Soft Selling

November 26th, 2007 | by Chris |

When it comes to product sales in Network Marketing whether you work online or offline one of the mistakes distributors do is that they try to sell the product.

Here you might say “wait a minute Chris. Weren’t you the one that was preaching us about the sales a few days go? Now what, you changed sides?”

No, of course not. I haven’t changed sides. I still do believe in product sales but not in the way that most people think of it. Most distributors believe that in order to succeed in this field they need thick skin and three mouths so they can talk to everyone they find until they buy or they start running. Something that is called hard selling and I don’t know of any customer yet that likes to be treated in this way. Would you?

Actually, what’s worse, people don’t even want products. All they really want is solutions to their problems and fulfillment of their desires. They make a purchase because it either solves a problem they have or fulfills a desire they have. For example if you sell clothes someone might purchase one to stay warm in the winter ( problem solution) while another one just because he wants to look handsome so he can better attract the opposite sex (fulfillment of desire).

The trick is to identify what problems your product can solve and what desires can satisfy. Once you do that you know what your target market is and how to reach it effectively, this time not by selling merchandise directly but by offering them a solution or fulfilling a desire they have.

Even after that I wouldn’t go full speed telling them buy this so you can do that but instead I would prefer a more subtle and gradual way. For instance I would start a newsletter gathering subscribers with a common problem or desire giving them information and tips around it and after a few warm up emails in which I would give valuable content to gain their trust then and only then I would try to sell to them.

By doing that you get into what is called relationship marketing. You build a list with potential customers that you cultivate a relationship with them and you can continually market to them instead of a one time transaction. That way instead of just handing them to the company you are also building your very own asset, a list of prospects and your very own business which is independent from your MLM company at the same time.

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