Attraction Marketing: Jumper Cables for Your MLM Business

Attraction marketing may be the answer to pull you out of the rut if your mlm business is not all you hoped it would be.

So many of us start our new businesses with hope and enthusiasm. We invest money in product inventory, go to training seminars, talk with our friends and family, and meet and greet the public trying to promote our opportunity. Yet 95% of us fail within the first three months.

There is a woman in my upline that was born to cold call. I don't know what it is about her, but she is able to walk up to a perfect stranger and, nine times out of ten, get them to come to a hotel meeting. It seems that people just can't turn her down. I don't know if it's that classic southern charm, her "motherly" appeal or just good old fashioned salesmanship, but she not only gets people to meetings, she signs them up.

I say "Bravo!". She is using her natural talent to build her business and is making a very nice living off of it. I, however, do not have the same talent. The fact is, I have found very few people that are successful in approaching strangers and presenting a business opportunity. For people like me, and I'm guessing you, my reader, the very idea sends shudders all through my body. And it doesn't seem to get any better with practice. No matter how much I try not to take it personally, it's no fun having people roll their eyes at me or to see them looking for the nearest exit when they see me coming. And that's my family!

This single fear of having to make cold calls on strangers is what keeps many people from joining an mlm in the first place. That's a shame because the multilevel marketing industry really is a great way to become independent and build a business. It's like a great highway of dreams stretching before you for miles, with no limit as to the possibilties. Yet without a way to deal with the problem of finding and enrolling prospects, we are stuck in the rut and can only gaze down the road; where we wish we could go.

More and more business owners are turning to the internet to help solve the problem of finding customers or future team members. Certainly, the internet puts us in touch with a far wider audience than we could ever reach approaching people one at a time. But if you head out onto the internet highway and simply hang a sign out that says, "Go Into Business With Me!", the other guy is going to keep on driving right past you.

The attraction marketer drives, in effect, his own tow truck. With all those people looking for answers, he provides solutions. He doesn't start off trying to sell his product or his business opportunity. He just offers to help. Stuck in the road? The attraction marketer will pull you right out of that rut. Need a jump? He has cables. Once he has you out of the sinkhole, you may ask if you can ride up in the cab with him. As you begin to travel down the road, he shows you all the interesting sites along the way. Because he's helping you, and has such an easy, affable way about him, you listen and start making note of the great diner he points out as well as the gas station with the lowest prices.

As the miles go by, you develop a respect for this road rescuer and his opinions. When he delivers you to an all night auto shop, you ask for his card. After all, he not only got you out of the rut a ways back, but freely shared with you his knowledge of the road ahead. Who better to have for a guide?

To be an attraction marketer, you need to do two things.

1. Establish your own voice to reach your prospects.

Maybe you have a flair for writing, or perhaps video marketing is a good fit. What's important is not so much which venue you choose. What's important is being able to be real in your communication. You want to give people a feel for who you are. Don't try to impress with too much fancy language or technical doodads. This is the place for straight, simple, just you and your audience talk. The most unique product your business has to offer is you.

2. Identify your market's problems and offer solutions.

Address the problems or obstacles most likely to be affecting your target market. Then freely draw on your expertise to guide them in solving those problems. If you focus on your customer's needs and concerns, rather than a sale or immediate signup to your business, you will be well on the way to establishing a long and trusting relationship.

Many salespeople feel if they don't close a sale within 48 hours, they might as well throw the lead away. This is not the thinking of the attraction marketer. The idea here is to build a relationship. You establish a give and take scenario with your customer over a period of time. The customer comes to think of you as the "go to" source in your field. You develop credibility in their eyes. When the time comes that they are ready to buy, or to find a new business opportunity, they will come to you because of the time you already invested. If they have received value from you in the past, they will be more comfortable taking a chance on you in the future.

When people have had an opportunity to learn from you via the internet or your marketing campaign, they do start to feel they know you. If they have an opportunity to communicate with you through your content page, or forum, this famiarity deepens. By the time you actually telephone, they recognize your name on the caller id, and tend to greet you as a long lost friend. It's amazing how energizing this can be. Instead of a roll of the eyes, it's rolling out the red carpet. How's that for getting out of the rut!

Barbara Silva teaches attraction marketing to small business owners, mlmers and network marketers. To connect with Barbara, log in for free training at Renegade University.