child. Yes, let’s accept that a teen may simply be acting out against her par-
ents. Yet, something fundamentally different may be going on. Perhaps the
teen values creativity, joy, respect, and peace more than she values neatness
and order. Is it possible that people could actually come from very different
places on the values continuum? Sure it is.
Back to your business. Everyone you have on your prospects list—that
is, everyone you think you should present your business opportunity to—is
verydifferent from you in some ways. Let’s look at Ben and Mary’s prospect-
ing skills. The Monsons are a couple that Ben and Mary think would be ab-
solutely fabulous in their Food4Vitality network marketing opportunity. Ben
likes the business because he is a health nut and Mary likes it because she
loves meeting people. They both love the people they get to work with, and
they can see themselves earning five-figure monthly commission checks by
the end of the year. Ben is especially happy about the money he plans to earn,
because he is saving to buy a Humvee. He has darned good reasons for lov-
ing his business. Ben and Mary are very excited and cannot wait to tell Judy
and Ray Monson from the country club all about it. (Did you notice the
word tell?)
Ben and Mary launch right into all the things they like about their
business as soon as they sit down with their friends at the restaurant where
they met. After a while, Ben notices that Ray frequently looks toward the
exit and then back at his watch, and Mary watches Judy fishing around in
her purse and no longer paying attention. Neither of them is focused on the
presentation.
By now, you know what is wrong with this picture. The Monsons have
no interest in why their friends are so excited about their business opportu-
nity because it has no connection to them. They have plenty of money, and
they think Humvees are an unnecessary extravagance; Ray loves his job, and
Judy is suffering from empty-nest syndrome. What none of these four people
realize is that there are some very good reasons why Ray and Judy could find
satisfaction in the business opportunity. The only problem is that the Mon-
sons haven’t had a chance to talk about what’s important to them. Because,
you see, what they want and what their friends want are very dissimilar, yet
the business opportunity could fit them very nicely. Let’s find out how.
Before we move on to a solution to this problem, however, let’s look at
what is missing in the scenario. Ben and Mary haven’t yet learned that the
Monsons don’t care very much how they feel; the Monsons have their own
concerns and are listening for something that fits them, not what fits their
friends. Sound about right? We all want to know what’s good for us. Just
don’t make the mistake of thinking that what is good for you is necessarily
what’s good for your friends.
How could Ben and Mary approach their friends in a way that would
bring them into the conversation about the business instead of driving them
130 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NETWORK MARKETING