General

Win: Name the Missing Phrase

I’ve been in 5 guru marketing training programs this past 18 months, and heard and watched
every minute of each delicious program.

All these programs cost $1997 or more. And each of these trainers
has done, in the past
18 months, their own $1-3 million dollar product launch. In a single week. Online.

Here’s one sentence they ALL begin with:

“We’ll help you take your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market –
on a journey. A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”

There’s one critical phrase here that, as far as I know, MLMers never hear.  And I believe
its omission is the #1 reason so many don’t make it.

For a chance to win a ticket to the new “How to Succeed in MLM without Being Salesy” program (AKA Helper Healer Marketer), OR a free pass to “How To Become An Authority In One Week” (coming soon, not priced yet) tell me:

1) what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear, and
2) why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond
their first 6 months. Even after they’ve tried 10 companies, for 6 months each.

I’ll announce a winner one week from today, so you have time to ponder. Use the comments below.  And
yes, you can modify and resubmit your responses, so long as they are YOUR thoughts.

Remember to answer both questions.

 

 

 

 

About the author

Kim Klaver

56 Comments

  • “that person interested in your niche or market” is the missing phrase.

    It’s the number one reason because we are trained to think that EVERYONE wants what we have. So we go out blazing a trail in an attempt to sign-up the world or make everyone a customer, without understanding that marketing is about finding the people that actually DO WANT what we have. And that ain’t everybody, many times its 1 out of every 100. Soon our blazed trail (ironically) leads to burn out.

  • A couple of things came to me after much thinking.

    One, the gurus do not mention that it will not be easy.

    Two, the gurus come across as automatically assuming the prospect will become a customer after going through their marketing funnel.

  • I’m gonna say “that person interested in your niche or market” because most MLM marketing campaigns that I’ve seen assume that EVERYONE wants whatever it is they offer.

  • That you will have to reach a lot of people to find those that want what you have (your niche market)
    That you will have to get them to want YOUR product/service over all the others, with just the first few sentences.

    • That you will have to reach out to a lot of people to find those that want what you have (your niche market) and only present to them. Only the size 8 shoe people.
      That you will have to get them to want YOUR product/service over all the others, with just the first few sentences.

  • Hi Kim, the missing link in most MLMers’ language is “that person interested in your niche or market”. It took me a looooong time to get that. See ya, Gerry

  • 1. Ask for a referral – “do you know anyone who……”
    2.The omission of this phrase makes you sound more like a salesperson. You’ll run out of your warm market within 6 months and no one will want to talk to you.

  • 1) MLM-er will probably never hear “that person interested in your niche or market”. He always been told to “share” with EVERYONE…
    2) Because if he assume that it is for EVERYONE, and 99 out of a 100 will say NO! to his proposal. It will make him frustrated and assuming it doesn’t work for him.

  • “A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer,” is the phrase not heard.

    Understanding how your process works is the way to succeed. Once you understand and can lead someone thru the journey, you can can teke someone else on the journey with their prospects. Duplication means that each person has to understand the process. Without this there is no duplication. Most of us need to see the journey in practice, not just read it, hear about it, or see it at a meeting.

  • 1. You must love your product
    2. The reason people don’t quit is because they love their product or the concept of mlm so much that they stay in long enough to be successful as time allows it

  • In the phrase “We’ll help your prospect on a journey from prospect to customer”. Most MLMers don’t understand this journey is a process. The average MLMer will give up after the first few “NO’s” and then look for another company with a more attractive product or comp plan, rather than learn how to move the prospect through the process from prospect to customer. We all want this process to be short but it is not always the case. Thanks!

    John Fry

  • 1. The phrase that MLMers never hear is “that person interested in your niche or market”.

    2. That omission is probably the #1 reason so many MLMers never make it. They’re indoctrinated by their company to approach anyone with a pulse, in the belief that the product or opportunity is so amazing that EVERYONE will want it. No training is given on finding those people who truly ARE interested in the niche or product, the ones who hear their name called so loud and clear that they can’t help but respond – “That’s me! I WANT relief from my health issue… I WANT to be my own boss and work from home!”

  • “A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”
    Because we are all so worried about ‘recruiting’ that we forget how important a good customer base is to your business! When we don’t get recruits we feel like we have failed and want to give up.

  • Answer 1: “interested in your niche or market”
    Answer 2: Many beginners just learn a set of ‘Presentation’ and try to shove it down all prospect’s throat. We are not taught to discover/arose the prospect’s interest to find out about what we have to say. Normally this will followed by rejection from the prospect and enough of that would cause most of us to quit because no one likes to be rejected..

  • Website above still under construction as of 6/11/2011. Not yet active.

    1) We will teach you how to find your prospects – and how to make it easy on yourself by letting nine dis-interested people go in order to get to the prospect. In other words, we will teach you how to find your hot button (for me, overall wellness and the cancer cure) and then raise that banner so others will run to you!

    2) If a person doesn’t hear the fact that they need to pursue their own hot button, instead of just a cool product and great idea (such as Prepaid Legal Services), they will never get to the point of pain in their own life to portray the importance of the product they represent.

  • 1. The phrase not heard is; to becoming your customer.
    2. MLMers do not focus on customers. Usually only business builders. Having customers is a way to get money coming back in to their business. A person would not
    quit their deal if they had paying customers.

  • You ask for the missing phrase and I see 1 phrase with several key elements. The phrase is ‘journey from being your prospect to being your customer’ It jumps out at me. The key elements that you don’t hear in MLM are ‘market’ ‘journey’ and ‘customer’.

    * Market – your product and your opportunity are for some people, but *not* for everyone. MLM’ers do tend to teach the importance of filtering out the right people, but I never hear them start you out with identifying and locating your niche. And if you are in your niche, the pool of people actually looking for something like what you have, you’ll get far less rejection and newbie’s are more likely to stay at it and make it to success.

    * Journey – someone becoming a customer or business builder may well take awhile. It is not something the person is likely to see right away and jump on immediately. Rather it is a journey for most, from considering what you have to deciding that they want it. Not grasping that it’s a journey can leave a newbie *feeling* like they were rejected when in truth the person needed to consider it for awhile. The newbie needs to know to and be prepared for FOLLOW-UP.

    * Customer – they especially don’t often focus here. Generally recruits are taught to get their first 10 or 20 customers ‘out of the way’ so that they can focus on building their business. Customer gathering is considered a kind of necessary evil. Oops….. those customers are where the money comes from, they are what generates the monthly income that was what brought many to the business in the first place : | If they are a customer because they really LIKE the product, it is going to be so much easier to go find other customers. Those MLM’ers who sell because that is the product they have, and who don’t really want it themselves are the ones who come across as ‘salesy’ and send us all running. Folks who don’t love the product are the ones who push it on their friends and family and give all of MLM a bad name : (

    Loyal – and loyal customer, the guru’s missed something too. Taking a prospect on a journey to becoming a loyal customer seems even better yet. If a customer LOVES your product they are more likely to both be a loyal customer and to share with their friends that they finally found a solution to ________. This would make a great module to any such training program. How to develop a loyal customer base.

    ‘We’ll help you…” MLM’ers do say that, but rarely follow through once a newbie starts.

  • 1) “…- that person interested in your niche or market – …”
    2) missing the vital clarity/acquaintance with the person, like us, that we’re looking for, our “everybody search” often defeats even the most persevering network marketer.

  • The phrase they don’t hear is that they will have to work hard and consistently to get prospects.
    The reason why so many quit is that they are under the impression that there is no constant work involved and that they will get rich quick, they think they’ll recruit 2-3 people and will have it made. They don’t realize that a business is a business, you must work at it and advertise it all the time if you want to succeed and this applies to all businesses.

  • Answer #1: They will not hear, “A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”
    Answer #2: Because they will give up after the first few no’s they get and not understand that it’s a process to find their niche market and help them with what they need help with and not everyone will want to be helped.

  • I think the phrase is “A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.” cause it takes the person to understand that he or she has a long way to go. Like a journey not like a walk.

  • 1) what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear?
    “that person interested in your niche or market”

    2) why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond their first 6 months.
    New people assume that everyone will want their product (I know I did), they do not understand that they must look for people that want what they have… there is no convincing to be done. Call out those who want what you have, don’t try to convince everyone that they want what you have, because they don’t.

  • It has to be “that person interested in your niche or market” because we have all heard that everyone will want or needs out product. That is so untrue! We need to learn how to find the few people looking our niche product, not the masses that will look and move on.

  • I see a few possibilities

    1. “You/They may or may not be interested”

    2. We need to sort your prospects, not sell them.

    3. Every great sales person has an average closing ratio. What’s yours, because we can help you improve it?

  • “We’ll help you take your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market –
    on a journey. A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”

    1) what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear, and
    “your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market”

    >>>I’m going with this phrase…no one really talks about “niche”, they pretty much say EveryOne!

    2) why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond their first 6 months. Even after they’ve tried 10 companies, for 6 months each.

    >>>Lack of focus…if they are looking for realtors, stay at home moms, friends, realtors again…overwhelming. If just stayed in one niche then become an “authority” in your niche. I think you posted something about being a trusted authority.

    J

  • 1) The goal is to find people who are capable and willing to run a business of their own.

    2) When new MLMers bug the people in their phone books to try something they don’t want to do, the MLMers become disappointed because all they get is discouraging remarks. They tend to doubt themselves rather than the upline that encouraged them to bother people who never applied for a sales job in the first place. After hearing “no” from everyone they were told to contact, they feel lost and as if they have failed their upline, the business and themselves. They think it’s the product and move on to a new one, looking to scavenge their phone books once again, only to find out no one wants what they’ve got. After a few times, no one picks up the phone or takes the MLMer seriously anymore, since he/she seems to be looking for get-rich-quick schemes, instead of sticking with one thing that he/she believes in.

  • The answer to the questions are:
    1. A journey from being a prospect to becoming your customer.

    2. The omission of question no. 1 would be the reason why so many people
    quite MLM in the first 6 months. (Me incuded!). All you get rammed at you is
    that you have to get so many people in such and such a timeframe and phone all your friends and family and p…. everyone off!! If they knew about the alternative method of building a firm and secure happy customer base, they would be able to relax and concentrate on promoting the product instead of the business model. That way you build a stable business that continues to grow exponentially.

  • 1) Be genuinely nice to people and really care.

    2) They probably won’t make past 6 months because of the above, they are not commited to the people they are dealing with. Care; who cares if they buy; you care about them and they get it. It will come back to you, don’t worry. Just really care about people. It’s not schmallzy, it is a basic premise in life.

    thank you, sincerely,
    karl

  • This seems to me to be the “magic wand” in mlm
    “- that person interested in your niche or market -”

    We all live in different worlds (in our mind) – and we can only get the customers attention, if we go into THEIR world – the world he is interested too

  • 1) Try the product yourself

    2) If you truly like the product why would’nt you stay with it and promote it. If you think the product stinks get out. Why try to sell something that you don’t like.

  • 1. That person interested in your niche/market. Newbies in any company are ALWAYS instructed to start with their friends and family. This is in order to get
    2. customers that pay the upline checks. Customers are VITAL to making money.
    Without customers there are no commissions for anyone.

    To be successful I have to have customers so I can get paid on those purchases.
    Not everyone will choose the same product nor does everyone have a need for it. Must be taught how to find the market/niche AND how to find loyal raving customers.

  • Hi Kim!

    I would have to say that the #1 thing MLM’ers never, or rarely ever hear is, “The new recruits will have to spend time [Learning] how to do the business correctly”

    Many are told there’s no experience necessary and that it’s going to be easy, but they never take the time to [Teach] their recruits how to do it right.

    I spent 6 years jumping around and trying different companies and none of my sponsors or upline EVER took the time to teach me much of anything. I always had to figure it out on my own, which is what lead me to Tim Sales training first, then Tim recommended you!

    It took me 6 years to even buy any of Tim’s training and start digging in and it only took me a few minutes to see the value in what your training offered… to find and secure customers first, which is the REAL key to getting started correctly.

    Thanks for your ingenious Enchilada course! It’s Wonderful!

  • 1) what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear
    – “It’s not about the product, comp plan, or the company, what matters most in the eyes of the prospect is how they feel about you and whether they trust you”

    2) why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond their first 6 months. Even after they’ve tried 10 companies, for 6 months each.
    – People only buy from those they know, like, and trust. If you’re out bragging about the company, products, or comp plan nobody cares. To make a sale or recruit someone, you must answer for them “what’s in it for me?” Nobody will buy from you until you show them you care about them.

  • ok…the missing phrase is; “that person interested” in your niche or market….
    In the recruiting process, I think we tend to go after ‘everyone’….you know….like the 3-foot rule, instead of talking to ‘interested’ parties only.

  • 1) The niche market is the phrase never been used. They always make you believe that everyone will want your product (rubbish, if it was so everyone would also drive a Toyota).

    2) Since you are sent to sell to anyone and everyone the amount of NO you receive a day only equal or surplussed the amount of NO’s you receive the following day, frustration never was a good motivation technic.

    God Bless, Be Well

    Shmulik

  • After taking a second look at this I am changing my answer to: … that person interested in your niche or market-on a journey. I think people understand…we’ll take your prospect from prospect to customer

  • 1. You have a clean slate every day
    2. I would say that all they see is the no’s and give up — don’t start out new everyday 🙂

  • “We’ll help you take your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market –
    on a journey. A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”

    1) what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear
    “We’ll help you take your prospect on a journey…..”
    2) why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond their first 6 months. Even after they’ve tried 10 companies, for 6 months each.
    It’s a journey…..people want instant gratification. A journey can be 4 months, or 4 years. You have to develop “consistent persistence” and know that it may not happen overnight.

  • “We’ll help you take your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market –
    on a journey. A journey from being your prospect to becoming your customer.”

    Even if the person is a prospect and interested in your niche or market they may not buy from you. Their opening sets the seller up for disappointment and blaming themselves when the “prospect” doesn’t buy from them immediately or if ever. The “gurus” make it sound quick and easy and it is neither.

  • 1. The phrase is “that person interested in your niche or market.”

    2. I was taught to make a list of everyone who would recognize my name when I called them. How much sense does that make? Of course most of the those people won’t be interested in what I have to offer. Hearing “no thanks” enough will cause anyone to get discouraged and quit.

  • “that person interested in your niche or market”

    Too often mlmers try to tell everyone about their product/opportunity, regardless of interests. In the end they quickly become discouraged because people are not interested. Once they become discouraged they lose their enthusiasm and end up dropping out.

  • The number one phase I believe no one tells you is…..Your going to have to work really hard and go through allot of people that say no and its going to take you at least 3 to 5yrs to make the kind of money your looking for .

  • Your setup is ambiguous, which lends an interesting variety to the responses. (Perhaps that is what you intended.) You wrote: “There’s one critical phrase here …. And I believe
    its omission is ….” So is the critical phrase *here* or *omitted*. I choose to assume that the omission is entirely in the mind of the listener, and that these successful people are saying the right thing whether it is heard or not. (I make this choice partly because it narrows my focus nicely.) So. . .

    Answer to #1 – The key phrase that is *here* and typically not heard is “that person interested in your niche or market”.

    Before answering #2 it may be important to figure out WHY it is not heard. Part of the reason it is not heard is because it was missing for so long, and habitual MLMers are used to hearing something like “this is a product that sells itself, everyone will want it”. And some that do not have a long history in MLM may be attracted to sell something because they are in love with the product or because it is clear from the presentation that the presenter is in love with the product – hence they jump to the conclusion that everyone will like the product.

    Answer to #2: This “omission” is a reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it because they never understand that they need to focus on the people who are interested in products like theirs. (The best value in hiking boots won’t appeal to a couch potato.) So the newbie spends a lot of time and energy talking to (pressuring) everyone they know, alienating many and selling little. High personal costs (time, energy, social acceptance) are not balanced by any apparent benefit (financial or otherwise), so eventually they lose their belief in either the specific product or MLM in general.

  • Here’s a comment I received via email from a reader – KK

    Judy Goff

    Message:
    your prospect – that person interested in your niche or market –
    THEY KEEP SHARING THEIR NICHE OR MARKET WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT INTERESTED. The rejection wears them down and they think they’re in
    the wrong company and bail.

  • #1 I believe that the phrase mlm-ers don’t hear is ‘- that person interested in your niche or market -‘. Even that phrase consists of two parts that are both different from what mlm-ers are being taught.
    The first part of the phrase ‘- that person interested’, acknowledges the idea that you should only focus on or attract those with a serious potential interest in what you offer – potential because they don’t know your product or service yet and interest, because those people are interested in that area of needs, values and preferences anyway. The need can be something against achy knees and the values and preferences can be ‘only if it is not harmful for my body or the environment’.
    The second part ‘in your niche or market -‘ acknowledges the idea that it is about YOUR niche or market. That is different from the entire niche or market for the product or service as it is for the company or for another distributor. YOU may find that the non-toxic, non-drug, eco-consciously produced anti knee-ache pill works great against wrinkles or a foggy brain and you market it to women between 50 and 60 who are prepared to pay more if something really matters to them. Someone else may market the same product to young male athletes. Part of your niche market may consist of people who buy because of the special relationship they have with you – your mother – or because of your authority – because you read stuff they have no clue about. They would not buy the same product from someone else, no matter how it would be presented or what perks would come with it.

    #2 So why could that omission be the #1 reason so may aspiring mlm-ers never make it beyond their first 6 months. I believe this is because most mlm sponsors and uplines do not help a new distributor identify the niche or market for that distributor. Even in the case the sponsor is aware that the new distributor could bring another type of customer they usually concentrate on what their new distributor IS, e.g. successful banker, belongs to ethnic group or gay, and hopes that the new distributor will bring in more of those whatever she is, instead of helping the new distributor identify her values and helping her find and develop ways to find and keep customers who share those values. So the sponsor should ask that successful lesbian banker of African-Hispanic-Inuit-Dutch-German descent about her values, which may be about organic, eco, non-toxic and help her find ways to find others who share those values.
    The answer to the second question is that most mlm-ers don’t make it because their sponsor, upline and the people in front of the room do not acknowledge and respect the values their new distributor has. It is more that once ‘brought in’ everyone is processed through the same brain-washing machine. At least I was. Sigh.

    Erica

  • like many of the people responds, i also think most mlmers don’t hear the phrase: ” that person interested in your niche or market” –
    because it means not everybody, even though they have told you in the beginning it’s for everybody, and even though you were told to speak it to everybody whether they are interested or not…

  • maybe the missing phrase is also: “but we won’t do it for you”
    because if a person does not understand that he or she needs to do it themselves, they will expect things to just happen, and when things don’t happen- they quit.

  • 1) “what is that phrase mlm-ers don’t hear”:
    Your MLM company is not your business

    2) “why could that omission be the #1 reason so many aspiring MLMers never make it beyond their first 6 months. Even after they’ve tried 10 companies, for 6 months each”:
    You are your business: People will join you — not your company! Focus on giving value to people, solving their problems, and building rapport with them. Get to know their “WHY.” How can you, your team and what you offer help your prospect? If you provide these tools, people will join you regardless of the company.
    The biggest mistake we are taught or do is pitch our business to individuals first. We push our prospects away!
    Reference – "Think And Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill

  • How to “present your niche or market to someone” is missing.

    So many MLMers are trying to sell all they have to whomever will listen, instead of focusing on a segment with a certain need or knows someone with that need.

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