If not, you may be losing out on some very valuable business. First, let me explain What the term 5-Point Prospecting means. It means that, at any one time, you are using 5 different marketing methods to get your name and business known. Now, there are many more than 5 ways to market your product or service, and if you want to use more than 5, great! Here are my top 5 Prospecting Methods:
1. PURCHASED LEADS: Purchased leads are not all equal. I like to purchase the top of the line Leads, the surveyed leads. These people have answered a short survey, stating when they can start, how much they have to invest, and if theyve ever been in business before. Now, when I get these leads, I DONT email them. I CALL them on the phone. People love to hear a live voice. The important thing to remember about purchased leads is that they dont know you, so why would they do business with you You need to make a connection with them. Dont try to sell to them on the first call. Ask them about their life their job, their family. People love to talk about themselves! When you show genuine interest in them, they will be much more willing to do business with you. My favourite lead company is Leaders Club. Not only do they provide top notch leads, they teach what to do with those leads! They have some of the best Network Marketing training out there, with over 200 hours of audio training, live training calls, articles, and lots more! You can find out more about Leaders Club by visiting: www.leadersclub.com/26908
2. EZINE ADVERTISING: Ezines are a wonderful and cost-effective way to get your name and business in front of hundreds of readers. Obviously, some Ezines are better than others, but dont assume that bigger is better. You can get great results with smaller ezines as well. Paid advertising, like a Solo or Top Sponsor will generally get better results than a fr*ee classified at the bottom of the newsletter. A Solo means that your ad is the only thing that is sent out no other ads, or content. A Top Sponsor means that your ad will be at the top of the newsletter issue. The general rule is that the higher up your ad, the more likely it is to be seen. For optimum ezine advertising, I recommend SDTAdvertising. You can find more information here: and
3. SAFELISTS AND FFAS: Ive grouped these two together because the approach is the same. Simply broadcasting your ad to a hundred safelists and ffas is becoming less and less effective. Its important for people to know that you are REAL, not just an autoresponder or website. You Want to make a connection with them first, before selling to them. I suggest sending out an initial email asking first to exchange contact information. Tell them your name, where youre from, and your email address where they can make initial contact. For more details on how to effectively market to safelists and ffas, I strongly recommend you download the Contact List Builder by Janet Legere. She has some wonderful ideas and methods to make online prospecting successful! To download your copy, click here: www.contactlistbuilder.com/affiliateref=scorpio2
4. NEWSPAPER ADS: These can be very effective, but are generally much more expensive than Prospecting online, especially a paper with a large circulation base. But if your budget allows, newspapers are a great way to prospect. Check your local paper for rates. There are also some online classifieds like www.citynews.com and www.usfreeads.com , although they are not quite as effective.
5. EMAIL BOUNCEBACKS: These can be effective, if you use them properly. I try to do 5-10 bouncebacks a day. This doesnt mean replying back to sp*m with sp*m. Just because someone sp*mmed you, doesnt give you the right to sp*m them. Instead, send them an email that says something like, Thank you for sending me your info, your offer looks interesting. I would like to send you some info about my opportunity as well. I think we could both benefit by working together. If you would like more information, please reply back to this email. See the difference
Are you starting to see the underlying message here You need to connect with people, before you you sell to them. Prospecting and Selling are NOT the same thing. Once people get to know you, and know that you genuinely care about them and want to help them, they will be much more willing to do business with you!
About The Author
Maryanne Fitzgerald is the publisher of Moms World Providing the tools and resources you need to balance working at home with raising a family. To subscribe, visit
Web commerce is all about courtship, not salesmanship. In life, a suitor cant go from first date to the engagement ring in one afternoon. Courtship is an intricate dance, where each party contributes to the relationship at a measured tempo. Trust grows through gradual exchanges and reassurances.
Yet, the typical sales-oriented Web site urges the visitor to jump to commitment right away. Pushing for them to BUY NOW! is not only premature, but a misapplication of the fact that visitors are in a hurry. Developing a relationship cant be rushed or skipped--not if you intend to lead them to the alter (sale). Buyers want and need to proceed at their own pace.
Each request you make of a visitor call, read, subscribe or buy requires a higher level of commitment. So back off the hard sell, and instead weave the steps into a sensuous dance that respects them and invites a lasting relationship. Its possible, if you follow these five points that buyers care about.
1. How well theyre treated
The mood of the site should be welcoming, geared to assist the customer finding what theyre looking for. Trust grows as you minimize their sense of risk. And make no mistake, the buyers risks are greater online. Recognize them and reduce them as much as possible. Theyve been conned, burned, or faced non-delivery of purchases--not to mention abuse of their credit cards or privacy information.
The Internet works because people feel anonymous. People are understandably leery about revealing personal information. So every aspect of the site needs to say, youre safe here along with, look at all the interesting things we have to show you. One fast move and that skittish deer will bolt.
Web commerce has several inherent disadvantages--shipping charges, delays until products arrive, lack of hands-on assessment, etc. When buyers encounter other disadvantages as well, whether its unacceptable policies, or added costs, they treat them as a deal breaker--even if its just a little bit more.
2. How efficiently the buying process went
Assuming your site sells a tangible product, the buyer has to be able to assess its looks, materials, uses, and value without being able to touch it. This can be accomplished much better with some products than others by use of photographs and descriptive copy. But a buyer still takes a chance as to color, size, quality, and suitability. Sales sites need to know their customers concerns so well that they anticipate what they need to know.
Design the site for ease of scanning and logical organization that presents information so it will guide and inform.
3. How much aggravation they had to endure
Heres where poor navigation or slow download times cost you sales. (Navigation problems are a main reason why site visitors leave.) They wont stay at a site where they cant easily find the answers they want. And if they have to wait too long for pages to load, forget it. Internet users are extremely time sensitive. The high percentage of abandoned shopping carts (as much as a quarter) proves that the payment process can defeat all efforts to motivate the buyer. These are almost sales, where sloppiness got in the way.
Getting through some payment procedures confounds even experienced surfers. How many payment options do you provide--anywhere from Paypal to fax your order Credit cards are convenient, but not always the purchasers preferred choice. How intrusive are the questions (yes, we know about fraud avoidance) When the goal is building trust (in both directions), how many we dont trust you signals does your site send
4. How many mind games were played on them
The primary products sold on most web sites are hype and high pressure. Unfortunately, thats not what buyers are looking to buy, and why conversion rates online are so abysmally low. The quality of typical sales copy is aggressive, designed more to trick than inform. It seems like the sales letters were drafted from the same manual.
Aggressive tactics are so widespread that effective, customer-friendly copy can actually stand out. So get rid of the gotchas. Customers dread them, and then relax once they dont find them. Mind games dont end after the sales complete. Be alert for delivery, security, and privacy lapses that could creep up after the sale.
5. How well the business has its act together overall
Behind the computer screen are untold elements--efficient links, quick loading, glitch-free credit card processing, the respect for the visitors time, etc., that reveal the companys priorities. Unless all the parts work with a consistent goal and degree of care the buyer experiences whiplash. Sour notes (small potatoes signals) are trivial in themselves, but break the momentum toward purchasing. Theyre easily eliminated--once you know to look for them. To learn how, read the helpful articles at my site,
Give yourself extra points for post-sale follow up. Heres where Internet sellers can shine because of autoresponders and customer-oriented e-mail. Dont just use such tools for making the sale. Use them to build relationships and added value after you get their money.
Dance Your Way to Profits
Courtship is necessary to develop a lasting relationship.
The pace of the dance should reflect the give-and-take necessary to build trust. Dont sell the buyer, court him with a well-paced dance.
This is Part II of a two-part series. Part I can be read at:
2004, Lynella Grant
About The Author
Dr. Lynella Grant is an expert on the signals that make up the body language of a business. Author of The Business Card Book and Stop Looking Like Small Potatoes Visit Off the Page Press (719) 395-9450