Preparing Your Prospects for Rejection
THE Rejection Rocket can be leveled at you anytime in your career and the problem is that you generally don’t see it coming. It’s a stealth weapon—it can take many different forms and
is frequently unrecognizable right up until impact .. . and then, kaboom! While we certainly cannot help you anticipate every potential kind of rejection, we can definitely prepare you for those forms of rejection which are the most destructive. Avoidance of these dangerous weapons is fairly simple if you begin programming your networking professionals at the very beginning, literally during the close of the first recruiting meeting.
Let’s set the stage. You have just presented your business opportunity effectively by following a specific format, one we’ll explain in a later chapter, and you’re convinced that
three of the five prospects sitting in your living room are tremendously excited about the income potential. They’ve asked all the right questions and you’ve answered them to the best
of your ability. You’ve played the video, very clearly and simply explained the numbers during your board presentation, handed them some samples, and finally explained that training is here at your home next Saturday at 10:00 A.M. You are ready for the closing
comments—comments specifically calculated to call their attention to rejection and assist them in avoiding it before they are sideswiped. We are irrevocably convinced that most
people who leave the first presentation excited but never sign up or return for training are
usually fatalities of the easily avoided Rejection Rocket.
Here’s how we prepare our unwary prospects. We suggest you memorize or paraphrase this for your own use, speaking in the singular or plural accordingly:
“Folks, I know some of you are excited about the numbers you’ve heard today. I realize that you will want to do your due diligence, as would any responsible entrepreneur. But let’s face it, if I’m right, if you really can earn this kind of monthly income and semi-retire in three to four years, or at least have substantial personal and financial freedom, you’d have to be
brain-dead not to take me up on this deal. But I want to warn you about the two primary causes of failure so you can avoid them while you’re doing your investigating.” Don’t be afraid to use a comment like “brain-dead” on your prospects no matter how successful or professional they appear. We’ve never had anyone fail to laugh at the comment. But more
importantly, you are asserting your obvious leadership, a quality they desperately need to observe in their mentor before considering joining our industry.
“The first cause of failure occurs when new network marketers listen to people who don’t know what they’re talking about. The second cause of failure results from their NOT listening to those of us who do know what we’re talking about. Let me give you an example. It’s just
human nature that when we get excited about something, we want to share it with others.
Whether it’s a new flavor of ice cream or a business opportunity, it doesn’t really matter-we want to share it, especially with the people we most care about. That’s fine with ice cream or a good movie, but it’s not right to share this business with anyone until you’re completely trained and knowledgeable about our company. Why? Because the primary cause of failure in our profession stems from people getting excited about the tremendous earnings potential
and then charging out to tell their closest friends and relatives before having the slightest idea how to do our business. It is critical that you not say anything to anyone until we have
taught you a successful approach.
“If you begin talking to your relatives and friends about this industry, most of them are going to tell you that you’ve lost your mind. And even though you think you’ve got all the facts, even though you know the truth about the earnings potential, and even though your friends, neighbors, and relatives know nothing, they will still tell you you’re an idiot. And if you have ten or twenty people in a row question your sanity, especially people you know and love, you will give up before you begin. So don’t even attempt to sell your spouse on the opportunity: sim-
ply get him or her back here for a presentation as soon as possible.
“Now I know you think you’re strong enough to avoid being influenced by people whom you know are completely ignorant about our company. Everybody thinks that. And let’s say that you are . . . let’s say that even if twenty friends and relatives reject you and tell you you’re an
imbecile, you do not collapse under the weight of their negative attitudes. The real problem is this: Once they’ve told you not to get involved, even if you later skillfully prove them wrong
and answer every one of their concerns, they will not sign up ! Remember, once they’ve
ridiculed you for getting into MLM, they cannot afford to sign up themselves because that’s
tantamount to admitting their own foolishness. And in this era, many folks are more interested in “impression management” than in taking responsibility for their own lives and creating financial independence and time freedom.
“So until you’ve been signed up, made a commitment, and been trained professionally, DO NOT, and I mean this emphatically, DO NOT approach your friends, relatives, or even your
spouse with this business until we have taught you how to share this information with them.
Some of your very best “warm market” recruits will never join you, no matter how successful you become, if you approach them improperly. Years of experience have taught us that the single largest cause of failure results from listening to people who don’t know what they are
talking about.”
Here’s the problem: New prospects’ friends and family don’t know anything about your company or the business of networking. And in their ignorance they are certain it must be a scam. Until you are involved financially, they sense you are not really committed. So they will
do everything in their power to “save you” from making a big mistake. When you say, “Hey,
everybody, I’m getting ready to open a new restaurant,” you can count on the response: “Are you sure you want to do that? I’ve heard most start-ups go under.” However, once you have
already made the investment, your family and friends will do everything in their power to support you in your new venture. When you say, “Hey, everybody, I’ve just opened a new
restaurant,” the response will likely be, “Oh, good for you . . . when can we come?”
Rejection by family and friends is by far one of the biggest challenges in network marketing.
But you can only change their attitudes by changing your own. After you’ve elevated your own self-esteem and confidence level, only then will you be able to help others elevate theirs (often altering their opinions, strengthening your family’s support or interest, and opening doors to your friends and associates).
We wrap up our business presentation by discussing the second cause of failure: not listening to those who DO know what they’re talking about. “If any of you do decide to sign
up and become my frontline associates, you must also be willing to duplicate exactly what I teach you. This business is totally different from traditional business, and if you are going to sign up and then try to reinvent the wheel, you’re going to fail. So promise me you’ll-follow
our system or, frankly, I’d rather not even have you sign up. Fortunately, we are in an experienced organization and – we know what we’re doing. Your first_ ninety days are critical, and we start the clock today as you begin your decision-
making.”
That dialogue is the way we close our in-home recruiting presentations, nearly verbatim. In fact, as prospects are preparing to drive away, we will frequently remind
them one last time: “Don’t forget, please don’t attempt to explain this business to anyone, especially your spouse, until after ‘you’ve been trained!” As they depart, we are already beginning to visualize them as partners.
The Rejection Rocket can be deterred quite effectively if it is anticipated and fully understood by new networkers and – prospects. Actually, if you train new frontline people properly based on the systems we will advance throughout this book, rejection will be the least of your –
worries. In fact, once new distributors finish with their “warm market” prospects and enter the “cold market,” rejection is one of their greatest allies. Why? Because the sooner it can be determined that a prospect is not receptive to a network marketing opportunity, the sooner
the distributor can file her away for a six-month follow-up, and move on to viable prospects without wasting time.
Like so many network marketers, Paul Del Vecchio and Jennifer Taloe of Berkeley, California, are still struggling to build their group. And because of their positive outlook, it is
growing . . . slowly. But rejection has been their single biggest hurdle to overcome, especially that first year. In Paul’s own words, “I’m sure there are people who breeze into MLM and
skate their way to the top, but this was not my case. I’m a college dropout who spent my young adult years pursuing poetry, the classical guitar, and Eastern philosophy. I had no
background in business, spent most of my time in seclusion, and drove an old ’76 Chevy pickup with a snaggle-tooth bumper that I couldn’t afford to have repaired.
“Being somewhat introverted by nature, I’d have to describe my first year in MLM like the South American diplomat who, at an elegant embassy function, tried to explain in his halting English why he and his wife had no children. ‘My wife, shee eez impregnable.’ But when that
clearly didn’t evoke the response he had expected, he tried again, ‘I mean, shee eez unbearable.’ Puzzled by their shocked expressions, he tried one more run at it with, `No, no
… what I meen to say eez, she eez inconceivable!’ I felt just as inadequate as that diplomat
in my communication skills as I loaded up my truck and went down to the business district to approach strangers in suits about big money and free time and, let me tell you, they were not at all amused!
“And so I systematically tried everything under the sun to avoid the pain of rejection including the art of managing a nonexistent downline, but it always comes back to taking action and maintaining a positive open attitude. Napoleon Hill, the author of the classic Think and Grow
Rich, helped me understand that my state of mind must be one of absolute belief . . . in what I am communicating to others and in my ability to deliver the message—not just a mere hope
or a wish. For me, this business has been the greatest self-development course in the world.
As I leave the house to prospect, I have learned that I can create one of two mind-sets. I can strive to be well received by those I approach and that is a one-step process called
perseverance. Or I can try to avoid the pain of rejection and that is a three-step formula: say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” Persistence, coupled with absolute belief, can never be defeated, and that is precisely why we know that Paul and Jenny will prosper abundantly.
Sir lofty
0240787223
To be continued………….
BADENYA HARRY 