Many people ask me to explain a comment I’ve made, usually during live seminars or workshops, that I actually decline to sponsor around 60%-70% of the people who approach me to learn more about my network marketing businesses.

I suspect that they doubt my sanity, since having people approach you, wanting to join you, is the “Holy Grail” for most network marketers.

I’m also guessing that more than a few of the other people at the seminars also wonder about my mental health after that comment, so instead of just replying privately to a handful of enquirers, I decided to set out my reasons in this article, so anyone interested can see them and understand my perspective. I hope so, anyway.

Here’s the background context to my comment. There are two separate issues involved. I regard them both as common-sense, and both are non-negotiable…

Non-negotiable, common-sense issue #1

I figured out a looooong time ago (at least 25 years ago!) that it made more sense to have people approach me, wanting to join me, than for me to chase them, trying to get them to listen to my opportunity.

I’m a professional marketer. I was teaching marketing, advertising and other key business subjects at the graduate and post-graduate level at one of Australia’s most respected, multi-national universities when I chose to get involved in network marketing. I’d also been the marketing director or manager of several large corporations before that. I was also a sales trainer, author and columnist, as well as a management consultant to several direct sales companies, and I’d been a creative director and strategist for several advertising agencies, including my own.

In other words, I knew (and still know) a little bit about marketing, sales, advertising and direct selling.

So I created a powerful, integrated, high-leverage prospecting system that would…

• find
• attract
• inform
• empower
• educate
• persuade
• qualify (or disqualify)
• emotionally bond
• convert and
• retain
  

people who were interested in learning about what I had to offer them.

It’s rare for me to actively approach prospects. I don’t enjoy it very much and it can be stressful. It can also be disappointing and discouraging. So why would I voluntarily do something so potentially unpleasant or uncertain? Much better to have them approach me, on my terms.

But I want to know that they’re serious, not just curious. So, before I’ll even talk to them about what I have to offer them, I ask them to complete three simple tasks that may take them 15-20 minutes and require them to think… especially about themselves and what they really want.

If they’re not willing do this, then they’re clearly not serious about their own success. So they disqualify themselves.

Easy. Painless. I don’t even know about them, usually.

But before you write to criticise me for passing up golden opportunities to convince them otherwise, think about this:

I’m willing to go out of my way to help people who are determined, dedicated and disciplined, even when it means carrying them, exhausted, across the finish line.

But what message am I sending them if I show them I’m willing to drag them, kicking and screaming, over the STARTING line?

Forget it. They’re simply not ready… yet.

The door’s always open for them if they change their minds. But those three requirements will still be there and they’ll still be mandatory. Non-negotiable, remember? (And common-sense.) After all, they need to understand that it’s me doing them a good deed, not the other way round.

Non-negotiable, common-sense issue #2

I choose the companies I work with v-e-r-y carefully. I worked with the owners of my primary company for more than  NINE YEARS to help them create a genuine Fourth Generation™ opportunity before I joined as a distributor. (If you don’t know what that means, visit this site for an explanation. It’s important: http://www.fourthgeneration.org.)

I choose only opportunities that have genuinely high value. They can change peoples’ lives for the better. Real, worthwhile change. Solid meat, not just fancy feathers.

So I treat those opportunities with the respect they deserve.

Imagine for a moment that you wanted to give the person you love and respect most in the world a precious piece of jewellery that would symbolise, for both of you, the love and respect you felt for them.

You could look for it in an exclusive jewellery store, where it will be kept safe, under lock and key, and where each piece is carefully, almost reverently draped on a dark velvet cloth, beneath the clearest, most accurate lighting to enhance its features. And you’ll pay a considerable price for both the quality of the stones and precious metals used, and for the exquisite craftsmanship needed to create it.

Or you can look for it at a street market, where the stall holder offers rack after rack of cheap dress jewellery, cluttered almost indiscriminately together, for grubby fingers to scrabble through and handle, and where you’ll haggle to pay the lowest possible price.

Don’t get me wrong… both have their places. Both are valid. But remember the context here? You’re searching for the one piece of jewellery that perfectly symbolises your love and respect for the most important person in your life.

Which seller is more likely to have what you’re seeking?

Yes, it’s quite possible that the street seller will have some rare, high quality pieces amongst his display. But is it likely? And how will you know? Is this a situation where you’re willing to compromise? Is your real priority to express your love and respect? Or is it to pay the lowest possible price?

What message will you be sending… not only to your loved one, but to yourself?

This is really a facet of the Oyster Principle, which is the very essence of Fourth Generation™ Thinking. Learn more at http://OysterPrinciple.com.

The best perspective is in the Bible, in Matthew chapter 7, verse 6. It’s a simple observation of reality, regardless of your religious beliefs…

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

I’m not about to demean something I regard as precious and life-changing by treating it in the same way as some desperate, deceptive street peddlar. I refuse to use deceit, guile, emotional blackmail or illusion to try to force or trick prospects into buying from me or joining me. I won’t even discuss it with people who are incapable of appreciating and respecting its value.

And I won’t sell it. I share it. But only with those who are ready and willing to receive it.

So can you understand now why I say “no”, even to 70% of the people who approach me about my opportunities?

And can you understand now why I enjoy a 100% success rate in sponsoring? After all, if you only share what you have with people who are able to recognise it for what it is, and to appreciate and value its true worth, do you honestly believe that they’ll reject it?

I didn’t think so. And neither do they. Try it. You’ll be delighted by the results.

But how do I actually put it all to work without hurting people’s feelings?

This simple, systematic approach helps people to qualify or disqualify themselves. But you have to provide them with the kind of information and insights they need to make those decisions for themselves. If you do it thoughtfully, they shouldn’t feel rejected. If they do reject it, it really says more about them than it says about you. “If the cap fits, wear it”, you know?

You can see how I do this on my personal web site and on my team support and training site. But please… if you decide to visit these sites, understand that this is about exchanging ideas, insights and information, nothing more. It is not some kind of devious, backdoor ploy to lure you away from your present involvements. (Have you forgotten everything above this paragraph already? Or do you think that it’s all nothing more than window dressing? If so, read the next paragraph carefully.)

In other words, don’t judge me by your own fear of loss, suspicion or experience with other people in network marketing or, if that’s the kind of devious stuff you’d do in the same situation, don’t assign to me your questionable principles, values and standards — or lack of them. If you feel threatened by any of this, the answer’s really simple and obvious: don’t visit my sites!

http://www.johncounsel.net/qualify

On my team support and training web site, you can see how I strive to establish and maintain a team culture with these same perspectives and attitudes, by implementing Fourth Generation™ principles, values and standards. View our team’s Posture Policy, including the background explanations, here…

http://www.FREEcoachingonline.com/posture

None of this is difficult to do. All it takes is our team’s ten synergistic core values, which we publish in our team profile document (right) along with our team profile and posture policy. Here are our core values…

• Integrity
• Intelligence
• Initiative
• Interest
• Information
• Insight
• Integration
• Inspiration
• Innovation
• Influence

I hope this has been helpful in understanding my personal approach to prospecting and sponsoring. Feel free to use a similar approach in your own business if it makes sense to you.

Sincere regards,

John Counsel
http://johncounsel.net
http://FREEcoachingonline.com

Author Profile  Consults to managements of direct selling companies, small business and home business owners. Writes regular columns and feature articles for various business media, online and offline. Author of several best-selling business books. Presents seminars and workshops, webinars and other training programs. Creator of Fourth Generation Thinking, Selling, Business Systems. Read more from this author