Network marketing has turned into a big business in the U.S. over the course of the last decade. While it has always attracted attention from those looking to start their own business, there are now about 20 million Americans involved in network marketing. This is often referred to as multilevel marketing, to some degree.
If you’re a network marketer who sells cosmetics, home goods, or some other product and you’re doing well for yourself, you might be thinking about asking friends or family members to come on board with you. Before you do, you should think about how to recruit your friends and your family members effectively.
If you take the wrong approach when attempting to recruit others to join your network marketing company, you could scare them off. Rather than doing that, follow these simple steps to get them excited about your business and eager to join your adventure.
Resist the Urge to Dive Right Into Your Network Marketing Pitch
When you’re preparing to present a network marketing opportunity to a friend or family member, you’re going to be excited. Maybe even a little too excited.
When you call them on the phone or meet up with them for a cup of coffee, you’re practically going to be bursting at the seams in anticipation of pitching them on your idea.
But before you get too gung-ho about the whole thing, you should take a deep breath, calm your nerves, and then start speaking to them about everything except your pitch.
Knowing how to recruit your friends and family means knowing that you need to relax when you do it and take the time to speak with them about other things first. Ask about their families, their spouses, their jobs, and whatever else comes to mind just to warm the conversation up.
This will go a long way towards preparing them for what’s to come next. No one likes to sit through a sales pitch, so rather than taking that approach, try and keep your pitch as loose and informal as you possibly can.
Pick the Right Time to Bring Up Your Business Idea
Once you’ve started chatting with your friend or family member about what’s been going on with them, it will be up to you to find a good time to ease into the conversation you really want to have. Listen out for clues that will let you know how to recruit your friends and family members at the right time.
Maybe your friend just got done telling you about how much they hate their job and wish they could be doing anything else right now. Or maybe your sister just finished talking to you about how unfulfilled she is being a stay at home mom.
The key is to find a moment when you can seamlessly transition into a talk about your network marketing opportunity. As long as you find the right time, it will feel more like a natural extension of the conversation you were already having and less like an awkward business pitch.
Share a Story About the Success You’ve Enjoyed
After you’ve found a way to move into your pitch, you need to move quickly to keep your friend or family member interested in what you have to say. The easiest way to do this is by knowing how to recruit your friends or family members with a story that showcases your network marketing success.
You might say something as simple as this:
- “I remember when I was in your same exact position! I absolutely hated my job and wished there was a better way for me to make a living doing something I enjoyed. Then, I found this amazing company and started making lots of money and selling a product I really believe it!”
By saying something like this, you won’t make the mistake of trying to sell someone on whatever product it is you’re selling. You won’t even be trying to sell them on the whole concept of network marketing.
Instead, you’ll be selling them on the idea of improving their life by taking this step with you.
If they see that you are happy with network marketing and that you have become a better person by taking advantage of all that it has to offer, they’ll be a lot more likely to take you up on the chance to join your business.
Ask Your Friend or Family If They Have Any Interest in Joining You
Ideally, your friend or family member will jump at the chance to join your business when you share a story with them about how it has helped you. It’s always better to have them express interest instead of you having to ask them if they want to be a part of your network marketing opportunity.
But if they don’t take the bait and start asking questions about how they can join, don’t give up on them! They may just need to consider how network marketing could potentially help them.
There are questions you can ask them to get them thinking about how network marketing could change their lives. Here are some examples:
- “Are you happy with your job right now?
- “What is it that you don’t like about your current employment?”
- “Do you wish you had a little bit more freedom in your life?”
- “Have you ever considered going into business for yourself?”
- “What are some of the goals you have for yourself moving forward?”
Rather than simply throwing out a bunch of facts and figures at a person, know how to recruit your friends or family members by getting them to think about where they are in their lives right now.
You’ll get further taking this approach than you would trying to convince them that network marketing is right for them.
Be Direct Without Being Too Pushy
When thinking about how to recruit your friends and family members to join you, you should come up with a list of reasons for why they should want to jump at the chance to do it. You should then work these reasons into the mix after you’ve asked them to speak more about their career goals and desires.
You should tell your friend or family member all about:
- The product you are selling
- The profit you are turning by doing it
- The potential for additional profits in the future
- The freedom you enjoy while doing network marketing
- The opportunities you will have if you continue doing network marketing
- The fulfillment you get from network marketing
- The goals you have for yourself moving forward
By doing this, you will arm your friend or family member with all the information they need to make the right decision.
At the same time, you don’t want to come on too strong and bombard them with so much information that they get turned off by the whole idea.
Know how to recruit your friends and family members effectively by being as direct as you can possibly be before backing off and letting them think about things for themselves.
You should even go as far as to steer the conversation away from network marketing after awhile, just so that your friend or family member doesn’t get the sense that that’s the only reason you wanted to talk to them in the first place.
Understand If Your Friend or Family Member Isn’t Interested
Network marketing isn’t for everyone. There are some people who simply aren’t interested in it, and there are others who can’t commit to taking part in it for whatever reason.
You’ll probably be disappointed if you spend hours thinking about how to recruit your friends only to have them shoot down your idea. But if they reject your pitch, try to be as understanding as you can.
Who knows? They might come around to the idea later. So the last thing you want to do is say something like, “OK, thanks for wasting my time and missing out on a big opportunity.”
That will likely hurt your friendship with the person and ensure they don’t ever consider working with you on a professional level.
Prepare to Move to the Next Step If They’re Ready
Did you do everything listed here and get a positive response from your friend or family member?
Congratulations! You’re going to really enjoy making money and doing it with someone that’s important to you by your side.
Show them that you’re ready to go by letting them know which steps they will need to take next. In addition to learning how to recruit your friends and family members, you should also learn how to get them set up with network marketing if they say yes.
The last thing you want to do is not be prepared and give them time to question their decision. You should show them you’re excited to start working with them right away and get to work immediately.
Feel free to answer any questions they might have along the way so that they feel comfortable. It will work wonders for your working relationship with them.
Find Out More About How to Recruit Your Friends and Family
Recruiting your friends and family to take part in network marketing with you can be very rewarding. You can close network marketing deals together and have a lot of fun doing it.
Check out our blog for more information on recruiting new members to network marketing and growing your business.