MLM Training: A Common Prospecting Mistake You Definitely Want To Avoid

Tim Sales
MLM trainers often teach you to "mirror" whatever your prospect does. He scratches his nose; you scratch yours, etc. When this method was put to the test and proved to not work, the author tested a bunch of other things, and found this tip to work the best.

One of the most important things you want to do when talking with people about your MLM business and/or products, is to make sure you're being upbeat.

Now, what does that mean?

The word "upbeat" means to be full of optimism or cheerfulness.

As a phone tip, your actions, the tone of your voice, what you talk about and how you respond to your prospect's questions and comments should be full of optimism and/or cheerfulness.

Now I know you may be wondering why being full of optimism and being cheerful is related to building a successful and profitable MLM business...continue reading and I'll explain.

Why would you want to be cheerful and optimistic towards your prospect? Why not be the opposite: negative and sad? Because people (your prospect) enjoy talking with, being around and working with people (you) who are cheerful and optimistic.

Now, let me warn you about a common mistake. This is an MLM training nugget you will want to write down and never forget.

DON'T BE TOO FULL OF OPTIMISM AND CHEERFULNESS.

Before I explain this, please know that I didn't make this rule. I only observed that it's there! Around me and when you call into the office, I urge you to be as happy as you can be!

But if you're considerably more cheerful and optimistic than the person you're talking to, you are at a different level than they are and this will make communication more difficult.


Imagine that you just won the lottery and you are jumping up and down and screaming with cheerfulness. You're standing next to someone who just got fired from their job. The two of you are very different in your mood. You will just annoy this unemployed person.

So what's the "right" amount of cheerfulness for any prospect?

Optimally, use slightly more optimism and cheerfulness than the prospect is showing you.

If you're someone who follows my training, this may sound a lot like Communication Quality #4: "Use the right amount of assertiveness." But it also looks a bit like Communication Quality #6: "Ensure your body doesn't distract the prospect," and Communication Quality #9: "Communicate at the prospect's level of understanding."

The truth is, there are many Communication Qualities this prospecting tip is similar to because it is part of the basic underlying issue when you talk to prospects.

How would you know if you're being too optimistic or too cheerful? As always, you must observe the person you're talking to. Remember, you're interested in him or her and the reaction they're having towards you.

All the best,

Tim Sales

Tim Sales helps network marketers gain the confidence and skills to be an MLM success. Learn how to become a true network marketing professional and sign up for his free MLM training newsletter and listen to free training at Tim Sales' First Class MLM Tools.
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Tim Sales

After 11 years with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team, I answered an ad in the Washington Post that led me to my first and only network marketing company. Five years later my income reached $150,000 per month with over 2,400 new distributors per month entering from 20 countries.

I retired from MLM in 1996 but concluded that the skills and knowledge I developed would be of great value to others. I also felt that the network marketing industry deserved what help I might be able to provide to increase it's reach, professionalism and ethics.

Phase one was the creation of a video presentation that has now been seen by over 4 million people around the world and which establishes MLM as a professional, ethical industry. It's a DVD called Brilliant Compensation and over 500,000 copies are in circulation worldwide.

Phase two established that network marketing skills were universal and independent of the product line or business aspects. MLM skills involve how to INVITE prospects to listen, PRESENT the products or the business and gain participation and then TRAIN new members how to invite and present. This was launched with the release of the MLM training lecture set: Professional Inviter. Presenting skills and training skills will come out next.

Phase three is to create public service announcements to educate the public on the benefits of our industry. This phase started with the release of www.FirstClassMLM.com and the online distribution of 3 video clips that handle the most common objections in our industry.

To find out more about my MLM training tools, visit www.FirstClassMLMTools.com