It is said that leads are the life blood of any Network Marketing business, and if you want to stay in business longer than 90 days you're going to have to be taught or develop your own strategy for Network Marketing Lead Generation.
If you're new to the industry, your sponsor should be the first person to go over the importance of generating leads for your new business. Depending upon how your sponsor was taught to generate leads is how he or she is going to teach you. There are two schools of thought about how to conduct network marketing lead generation.
One where you are the hunter and you chase down family, friends, co-workers, community leaders, or anyone with a pulse that is willing to listen to you about your business opportunity. Using this method for generating leads you will probably be told to go home and make a list of at least 100 people you know to include family members, friends, co-workers, community leaders and anyone that you have a relationship with. This is your "Warm Market" or people you know, trust, and respect you and are willing to listen to what you have to say. What happens when you run out of people who are in your "Warm Market" and you're still struggling to sponsor new people into your business?
You will probably be told to purchase leads and call them and talk to them about your business. The problem with purchasing leads is you're going to have to do what is called "Cold Calling" where you pick up the phone and speak to someone who has already been called several times by different Network Marketers trying to pitch their business opportunity. Most opportunity leads are sold at least four or five times to people just like you who are told to purchase leads and they quickly become fed up and become rude or asked to be taken off your list.
When chasing your family and friends or purchasing leads don't work you will probably be told about the "Three Foot Rule" where you talk to anyone that comes within three feet of you about your business opportunity. The problem with all of the above methods of Network Marketing Lead Generation is that none of the people you talk to are qualified leads. Qualified leads are people who are actively looking for a business opportunity and want to join a leader that is going to help them build their new business.
People have built their Network Marketing business by using the above methods, but they are not for everyone, and if you're one of those people who could not wrap your mind around or felt uncomfortable with building your business using the above Lead Generation methods, there is another way to build your business.
The Paradigm Shift in Network Marketing Lead Generation
The second school of thought when it comes to Lead Generation is one where you are the hunted. This involves you positioning yourself as the leader or expert that those that are actively seeking a business opportunity are looking for by providing value into the market place. You do this by providing a free report or training on the topic that they are searching for and you do this without any desire for anything in exchange.
People join people they know, trust, and respect and you can only get this with people you have built a relationship with. The reason this did not work with your warm market is because they were not looking for a business opportunity, you pitched them one because you had a relationship with them and they knew, trusted, and respected you. There is a time to approach your "Warm Market" but doing so when you first get started is not the best time.
Becoming the leader or expert involves you knowing and determining your "Target Market." Without knowing your target market you will be trying to sell your product or service to people who don't need or want your product or service. Since this is about Network Marketing Lead Generation your target market could be other frustrated Network Marketers that are having problems generating leads for their business.
Since all Network Marketers require leads for their business, all you have to do is offer a product or service that is the solution for their problem or the answer to their question. You present your offer in a place where they are looking (Search Engines, YouTube, Facebook, blog post, Article Marketing) and when you do it right, they will find you and come looking for you with wallet in hand ready to purchase the product or service you are offering. When you can generate leads for your business on demand and teach others how to generate leads for their business at the push of a button, you become the hunted instead of the hunter.
