It is important to understand how to handle your prospects and move them from looking at your business, to helping you build your business by becoming a member of your team.

If you are going to build a large and growing business then you will need to understand the methods and processes used to convert your prospects into business partners. Having techniques that enable duplication is the only way to ensure others can get involved and start building their own groups.

Being able to plug a new person into a proven process is the quickest and easiest way to start leveraging yourself. The idea is many people working together, doing a little instead of you trying

to do it all yourself. That is why a proven process is so important - it enables others to do what you do.

Ricky Clifton - Your Travel Biz

Here are some general principles:

• Always leave a message unless you’re trying them again that same day.

• 3 strikes and you are out – if they don’t return your call by the time you have left them a third message, don’t call them again for 1 month.

1. “Curiosity” message – Hello _____this is _____ _____. Give me a call as soon as possible! My number is _____________.

2. “Benefit / Reason” message – Hello ______ my name is ______ ____. You answered an online ad in regards to starting your own business. I am attempting to contact you as per your request. Give me a call as soon as you can so we can talk about the possibilities that might exist for you with our company. My number is _________.

3. “Let Go/Fear of Loss” message - Hello _______ this is _____ calling in regards to helping you start your own business. I have left a couple other messages attempting to reach you but have been unsuccessful. Our company is really growing quickly. Unfortunately I only have time to work with people that are serious about taking advantage of the unbelievable benefits from owning their own business. If you are genuinely looking for a way to change things, call me back ASAP! I can be reached at ________. I look forward to talking with you to see if this might work for you!
   

Always remember that your response rate will be low. But, if you can get 1 to 2 people out of 10 to call you back it is still better than none. Don’t focus on the ones that don’t call you back, focus on the ones that do.

Rick Clifton - Your Travel Biz

First, you need to make sure this feature is on your phone service or have it added. If you need to add it, it is usually cheaper to pay for it on a monthly basis.

On most phones, you will hit the flash button. This will give you a dial tone and put the person you were just talking to on hold. Dial the number of the person you want to add to the conversation. When they answer, hit the flash button on your phone. This will put you all together.
To disconnect the person you just added, hit the flash button on your phone. Now you are back to talking with the original person you start the conversation with.

“I am new at this so I’m going to get someone on the line that can answer your questions. Hold on for a second.” Or, “I’m not sure but let me get someone to answer that for you while we are on the phone. Hold on for a second” If they are already part of your team, “Hold on, I would like to introduce you to someone that can help you if you can’t get in touch with me…”

Rick Clifton - YTB

When you are new to the business, three-way calling can help teach you how to invite your prospect to listen to or watch information regarding your business. They are also useful in teach new people how to follow up properly.

Once this training period is over, three-way calling is effective in helping answer your prospect’s questions AFTER they have seen information about your business and are interested. It can also be used to introduce a new distributor to their upline and show the support that is available to them.

Rick - Your Travel Biz

Here are some general principles:

• Ask questions that you really want the answers to. Listen and take notes.
• Ask questions that require more than just a yes or no. If you have to ask a yes or no question, always follow it with a Why, How, or What question.
• Sometimes it is appropriate to answer their question with a question. Only do this to get a deeper understanding of your prospect’s question before you answer it. Otherwise, your prospect will think you are trying to avoid their question.

Here are some specific ideas:

Most people can hear; very few actually listen. How many of us have said “yes” or “uh-huh” to things and then wondered what we just gave permission for or agreed to? A lot of us have had that happen with our spouse, only to hear: “Did you even hear what I asked you?” See, they knew we weren’t listening to them.

What would you think if you went to a restaurant and ordered a steak and they brought you chicken instead? Yet, that is what we often do with our prospects. We don’t listen enough to really know what they want. After all, it is about what they want, not what we want for them. You need to be able to ask the right questions and then LISTEN to what your prospect is REALLY SAYING. Learn how to ask the right follow up questions to get the details on exactly what they want.

Back to the restaurant: After you have ordered the steak, what is the very next question the waiter/waitress asks you? How would you like that cooked? Why do they ask that? Because there are many different ways people like there steak cooked. If it is not prepared properly they won’t want to eat it.

Now, take your prospect. You need to ask the right questions and then LISTEN to what they are saying. Our prospects know when we are not listening to what they are saying. We all want to start talking way too early. We expect the prospect to be as excited about our business as we are. Remember, you probably didn’t get that excited until you saw what was possible for YOU. Always start with questions; listen to their response and then talking to them about how this could work for them. If you don’t know what their needs are, how can you possibly expect to help meet their need?

Listen to how they say things more than what they say. The same sentence can be said in a variety of tones and body languages and mean totally different emotions.

Albert Mehrabian, a psychologist, estimates that only 7% of communication is the actual words. A remarkable 38% of the message is attributed to tone of voice and 55% is credited to body language.

If you only listen to what they say, you are missing up to 93% of the message.

At the restaurant you expect to get what you ordered. Why should your prospect be any different?

Listening is an invaluable skill if you learn how to use it effectively. Constant improvement will lead to a bigger, better business but will also improve your life skills.

Matt - YTB

Developing rapport immediately dramatically increases your chances of having a great conversation with your prospect.
You need to, as quickly as possible, set yourself apart from the telemarketers that are calling them. They are just like you, as soon as they think it is someone trying to sell them something, the defense shields go up.
You need to circumvent these defenses, expeditiously.
Here are some ways to do that:

• Above all else approach them like they are your friend and perhaps this conversation will be the start of a new friendship. Use a “friends first” approach and determine if this is someone you would enjoy working with.

• Try to connect with them immediately. Geography is a quick way. Use their area code to determine what part of the country they are in, prior to calling them. You can say, “I understand you are in (whatever state)” and then ask them things like, “Are you close to (whatever city)?” or “Have you lived there all your life?” It doesn’t take much to get them talking with you and then you have a better chance of them putting their defense shields down. You can talk about the weather, kids, family, jobs, etc. If you talk with them, you will find ways to connect and find something in common. If you do this, you will dramatically increase your ratio of how many people you talk to vs. how many that join you in your business.

• Smile when you talk.It sounds silly but people can really tell if you are smiling on the phone. Try it, you’ll be amazed at the results.
  

Don’t hesitate to use the phone to build rapport and establish relationships with others. Even a brief conversation over the telephone can create an immediate bond or feeling that cannot be sparked while looking at a web page or reading an email. Remember the phone can be your best friend. Your voice conveys emotion and is what brings you to life and sets you apart from all the others.

Rick Clifton - Your Travel Biz

Phone Skills are vitally important. The phone is often your first, and sometimes only, method you use to contact potential customers or distributors.

You have probably heard it a thousand times but it is true, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
The sharper and more confident you sound, the sharper and more confident you will appear to your prospect. This may just get them to set up and pay closer attention to what you have to say. Isn’t that what you want?
Here are some pointers for the phone:

• First and foremost, be in a positive frame of mind before making calls. Never make calls when you are upset, frustrated or negative in any way. Get in a positive frame of mind by listening to music or something else that is uplifting.
  
• If possible, stand up and walk around when you’re on the phone. Your energy level is much higher when you’re standing and walking around. That high energy comes across when you’re talking. We would all rather talk with someone who is excited.
  
• Always know why you called and what your goal for the call is.
  
• Don’t take any other calls while you are on the phone with a prospect. If you want their undivided attention, then they expect and deserve your undivided attention. They will feel less important if you take someone else’s call.
  
• Be considerate of other people’s time - Always ask if you’ve called at a good time, and do they have a few minutes to talk. If it isn’t a good time, simply schedule an appointment.
  
• Don’t sound like a sales person. Develop Rapport immediately.
  
• Ask questions and really listen to their answers.
  
• Record yourself while talking with prospects and then go back and listen to how you sounded. Practicing helps you pick out the awkward parts of your presentation. I know it sounds and looks a little odd but practice in front of a mirror until you feel and look comfortable. It will give you much more confidence and make you more comfortable on the phone.
  
• Don’t try to sound like someone else. You may think your upline’s technique is wonderful. Take their message, not their presence and make it fit you.
  
• If you don’t know the answer to a question, tell your prospect you are not sure and that you will get back to them. Get the answer and get back to them or do a 3 way call with your sponsor/upline.
  
• Know when to move on. If you don’t see yourself working with this person for whatever reason, move on to the next.
  
• Always be polite and courteous even if the person you are talking to isn’t.
  
• Never try to convince someone to do something they are not ready, willing and able to do. This usually winds up to be a headache for you in the long run and doesn’t help them out either.
  

Try to always set an appointment to get back together if a follow up is required.

Ricky Clifton - YTB

The following is a list of items to consider in setting up your phone system. You don’t need to go out immediately and get everything on the list but you will want to work toward having these thing in place.

• Setting up 3-way calling. You may already have this service as part of a package. If not, you can get it by calling your local phone service and having them add 3-way calling. It is usually an additional $3 per month.
  
• Setting up a voicemail system. If you have an answering machine on your phone, that will work. If not, you will need to buy an answering machine or have your local phone company add a voicemail box to your current system. You do not want to miss a prospect calling. Make sure your message portrays to the caller that you are in business.
  
• Setting up a business environment. Either set up a separate line for your business or if that is not possible, make arrangements with members of your household about how the phone will be anwered and by whom. This is critical because this may be your first live contact with your prospect.
  

Long Distance. If you are building your business outside of your local area, you will need a long distance package. The best ones are the flat-rate plans. This is where you pay one price for unlimited long distance minutes. This will save you significant money if you are calling long distance frequently. Also, consider a voice over IP system that is Internet based and easy to install.

Rick Clifton - YTB Travel

It is important to develop your phone skills and turn the phone into one of your most valuable assets.

If you are going to build your business any other way than face-to-face then you will need good phone skills. This will be one of your primary means of communications with your prospects, your customers and your team.

The better your phone skills, the bigger your business will grow. By learning basic phone skills, you will be able to get a “yes” when others are getting a “no.”

Since your prospects can’t see you, they will be developing their opinion of you based on how you handle yourself on the phone. Don’t worry though, practice makes perfect.

Carol Clifton - Your Travel Biz

Setting Goals can be tricky. Many people will tell you to set goals based on how many people you will enroll in your business or on how many customers you will have by next week.
This can be very dangerous and here’s why:
Can you control whether someone signs up in your business or buys your product? (I hope you are saying, “NO!”)
So, should you set goals on things you can’t control? (Again, I hope you are saying, “NO!”)
Well, this leaves us with another question, “How do I set reasonable, measured goals that I can achieve?”
Set goals like:

• I will expose my opportunity to 5 people per day or 20 people this week
  
• I will share my product with 5 people per day or 20 people per week
  

These goals are specific, something you can control, something you can measure with a time frame in which to complete them and do not rely on someone else’s effort, just yours.
Your goals should be a stretch but also attainable. If you don’t ever hit your goal, you will quit trying. If it is too easy, you will get bored and your business certainly won’t grow as fast as it could.
You should start out with a lower number and work your way up. Try to continually raise this number until you reach your optimum level. This will drive your business. You will eventually equate a ratio to how many people sign up or order virsus how many people you exposed this to. This in turn will tell you how many people you need to expose in order to get the number of people enrolling or buying where you want it.

Carol Clifton - Your Travel Biz