Are You A Hunter or A Farmer?

Are You A Hunter or A Farmer?
By Nicole Bandes

Farmers, as opposed to hunters, must be much more patient. Rather than waiting for a day or two to bring home the bacon (or venison), a farmer must wait an entire season to bring in the bread. However, where as the hunter must go back out and hope he didn’t shoot the last of the game available (or scare them all off), the farmer can replant every year and get a whole new harvest.

In network marketing, there is a technique that is often passed on from upline to downline called the 3-foot rule. What this means is that anyone within 3 feet of a networker should hear about their business and products.

The idea is that the networker can’t find prospects unless they are talking to people and they should never assume which people would be interested in their business and which wouldn’t. Therefore, talk to everyone and let them make the decision themselves. This is the hunter approach to prospecting.

As a hunter goes out in search of their prey, the networker goes out in search of the next distributor or customer. The hunter is not selective in their target and does not concern themselves with what will be available the next time they come out. In the same way, the networker does not consider the impact their approach will have on future prospecting efforts. The networker only considers the immediate future in their desire to find a good prospect right away. The hunter approach is wrought with problems and often leads to extinction of prospects.

Who is going to lose if we take this approach?

• The networker loses because he's turned off the person he's trying to interest.
• The person he alienated loses because they think their experience is because MLM is bad rather than a misguided process.
• Other networkers lose because once again MLM gets a tarnished name.

While this may seem like the only way to build a business if a networker doesn’t want to talk to their warm market, there is a better way if long term results are what’s desired.

The network marketing farmer is much the same as a real farmer. The farming approach to prospecting requires the networker to plant seeds, cultivate, and then harvest.

How is this done? By creating and building relationships. Network marketing prospecting should focus more on what the networker can do for the “prospect” in terms completely unrelated to the networker’s business or product.

There is a philosophy taught in a very popular networking organization called Giver’s Gain. By giving out unconditionally, the person will gain more in the long run. If the networker looks for opportunities to help others and truly does so from a place of giving with no intention of what they will gain, then they will gain though it may not be from that individual or from where they would expect. Here’s an example.

Jane goes to the park with her children and sits on a bench while watching them play. Another mother, Kate, joins her on the bench and a conversation about the weather and children ensue but Jane doesn’t talk about her business other than in passing. Jane and Kate begin meeting regularly at the park. One day Kate mentions how she has an important appointment to go to but can’t find a sitter and she is very worried she will miss it. Jane volunteers to help out. Kate is very grateful. Three months later, Kate introduces Jane to one of her friends that is looking for a work-at-home business. Kate’s friend becomes one of Jane’s best distributors.

This is just an example of thousands of different ways this could potentially take place. In this example, the chances are slim that Jane would have ever met Kate’s friend if she had decided to push her business on Kate. Instead Jane looked to build a relationship and sought out ways she could help Kate without expecting a return.

When we become farmers, we go to parties, networking events, socials, activities and all the other events that take place in our lives with the goal of making a new friend. Making these friends is the act of planting the seeds. Developing, or cultivating, the relationship while finding ways to give is the next step. Harvesting is simply accepting the results of our efforts. Doesn’t that sound a lot more fun than worrying if you might turn someone off by your presentation?

Let’s all be farmers.

originally posted at http://www.mlmwoman.com/issue125.htm

About The AuthorNicole Bandes has been an entrepreneur from the young age of about 8 when she started selling homemade candles and hand painted rocks that probably weren't very good. She enjoys working in her own business and being at home for her family and has found that perfect business to allow her to do that and achieve all of her success goals at the same time. Nicole builds most of her business through Relationship Marketing. You can learn more by visiting her blog atwww.ilovesendoutcards.com/blog.