Whether you’re new to network marketing or you’ve been doing it a while, one thing is clear – you’re focused on business growth. As a network marketing professional who focuses on relationships, you’ll grow your business as you connect with your network. The more you reach out with and connect with the people in your network, the greater chance you have of building trust, which is essential to any relationship. More than likely, the people in your network are the folks you’ve already built relationships with. They know you’re trying to build a network marketing business and want to support it. Additionally, they have the best chance of becoming strong advocates of your business.

However, if you want to continue to grow your business, it’s important to keep adding people to your network. Many network marketers, especially those new to the industry, will form their initial network of people and think that’s all they’ll need for their business to grow and thrive. However, networks are always in flux. The people who are your biggest advocates today could be different from those who are your biggest advocates in a few years, or even a few months from now. For that reason, it’s important to keep adding people to your network. But, how do you do that?

How to grow your network

To grow your network, you need to add people to it. In order to add people, you have to talk about your business and share what you do and why you love to do it. This is where many network marketers get hung up. Although you love building your business, you may not know how to bring it up in conversation naturally. After all, you don’t want to sound salesy or like you’re obviously trying to sell them something. We’re all too aware of the reputation that traditional network marketing sales techniques have given to the industry and many of us are scared of alienating people, especially the people we see daily. The good news is, when you focus on and value your relationships, you’re less likely to rely on or revert to traditional, pushy sales techniques on your customers. 

So, what else is standing in our way? Here are the top reasons network marketers avoid talking about their businesses.

We feel awkward

It feels strange talking about your business. Sure, you love it and are proud to do it. However, many of us aren’t used to talking about ourselves, much less bringing it up in conversation. We may not know how to bring it up, and even if we do, we may feel as if we’re bugging people by talking about it. 

We’re not sure how to bring it up

We all know how conversations go. You say hello, ask how the other person is doing and vice versa and then share a little update on your lives. Easy, right? Most conversations don’t last that long, unless you haven’t seen each other in a while. Since we know our time is short, we may not know the natural spot to start talking about our businesses. 

We lack confidence

Often, when we start something new – like a business – we don’t have the confidence in our skills, at least yet. Therefore, we may not feel comfortable enough talking about our business, especially if we’re still figuring things out. 

We may have alienated people with traditional sales techniques before

Network marketing has been around for decades. If you were a network marketer before you discovered relationships marketing, you may have used pushy sales techniques to meet your monthly quotas. As a result, you may have alienated people in the past. Through the years, you may have tried to build the relationships again, which makes you even more hesitant to start talking to them about your business in fear that they may feel alienated again.

Business growth: How to conquer your fears and awkwardness and talk about your business

The good news is you can foster business growth. Overcome what is holding you back and talk about your business without feeling salesy or awkward. Here’s how:

Reframe your perspective

If you feel awkward or intrusive talking about your business, change your perspective on the process. Instead of feeling like you’re bugging the other person, remember that you’re serving them. You’re offering them a service to help them improve their lives, whether it’s with a product or a service you’re offering. In short, you’re helping them. And, talking about your business is a way of helping them. When you think of talking about your business as helping them, you’re less likely to feel awkward bringing it up in conversation.

Use a script

If you’re not sure what to say, use a script. Talking about your business takes some planning. A script allows you to know what you’re going to say so you can focus on helping the other person. They’re valuable tools that take the awkwardness out of talking about your business. 

Teamzy has tons of scripts you can use online or in person whenever you’re reaching out to your network. Review them and memorize the ones you like or that feel most natural to you. Then practice them until you’ve made them your own. Once you’ve memorized them, you can personalize them to sound more like you. And the more you use them, the more you can also personalize them to conform with what works best for your network. 

Look for a natural break in conversation

Conversations have a rhythm where each person, ideally, gets a turn to talk about themselves. When it’s your turn, that’s your time to talk about your business. Start with how business is doing and remind them why you got into it. Perhaps give them some current information about your industry, especially if you read something interesting. In the end, talking about your business allows you to plant the seed so you can bring up your business again in the future. Following up allows that seed to germinate and grow.

Ask them if they’d like to learn more

They may not buy from you right away or want to join your team right now, but they may be open to more information. If they ask questions or seem interested, be sure to follow up with them with that information. This not only builds trust, but will also show that you can be counted upon to keep your word. 

If they’re not interested in learning more, that’s okay. This is your opportunity to ask them if they know anyone who would be interested in the opportunity you’re offering. They may give you a name right away. Or, they may not be able to think of someone off-hand. You’ve planted the seed, though, so be sure to follow up with them. 

Business growth hot tip: Follow up

Following up is one of the most important things you’ll do to help your business grow. It will help you set yourself apart from everyone else. Many network marketers lose out on business because they forget to follow up. Either they get busy and forget or they don’t understand that they need to do it. We say that following up is an act of love, and it is. It shows that you care enough about the other person to check in with them, answer their question, and ask if they have more questions. It shows that you’re interested in connecting with them and want to earn their trust and business. 

Let Teamzy help you foster business growth

Teamzy is more than a CRM designed to help you keep track of your network information; it’s also a one-stop shop for tools designed to help you foster business growth. From training videos to goal setting to proven scripts to help you talk about your business, Teamzy has it all. Additionally, Teamzy uses an algorithm to help you contact the people in your network within the perfect amount of time based on how you’ve sorted them. After you’ve talked about your business, set a time to follow up with them. It’s that simple. And, get more tips to help you transition any conversation to one about your business with the 7-lesson video training, The Art of Creating Conversations that Convert. Click here to learn more.