Persuasion: What to Answer When Your Prospect Says...

One of the biggest challenges network marketers face is how to respond when the prospect says "I need to think about it," "I don't have the time" or "I don't have the money." 

This is a challenge for every network marketer and most everyone on their team. We know that at the end of a presentation the prospect is going to say one of four things. 

1. I am ready to sign up. 
2. I am not interested. 
3. I have some questions. 
4. I need to think about it, I don't have the time, or I don't have the money (or they raise some other concern). 

When we know what prospects are going to say, we can prepare a powerful, persuasive response to overcome their concerns and move them to action. Persuasion is about leading. It is about moving people to action. Great network marketing leaders are excellent at moving others to take action. 

After you have given your presentation, you ask your prospect to take action. After you ask your prospect to take action, that is when you typically hear "I need to think about it," "I don't have the time" or "I don't have the money."

Imagine for a moment that when you ask prospects to take action, it is if you are giving them a hot potato. When they say "I need to think about it," "I don't have the time" or "I don't have the money," they are giving you the hot potato back. We now need to give it back to them. Here are some ways to do that. 

The prospect says "I need to think about it." You can say: 

1. Other than thinking about it, is there anything else preventing you from moving forward today? 
2. Other than thinking about it, I am sure that you have some other concerns. Can you share with me what those concerns are? 
3. Can you tell me more about that? 

The prospect says "I need to check with my spouse." You can say: 

1. If the decision were up to you, would you move forward today? 
2. On a scale of one to ten, how motivated are you to get started today? 
3. Other than checking with your spouse, is there anything else preventing you from moving forward today? 
4. What would you do if your spouse says no? 

With each of these responses you are giving the hot potato back to the prospect. The prospect now needs to respond in some way back to you. When they respond back to you they are probably not ready to take action yet. Your next step would be to tell them a story and then ask them again to take action. This process is like a dance. After you ask them to take action the first time they raise a concern. You then respond to the concern. They then raise another concern. You then respond with a story and ask them to take action again. 

You want to share a story of someone in a similar situation, a story about someone who had the same concern they did. For example, if prospects tell you they don't have the money to get started, tell them a true story of someone else who didn't have the money either. They went and found the money and now they are financially free because of it. 

After you tell the story the next step is to ask the prospect (again) to take action. One way you might do this is to say (right after you finished telling them the story of someone in a similar situation), "Based on what you have shared with me so far, I really believe getting involved with our company could help you achieve your dreams. What do you say we give it a try?" 

After you say this be silent. The prospect is now in a place where they need to make a decision. At the end of each presentation you deliver you want the prospect to make a decision. A no is OK. A yes is a lot better. One of the most important things you can do though is to have the prospect make a decision.