The 4 C's Of Online Marketing: Capture, Cultivate, Close, and Coach

Let me begin by saying that I did not come up with this idea. I do not want to pretend to take any credit for inventing these steps. What I can take credit for is the success I enjoy by using the 4 Cs in my business. I hope this article will save you frustration and make you a lot of money in the process.

First, you must CAPTURE your audience. Yes, I refer to your potential customers and down-line as your audience because an audience makes a choice to attend. If you are a member of the audience at a concert, movie, ballgame...etc., it is because you want to be there. You are interested in what is going on! You want to attract those who are interested, maybe even already involved in the MLM business. You are looking for people who are looking. People like you. Do not, I repeat, do not waste your time and energy trying to "sell" your business opportunity or product to people who are not interested. It is just not worth your time, it is a waste of time. Move on. There are many ways to find people who are looking. They are searching just like you were. Try the Internet, personal connections, leave or hand out brochures. There are many ways to market your business so that those who are truly interested will gravitate to you. It may take a while to get the ball rolling, but once your momentum begins to build, you will have plenty of interested leads to work through and cultivate.

Next, we want to take the names or leads we have captured and CULTIVATE them. That's right, cultivate, like you would a garden or a good crop. Does a farmer plant seed and go out the next day and harvest what he has planted? Of course not! Our leads must be carefully brought along and cared for just as the farmer tends to his crops. Send them personal e-mails, call them on the telephone, and mail them some information. Find out about them. Listen to what they have to say and find out their particular Why. Make a friend, gain their trust. Then you will be able to expose them to your product and/or opportunity. I am not saying you have to drag things out for weeks. You will usually have a pretty good idea of how interested the person is quickly.. One of the worst mistakes you can make is trying to push them into a decision like the typical car salesman, you know, "What's it gonna take to get you on the road in this baby TODAY?". Network marketing is a people business and people not only want to trust and like the people that they do business with. I am not advocating being friendly with someone just to do business with him or her. Be genuine. Be yourself. Do not involve anyone in your business that you would not want to work closely with.. Remember, you are choosing your business partners.

Third, it is time to CLOSE. Although it is important not to rush people, do not be afraid to ask for their business. There needs to be a sense of urgency, after several exposures to the product and/or opportunity. Some people will ride along forever, talking on the phone, deleting your e-mail, just to avoid having to tell you no. Others just need to be asked to sign up. The only thing holding them up is that you have not asked for their business. Ask! The worst thing they can do is say "no". If that is the case, you are free to move on to the next prospect.

Finally, we want to COACH each and every one of our new business partners. Duplication is the fastest, most reliable way to build your business. You cannot duplicate people but you can duplicate systems. Your training system will teach your new partner how to move their new team members to action. Don’t let your team fend for themselves. Teach them what you have learned through trial and error and study. Lead by example. If you as the team leader are having success and having fun doing it, they will want to follow. There will be some who will never do anything. Others will work diligently for a short period and when they do not see immediate results, they'll quit. But then there is that few, that precious few who wants it as badly as you do. The team member with a vision, a dream are the ones who will make all your time and effort worth it. The ones who are coachable and willing to follow your proven system. Those few are the ones who will build and expand their business and in doing so make your business a huge success. You see, if we help others reach their dreams, we can't help but reach ours.

You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.