step?” Just make sure that you ask closing questions!

• Follow-Up and Follow-Through These are topics for an article all by themselves. Just a few comments and how they relate to persuasive presentations. In NWM, the fortune is in the follow-up and follow-through. They are different activities.

After a great presentation with a solid prospect, you must follow-up with him/her. When possible, set an appointment for the follow-up visit. When you follow-up, you are demonstrating interest in prospects and a desire to work with them. You also begin to develop the trust that must be there for working together.

Follow-through means that you do the things that you commit to do in a presentation with a prospect. It’s always important to make commitments of doing certain things, like sending a note or brochure in the mail or sending an email, so that you can demonstrate that you do what you say you will do. This builds confidence and trust, which are critical parts of an ongoing business relationship in NWM.

• Learn from Others This applies to other distributors in NWM whether in your program or those that are trying to prospect you. Importantly, this also applies to presenters, teachers, and salespersons who are not in NWM. Become a fierce critic of speakers and presenters no matter what the field or topic. Make notes of what you like and don’t like about how they make presentations and how they react with people. You can learn from both the good and the bad of what others do.

With regards to your own program, attend available meetings, get on conference calls, read and ponder training material that is provided by the company and your distributor support organization. There is no need for you to have to re-invent the wheel. Learn from others. It greatly enhances your skills and abilities. Importantly, you learn more quickly than trying to figure out these things by your self. Don’t ever forget that your sponsor or other upline mentor is a great resource for you in learning how to make persuasive presentations.

• Sell the Dream Robert Watterman, author of Renewal Factor, wrote: “Dreams, not desperation, move organizations to the highest levels of performance.” Obviously, this is also true for individuals. NWM is an opportunity industry.

The business of NWM moves forward on the dreams of those who do the business. The highest money earners are those with the most intense dreams.

It is the dreams of those who are not satisfied with their current circumstances that push them from part-time networking to the lifestyle and quality of life of the full-time NWM career professionals.

In order to have compelling, persuasive presentations, you must be focusing on dreams. You must find out about the dreams of your prospects. You must qualify them as to their desires to live the dreams. It’s the dream power that motivates us to do what others are not willing to do… so that we can live in a way that others never can. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams!” This is especially true for those who do the business of NWM. Sell the dream to make your presentations persuasive!

Stalwart Principles Can Work for You With study, pondering and application, you’ll be able to build these principles into your presentations. That assures you excellent communications with, not only your prospects, but also your existing and future business partners. These are stalwart and fundamental principles of persuasive presentations. You’ll find that they work in all areas of life in which you must teach and make presentations. But in particular, they are essential for making persuasive presentations in NWM. Sell persuasively and live your dreams!

David A. Nelson has been a full-time network marketing professional for some 20 years. He has a successful track record as a distributor and trainer. He has a total commitment to network marketing and the viability of network marketing as a home-based business enterprise for great numbers of people, and not just a select few. He has a book published called: Create Your Fortune in Network Marketing: A Part-Time Distributor’s Guide to Financial Success.

Prior to network marketing, he was a Sales Manager for Procter & Gamble and a District Sales Manager for Johnson Baby Products Company. In addition, he owned and operated the David Nelson Securities Schools of Denver and Dallas. He trained sales and management professionals to pass the National Association of Securities Dealers license qualification examinations.

David graduated number one in his class with an MBA from Brigham Young University after earning a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He lives with his wife, Nanette, in Centennial, Colorado. To get more details about “Posturing for Profits,” feel free to contact him at dnelson@denveronline.net or 303-694-4151.