The Fallacy of the Hard Sell

Posted In: Internet Marketing . By dens

By: Ronda Tuckness

Do you wonder about the hard sell tactics of network marketing? You really shouldn’t. They don’t work, and that is all you need to know. If you will steer clear of them, you and your business will be better off.

I recently ran into a friend of mine named Sandy, and in the middle of our conversation, another friend of ours was mentioned. Her name is Kim. Kim is very friendly, outgoing, and animated. She never meets a stranger. She is involved in two network marketing businesses, and she is really gung-ho about them.

In fact, her businesses were the topic of mine and Sandy’s conversation. We were laughing about how Kim always wants to talk to us about joining her businesses or buying her products when we run into her.

She is always inviting me to opportunity meetings which I have no desire to attend. I am also involved in network marketing, but her approach is completely different from mine. I no longer attend meetings and drag friends along with me. I consider it to be the “old” style of network marketing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are people like my friend Kim who are very successful with the old methods, but they just don’t interest me. I cannot imagine expecting a friend to give up an hour or so of their time to listen to a sales pitch. Come on, we all know that is what these meetings are.

We may try to disguise them by calling them something else, such as opportunity meetings, but that does not change the reality. I believe that some of these old methods are partly to blame for the bad reputation that our business had for many years.

Nobody wants to give up their leisure time to attend a meeting, they don’t want to make a list of 100 or more friends and family members to approach, and they don’t want to approach strangers on the street with their business opportunity.

Even though I like my friend Kim very much, I actually dread running into her these days. She seems to be following those old training methods to the letter, and with great enthusiasm, but she may lose a few friends along the way.

I recently read a post in an MLM forum by a guy who basically said, “Why worry about advertising and marketing methods? Just talk to as many people as possible every day about your business.”

I wondered if he actually goes out in public each day approaching everyone within sight. If this is the business method that he uses, I guarantee you that people are running the other way when they see him coming.

We cannot assume that everyone is a prospect. We may know that our business and products are top-notch and that everyone should want to join us, but the fact is, not everyone is interested.

Rather than approaching people who will want to punch us for bothering them with what we have to offer, we should concentrate on those who are looking for it. Show those people the value in what your business offers and how it will benefit them. After all, it is about the prospect and those you can help; it should not be about you.

Once someone realizes that you are interested in helping them to create a better life, they will be open to what you have to say. They need to know that it is not just about the bottom line, but that you genuinely want to help others achieve what you have.

Once you have gained their confidence and they know you want to help them improve their situation, they will want to know all about your business. The hard sell just does not work. Build relationships first. Spend your time on those who want to know more.