Are you failing miserably when it comes to prospecting on social media?
Everyone else’s teams are growing by leaps and bounds! Each week your crosslines are featuring posts about “Suzie joined my team this week! We’ve never met…but we chatted over Instagram and Facebook, and now she’s joined my team!”
Meanwhile, people are ignoring your messages and posts. They’re turning you away. And you’ve almost exhausted your network and your list of potential prospects. Ugh!
Let’s chat about what’s probably going on here!
I have found that there are three common reasons people really struggle when it comes to growing their team through prospecting on social media.
Reason #1: You are only TAKING, not GIVING
You are trying to see what you can get out of social media before you approach it from the mindset of service and giving. This is the BIGGEST mistake people make.
If your attitude when it comes to Facebook is that you don’t want to do videos or post, or add value to people’s lives, this is the wrong.
There has never been a more powerful tool than social media when it comes to extending the reach you can have in making a difference in people’s lives.
However, if you aren’t making videos or sharing content that can help enrich other people’s lives, you are being incredibly SELFISH.
If you’re only going to Facebook to see who you can recruit that day, you are not going to be very successful.
I want you to view Facebook as a bank account. Every time you give, you’re making a deposit into that account. You can do this by posting a video and sharing knowledge, or reaching out to someone you know, as long as you aren’t asking for anything in return.
Every time you share a quote or comment on a post without recruiting, you’re making a deposit.
If you’re consistently giving first, you will never have a problem making a withdrawal.
If your bank account is full, because you have made a ton of deposits, you will be able to more successfully ask someone if they are interested in your business or products.
Because of the value you have added to their life, through content that entertains and educates, they are more open to chatting with you!
“If you do not care enough about a prospect to actually personalize a message you're sending to them, you do not deserve their time or response.”
Reason #2: Your initial messages for prospects are “copy & paste”
If you are being taught to send the same message out to hundreds of people, it is KILLING your business!
If, in your initial message, you are making a business presentation or offer, you are doing it completely wrong.
We have to approach social media messaging in a conversational way.
Imagine you are in an actual conversation!
Imagine if we run into each other at the supermarket and haven’t seen each other in six months.
And the first thing you say is:
“Hey, great to see you! I don’t know if you saw the new business I’m in, but maybe you want to join my team!”
If that was the first thing you said to me in a conversation, there’s NO WAY I’d want to join your team.
In fact, if I didn’t really know you that well, I’d probably run away!
One thing really drives me crazy, and you should never do it: Do not EVER send a link in the first message to a prospect.
It is the quickest way to show a prospect that you don’t care and are unprofessional. You might as well not even send the message.
I’m sure you get these all the time! They are the long messages that you have to scroll through, and there’s a link at the bottom. When I see these, I don’t even take the time to read the message. It’s Spam!
If you don’t care enough about me to personalize that message, you do not deserve my time or response.
You have to be better about making these messages conversational!
If this makes you nervous, don’t worry. You don’t have to go back and forth for ten minutes of meaningless conversation.
If I don’t know you very well, I don’t want to have long conversations about my personal life with you!
Try something simple like, “It’s been a long time, how have you been?”
Or, if someone likes your video, send them a quick message of, “Hey! Thanks for liking my video. How have you been?”
After a couple of messages, it is time to bring up what I want to talk about – my business.
So, I say, “Hey, this may or may not be for you, but I’ve been thinking about you…would you be open to taking a look at what I’m doing? Do you know anyone?”
Just understand there’s a balance!
Reason #3: You are relying too heavily on social media
Are you only trying to build online? Maybe you’re never taking people offline for LIVE interactions?
Facebook is amazing. It has revolutionized the profession of network marketing. However, if you want to hide behind your computer, and you’re not willing to get on the phone or a Zoom, you cannot build super-solid relationships!
If I send you multiple messages, and I see that you have seen them and are not responding, I am not going to send another message like a beggar. However, I might give you a call or text to ask why I haven’t been able to get in touch!
Change Your Methods and See the Difference
Social media can be the most powerful tool that you have in your arsenal when it comes to prospecting, but only if it is used the right way!
Are you guilty of the any of the three reasons I mentioned above? Just make a couple of simple tweaks in the way you are approaching your prospects in each situation. Put your prospect first, build connections and relationships, and be a real human instead of hiding behind a computer screen!
I promise you, this will make a world of difference in your business!
