about the buyer, your prospect. So listen instead. Listen to what’s important
to other people.
When you listen, this is what you’ll hear. We call it listening for values.
Your prospect comes to you with problems that your business opportunity
may be able to fix. The problems could be money troubles, time constraints,
poor working relationships, a boring lifestyle, a hectic existence, or an unful-
filling life in general. There are many, many others. Get the picture? You are
listening to discover two things:
- What the buyer needs.
- What the buyer values.
When you hear the answers to those two questions by actively listen-
ing to your potential recruit, you can match the buyer’s needs to your busi-
ness program. Nearly every network marketing opportunity has plenty to
offer a wide variety of people. Varietyis the key word. You can match your
program to the person you are talking to, one way or the other. But re-
member, that doesn’t mean every prospect will sign up with you. So what?
Move on. The goal is win-win, and you can do it. You accomplish this by
listening for values.
Let’s look at a typical network marketing scenario where Maggie wants
Earl and Shelly to join her network marketing business. Maggie is a true be-
liever in her company and the opportunities she sees and that she’s beginning
to experience. She’s gung ho, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, enthused, and she
desperately wants her favorite young couple to come into business with her.
Now, is she likely to listen to Earl and Shelly, or is she more likely to launch
into her sales pitch and stop only when the clock strikes twelve?
You guessed it. If Maggie tells them everything she thinks they want to
know, she will miss the opportunity to discover what they think they need to
know. Suppose Maggie tells Earl and Shelly how much fun the business is, and
how many places they could all travel together. Suppose she is really sold on
the Saturday night ballroom presentation at her national convention where
everyone dresses up and wears their best jewelry. Suppose Maggie tells them
how much fun it is to sit down with people and present sponsoring interviews.
Now, just suppose Earl and Shelly are nearly insolvent, fear public
speaking, hate to travel, do not have evening wear, and have no jewelry. How
likely are they to relish joining Maggie’s business? Not at all likely. Maggie
may be baffled, but the young couple is not. They see that the business Mag-
gie is offering won’t solve any of their problems. You see, one of Maggie’s top
values in life is having fun. For Earl and Shelly, having fun is on the back
burner. What they value is financial security. Like two ships passing in the
night, the couple and Maggie make no connection.
128 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NETWORK MARKETING