Sometime ago I was chatting with my friend Al, and I asked him if he was going to be able to retire after he and his partner sold their business. (They had been attempting to sell a their business both of them had grown tired of and disliked).

He replied it was unlikely he would be able go into full retirement.

I then asked if he would be looking for a new business venture to supplement his income, to which he replied, “Absolutely!”

What would you do at this point? Talk about your Business Opportunity (solution)… or ask more questions?

It’s my experience that most Distributors will jump in with their solution. They’ll dump on Al all their reasons why he should look at their business, with the almost certain result of rejection.

I’ve said it many times – the secret to enrolling is to find out information first, before giving it. In order to do that you must found out their criteria based on where they are and what they want.

Here is what I mean.

I asked Al, “Would you go into the same business?”

He looked at me wondering where I was coming from because he knew that I knew he disliked what he had been doing. He replied, “You must be joking!” (There was a reason I asked the question. I wanted to confirm what I thought I knew, and secondly if it was what I thought, his reply would also cement his resolve to look for something different).

“Have you looked at anything else?” ignoring his remark.

“No” he said.

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Not yet” he replied

“What would be the CRITERIA of you starting a new business Al?”

He immediately shot out, “Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t want… Inventory, employees, bookkeeping and payroll for a start.”

Now, what Features of your solution come to mind that you can later turn into Benefits? Of course… no inventory, no employees, no bookkeeping and no payroll. Remember, those 4 features are ONLY benefits when they MEAN something to someone.

“And where will you find that” asked I quite jovially.

At which point he looked at me and said, “Oh I know what your game is, you’re going to propose Network Marketing! No way.”

I didn’t reply except to ask the question again, “And in what business would you find the criteria you just said you were looking for?”

“Are you saying I could get all those needs met in Network Marketing?” He asked.

“You could – every single one of them.” I then went silent to let the exchange percolate. (No one said you have to have a conclusion in the first conversation!).

Later Al gave me a call and said, “I’ve been thinking about that conversation we had… can’t find a business that will give me the things I want… have been researching Network Marketing… wondering if you would give me some recommendations as to what companies I might look at?” Patience is a virtue!

Here is something worthwhile doing. List all the features of your business opportunity or products, such as, no inventory or no chemicals, and use it to make up another list of questions you can ask. An example would be,

• Was carrying inventory in your last business ever a concern for you?
• How do you feel about most popular skin products having harmful skin chemicals in them?

Doing this will help you find out if a particular feature of your solution is important and might be of benefit to someone.

To help you even further, I have a CD program called Introducing Your Business And Products. You’ll be able to listen to what to ask and how to ask the right questions at the right time.

Remember, people have all the answers to everything you need to know to make what you do know relevant.

About the Author

Michael Oliver is an internationally recognized trainer, speaker and author and the founder of Natural Selling, the only sales training program designed to really eliminate rejection and objections. Visit his blog and signup free to get blog updates by email, along with the latest news, free advice, additional resources, and a lot more! Go now to http://naturalsellingblog.com. While you're at it, check out http://www.naturalselling.com.

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