A healthy network marketing prospecting list is not a static object – it’s a living, breathing thing.
Your success depends on a steady flow of network marketing prospects joining your list and carefully nurturing their curiosity and excitement.
The key is to make sure the prospects you’re adding to your list are, in fact, prospects: potential buyers.
The question is, how do you identify prospects? And the answer is you’ll never know who’s interested in your business or wants to join your team until you ask.
The good news is there are many effective ways to make the ask, without the sales tactics that give direct selling a bad name.
Here’s how to keep your prospecting list healthy and active as you expand your network – with no high-pressure sales pitches or cold outreach!
Why Prospecting Is Important in Network Marketing
Eventually – if you want to grow your business – you’ll have to expand your circle beyond friends a family, and this is where prospecting can get tricky.
It can feel daunting when you don’t know who to talk to, what to say, and when to reach out.
You may be tempted to face that challenge by simply buying a marketing list, or asking all your contacts to buy before you know their level of interest.
Successful prospecting isn’t sending automated emails or direct messages to thousands of people on a list you bought. In fact, that usually ends badly.
The real business-building power lies in prospecting with authenticity, building relationships, and teaching others how to build their own meaningful business.
And you can’t do that if you bombard everyone you know with the same canned messages.
And you definitely won’t do that if you buy a list of cold leads.
The network marketing industry has a bad name because the average networker often pressures their friends, family, and neighbors to buy, sell, or join. This is the worst approach for both you and your prospects.
The better way is to use attraction marketing – taking the time to demonstrate your product’s benefits without trying to sell to your audience. In return, you’ll secure followers who already believe in your offering. That’s your high-quality prospecting list! This way, you’re only reaching out to people who’ve shown a genuine interest in what you’re selling, and you make the most out of every opportunity to grow your business.
How to Build a List of High-Quality Prospects
So how do you build an endless list of high-quality prospects interested in your product or opportunity?
It’s not as hard as you think!
The following steps will help ensure your list of prospects is full of people who want to hear from you and are willing to engage with you.
Step 1: Get Permission
Always (and I mean always) ask potential prospects for permission to contact them. This is key.
No one wants unsolicited email, text, or DM marketing messages.
People are exposed to more than 5,000 marketing impressions a day. It’s difficult to cut through all that digital noise. With permission and a relationship, you set yourself apart.
When you’re talking with people about your business, products, or the kind of problems you can help them solve – whether in person or online – all you have to do is ask if you can get in touch to carry on the conversation!
You can ask for permission with a simple statement and a question, such as:
“Hey, I’d love to talk more with you about how I can help with [pain point you can help them solve]. Can I send you some information about [your business]?”
Once a prospect shows an initial interest in what you have to say, you can move forward with the next steps. If you get no response, it doesn’t necessarily mean no, but it’s best to wait a month or so before trying again.
Over time, you’ll develop a number of scripts for reaching out to prospects via text, direct message, phone calls, or in person. Scripts shouldn’t be taken as rigid, repeatable, word-for-word checklists with no room for deviation. Think of them as guides, as any successful sales conversation needs to allow for improvisation.
With apps like RapidFunnel, you can store all your scripts for different messaging platforms, and share them with your team to help build their confidence and their prospecting lists.
Step 2: Discovery
After a prospect has given you permission to engage with them, the next step is to get to know them. Find out what their challenges are that your product can help with.
Do this by asking questions (a lot of them), listening closely to their answers, and then honing in on how your product can help solve their problems.
The ability to ask thoughtful, probing, insightful questions is the mark of a truly exceptional salesperson. But you want to make sure you’re not doing all the talking. Listening is crucial at this step. Your prospect needs to know you understand what they’re going through and that you can help.
Step 3: Ask for Feedback
Short surveys are a great way to collect information from your prospects about how they feel about the problems you’ve identified through discovery.
And they can be fun and easy for both you and them.
Keep engaging with prospects by asking everyone on your list if they’d be willing to help you out with a quick survey.
You can post it on social media and send it directly to all the people who have already given permission for you to contact them.
The RapidFunnel App can help you organize and stay on top of your prospecting list, and our authentic sharing technology allows you to see how prospects engage with the content you share in real time.
The Best Prospecting Methods
Now that you have an idea of how to reach out to your prospects, what’s the best way to find them? The following list includes the most common methods to keep fueling your list of network marketing prospects.
LinkedIn is one of the best ways to reach out to prospects interested in business. Follow the business page of the product or service you’re selling, and connect with others who also follow the page.
Join groups where people are looking to solve the problems that your product can help with, and be a helpful, active participant. When you connect with someone, send a simple message asking if you can schedule a few minutes to chat, or send them more information.
You can build your prospecting list via Facebook in several ways. Create a page or group for your business, and create posts to reach out to your followers. You can also send direct messages to people who engage with your page or group to begin building a deeper relationship.
Or you can join similar groups on Facebook and engage with people by commenting on their posts or creating your own (within the group’s guidelines) to share information about your product or service.
A great way to build your prospecting list via email is to collect email addresses from your website, social media groups, and every time you engage a potential prospect. Once someone has given you permission to contact them via email, add them to your email list so they start getting your newsletter and pre-built email campaigns.
Cold Calling
Cold calling is reaching out to prospective prospects with whom you have no prior contact and who don’t know you or what you’re selling. Most people fear cold calling, but it’s an effective method for reaching out to potential prospects.
You just need a simple script (remember to be flexible) and to make it quick. Say “Hi,” let them know who you are, why you’re calling, and ask if they have a few minutes to answer a few questions. You can then use this to set up a longer call for another time or to ask them if you can send them more information.
Warm Calling
Warm calling is a little less anxiety-producing than cold calling since the prospect has already shown some interest in what you’re selling. Maybe they’ve joined your social media group, or signed up for your email newsletter.
However, no matter how they heard about you, you can call a warm prospect knowing they’ve at least shown some prior interest in how you can help them.
Referrals
Referrals from friends, family, and social media are a great way to build your network prospecting list and to help your team build theirs.
Keep an eye out for anyone you hear of who may be dealing with a problem you can help solve. Ask the person who referred you if they think the person would appreciate hearing from you, then ask for their contact information.
When setting up your network marketing prospecting list, remember to get permission, engage with them authentically, and take the time to listen to their needs before offering a solution.
Marrying authenticity with the digital world is the key to succeeding with any direct sales business. When you figure out the prospecting methods that work, the content that’s most effective, and the scripts that compel action – you can help your team do the same.
Growing a successful team requires coaching them to do what you do – without making it difficult or complex for your team to understand. Otherwise, they won’t be able to execute on the activity.
The leaders in direct selling build these tools out for their teams to make it easier for everyone to thrive.
Click for more about prospecting in network marketing with tips to turn cold prospects hot!
Personal Recruiting Will NOT Grow Your Downline.
Here’s What Will.
We analyzed 10,264 Independent Reps and found 3 things that WILL skyrocket your downline growth – starting today!
With the RapidFunnel App, you can create and store all your best sales techniques in one place to help your team succeed. RapidFunnel makes it easy for your team to execute on building their prospecting lists and grow their business.
Find out more by scheduling a demo with us today.
