Monday, December 3, 2007

Recruiting Tips

Today, Pink Truth posted a "script" that seems to be designed to help you start a conversation with a customer about becoming a consultant. It then walks you through some potential responses you may receive and some recommended responses to them.

Here is the original piece:


Look at your customer and lean forward some; try to get lower than her so that your head is lower than hers, even a little! Look her in the eyes and say, "I have a question to ask you. After watching me today, could you ever in your wildest dreams see yourself doing Mary Kay either part time for extra cash or for extra fun? I think you would be great and the reason I think you would be great is I watched you today and..." Give her a sincere compliment. She's sharp, she's fun to be around, people are comfortable around her - whatever it is that you picked up about her, tell her in a compliment! No one gets offended by a sincere compliment!

Once you finish telling her you think she would be good followed by the compliment, then button your lip and let her respond, because that's when we lose it - when we talk! She then will say something that isn't a flat no, she stammers a little, or she just might say, "Yes, I think I could." You will then offer the information to her that is necessary to give her so that she is more informed in order to make a decision. "Great! I would love to send you home with some information. I have a video (or tape or cd) that will really give you all the information about our company in a fun way. This is a video of one of the top women in our company at an actual guest event and she shares how she got started and moved up in the business. It's really a great tape. In fact, after many people watch it I find that they watch it 3 or 4 times more because they like it so well, I really do find that! I'll tell you what, after watching it this may not be for you, but at least you will be well informed and you will know what you are saying no to!"

Once you have handed her the information you will say, "By the way, do you have 45 minutes in the next 48 hours to watch this? Great! Let's plan on talking on X date; is there a time that is better for you that we can get together for coffee or talk on the phone, which works better for you? Great!

Remember do not leave her without a specific time scheduled to talk about what she has listened to. It is also better to do this on neutral ground - such as a coffee shop, and away from home interruptions. Say, "I also want you to know that I am moving up in management in my business and part of my training is to get women's opinion of this video and to work closely with my director for training. Do I have your permission that my Director join us? (keep talking!) I would love for her to meet you and part of my training is that she will ask questions to get your opinion, while I listen and learn. I know you will give us your honest opinion and that is what we want."

Having your Director join you all depends on where you are at with your training in your business. By asking your prospect "45 minutes in the next 48 hours," you are going to help her to visualize in her mind her schedule and when she is going to do this. She is going to respond with a definitive answer so that you can schedule in the next 24-48 hours to get back with her on the video. "Yes, I think I could watch it tomorrow." "Great! I will see you (or call you) on ________" (important to repeat the date and time). You ask her the questions for her opinion rather than giving her a questionnaire, this creates the dialogue, which is so important in a Marketing appointment/interview for building the relationship. After you talk with her about the video/tape, if she has more questions or needs more information, invite her to the Success Night Unit Meeting. Of course if her interest is very high and she is very eager, invite her right away to your Unit Meeting -- the sooner the better. It is better to refer to Unit Meeting Night as your Success Night, rather than a "meeting!"

If the person you are speaking with does not sound like they are interested at all in learning more about our Company then you might say, "I have to tell you, when you say you could never see yourself doing this I can understand what you are saying. I know how you feel, because I felt the same way when I joined this company 10 years ago. But, I decided that it would be better to listen to the facts before I said no so that I knew what I was saying no to! I promise you if after listening to the information you still do not see yourself doing something like this I will not bother you again!! I also promise you that you will be in shock when you hear what our company has to offer."

Happy Recruiting!


A couple quick points and then I will let you all have at it.

1. This has some great concepts that anyone selling anything should learn to develop.
- Looking for the positive in someone
- Giving sincere compliments
- Setting up clear, concise and specific parameters for the next level of conversation
48 hours should be plenty of time for someone to listen and decide if they want to go to the next level
If you don't set a specific time that you are both accountable to, you will both have a hard time "getting around to 'talking about the next level'"
- LISTENING. Sometimes we all need to just shut up and listen to the person we are talking to
- Closing the door - "I promise you if... you still do not ...I will not bother you again"
2. I don't know what the deal is with making sure your head is lower than theirs... perhaps so they don't feel intimidated by you? Any thoughts?
3. This does not spell it out, but it is also important to be sure to respect someone that is definitely not interested.

Ok, I have said enough, take it away. What are your thoughts?
Posted by Jon Biron at 7:58 PM
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 4, 2007 at 3:37 AM

    When I was recruited I did not know about scripts. But as soon as I signed the contract my director whipped out, literally, script after script. Knowing that, I did not feel that the compliments were sincere. If they are sincere you don't need someone telling you how to do it. It should come from your heart. But, as it was said in someone's comment yesterday, we need to differentiate business from friendship.

    I think the scripts are a wonderful tool, but don't be surprised if your recruit ends up feeling manipulated.

    In one of these scripts, I don't remember which one, it said "he who talks first, loses". Meaning, if you offer them something, a product or the opportunity, then shut up. Whoever is the first to speak is the one who loses. If I spoke first, I lost a customer, if she spoke first, she lost some money,etc. I have never forgotten that and use it with my husband. It works. He hates it!

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  2. AnonymousDecember 4, 2007 at 5:46 AM

    Scripts are helpful for those who don't have a background in business and/or sales. Scripts are suggestions. They are not necessarily meant to be memorized word for word. If you read a script and the general message appeals to you, but some of the words aren't yours, then you can reword it in a way that you are comfortable saying it. I don't think that scripts are designed to teach insincerity. They are designed to help sales come more naturally to those who don't have that background.

    Also, there is a very important key word: sincere compliment. Surely, when talking to someone we can find something we sincerely like about her appearance, home, whatever. Mary Kay herself said don't compliment it if you don't mean it. I have a habit of complimenting people on something daily. I started doing that in high school or college--long before MK. And if there's nothing to compliment, I just don't say anything. It's pretty simple. So, no, you don't need someone telling you how to compliment, but some people aren't prone to complimenting others. There's nothing wrong with that; but if you are in sales, it helps to flatter one's clientale.

    The "having your head lower" idea is to reduce intimidation. I know directors who will kneel on the floor when closing a sale so the customer is more comfortable. I think it is to convey we provide a service first, and then we sell a product. That's just my interpretation. I tend to stand for my appointments to maintain order and control of the situation. When we meet one on one, I sit face to face with each person and we just talk about what she liked, didn't like, what she'd like to take home, etc.

    I have been trained for more sales techniques than recruiting. My goal is sales first, team later. It works for me. I want to be good at selling so that people will want to join my team. Do I want a team? Absolutely. I want business partners to run with and have fun selling the product with. It's supposed to be fun. If this ever isn't fun for me anymore, then I simply won't do it anymore. For now, I'm having a great time and I do want to share my great time with others.

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  3. AnonymousDecember 4, 2007 at 12:51 PM

    i dont like scripts too much, but I do feel they have their place. I feel that as long as I cover all the material then all should be ok. Its not that I think that scripts are manipulative tools, it is just that they dont feel natural to me when you say them word for word and thus I feel that I am not coming off as geniune to the prospect.

    I understand why they are needed however. I dont think that they are meant to be repeated word for word, because you never know what the person you are talking to is going to say, and then you would sound silly saying something that has nothing to do with what your prospect just mentioned :) But maybe just as guidelines to know how to respond to certain things that may be said to you or asked of you in an interview.

    There is nothing wrong with this practice, I have had other jobs where there were suggested responses to customer or client questions or concerns as well.

    If you all recall, (I have been in MK a long time ) the entire skin care class was scripted, remember the flip chart? We were supposed to follow that exactely. I always improvised and still did well in classes. But I covered the material. I think scripts keep us from making up things or saying the wrong thing that could have legal implications. After all isnt that what some of the hoopla is about, directors who make claims that they shouldn't, thus causing confusion?

    I guess what I am saying is that ALL scripts have their place, but I dont feel that following them word for word is necessary as long as you stay true to the information intended to be given out.

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  4. UnknownDecember 4, 2007 at 10:57 PM

    Everybody has covered everything pretty well.

    On the 'having the head lower' try sitting sometime and have another stand over you and then have that person kneel down lower than your eye level. Fun teaching experiment that you can actually feel.

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  5. Jon BironDecember 5, 2007 at 7:14 PM

    One of the things that I have been very impressed with the training my wife receives from Mary Kay is the way they integrate sales techniques and negotiating tactics into everything you do while keeping it "fun" or at least, not boring.

    Judi, the "he who talks first, loses" concept is very popular negotiating gambit. It does not necessarily mean that one party loses while the other wins. In a good negotiation, both parties should leave feeling they got what they wanted.

    The reason for wanting them to talk first is that it will help you discover what they really want... not necessarily what they think you want them to want. If you can offer what they really want and they have what you really want, you can both leave satisfied.

    If the thing they really want is to be left alone, you can accommodate that and not waste any more of your time on someone that is not interested. But if you (generic you) assume that they want to be left alone and blurt out something like, "You probably have better things to do" then they will think (subconsciously) that is what you want them to think. Or at least that it is the "correct answer".

    Anyway, the point of scripts (as you have all pointed out) is to help you learn the things that put people at ease and help them understand what you are offering them. Not to be read word for word. Not to be used in place of genuine enthusiasm and concern.

    It is interesting to me (difficult to say this without sounding like the oft quoted, "if you didn't make it you must have done something wrong, but...) that many of the complaints about this sort of training piece reveal a lot about why (potentially) some people did not do well in MK.

    If you take:

    "I think you would be great and the reason I think you would be great is I watched you today and..." Give her a sincere compliment. She's sharp, she's fun to be around, people are comfortable around her - whatever it is that you picked up about her, tell her in a compliment! No one gets offended by a sincere compliment!"

    to mean offer an insincere compliment but make it sound sincere you would DEFINITELY had trouble with this business.

    There are a lot of people that are very sincere and genuinely enthusiastic about certain things but struggle to put those thoughts into cohesive sentences.

    This sort of thing would help those people.

    Thanks everyone.

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  6. AnonymousDecember 5, 2007 at 9:26 PM

    MK has some of the best sales training around when it comes to direct sales of skin care (if you follow it)....trust me ALL sales jobs have scripts and guidelines and presentations to follow!!! How would people do their demonstrations if they didnt? When it comes to consultants being talked into more inventory than what they need I understand that gripe. However when I hear people babbling that MK has no training they have MORE than adequate resources...intouch, consultants guide, your director, and Unitnet and sister consultants. Surely there is training within some of those resources. If there were no scripts they would be babbling about we dont have any scripts.

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  7. AnonymousDecember 18, 2007 at 7:39 PM

    I have worked at a job before where I had to use a script. For the first few weeks, I had to use the script verbatim - no changes, not even "a" for "the", nothing.

    Then, as I got to where I learned the script, I learned which parts were "legalese" and had to be read word-for-word, and which ones could be changed and reworded. After the first few weeks, that is what I did.

    The second way sounded more natural, but if I had not memorized the script, I would not have been able to customize it and be comfortable.

    Scripts are tools, and are very helpful to new consultants, but not necessarily needed to be followed word-for-word each and every time once you get more comfortable with it.

    HTH

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