The Fortune is in the Follow-Up

If you are in MLM I am sure you've heard that the fortune is in the follow-up. Why is that true, and how do you follow up? Marketing research has shown that the "average" person needs to be exposed to a new idea about 7 times before they reach a decision. Of course some will decide right away and some may need 100 exposures, but they say the average is 7.There are several ways to followup:Autoresponder emails
Personal emails
Social media
Phone calls
LettersAutoresponders are a necessity in my opinion. You need a proven system of what to say, at what interval, to keep people in the loop and it is also helpful if you can see how many of the emails they actually read. With a good autoresponder campaign you can actually have people join your business a year or more after initial contact! Especially if you are not experienced at marketing, a system where someone who does have that experience has written the emails for you is essential. Your autorespnder system may also provide a way to send a mass email to everyone. I use this feature to invite people to training calls.Personal emails can be used in between autoresponder emails to set up times for phone calls, or to give the prospect timely new information that would not be included in previously written autoresponder emails. Also use personal emails if you have built a relationship and want to convey personal information, like a "happy birthday" or "is your child feeling better today."Social media has SO many applications! I have formed a group on Facebook from friends I invited and some people who just found the group and joined it. I send one message that I customize each week based on what is on my mind. The second message I send is to invite people to a training call we have every Saturday, and I tell them what the topic will be this week. I also find many people prefer to communicate on Facebook or Twitter rather than using email. And I love the information I can get from people's profiles! I can learn so much about them, even their personality type!Phone calls are something I personally am careful with (more on that below) but I always try to contact a new prospect by phone at least twice. There is no substitute for a live personal conversation. Each time I do speak with someone, I ask when would be a good time to call again and respect their answer.Letters are something rarely used these days. One reason is that most capture pages do not get street addresses, and many people are reluctant for security reasons to provide them. But if you do have someone's mailing address you can certainly send them a personal note along with material they might find helpful. Now, on to the question of how to make sure follow up is respectful! This actually has much to do with the prospect's personality type. The personality types are:Yellow (phlegmatic-nurturer)
Blue (sanguine-fun seeker)
Green (melancholy-analytical)
Red (choleric-money oriented)Yellows and blues are both open, and blues especially love talking, so frequent communication in almost any form is probably OK. Some people feel you should call every day the first week until you have a live conversation. I personally go for every-other day, 2 or 3 calls maximum, then let the autoresponder take over. Blues also tend to be disorganized and can be forgetful, so frequent follow-up is needed to keep them on track and thinking about you!Greens (like myself) do NOT like to be contacted often by phone, and need time to research things on their own before deciding on anything. When you encounter this type of person you need to give them all of the information you can and let them ponder. Do NOT follow up too often with a green!Reds are all about the money and quick to see the big picture. They don't have time for personal information and chit chat. These people are likely to decide quickly, and if they don't like what they see right away they will normally opt out of your system.It is absolutely necessary to always allow people to opt out of communication! You can be sued if you do not allow this and honor it, so be very careful! I hope you find this helpful. The main thing is to realize that you will almost never make a sale or get a new sign-up in the first contact, so staying in touch with people is the key!By Dale Reynolds