On the call Saturday, Tim tried out his opener on the group. His pitch:
“I get paid to travel. Do you?”
Much to his surprise, no one in the group (some 100 networkers) showed any interest. He sputtered a bit and stopped talking. After a few minutes, it became clear: No one believed his story.
Classic case of telling a perfectly good business story in an entirely unbelievable way.
He did NOT get “paid” to travel in any way we’d normally understand that word, and everyone knew it. Pilots and flight attendants get paid to travel; he doesn’t.
Turns out he got rebate checks on the cost of his travel – discounts on travel in the form of rebate checks. Not the same as getting “paid to travel,” is it?
The group came up with a better way to shine his little light honestly, so he wouldn’t continue to turn off people with silly language he’d learned in the meetings – language that no one real trusted – e.g.
“I love to travel, and I found a way to get disounts like travel agents do. Do you know anyone who might like to know about something like that?”
Moral: Talk like a normal person. Don’t buy into the canned seller talk (“I get paid to travel,” or “I take paycations, ” or “financial freedom.”
These are words and phrases that betray to the world that you are ‘one of those people’ doing ‘one of those things.’
And they don’t believe you.
What’s your seller talk story that caused eyes to glaze over and interest to disappear?
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My 17-year NM career has been focussed on showing people how to get rid of seller talk, speak in a human voice and tell an authentic story. For recruiting language click here. For customer-gathering language click here.
I just got done listening to “New School Principles”….I’m getting it Kim….this blog just amplifies what I’ve been doing wrong. I’ve had a business script and a product script. Now the truth can come out…please anyone comment on this
“I take supplements and wanted a business from home. I found a company where I can do both. Do you know anyone who might like to know about something like that?”
When I first started out in network marketing 4 years ago, everytime I started speaking to someone about the product or business using the language I was taught, the words would all come out jumbled and I felt pretty stupid standing in front of that person. Because of Kim’s work, I now understand that I felt that I was lying to that person, or at the very least misguiding them into what they would have to do, either to be in the business and earn a grand living or take the products. As soon as I let go of the seller talk and was honest with people, the words just started flowing and I came across so much better. And the people I spoke with, were interested in what I had to say. Because the truth of the matter is going to rise out at some point and I don’t want that person coming back to me and saying I was dishonest or misleading. Now I let the love of what I do shine through and share the truth of how my business works.
Nancy Reid
Learn More About Me:
http://nancysue.networkmarketingcentral.com
“This skin care line has pure plant botanicals and feels great on your skin.” blah, blah, blah.
I even said this to a fellow NMC reader. I couldn’t believe the words had slipped out. I could tell over the phone that her eyes glazed over and I had lost her for a moment.
I usually say something like this skin care line has so many yummy smelling plant extracts in each of its products and I love how it makes my skin look as soft as a newborns.
I would love advice or some helpful criticism.
I don’t want to have glazed eyes staring at me, I would rather start well than try to recover a conversation.
Nancy Carlson
http://www.perfectmombusiness.com
Oh nice! I’d love to hear from one of them “prosumer” people and how that lingo is working for them.
Seriously!
-Alex – Network Marketing Central
I work for the Largest Chinese Health and Wellness Company in the World.
Which markets: Concentrated fruits & vegetables- supernutrition on the go, eaten by executives to give them that executive edge. Natural Skin care that nourishes the skin, Make-up made from fruits & berries, to fit the personality Sports and fitness products used by chiropractor, massage therapists, and olympic athletes, and environmentally friendly cleaning and household supplies, Did I mention healthy pet products? And non-toxic toothpaste? Over 400 products.
…. The last time I rattled that off the man said: “Oh my, I can’t even begin to take that all in.” Then his eyes glazed over.
Now I say…(When they ask me what do you do?)
I’m helping my company introduce a product to moms who’s kids are picky eaters like my girls were.
I found a way to get them to eat 50 Fruits & Veggies in a delicious smoothie or a capsule.I show them their picture… see the results, they grew up healthy… I think all the veggies helped. Do you know any mothers that might like to know about a product like that?
She said: “What ever those girls ate I want to eat.
Hi Marian,
Let’s see if I can help out any. I’m sure, others here will chime in and together we’ll find a good script for you. Don’t copy our language verbatim (except “I market” and “Do you know…”), it’s not you. Personalize what we suggest. I highly recommend Kim’s book “If my product’s so great, why can’t I sell it.” Great stuff.
Here’s what you have:
“I take supplements and wanted a business from home. I found a company where I can do both. Do you know anyone who might like to know about something like that?”
You’ve told me the only benefit of your supplements is to be able to have a home based business. Or is that the only benefit of your home based business business is that I get to (or have to) take supplements. You see? You’ve married the business and the product.
I have no idea what supplements these are. Are they diet aids? Are they vitamins? Are they for my cat? If I don’t even know what they are, how am I supposed to know what they do? You haven’t called anyone by name.
I also have no idea what the home based business is. Am I to sell something? Do I test something? Do I inventory stuff? What do I do in this business of yours?
After reading/hearing your script, I have no idea what your after, but I’m thinking it’s something fishy.
First, we need to separate the product from the business. They are 2 very different things. My suggestion is to start with the product. Build a customer base first, then move to business building later.
What did your product do for you? How did it help you? What changed? Give a before and after, for example:
I haven’t had cold in 3 years.
I used to have dry cracked feet. My heels would dry out and the skin would split open. Now, my heels don’t crack open, plus they’re soft and smooth.
In both examples, I told what benefits I experienced. In the 1st one, I’m calling out to those people who don’t want to be sick. In the 2nd one, I’m calling out to people who have dry cracked skin. If you were one of those people, you would tune in to what I was saying.
I bet we’ve all made the same mistake as Tim at one time or another. The best thing we can do is throw away the scripts and just be ourselves.
I could certainly relate to how that happened to Tim.
Brenda Bunney
405-612-0473
networkmarketingsuccessbunney.blogspot.com
http://BrendaBunneyMLM.com
brendabunney@yahoo.com
If you are trying make create a good relationship with someone new, do you want to start out with a lie or exaggerate what you do. If someone asks you what do you do, just tell them honestly. They will respect you for that. If you are insecure about your product then don’t sell it. You have to really love it and that will come out honestly when you say it to this new person. If anyone ever had to network to find a job, it is the same principal. Don’t lie, you will get caught up in it. Be honest. It works so much better. If the person is interested great. If not, you made a friend. You have a win win situation. You never know what the future will bring.
Happy Networking.
I am going to give mine a shot and please let me know how I might improve it.
“I used to drink Diet Cokes all day to try to get enough energy to make it through the day, but I was concerned about being dehydrated from drinking sodas and wanted to find an alternative to artificial sweeteners. I found a healthy energy drink that has a more natural energy source and is not sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners yet still tastes like cherry koolaide. It works faster, lasts for about 6 or 7 hours and only costs $1 wholesale. Do you know anyone who would like to try something like that?”
What do you think? I didn’t know where to start just the last few days with this, but after reading this post, I felt more direction especially after reading the other comments here. Thank you.
Sheri,
You have a good start. You’ve identified problems and concerns you had and you state that you’ve found a solution. Your closing line is good.
Overall, your script comes across a bit like a sales pitch. We can trim some stuff out and make it sound more conversational and more human.
Let’s take the first line, “I used to drink…artificial sweeteners.” There are 3 different thoughts in that sentence. One, an energy problem throughout the day. Two, concern about dehydration. Three, alternatives to artificial sweeteners. Let’s break that up into more sentences. How does this sound?
I used to drink Diet Cokes all day to stay awake and alert throughout the day. You know, to avoid that 3 o’clock crash, but it didn’t seem to work too well. And because I was drinking all that soda, I was concerned about being dehydrated. We’ll add the artificial sweetener bit later.
The following line has some seller talk in it. “healthy energy drink” and “more natural energy source.” Try changing it to, Then I found this fruit/vegetable/whatever drink/juice that keeps me going all day long. No more 3 o’clock crash. It tastes like cherry Koolaide and it doesn’t have any of those artificial sweeteners which is a big plus for me. Does that sound better? The part about tasting like Koolaide is optional.
We can completely leave out the next line. It’s pure sales pitch. If the person you are talking to is interested, she will ask you questions. She’ll ask, “How does it taste?”, “What is it?”, “How much is it?” She will ask the questions she wants answered. Don’t assume everyone wants to know how much it costs. Not everyone does. Don’t tell everything at once. Leave room for her to engage you conversation by asking questions. A little curiosity is a good thing.
Tack your last on the script. Say it out loud. Does it sound like you? Change my words to your words. Say it aloud several times. Does it sound conversational? I hope I’ve given you a good start.
I’d be happy to go into more detail with you about this. Email through my website.
Thank you Connelly! I will keep working on this….
Oh, the one that gets me when I hear it is “You can get it for free the rest of your life”. Gets my hackles up and makes me want to barf.
Wow, I am glad to see travel addressed, I have been working on talking about my travel business and most discussion focused on products. This sums it up perfectly, at least for the business side, but what about the customer side?
I know Kim says to focus on getting customers first, but the only true benefits to the customer are finding a good last minute deal or saving a small amount on travel by booking through my website (actually I have not seen a time when we weren’t cheaper than the big travel websites, but the difference is usually not a huge amount). To me, the “real” product (or what attracted me to the company) is the ability to get travel agent discounts and perks, which you have to be part of the business for.
So is the business really the product and I lead with that? Or how do I open to talk to people about booking travel with me? I love the company and the travel, but I have a feeling I might be over-thinking this and making it harder than it has to be!