These days, everyone has a computer, smart phone, or tablet. Or all three! And almost everyone has a social network profile with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, GooglePlus, Pinterest, etc. Each of these social networks appeals to different people for different reasons. And more keep popping up all over the place… Causing me to groan. “Nope, I’m not joining another one! I can barely keep up with what I’m already doing!”
The problem is that, just like clock work, there’s this seasonal blitz of network marketers who want to try to recruit as many warm bodies as fast as they can with as little time invested as possible. To do this, they contact you with a private message, direct message, or private email, carefully worded to sound like they’re actually reaching out to you “human-to-human.” But the moment you respond, they hit you over the head with their elevator pitch then ask “permission” to give you more info. It’s really clever, too, that the question is phrased such that you’d be a fool to say no. For instance, “Do you want to make $600 monthly from facebook starting next week? Let me know when you’ve got 45 seconds…” (Yep, that’s an actual quote!)
Is it me? Or am I justified in my need to take a shower after that short interaction?
While I understand the need for speed – not wanting to waste a bunch of time interacting with the unqualified or uninterested, especially not wanting to waste time “socializing” when you need to be “working,” but these “networkers” have forgotten two things:
1) IT’S A SOCIAL NETWORK!
2) The “Know, Like, Trust” factor of Attraction Marketing.
Social networks are great! They allow you to reach out to people all over the globe and build relationships. By extension, then, you could potentially build a global network marketing business. But not if you forget to build the relationship first!
Unless you’ve already got a good internet relationship with that person, hitting them over the head like that turns them off. You’re not being “attractive” at all… Really, you’ve just sabotaged yourself. Big time! Not only does the person NOT “know, like & trust” you now, but you’ve put them off to such a point that you’ve got to really work (at least twice as hard) to gain any ground on the trust factor. Good luck with that.
So, although you’re under the gun with whatever promotion your company has going, you can’t short-cut the relationship steps. If you lay that ground work ahead of time, then when the next promotion comes along, you have the luxury of going back & picking & choosing the people YOU want to work with. You can start with qualification questions to see if they’re open to looking at a (another) business. And you’re pretty certain you’re not asking permission to share with someone who isn’t business minded, or for whom timing is wrong. Also, establishing this relationship sets you up to be the one they turn to when the timing is right for THEM.
Don’t sabotage yourself by being in a hurry when it really counts. Nobody likes to be prospected, but everyone likes to be in a relationship.
Too true! I’ve seen this happen too many times. You’re told to create a sense of “urgency” but then wind up being blown off. Thank you for sharing, it’s always good to be reminded not to slip into the hurried mode!
Building a relationship FIRST makes for a better business partner or customer in the long run!! Remember, longevity in your associations is key to success. Make it about helping others and you will thrive!!