Here’s the beauty of the cold market: you will never run out of strangers to talk to. Isn’t that great?
I know it can be uncomfortable, but I’m going to give you some tips that you can implement right away (and they could even help you with your warm market prospecting)!
Disclaimer: most of my conversation will be geared towards leading with the opportunity because that’s the language I speak. But I have a lot of people who lead with the product and they get a lot of customers from complete strangers. The truth is, it’s easier to duplicate customer acquisition, especially if you’re starting a new business.
With that out of the way, let’s jump into the 4 effective cold market prospecting tips that actually work!
4 Effective Cold Market Prospecting Tips That Actually Work
Tip #1: Connect, Compliment, Convert
When you’re meeting people online, it’s a little bit easier to have a back-and-forth conversation because you can think before you respond.
If you’re connecting with someone in person, when they ask you a question, you have to answer that question and you don’t have a lot of time to think. But on Facebook Messenger/online, you can take your time.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that online conversations can be a little weird. Why? Because if you’re talking to a stranger, they might wonder why you’re asking them all of these questions. Whereas in person, it’s normal to say, “Hey, nice to meet you. How long have been working here/What do you do?”
IMP: If you message someone, it’s different than if they message you. You have a little more control of the situation if they message you and go, “What do you do/What’s this product/What’s this company?”
F.O.R.M.
I don’t like to friend people up and immediately prospect them. That’s not me. I’ll typically connect and get to know them a little bit first. And what I mean by that is that I’ll F.O.R.M. them:
F – Family
O – Occupation
R – Recreation
M – Message
In other words, I’ll find out about their family, about what they do for work, and what they do for fun. Then once I figure out what type of person they are, I’ll deliver my message.
This stuff flat out works, but you have to get used to doing it.
IMP: How the conversation goes depends on the person and the situation.
I got this question recently, “How long do I wait to ask them if they’re open to taking a look at my product/opportunity?”
Answer: “Don’t wait too long, but don’t say it in the first sentence, either.”
Have a little common sense and realize that these people have no clue who you are or why you’re sending them a message. But you also need to cut to the chase pretty quickly.
For example, I could say, “I was checking out your profile. You seem like a sharp person. I see we have some mutual interests/mutual friends/I see we’re from the same area” and connect to them like that.
Be in a Hurry
It’s very important to always be in a hurry. You don’t want to act as if you have nothing else better to do than talk to them. The truth is, you shouldn’t build rapport for weeks, months, and years. Remember, you might have to work with these people for a while. So you want to make sure they’re good humans.
Tip #2: “No” Means “No, Not Yet”
You literally cannot care if they say no. Detach yourself from their decision to join or not. Marry the process, divorce the result.
If they say yes, awesome. They say no, awesome!
Remember, “no” is just “no, not yet”. Write that word down: yet.
They haven’t joined yet, they haven’t bought your product yet, they’re not open yet!
Who cares? You’ve planted the seeds. And then you’re going to build your brand, put out videos, and provide value. So you’re going to water all those seeds!
Tip #3: Always Give Them an Out & Tell Them Your WHY
Remember to always give them an out.
Start by saying something like:
- “Kim, you seem like a sharp person. It’s great talking to you and catching up!”
Then:
- “It’s great to meet you here, on Facebook. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about making money outside of what you do right now.”
Then transition into telling them WHY you do what you do.
You thought this is where you get into pitch mode? No, no, no, no. You don’t go into what you do, you talk about why you do it.
This is a major key. Tell them your 2 reasons WHY:
- Your personal reason why you want more moolah – you want to help your parents retire/fire your boss/retire your spouse/put your kids in a private school/pay off your debt/travel the world/wake up when you’re done sleeping/buy a yacht. I don’t know why you do this, but you need to know and you need to share it with people, because people relate to people; they don’t relate to ingredients and comp plans.
- The reason why you chose your company – why that business/why that product.
How can you make the transition to popping the question easy? Just confront the elephant in the room! Tell them:
- “I know this is totally out of left field/it’s totally out of the blue. We don’t really know each other/we haven’t seen each other/talked to each other in a long time but…”
You just can’t care! It’s not going to be perfect and you’re going to mess it up sometimes. And that’s all right!
Tip #4: Use the Audio Feature on Messenger
Here’s the deal. It’s so much better to use the audio feature on Messenger than to have a copy-and-paste message.
When I read out what I say, I just don’t like it. Also, it’s simply better for people to hear your enthusiasm.
People care more about the depth of your enthusiasm than the height of your knowledge. So if you get into explanation mode, it’s better to say it out loud than to have it all typed out. It’s just not as good!
What to do when you want more results
When someone tells me they want more downline members, I ask them, “How many people are you prospecting per week for the business?” In most cases, they reply with, “Not that many.” So you want a result, but you’re not doing the work?
Let’s step up the performance! You can have the big dream and the big goal, but you also need the work ethic, the commitment, the dedication, and the consistency!
One of the biggest challenges people face is rejection. Answer these questions:
- Do you have a chicken list?
- How many Facebook friends do you have?
- What’s the percentage of people you’ve talked to?
I do this all the time because it’s eye-opening. If you’re a leader, you will be blown away. Most of the people in your downline have only talked to 10% of their contacts. They say they want all these results, but they’re not willing to go reach out to people.
Why? Because they don’t know what to say. But the only way you’re going to figure out what to say is by doing it over and over again. You can have all the scripts and hear all the trainings, but you have to go implement and execute.
You’re never going to run out of strangers to talk to, but you need to get out of your comfort zone a bit. Get comfortable with discomfort, because it’s a little awkward at the beginning but if you can prospect strangers, sky is the limit for you!
These were my most effective cold market prospecting tips that actually work! Which one are you going to implement first? Let me know in the comments below! And if you found value in this training, share it with your teammates!
Let’s do this!
Additional Resources to Help You Build Your Business:
- 5 Steps to Grow Your Business on Social Media
- 10 Prospecting Tips You’ve (Probably) Heard Before – But Are You Using Them Yet?
- Conquer Your Fear of Prospecting! How to Recruit More People on Social Media
- 10 Effective Prospecting and Closing Questions You Should Be Using Right Now
- LIKE Our Page to Plug into our LIVE Videos Here
Want to Know What Tools We Use to Build Our Business and Our Brand?
- Resources – we often get asked what tools we use and recommend, so we put together one page with all our favorite resources. Enjoy!
Feel free to share this with anyone who might enjoy it and also comment below on your favorite tip or your biggest takeaway. We can’t wait to see your comments!
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