Are you a smart prospector? Are you an effective recruiter? Are you a good sponsor? Some people in networking consider recruiting and sponsoring the same. They are totally separate issues. They are equally important, but for different purposes.

Prospecting is the act of finding people who may be interested in the business opportunity you are promoting. Prospecting is the process of generating leads so you can begin recruiting, hoping to ultimately sponsor new people into your business. Prospecting can take on various forms. It can be advertising in various medias such as newspapers, tabloids, ad co-ops, Internet newsgroups, personal letters (postal or email), magazines, postcards, card decks, telemarketing. There are probably others that I failed to mention, but the whole idea of prospecting is getting your business opportunity in front of the masses.

Prospecting is generally considered the first step in a one or two step recruiting process. This is a very important part of the total process because it identifies those people who have some interest in the business you offer. It also gives you a chance to include qualifiers in order to filter out the "tire kickers" and those who are not serious about a business opportunity.

Qualifiers also help people determine if they want more information or not. It's how you word your ad that will determine the type people and their interests who respond to your ad. I will do another article on the art of writing effective prospecting ads and sales letters which is necessary for the art of building a business.

I have seen effective two step and three step prospecting approaches. Here is an example. You might mail out a postcard that advertises your business opportunity . . . but only enough information with qualifiers for certain people to respond. I like to ask for money as a way to qualify people. One reason is when people have to pay money, they are more likely to read what you send to them. It may be only $1.00 or $2.00 or $3.00, depending on what you are sending them. Yes, your response rate will be less, but your responses will be more qualified for you to continue the whole process of sponsoring people into your program.

The second step after the postcard is to send an information package to the responder. Rather than calling it an information package, I call mine "start-up" packages. After all, people are more willing to send you a couple dollars for a "complete start-up package" than an information package. I always offer a 100% refund should they return the package. That helps the response because it becomes risk free, yet it acts as a qualifier.

I saw an effective three step approach once that started with a postcard which asked for $1.00, and the responder received a letter that was designed to motivate them to order a complete "business-in-a-box" for less than $50.00. With their business-in-a-box was all the information and applications necessary to become a distributor for the business . . . and it was set up very professionally, and offered a 100% refund guarantee if the business-in-a-box was returned. What was really amazing was the postcard and the letter did not mention the name of the company, but it was effective because of the turnkey approach, and because of curiosity. I was highly impressed!

Recruiting is the act of selling, or sharing your business opportunity with others. This is where you are giving the benefits of your business to those people who have taken the first step . . . people who have responded to your prospecting efforts. Recruiting can be done through person to person contact . . . be it phone, mail or meeting in person. The most effective way is by meeting person to person, but talking on the phone can be effective also. Most people, when searching for an income opportunity, want to have a personal relationship with their potential sponsor. The fastest way is person to person, or by phone. Even the Internet now provides a special type of bonding, as messages can go back and forth several times a day.

The two most important parts of recruiting are: (1) providing the benefits; (2) asking for the sale.

Providing the benefits means telling your prospect why it is in their best interest to get involved with the business you are representing. That means you talk about HIM, not you! It means you find out what it is that your prospect is looking for. . . his dreams .. . . his wants . . . his desires . . . his goals. He doesn't want to know that YOU are now financially free; that you are making $5,000 monthly; that you have 2,000 in your downline. These facts are all wonderful, but they don't do anything for your prospect. They are not a benefit for your prospect.

The hardest part of recruiting is LISTENING. It is very easy to talk about yourself and the business, but it is difficult to listen. Someone once said God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Only after you listen can you share the benefits with your prospect, because you won't know what he is looking for until you LISTEN to what HE is looking for. This aspect makes recruiting easy at the beginning because you can simply ask: (1) what are you looking for in a business? (2) What do you hope to accomplish with your own business?

If you are willing to listen, those two questions will open up a whole world for you. People will tell you a lot about themselves when they answer those two questions. Now you are ready to provide your prospect with benefits based on THEIR wants, desires, dreams, goals. You already have the vision . . . you simply need to transfer that vision to your prospect.

The second aspect of recruiting is asking for the sale. It's giving your prospect the opportunity to be sponsored by you. Believe it or not, this is very difficult for people because of fear.

Fear? Yes, fear that you might get a NO. But also fear that you might get a YES. People are fearful of being rejected, so to keep from being rejected, they don't ask the question.

There is a right way to ask for the sale. You don't ask, "Are you going to join?" or "Would you like to sign-up now?" You phrase the question in terms of whether what you have is something they see themselves doing in order to get that need, desire, or dream they mentioned before.

For example:

Do you see this business as a way for you to be able to stay home with your children? or

Can you see yourself working this business as a way to exit the rat race?

If the answer is YES, your next question should be "How would you like to start?" If their answer was "yes," it's easy to proceed. But often the answer is "maybe," or "I don't know," or some other question. This is where learning to answer objections is helpful. At this point you should ask if there is something they don't understand, or ask if they have a concern. Usually people who ask questions really want to be sold. They want to be convinced.

If a person just says NO, then that means the timing may not have been right. You need to tell them if their situation changes in the future, to get back in contact with you.

Sponsoring is a process -- not simply an event. The first part of the sponsoring process is when a person signs up in the business listing you as the sponsor. That is only the beginning, because sponsoring is so much more.

Sponsoring includes mentoring, training, encouraging, motivating, listening, and anything else that will help your newly sponsored person to effectively build a business. An effective sponsor will guide their newly recruited person. This may include providing additional sales tools to make the process easier and more effective for the new recruit. This may include gathering information, or answering questions. It may simply include being there and listening to problems the new recruit may be having.

I have heard the statement, "If I can help you get what you want, then I will automatically get what I want." Placing yourself in a helping mode seems to have many benefits. I have found that if I take the attitude of sponsoring to make money, I don't do as well. But if I have the attitude of helping others make money, I do quite well.

A good sponsor will also communicate with his people by way of telephone, e-mail, newsletter . . . whatever it takes to encourage and motivate his people. When you sponsor, you are no longer what is considered skilled labor. You have promoted yourself to a managerial position, and that means managing people. Along with that self promotion comes an equal increase in responsibility. Your rewards are great. They can be financial, and a friendship reward, not to mention the reward of personal growth.

Some people will suggest you pick your sponsor. That makes good sense to me. I have no trouble asking a person what they will do for me as their sponsor. Remember, you are not looking for a recruiter; you are looking for a sponsor when you go into a new business.

The above shows you the importance of prospecting, recruiting and sponsoring as a business-building process. In future articles, I will discuss business-building techniques which will make prospecting, recruiting and sponsoring more effective.

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Email - Kristi Rushing