How many of you here have ever been phoned by a cold call ? Pretty much everyone I guess. OK. Think back to that insurance company that phoned. What was your reaction ? If like most people you probably said straight off the bat, without listening "No thanks Not Interested" and hung up the phone. Fair comment ?

So obviously cold calling simply doesn't work, and is just another of the great MLM myths, when you hear of people being successful !

If you truly believe that statement then you are seriously throwing away one of the cheapest possible sources of growing your business. The key to making cold marketing work is simple. TARGET your prospect !!

Let me demonstrate. We're all network marketers or soon to be network marketers. If I phoned you up and out of the blue asked you "If I can honestly show you a way to add 20 to 30 people a week to your business, every single week, would that be worth 45 minutes of your time to see how to do that ?" You'd probably have a few questions but you'd be interested right ? The reason being that you're a network marketer and have a need, want or desire for that knowledge.

I do the same thing in my own networking business. You see one of the problems that I help solve is weight loss. So lets have a quick peek at what it is exactly that I'm doing.

Key 1 : Target your prospect

So have a think a moment about who my prospect is. What is it I'm looking at doing ? Well first step - focus on the product NOT the opportunity. So its weight loss. So that's people who are overweight right ? Well lets focus in a bit more. Have a quick think for a few moments and then we'll run through what I use.

OK as I saw it my prospect needed to

1. Be overweight (obvious right)

2. Have tried to lose weight in the past

3. Failed to lose weight

4. Have a credit card (they need to be able to pay me over the phone)

5. Be able to afford my product

So here's the cold lead that I found. Its women, aged 25-50, have been a member of a weight loss club in the last 12 months, currently wears a large dress size, has bought a product on a credit card in the last 12 months and has an income about $25000 a year.

A fairly targeted lead right ? So how much did this cost ? Try 10.2 cents a name and phone number !!! That's right. Do you think they have a want, need or desire for my product ? You bet ! Now lets compare it to the $3-$5 "opportunity seeker" leads you can buy online. Which will convert better I wonder - kinda obvious isn't it. And in case you're wondering - that list of weight loss people is over 11 million deep in just the US alone ! Should keep me busy for a while.

Key 2 : Grab their attention

OK so just having the leads there isn't enough. You got to be able to reel them in. So lets think like fishermen, where the leads are fish. What's the first step ? Bait the line.

Sit down and think about how to grab their attention. Either shock them or scare them to death. Then promise the unbelievable.

"Let me ask you a question. If I could honestly show you how to lose 10lb in 30 days, without starving to death and even better guarantee your success would that be worth 25 minutes of your time to see how to do that ?"

Key 3 : Present your PRODUCT !! Not the opportunity

Speaks for itself kinda. Don't talk about the opportunity until they've been using the product. Then DON'T mention millions of dollars. Just help them to earn enough to get their product for free. After this they'll get the idea and start dreaming themselves.

Conclusion

Cold calling absolutely works if you are prepared and willing to do some serious thinking. But it can and does lead to serious results. I personally have felt the power of it in my business, and I truly know people who are adding 20 to 30 people a week using ONLY cold calling !

So go out, and schedule a time to define exactly what your prospect wants to hear, define who your prospect is and start growing your business the cheap, easy way.