Turning Your MLM Warm Market Into Your Biggest Supporters

In network marketing, aka MLM, new network marketers are encouraged to prospect their warm market: those people whom you know, who know you, or with whom you are acquainted or familiar with in some make, shape, way, or manner.  Warm market prospecting and recruiting can be a difficult endeavor for some, primarily because of perceptions, beliefs, fears, and familiarity.  Despite the encouragement to start with your warm market, many network marketing professionals ignore or outright avoid their warm market.

If you have a warm market that is less than supportive, or which you fear approaching, the strategy presented here may just be the solution to your problem.

MLM Warm Market Strategy: Engage, Don’t Pitch

The most effective way to approach you network marketing warm market is to engage them in your entrepreneurial journey.  You do this by giving them visibility into and participation in one or more externally-focused objectives that add value to the lives of others.  Visibility is achieved through you describing your objectives to them, and participation is achieved by asking them their advice on what they would do or suggest as a means to achieve these worthy objectives.

In this strategy you are seeking sincere input and engaging them in a discussion that not only is sincere, but which will have a positive effect on multiple people.  You don’t pitch your network marketing opportunity in any manner.  This is not a stealth recruiting pitch.  This is a genuine request for their insight, opinion, or expertise.  Examples will follow.

You may be surprised at how supportive your warm market becomes when they see that you are serious about building the business, and you have a focus on adding value.  Many people haven’t made the connection between business and personal success and adding value.  By illuminating the fact that you understand value and contribution, that sets you apart from those who get into network marketing with the hopes of winning a lottery.

Focus Externally to Add Value to the Lives of Others

A strategy to garner the support of your warm market is to involve them in the attainment of a worthy and outwardly-focused goal.  In other words, you are not pitching or recruiting them.  You are not trying to sell them your product.  You are involving them in one or more objectives you have in your network marketing business that will, in the end, change their perception of your profession and engage them as ardent supporters.  They may ultimately decide that joining your in the business, or buying the product, is desirable – that is not and should not be the focus.  Your mission is to add value to them by giving them the opportunity to participate in your mission to add value to others., and ultimately to obtain their support.

One of the issues that network marketing professionals have in interacting with their warm market is they approach them as prospects, or they fear their warm market will perceive that their actions are for purposes of trying to recruit them.  Of course, your warm market is a viable market segment for recruiting or product sales, and if they are receptive and you are comfortable approaching them, you should certainly cultivate that market; but if not, then you need a strategy.

In the network marketing profession you succeed to the extent that you add value to the lives others.  Those not familiar with the profession either don’t know that, or if they do, they may not believe it.  It really doesn’t matter.  Let me repeat that – it really doesn’t matter.  What matters is what you do.  Your results will form the basis for their beliefs.

The strategy is to choose one or two objectives that are focused on the success of others, and then solicit the advice of your warm market on how they would approach attaining the objectives.  Ask them their feelings on how to accomplish what you have set forth as worthy objectives.  Ask them if they know anyone who would be a interested and an appreciative participant or recipient of your worthy and valued objective.  When you do this, you seek their advice in the form of an advisor, consultant, respectrf thought leader, and so forth.

In this strategy you are accomplishing five very important objectives:

• Converting your warm market from critics to supporters
• Taking the focus off of you and moving it to an outwardly focused objective
• Replacing any perception of neediness or desperation with a vision of leadership and purpose
• Building rapport and engagement that evolves into support
• Committing yourself to these achieving the stated objectives

The last bullet in that list is one of the most compelling advantages of this strategy.  You in effect are setting up an accountability consultant by involving your warm market in the pursuit of worthy objectives.  This will add a degree of urgency and focus to your efforts, and will provide a healthy incentive to drive to success.

Some examples of worthy outwardly-focused objectives are:

• Helping two people who are struggling financially to achieve financial wellness
• Helping two or more of your team achieve your company’s bonus object
  • Cars
  • Vacations or trips
  • Recognition
  • Other items of value
• Putting on a local event to support the growth of your team members’ businesses

One point of caution – You should be very careful about picking objectives that are not team related.  For example, an objective like generating a $1,000 contribution to a local food bank is truly altruistic, but such objectives are difficult to support because in order to fulfill them you have to have income coming from somewhere, and that somewhere is you!  So stick to your network marketing team development.  The nature of network marketing organizations is that they will grow and extend influence and value.  So by helping one person succeed you in effect help a larger number of people do the same, who in turn contribute to society in many other ways.

How Can Your Warm Market Help You?

If you warm market doesn’t know anything about your business, then how can they help you?  Good question.  So here’s a bullet list outline of the answer to that question:

• Establish your worthy objective(s).
• Using your network marketing company business model, marketing plan, and comp plan, figure out what you need to do to achieve the objective(s) for your target subjects (team members or people who you seek to bring onto the team).  You may not have all the details, and that’s just fine.
• Make a simple outline or flow chart on your computer, tablet, smart phone, or on paper showing the path or steps to the objective(s). This will help you think through your plan, and come up with pertinent questions.
• Put question marks on that flow chart that indicate areas where you seek advice – these are the talking point areas for discussion with your warm market advisor.  If you think you know it all, then leave some things out.  First, you probably don’t know it all.  If you do, then open your mind up for some more input and put down some question marks!
• Write down the questions that pertain to those question marks.
• Lead your warm market advisor through the process, and ask their input as you move along the move along that plan path.
• Write down every suggestion they give you, and make sure and acknowledge the value of their suggestions.
• Reinforce their suggestions by repeating back in the form of a question, and acknowledge that you understand what they have said.  You’ll prioritize their input later.
• Do not say that you have already thought of anything – you are not there to show how smart you are, you’re there  to solicit their thoughts and to turn your warm market into your strongest supporters.
• After the meeting, sit down and figure out how to implement one or more of their suggestions.
• Call or meet with them in person within 48 hours after your meeting, and thank them for their guidance.  Tell them which of their ideas you found most beneficial, and how they will be implemented in your plan.  Tell them you’ll keep them apprised of the progress, and ask if you can ask for their additional input as you move forward.
• Put follow-up reminders on your calendar so you don’t forget to call them in the future.
• Get out there and make it happen!

But what if they have no suggestions?  Easy.  Focus on them and just start asking questions about them, their work, their hobbies, their family, etc.  Put the focus and interest completely on them.  Leave your network marketing business and objectives off the table for the moment.  Make it a cordial meeting, have a good time, and call it good.  By focusing on them and getting the conversation going they may actually come up with some ideas for you.  If not, that’s ok – just because it doesn’t happen today doesn’t mean it won’t happen later!  You’ve just exposed your network marketing business and your intentions of becoming successful.  So stay tuned and keep in touch.

Where Does It Go Next?

It is absolutely essential that you put great urgency on making your plan happen.  It may not go as you planned, but that also provides an opportunity to consult again with your warm market advisors.  The ideal situation is that you make your plans happen, deliver the value, and give your warm market advisor credit for their contribution.  Now that warm market adviser becomes your warm market supporter, and quite possibly a member of your team or a strong advocate and reference for others.

This is network marketing, and it’s about networking.  Your warm market can be a powerful advocate for you, even if they are not part of your team.  Those who provide referrals are valuable assets in your business, and warm market referrals have extraordinary value in many cases.

 Your Are A Professional

Remember at all times that network marketing is a profession.  You must conduct yourself as a professional.  The definition of a professional basically someone with specialized skills and knowledge that is brought to bear in the delivery of goods or services.  As a network marketing professional you contribute to the success of thousands of people, and that translates into improved lives, growing economy, and a host of other direct, secondary, and tertiary contributions.

If you’re part of the late teen and early 20’s group, this is your chance to get a massive lead on your career.  Learn to conduct yourself as a professional and you’ll achieve massive results.  Respect the profession, and it will treat you very well.

Getting the support of your warm market is a worthy objective, but keep in mind they are a very small portion of the overall market.  Getting the support is beneficial, but not necessary.  Your success and how you add value to others is what is important.  Warm market support is frankly more of an emotional issue than a business success issue.  Nevertheless, as discussed above, there are advantages to getting the support of your warm market.  So go for it!

If you received value from this post, please comment and share.  Thank you in advance!

Here’s to fun, profit, and lifestyle in your network marketing business!

All the best,

Dana