One of the most effective means of growing an MLM network marketing business is through the use of leads. Although most people new to this area will buy leads, which may be effective if properly exploited, a more effective means is to do your own lead generation which acts as a feeder for an MLM sponsoring system of some type.



No MLM lead or lead generation system is perfect. Any lead you get by any means will have to be contacted, and, by some means, be led into your particular MLM sponsoring system. However, when worked properly and regularly, this is the best way to grow your MLM network marketing business. In fact, the techniques used in lead generation will work just as well for generating sales leads, leads for charitable institutions, or even leads for a storefront business.

One of the first things to remember is that "Do Not Call" lists and email spam restrictions apply to you. Before contacting someone by phone or email, make sure you have secured their phone number and/or email address in such a way that they cannot make a complaint about you. The other side of this is that once you make contact, if they ask to be removed from your list, do so immediately and make no further effort to contact them.

No matter how you generate your leads, be prepared for the thing every marketer must face on a regular basis...rejection. No matter who it is or the reason they give, if you know you have played by the rules and done everything as right as you could, do not take it personally. Even IF for some reason you ARE at fault in your mind, accept it as part of the business and as a character-building learning experience and move on.

People you contact as a result of your lead generation system may have many reasons for "rejecting" your proposal. They may already be in another business and not want to add to their burdens, they may be having family problems, they may be ill, they may be afraid...the list can go on forever.

One very successful MLM marketer used to begin any new contact with questions designed to weed out "tire kickers" or those with unrealistic expectations. As he pointed out, there are enough people who are willing to learn and do the work, and he simply chose to find those and work with them.

Here's a scary thought if you choose to buy leads.

One study a while back checked a large number of purchased leads against the "Do Not Call" list. Well over half the people listed as being interested in receiving information by phone were on that list! While there are some very reputable companies around, the best leads are going to be the ones you generate yourself. Therefore, having your own lead generation methods can provide you with a steady stream of interested parties that YOU KNOW have given their email address or phone number, and you have their own online entries to back up your claims.

Leads you generate yourself will be fresher, giving you an opportunity to get to the person first with your opportunity or product.

Leads you generate yourself will be less expensive. A single purchased lead may cost several dollars and may have been sold to other people, while you can generate your own for pennies and in some cases for free.

Leads you generate yourself will be more responsive, particularly if you have identified the response with your business. However, even if the lead is gathered through some generic means, they will still be more responsive to YOU because...

Leads you generate yourself will be more personal. Obviously, if the first contact is between you and your potential lead, you will be perceived as...

WAIT A MINUTE! IT SOUNDS LIKE I HAVE TO HAVE A LEAD TO GENERATE A LEAD!

Well, that's sort of the idea!

Look at it like this. If you attempt to generate a lead by saying to a stranger, "Hey, come over here and look at my product (or opportunity)", odds are they are going to look at you like you're crazy and get away as quickly as possible. However, if you say to that stranger, "Hello! Here's a gift for you. Have a nice day!" they are more likely to be responsive to further contact. At some point after you have made the initial contact and positioned yourself as someone who can be trusted and believed, then you can transfer the initial lead into your MLM sponsoring system.

Obviously, lead generation is not that simple, but there IS a relatively simple, effective, and less expensive means of MLM lead generation than buying strangers' names from other strangers.

A SIMPLE MODEL OF A LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM.

1. Go to an autoresponder service such as http://getresponse.com and sign up. While I recommend paying for their pro level service, the free service can work, but messages will carry their advertising in addition to your messages.

2. Put together an information product of value related to your product, service, or business opportunity. This can be a single report, but a series of reports to be delivered over several days or even weeks would be better. It is known in advertising that many people will not react to a message (advertisement) until they have seen it several times. Additionally, people who have just signed up for your mailings will still not know you, but, after they have received several valuable messages from you, they will begin to trust you and be more receptive to suggestions you make and advice you give.

If you do not know how to put together articles or information packages, don't worry. You can send articles that you can get for free from sites such as http://ezinearticles.com , or you can have articles written for you at sites such as http://www.justarticles.com/ . You can also buy niche content packages from providers such as Stef over at http://www.niche-content-packages.com/ .

3. Load your message(s) into your autoresponder. GetResponse.com will help you build the code for a capture form. If you are generating your leads online, you will have to place the lead capture form on a webpage. After that, your job will be to get people to go to the webpage where they will be asked to sign up for the information package or newsletter by filling in their name, email address, and telephone number. You can see an example of a lead capture page at http://free-mlm-leads.ws .

If you are promoting off line, you can just use the autoresponder email address on a business card, flyer, post card, or similar marketing message. People who send a message to that email will get the information you have set up in the autoresponder.

4. As your relationship progresses with your email list, offer your product or business opportunity as a solution to their problems. For example, if you sell domains and website hosting and you are telling people how to get an internet business started, they will be told that they will need to buy, register, and host a domain name. You can suggest your company as one they might consider. If your company is an MLM network marketing company, since they are trying to find information about starting an internet business, you can offer your company as an honest business opportunity.

5. Keep in touch. If you find additional information or services of value to those on your email list, let them know.

Always remember that you want to treat your MLM leads with respect. In fact, try not to think of them as "leads". They are people, and once upon a time we were "leads" to someone else. You want these people to become friends and team partners. Do to them as you would wish to be done to, and they can reward your efforts handsomely.