MLM Recruiting - Should You Use Online Techniques Only?

It's almost like religion.

Really. I mean, there are two very well defined schools of thought on MLM recruiting, and both groups are certain the other one is going about it all wrong.

On the one hand, you have the internet people. These are the people who believe that any MLM recruiting done offline is old school and thus, ineffective.

I used to be a part of that mindset.

The old schoolers, on the other hand, ignore the internet like it doesn't exist. MLM recruiting to them means continually adding to your list of family and friends, expanding your warm market by talking to people on the phone, going to meetings, taking classes, even going to the grocery store to meet people.

Most of us in the network marketing industry were introduced to the old school techniques as soon as we joined our company. We are told to make a list of family and friends, call them up, and pitch them our business.

This method of MLM recruiting is highly ineffective, as the internet people are quick to point out. It's also likely to get you laughed at and ignored by the people you care about the most. A large majority of people in our industry quit after such experiences.

Most of the internet people teach that targeted marketing is the key. If you target people already in network marketing, you eliminate most of the resistance. While there is some merit to this line of thought, experience has taught me that it can also be too narrow.

For example, when I first started a Facebook account, I joined all the network marketing groups I could find. I soon discovered that most people in those groups were just trying to recruit everybody else. How insane.

If you're using these kinds of MLM recruiting techniques, also known as attraction marketing, keep in mind that, while they can work extremely well, they also take a while. You need to view them as long term approaches.

What do I mean? Well, you've probably heard that most network marketers eventually fail after only a few months in the business. Yet, they're obviously open to network marketing as a business model.

If you can form a relationship with this person, even though they're in another company at the time you met them, they're more likely to join your business than go off looking for a sponsor they don't know yet.

Make sense?

But should we just chuck the offline methods altogether? Absolutely not! To do so would be complete insanity. What am I talking about?

Here again, I'm speaking from experience.

There are many types of people out there who are open to making an additional stream of income who have nothing to do with MLM. I personally like to focus on professional people.

Real estate agents are my favorite. Insurance brokers and financial consultants also come to mind.

I just call them up and ask them if they would be open to another way to make money that's got nothing to do with what they're currently doing.

The big difference in how I do this and the traditional old school techniques is that I don't do presentations on the spot. I lead off with the all-important question, "Would you be open to another income stream?"

If they say no, I don't proceed any further. I don't do objection-handling.

I find both methods of MLM recruiting can be quite effective. Would you like to learn 7 secrets to attracting prospects to you? Attraction is not a choice, and you can learn how to attract your ideal MLM prospect here.