MLM and Golden Goose Referrals

 

by Lee Abraham

 

Regardless of business category, successful networking is all about training your Power Team to recognize prospects and seize opportunity to create money making referrals for your business. 

 

And that includes MLM. But here’s the catch. Although everyone knows MLM’ers make more money by promoting the business opportunity than the actual products, the MLM’er must first build Credibility with the group based on the products in the Power Team framework

 

Listen, I know MLM’ers want to jump straight into the business opportunity. Trust me, I get it. As the relationship blossoms, training your networking partners to bring prospects for your business opportunity is the logical next step. But it takes time and energy to get there. And we’re not there yet.

 

Like it or not, we’ve got another level of product based networking to discuss before we even think about serving up the business opportunity to our Power Team.

 

Golden Goose Two Step

 

Last time out we looked at Power Team networking from the vantage point of an MLM’er in the Nutritional Products business. Using Key Match Networking© we connected benefits of the nutritional products to the Consumer/End User in each of the Six Key Target Markets the Power Team is already trained to recognize and convert into business.

 

In other words, we’ve already trained the Power Team to be a “Bragging Buddy” for the Nutritional Product business whenever they come in contact with someone who is Getting Married, Having a Baby, Getting Healthy, etc.

 

Now let’s raise the connection to another level, matching a “Golden Goose” Referral Source to each of the Six Key Target Markets. Think about it. If you want the Power Team to bring prospects who are Getting Healthy, you would love your networking partners to create referral relationships for you with other businesses that also thrive on the Get Healthy Target Market. For example, a Personal Trainer working with people who are trying to get in shape.

 

Target Your Target Market

 

Both the Nutritional Products person and the Personal Trainer will benefit from networking strategically together because they are both dealing with people in the Get Healthy Target Market. It’s an obvious connection.

 

Both can work for the same client, and compliment the other’s product or service, without competing against each other. And for those of you taking notes, both are in the Health and Wellness Contact Sphere. Confused? Read this post on Contact Spheres.

 

Face it: businesses from the same Contact Sphere are the low hanging fruit of networking. Not bad, just easy. And easy is good. So good, we always start building our Power Team with other business categories from our own Contact Sphere.

 

But the ultimate goal of Power Team networking is to recognize less obvious, and potentially more powerful relationships between businesses that appear to have nothing on common.

 

Quick examples:

 

Caterers (Events Contact Sphere) and Life Insurance Sales (Finance Contact Sphere) can both provide a valuable product or service to the “Getting Married” Target Market.

 

Printers (Business Services Contact Sphere) and Pet Sitters (Personal Services Contact Sphere) can both provide a valuable product or service to the “Business Builder” Target Market.

 

Your job: Power Team Investigator. Dig beneath the surface and beyond the obvious. Challenge yourself to carefully examine each business in your network to work your way through features and benefits until you form a clear picture of the Target Market the other businesses serve. You will be amazed at the connections you find to your business!

 

Need more information? Click here for a post on Key Match Networking© between Contact Spheres.

 

Target the Golden Goose

 

OK, enough table setting. Let’s get to it, shall we? Take out your notebook and write down these three easy to follow action steps:

 

1) Learn your Key Target Markets

2) Train your Power Team to recognize End Users/Consumers for your Target Markets

3) Go beyond End Users and train the Power Team to recognize Golden Goose Referral sources for your Target Markets

 

I’ll make it easy for you. Here’s an entry level chart showing six of the most common Golden Geese for each of the Six Key Target Markets.

Can You Feel It?

As much sense as this Target Market stuff makes intellectually, the Power Team system only works at this advanced level when networking partners have an emotional investment in each other. Call it “chemistry.” Or the “X Factor.” More than friendship and trust, when two people “click” and really care about each others’ best interests, the opportunities to create money making referrals magically begin to appear everywhere they go, and wherever they look. 

 MLM’ers, hoist your “Biz Op” flag and your buckle up your money belts! Next time, we look back fondly on the smooth sailing of product promotion and fearlessly travel into rough waters, training the Power Team to bring referrals for your business opportunity, when our adventure in networking continues… Follow Me on Twitter!