There are more than 10 sins, but these are the “biggies.” They’re in no particular order and are interconnected with one another. I suggest you print out and read this entire email through once. Then go back and carefully study each sin again.Look at how one connects to another. They will make more sense and have more impact on your online sponsoring efforts when you see how they all interrelate. Ask yourself, how you can apply the collective lesson here into your sponsoring efforts.

This might sound over-simplistic (the great ideas usually are) but make sure you write down your ideas as they come to you. Write them down and design a game plan to implement the top 3 to 5 over the next 21 days. If you’ll do that, you’ll surprise yourself with the ideas you come up with and how much more effective your every effort will become.

So, let’s get to it.

SIN #1: Fail To Capture Attention With A Benefit Centered Headline

This is probably the most important part of your email or web-site. You’ve got less than 3 seconds to capture your prospect’s attention. If you don’t, they’ll click to another website or delete your email faster than car salesmen pounce on you at a dealership.

Headlines are the single most important factor in the success of your marketing. Did you know you can take a salesletter (by sale’s letter I mean your website, email, postcards, voicemail messages – any marketing situation) and just change the headline and have it produce as much as 21 times better results? That means you can sponsor 21 times more people by testing a few different headlines – and that’s without changing anything else!

So many websites have no headlines… or, worse yet, the head-lines are selfish. They don’t appeal to the reader. Ask yourself, “What are you trying to accomplish with your site or in your email? Are you trying to sponsor and find business builders? Or, are you looking for retail customers?” Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, your headline should offer a specific benefit about that. Think about it.

Say you’re looking for business builders… don’t make the mistake of using a headline like “The First And Only Wave 5 Company.” That means nothing and has no appeal whatsoever. Why would anyone keep reading? Instead, you could use something like “Discover How To Fire Your Boss.”

Why say, “Have You Ever Been Taken Advantage of?” when a headline like “How You’re Getting Taken To The Cleaners – And Don’t Even Know It!” builds enormous curiosity and promises the reader immediate benefit? Instead of “Our Associates Get Paid Everyday” use something like: “Click Here And Discover How You Can Earn A Full Time Income In Only A Few Hours A Week.” Or “How To Make Yourself A Fortune Supplying Something That 43,567,453 People Desperately Want!” See how the rewritten headlines build curiosity and directly addresses the prospect?

There’s so much more to writing headlines – a ton more! Countless marketing books have been written about how to write a compelling headline. Two of the best are “Tested Advertising Methods” by John Caples and “Cash Copy” by Dr. Jeffery Lant. Both are probably available at Barnes and Noble or Borders Books. I highly recommend both.

SIN #2: Way too much emphasis on “OUR company” – “OUR story” – “OUR products” – Not enough about the PROSPECT.

When you say “Our associates” or “Our company” or “Our compensation plan,” you’re talking about you. Your prospect has no interest in reading about you. When you write of those things what you’re really saying is “you should read this because we are great.” How many of us like to hear someone talk about how great they are? Not many, right? Nothing bores me and sends me running for cover faster, how about you?

Instead, your marketing should say “Here’s what’s in it for you if you listen to me.” (By the way, this is important in ANY sponsoring conversation you ever have.) Your prospect WILL, however, read every word of your website or email if it’s all about them – if it applies to… their life, their situation, their problems, their wants and desires.

And, remember, the problems are probably the most motivating. Sometimes (most times, in fact) people will come to your site not even be aware that they have a problem (after all, they’ve been living with it for a while and may have given up hope of ever solving it). Often times you’ve got to remind them they have a problem and then they’ll be open to hearing about your solutions.

SIN #3: No Seduction — No Romance — Too much “Yelling” at The prospect.

Sponsoring is much like dating. It’s about the fine art of seduction. You’ve got to let it evolve.

I have an Aunt who discovered the man of her dreams was hiding inside someone she thought she hated. At first she wouldn’t even give him the time of day, let alone go out on a date with him. Yet today they have been happily married for decades. In fact, they’ve got one of the best marriages around. So how did he win her over? How did he go from a zero to a hero in her eyes?

He was patiently persistent – but not a pest. He could afford to be. You see, he was CONFIDENT. He knew he had the goods. He knew that once my Aunt got to know him, she’d fall in love with him. So he patiently built a relationship with her over time. He never rushed or pushed her. He gradually turned her around. Then she was willing to see what a great guy he was.

It’s the same thing when you’re sponsoring someone. I know this might come as a surprise (not), but not everyone coming to your website (or reading your email) is doing so with an open mind. In fact, it’s a safe assumption that (at least initially) they will doubt almost everything you say – until you break down their walls of resistance (just like my Aunt).

Yet people still write the copy assuming that people get online saying to themselves, “Maybe today is the day I will find someone to sponsor me into that great network marketing company I’ve been dreaming about joining.” Unfortunately, most of your prospects will not be actively looking to join an MLM. Most people have a negative impression of MLM and will only be open to hear about it after you’ve seduced them into it. You’ve got to romance them. How do you do it? Lead with the emotional benefits they want for their life, build some rapport with them, and stop clobbering them over the head with meaningless platitudes like, “The Best Compensation Plan In The Industry.” Speak to their heart.

SIN #4: Not understanding or using a USP

Look at all the sites and oodles of email people send out trying to get you to join their opportunity. Your prospects are completely saturated. Not only that, most of that stuff says exactly the same thing (plus or minus 1%). Your prospect is inundated with tons of offers each claiming almost the same things. The bottom line is if you’re trying to compete with the same message (plus or minus 1%) you’ll sound like everyone else out there competing for your prospect’s attention. Prospects automatically tune out thousands of these messages – it’s a knee jerk reaction that they often aren’t even consciously aware of.

If you want to be effective, your sponsoring message has got to be different. It has to be head and shoulders above all the other stuff out there. You’ve got to stand out in the mind of your prospect. You’ve got to have a USP. What’s a USP? It stands for “Unique Selling Proposition.” It’s more than just a competitive advantage.

What benefit(s) – SPECIFICALLY – will your prospect get by joining your opportunity and downline that they can’t get anywhere else? The proposition must be something that your competition can’t, or doesn’t, offer. And this proposition must be so compelling that people feel a loss if they pass on it. It’s got to be irresistible. That’s a USP.

This doesn’t have to be about the company or the products, by the way. It could have to do with the team and unique support system that your organization may have developed. Often times which organization you join or who your sponsor is, is more of a USP than anything else. A strong sponsorship line is more important than the products, or even the compensation plan.

Spend some time on this. Really think about it. Research what your competition is doing (fortunately this is really easy online… just do a search engine search and visit as many sites as it takes to get a feel for what you’re up against.) It may take some time, but it’s time well spent. And it will allow you to leave your competition in the dust.

SIN #5: No Quid Pro Quo

This is probably the most important key to online marketing. You’ve got to provide value to the people surfing by your site. Why? Because people don’t go online with the intention of buying or of being sponsored. They get online with the intention of LEARNING. The secret to online success is to turn that yearning to learn into a desire for your USP.

How? It’s easy. All you have to do is provide value… for free.

Take a look at my website (and this newsletter for that matter). I’ve gone out of my way to create as much value as I possibly can. If you printed out the entire site, it would total over 50 pages of FREE information. And every month I put all I can into this newsletter in the hope of making it an indispensable tool for all the subscribers.

Why do I do it? Quid Pro Quo. Value for value. If I take the first step and PROVE my worth to you – for free – then you will be more inclined to trust me. If you trust me, then we start to build a relationship based on value and truth. And if you find value in my info, then you’ll introduce my website and home study course to everyone you know… which will eventually translate into more sales as everyone in your organization also finds value in being associated with me. And, who knows, maybe you’ll hire me to do a training or to design a turnkey lead generation system for you or your company at some point in the future.

See how it works? It all starts by creating value and proving your worth! So brainstorm how you can create value for free to every prospect who views your email or stops by your site. What can you do for them, even if they never sponsor into your group or become a retail customer? (By the way, whatever exchange of value you come up with can become your USP.) This will create a ton of positive word of mouth referrals.

Trust me, it’s an investment that pays off many, many times the costs of implementing it. Plus, you’ll feel good about yourself and the way you conduct business, which gives you confidence. And that confidence is very enrolling. People will want to be a part of your team.

SIN #6: Too Much “COOL” – Not Enough Marketing

I’m continually blown away by how many people create masterpiece sites and never spend any time promoting them. They just put the site up and wonder why they aren’t generating any sales from it yet. Then (as if that’s not bad enough) they throw their hands in the air and exclaim the Internet isn’t effective. That’s like opening a retail store in a zero population area, never advertising it, and then getting mad when a customer never walks through the doors.

You’ve got to keep your eye on the ball. A great site does nothing if nobody ever sees it. The world’s greatest sales letter won’t sponsor a soul if no one reads it. Shuffling business cards or updating the site doesn’t make money… getting people in front of the sponsoring message does. Sound simple? It is!

SIN #7: No Third Party Stories For Credibility & No Fear Removal

Here are two fundamental marketing facts that most understand but hardly apply: 1) Anything you say directly in a sponsoring situation (written or otherwise) is automatically suspect in your prospect’s mind – but if a third party makes the statement for you, your prospect almost always accepts it as fact; and, 2) The more you remove the fear your prospect has about taking a risk (i.e., sponsoring in), the more people will respond to your offer.

So, make sure you never neglect the awesome selling power of testimonials (real testimonials) in all your marketing efforts. They really drive home your claims and make them believable. As for removing the fear, simply brainstorm and test different better than risk-free offers. I’ve found a very effective way of overcoming the fear of responding is to turn the tables on the prospect. Let the prospect know you’re very selective about the people you work with. That not everyone qualifies, but they are welcome to apply and see if they qualify… that you’ll rush them a complete info package so you can see if they are right for you and if this is right for them. This usually will move people to action because people generally want what they can’t have.

SIN #8: Not Walking A Mile In Their Shoes

Your website or email message (any type of sales letter for that matter) is the lowest pressure form of salesmanship there is. It’s not interactive so you have to make sure you answer all their questions and handle any possible objections ahead of time. You don’t have the luxury of customizing your presentation for each specific prospect. Your prospect will, at the click of a mouse, jump to another site or trash your message. So you have to anticipate their every move and stay one step ahead.

One the most valuable things you can do is sit down and brain-storm all the reasons you can think of why someone will NOT take you up on your offer. If you were to look at your opportunity objectively, what would your objections be? What concerns would you have? What questions would you have if you were the prospect? Try to come up with 15 questions and write them down. Then answer them one by one and incorporate them into the copy.

SIN #9: Wasting Time Trying To Sell Non-Prospects

Have you ever heard the saying “you can’t say anything right to the wrong person”? Many people waste so much time and energy trying to sponsor non-prospects. This carries over to the way people design their online sales messages. They try to address the masses instead of writing specifically for the ideal prospect they’d like to sponsor. Done right, your marketing should turn away as many people (if not more) than it attracts. You don’t want to waste time with unqualified people.

Who’s your ideal prospect? Think about it. Get into your prospect. Who’d be your fantasy new enrollee? Write directly to that one person and make it a passionate personal letter just to them. Remember, a prospect will NEVER be bored in print. So every word you write should be exciting, relevant, and necessary to prove your case… and never be boring.

SIN #10: No Follow-Up

It’s online suicide! And the sad part is 999 in 1,000 don’t even know they are committing it. “What is it?” you ask. The number one online mistake is failing to build a bonded relationship so that your prospect can trust you, and believe in your opportunity.

Let me explain.

Trust and Rapport are two of the hardest things to create online. They come from building a bonded relationship with your prospect. To successfully sell or sponsor online, you’ve got to have a system that gets your sales message in front of people, turns surfers into readers, readers into friends, friends into believers, and finally, converts believers into buyers.

In other words, before you can sell anybody, anything, you’ve got to get them to like and respect you, (by proving you’re trustworthy, reliable, and believable), and, there must be logical reasons for the prospect to do business with you.

“I already knew that, Joshua,” you might be thinking. Well, here’s something that you may not have given much thought to-

This process takes time!

And this where most people fail. They set their business model around a one time sponsoring effort, and leave the potential for future enrollments behind while they move on. No follow-up, No relationship building over time. Just wham, bam, sponsor in now ma’am/man.

How long it takes to build enough of a relationship with your prospect for them to sponsor in varies with the individual prospect. Some will trust you immediately and sign up the first time through. But most – the majority – will not! It takes time for them to like and trust you. Some people are slow to believe, and require proof over time. Their motto is, “Talk is cheap, prove it!”

That’s why the richest and most savvy marketers in the world will follow up with a prospect 7 to 10 times before giving up on them. They stay in contact with them on a frequent basis, constantly reminding the prospect of the benefits of doing business with them. They invest time and money in the follow-up process because they came to the realization that 75%+ of all their sales came after the 6th time they asked them to buy.

Follow-up is key.

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Copyright 1999 by Joshua D. Shafran. All rights reserved.
This document may not be copied in part or full without express
written permission from the publisher.