Recruiting Leaders or Launching a Product? Throw a Party!
Is it me or is it MLM season again? Over the years, I have been invited to a lot of gatherings promoting certain products or companies that use multilevel marketing to promote. The set up is usually like this: there’s a main speaker and he will talk before the group. You’re gathered in an office somewhere with good lighting and a few chairs strewn around. After the speech, the main group will talk to the new recruits and do a one-on-one.
First let me clear up one thing. I have nothing against this strategy in marketing, but the presentation as well as the process could be better.
Why does it always have to be a quiet, intense atmosphere… and why should there always be papers instead of food on the table. If you’re going to get people promoting the business and the scheme, and you’re going to claim that you’re making thousands already… shouldn’t everything about your “general assembly” reflect that?
The issue of “wasting time attending”.
When you get invited to an MLM seminar, and you have no expectations whatsoever of what will go on, you end up relying on your friend (the one who invited you) to tell you about the people you’re going to meet and the purpose of the seminar. If they go there and get subjected to a lot of pressure, it will not come down easy.
The solution: throw a party to extend your network
How hard can it be? Get a few friends together and a guest speaker, throw in some food, good music, some laughter… and the person you invited will not feel like he or she wasted time coming.
The quality of the people you will invite to your seminar, whether to launch a new product or introduce a new concept, varies. But I can bet there will be a few leaders who will attend, and you want to make these individuals like the fact that they attended before they can start promoting for you.
In reality, it doesn’t matter if your niche has something to do with the latest weight loss supplement or the biggest moneymaking strategy in the next century… the initial impression you create will have a lot to do with a person’s need to feel like she’s welcomes, well-cared for and well-entertained.