acceptable. In the end I had an audiocassette with my presentation on it, and I listened to it over and over in my car. I’ll bet I listened to that presentation 500 times, and by that time, I had it memorized. I knew it backward and forward. I could start from any part of the presentation and take it from there.
You would not believe the confidence this gave me. I went from being afraid to do the presentation to actively looking for opportunities to give it! I did the presentation on conference calls, in home meetings, on three-way calls, and any place else I could find. I became a regular presenter at our local meetings and continued to move up to bigger and better venues, even being asked to speak at company conventions.
For me, the evolution of becoming a presenter went through several stages:
Learning my story.
Learning the standard opportunity presentation.
Learning different training presentations.
One big defining moment as a presenter came in 1993. I was 29 years old and starting to make a name for myself in Network Marketing. I was having a conversation with the CEO of the company and the number one distributor at the time. I can’t remember exactly how the topic came up, but I recall saying something to the CEO like, “Well, he (the top distributor) might be a better networker than I am right now, but I can out-speak him anytime.”
It was meant as a joke, but the CEO raised his eyebrows and said, “Okay son, I’ll tell you what. We have our big convention coming up. Over 14,000 people will be in attendance. I’ll give you both the same amount of time and we’ll have a private contest. I’ll handpick a few judges and they will vote on who did a better job.”
Wow! Now I was really on the hook! I wasn’t a huge leader. I didn’t have as big an organization or reputation at the time as the top earner. So, I did the only thing I could control. I started to prepare like my life hung in the balance. I chose a theme. I wrote my talk and rewrote it over and over. I did research. I practiced. I recorded myself doing the speech. I did everything I could possibly do.
When the day came, I’d never felt so nervous in my entire life. Talking to 14,000 people is like talking to an ocean. But my preparation served me well. I steadied my 29-year-old insecure self and delivered.
The response was overwhelming! The crowd went wild, literally. I felt a little numb when I walked off stage as they were still cheering, and sat there while the top earner gave his speech. He did a fine job, but I have to admit to you, it felt so good to have the CEO come up and congratulate me for winning our private little contest. It was definitely a defining moment.
That speech was lost for a very long time but a copy was recently discovered. If you’d like to hear it, you can do so by going to this link:
www.networkmarketingpro.com/calltoaction
My voice sounds quite a bit younger, but it’s still me.
To summarize this skill set, remember a few important things:
When you are prospecting, you are the messenger—not the message. Get yourself out of the way and use a third-party tool.
Learn to tell your story in a way that will make your prospects curious to hear more.
When it comes to presenting in front of a group of people, preparation is key. When you’re prepared, it’s fun.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skill #4—Following Up With Your Prospects
In MLM, they say the fortune is in the follow-up. I think that’s true, because most people in MLM don’t follow up at all, at least not as professionals. You need to understand some important concepts if you’re going to master this skill.
Concept #1–Follow-up is doing what you said you would do.
If you say you’re going to call at a specific time, then do it. The Network Marketing Profession is full of people who get all excited one minute and then go missing in action the next. Run your business through a physical or
You would not believe the confidence this gave me. I went from being afraid to do the presentation to actively looking for opportunities to give it! I did the presentation on conference calls, in home meetings, on three-way calls, and any place else I could find. I became a regular presenter at our local meetings and continued to move up to bigger and better venues, even being asked to speak at company conventions.
For me, the evolution of becoming a presenter went through several stages:
Learning my story.
Learning the standard opportunity presentation.
Learning different training presentations.
One big defining moment as a presenter came in 1993. I was 29 years old and starting to make a name for myself in Network Marketing. I was having a conversation with the CEO of the company and the number one distributor at the time. I can’t remember exactly how the topic came up, but I recall saying something to the CEO like, “Well, he (the top distributor) might be a better networker than I am right now, but I can out-speak him anytime.”
It was meant as a joke, but the CEO raised his eyebrows and said, “Okay son, I’ll tell you what. We have our big convention coming up. Over 14,000 people will be in attendance. I’ll give you both the same amount of time and we’ll have a private contest. I’ll handpick a few judges and they will vote on who did a better job.”
Wow! Now I was really on the hook! I wasn’t a huge leader. I didn’t have as big an organization or reputation at the time as the top earner. So, I did the only thing I could control. I started to prepare like my life hung in the balance. I chose a theme. I wrote my talk and rewrote it over and over. I did research. I practiced. I recorded myself doing the speech. I did everything I could possibly do.
When the day came, I’d never felt so nervous in my entire life. Talking to 14,000 people is like talking to an ocean. But my preparation served me well. I steadied my 29-year-old insecure self and delivered.
The response was overwhelming! The crowd went wild, literally. I felt a little numb when I walked off stage as they were still cheering, and sat there while the top earner gave his speech. He did a fine job, but I have to admit to you, it felt so good to have the CEO come up and congratulate me for winning our private little contest. It was definitely a defining moment.
That speech was lost for a very long time but a copy was recently discovered. If you’d like to hear it, you can do so by going to this link:
www.networkmarketingpro.com/calltoaction
My voice sounds quite a bit younger, but it’s still me.
To summarize this skill set, remember a few important things:
When you are prospecting, you are the messenger—not the message. Get yourself out of the way and use a third-party tool.
Learn to tell your story in a way that will make your prospects curious to hear more.
When it comes to presenting in front of a group of people, preparation is key. When you’re prepared, it’s fun.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Skill #4—Following Up With Your Prospects
In MLM, they say the fortune is in the follow-up. I think that’s true, because most people in MLM don’t follow up at all, at least not as professionals. You need to understand some important concepts if you’re going to master this skill.
Concept #1–Follow-up is doing what you said you would do.
If you say you’re going to call at a specific time, then do it. The Network Marketing Profession is full of people who get all excited one minute and then go missing in action the next. Run your business through a physical or
Similar Books
