Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room. I make money when people buy my products and services. Okay, I said it. I thought it prudent to address that issue right up front because the natural inclination of human nature is skepticism and cynicism We’ve all been down this road before. One of our family members or friends approaches us with a business idea, and our first instinct is to either avoid meeting with him/her altogether, or we prejudge the idea even before we know what it is. Let’s best honest. How many reading this article have said no to something even before you knew what you were saying no to? That’s all of us including me.
It’s easier to say no to an idea because saying yes means taking a risk. In the area of direct sales, it’s amazing how many people I have talked to who believe themselves to be a business expert. You know the type. It’s your broke brother-in-law or perhaps it’s some millennial barely out of college, but they are ready and eager to pontificate to you about their expertise in business matters. Or maybe it’s the self-proclaimed business coach. That’s going around a lot these days. The business coach who doesn’t own a business. Hmmm. Anyway, let’s draw this out. You sit down to share your concept and the first response you hear is, “Is this one of those pyramids?” This is where I will insert the eyeroll emoji.
Every person in direct sales who is actively building has heard this question. For most, if not all of us, our natural inclination is to become offended. We live in a society full of people looking for a reason to be angry with someone. Don’t believe me? Just watch the news today. Or scroll through Facebook.
The pyramid question most often sends the amateur running and hiding. But let’s assume the best about people and realize that this question is not intended to be insulting or offensive. Instead it’s asked from a place of ignorance. Most people are uneducated about direct sales. They simply don’t understand the model or like everyone who isn’t smarter than a fifth grader, they use Google research to educate themselves. I could do a whole series of articles on how our technologically illiterate society is allowing the Internet to shape their perspectives on virtually issue under the sun. I will also refrain from comment until a later post.
What if we could assume that most everyone we talk to is going to have some kind of preconceived information about our business and that our job is not to convince them to change their mind? Instead, our focus is about educating them to the possibilities. Two things I have learned since becoming an entrepreneur are as follows:
- I am not for everyone and everyone is not for me.
- Some will, some won’t, so what, and next.
So, how should we respond when we run up against objections? First and foremost, objections are part of what we, as entrepreneurs face, every single day. I have preached this message to myself over and over again. Objections are part of life, and regardless of what profession we are in, we will face them.
But instead of operating out of a defensive posture, what if we could handle those objections offensively? What if we could begin educating people on how they are missing out if they don’t have a home-based business? What if we could show people the benefits of having a home-based business and how they could be missing out on tax savings of up to $8000.00 per year? You heard me right. Stay tuned for more information. I wish someone had shared this information with me 20 years ago.
To your success!
Bill
