What do you do when someone has a limiting belief about Network Marketing? What do you do when someone says something like, “Is this MLM?” or a variation like, “Is this one of those things?” or, “Is this a pyramid scheme?” or, “I’m not interested in MLM.”

My suggestion is, instead of running away – or worse, saying something like, “Pyramid scheme? Like every corporation in the world? Like the government? You mean like THAT?!” – it’s important to understand where these questions and objections come from.

My experience has shown that the prospect usually knew someone who joined a Network Marketing company with no success, or else they’ve done it themselves and it didn’t pay off. So, if someone asks this kind of question or makes this kind of objection with any sort of emotion I know they’ve been involved at some point, so I say, “Wait a minute. You have a story. What happened? Were you involved in Network Marketing at some point?” Then, I just let them tell their story. It opens them up. It lowers their defenses. And it allows you to ask some questions about their experience.

For people asking without the emotion attached, I usually respond with, “Yes, this is Network Marketing. Do you know anything about it?” Again, I’m asking questions and waiting for answers. From those answers, I ask more questions, and through the process, I can achieve my goal of education and understanding.

Another question that comes up often is, “How much are YOU making?” If you’re making money already, this is a great question. If you’re not, your answer depends on how long you’ve been involved. If you’re brand new, you can tell them you’re just getting started. If you’ve been around for a while and not making big money yet, you can tell them you are working this part-time and are really excited about your future. You could also say that you’re excited about your future with this company because you knew things weren’t going to change if you didn’t do something to change them.

The other way to answer this question is to tell your story, and then tell stories of people you know who ARE making good money. You can even suggest setting up a phone conversation with those people so your prospect can feel more comfortable about the opportunity.

So, it’s important to look at questions and objections from your prospects as gifts. Without them, you don’t really know what’s going on in someone’s mind. Sometimes, you even need to tease them out of a prospect who is resisting, but they aren’t telling you why. If they say, “I don’t know if this is for me,” then ask, “How come?” When they reply, “I don’t know,” then you say, “Well, there’s got to be a reason.” If they’re not giving you the answer, and they’re being super generic, push to find out what it is.

Remember, in the objection is the opportunity to educate.

Another key factor is finding out the REAL objection. Ask, “Is there anything else,” until they say, “No. That’s it.” The last objection is the real one. If you try to deal with objections that aren’t real, you’re wasting time for you and your prospect.

In the follow-up process, questions are your best friend. When you stop asking questions, the conversation ends. Use the follow-up as an opportunity to get to know your prospect, to build a relationship, and to help them see if there’s a fit. Once they know, they’ll make their decision.

Just remember that there’s not ALWAYS going to be a fit, and that’s okay. Even if there’s not a fit, use this as an opportunity to have a REAL conversation and be present. You want people to invest in your story, so return the favor and invest in theirs. The timing might not be right now, but it could be in the future.