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Free Team Building Tips
If you decide to build a Network Marketing Business team, you need prospects to present your opportunity to. If someone tells you otherwise, question carefully.
Successful network marketing companies will have good training and duplicatable systems.
Here are some free tips on building an MLM team, from my network marketing business training.
You can think of finding leads for your MLM business like “Sorting Apples”.
Here’s what you will find:
Red Apples
You want these people in your business.
How to spot a Red Apple:
- Enthusiastic
- Ambitious
- Welcoming of new ideas
- Make decisions fast
- Self-starters
- Good networkers (they will have good social skills, online and offline)
- They’re always busy, so when talking to them, get to the point fast or you’ll bore them
- 20% of the population
Spend 80% of your time looking for people with these qualities. That doesn’t mean 80% of your time hounding them! It means: split that 80% between spotting them and then either cultivate them in a no-pressure way, or present them with a quick video introduction so they can decide if they want more info.
Which of those two approaches you take will depend on your existing relationship with them. While an “old friend” may be fine with a “Hey, do me a favor and watch this video”, if that’s your first approach to someone new, you’re likely to get blocked!
Once Red Apples join your business, make sure they’re the people you put at the top of your support list. Because they’re self-starters and highly motivated they probably won’t need a lot of your time, but when they need help, don’t make them wait!
Green Apples
Making up 70% of the population, Green Apples are slower to get started and will listen to new ideas. However, at first they’ll probably be skeptical and have a thousand and one questions.
If you can satisfactorily answer these questions you may find they’ll turn into your most loyal and well-informed team members. A great reward for the time you spent.
OR, you may never have enough answers to satisfy them – which is probably why they’re not already in a networking business!
Your role is to give them enough information to get them to a “Yes”, “No” or “Maybe later” answer. Then move on.
Spend 20% of your time watching out for Green Apples and be prepared to give them plenty of support.
Brown Apples
10% of people have a scarcity attitude or a completely closed employee mentality.
I say “employee mentality” with great love and respect, because some of my family and most of my closest friends have put in sterling service to an employer for many years, love their professions and have not the slightest interest in looking at a business opportunity. That’s their choice and I respect it.
To clear your own conscience, you may like to point out to them that:
- The “Job for life” can never be guaranteed.
- Neither can their health and willingness to work and commute 35 hours a week. (Probably best to phrase it that these are worries or experiences YOU had, otherwise you’ll look as if you’re pressuring them.)
- Sow the seed that YOUR motivation for a second income from the business is to ensure that you have satisfactory plans for a comfortable retirement income, because you hadn’t yet made adequate provisions. If they have – well done!
In general “Brown Apples” are not open to joining your business as team builders and you don’t want them to. They won’t do anything, and their scarcity mentality and negative attitude can be a downer, and sap everyone’s time and enthusiasm.
Their circumstances may change, or some may become customers if the product appeals.
Spend 0% of your time looking for them and trying to recruit them as business builders. Only volunteer information if asked.
As mentioned, Brown Apples can often be those closest to you, that you love dearly. That is the case for me. But I don’t want (or need) them in my business. It would cause stress and quarrels with people I love and respect. Let them go, with love. They know where you are if they change their mind.
Rotten Apples
Again, these may be people close to us, who THINK they have our best interests at heart.
Whereas a Brown Apple will just walk away and leave you to your chosen path, Rotten Apples are toxic people. They will actively drag up dirt on the MLM profession, or your company, to try and convince you to give up on your dreams.
This may be from genuine concern or fear for you, or they may just want to keep you at their level of income and success so you don’t “leave them behind” – in whatever sense you care to take that.
Run – don’t walk. Your dreams are yours and yours alone.
Converting Apples?
You would not stand in the supermarket and “will” a Brown or Rotten Apple to turn Red or Green. You would put it to one side and walk away. Do the same in your network marketing business.
If your friends and family are all Brown or Rotten Apples, don’t stress. Leave them be, and wait until they ask HOW you have been able to quit your job / buy a new car / take extra holidays.
Likewise you would not try to “will” a Green Apple to turn Red (or vice versa – both are great prospects). Appreciate them for their good qualities and enjoy giving your support. A green apple may in time ripen into a red one, but it’s completely out of your control. Just nurture each in the manner appropriate for them.
It’s important to give your Red and Green Apples actionable steps and information within their first 48 hours, otherwise they may turn into a Brown or Rotten Apple – especially if they are sleeping with one LOL!
Apples And Three-Way Calls
Your MLM business support system may include 3-way calls where a more experienced member will talk to your prospect and answer their questions to help them reach a decision about the business.
If so, NEVER bring your mentor a Brown or Rotten Apple. You’re wasting everyone’s time – including the prospect’s!
Your mentor will be best equipped to direct the call if you tip him/her off PRIVATELY in advance whether your prospect is a Red or Green Apple. Remember:
- Red Apples want quick facts, not a rambling explanation. Don’t waste anyone’s time.
- Green Apples will want a lot of detailed questions answered, so allow plenty of time.
- DON’T say, in front of the prospect, “Here’s Fred, he’s a Red / Green Apple” !
Which Type Am I?
Some days I’m Red, just powering forward – other days I’m Green, enquiring about the depths of the business.
As an amusing aside it occurred to me that I am a Brown Apple for most types of business that others approach me with because I have “graduated” through a series of mistakes that taught me what to avoid in promoting an online business to my current business.
I know what works and what doesn’t work (for me).
Affiliate marketing has its advantages, but there are many pitfalls and unless you have a very large mailing list with a superb ‘repeat purchase’ product, I fear it will take a long time to build a decent income, and trying to build that mailing list has proved to be expensive.
Blogging – I enjoy, but from observing many successful and unsuccessful bloggers, I fear I do not have the hours available to earn a decent income from blogging alone. So my blog remains a very valued tool to use to pass on the knowledge (and mistakes) from my years online.
Network marketing has been the only vehicle in which I have ever had regular success (4 figures a month at best). Yes, there have been stumbles along the way, but because of the low startup costs, for sheer profits it can’t be beaten.
My current business is a Private Members Investment Club – click here to learn more / open a free account to look round what the club offers. (Building a business is entirely optional, I originally joined just as an alternative saving plan to prepare for retirement. But when I saw the support from the club and my upline, I decided to start a little gentle promotion.)
Network Marketing Business Tips
The credit for these network marketing business tips is due to Kecia Wimmer, an excellent trainer in a previous MLM company I was with. It wasn’t her fault the company didn’t deliver their promises (to UK members).
