So How Much Are YOU Making?
You’ve been in the business for a few weeks. You’re talking to a prospect, telling them about your opportunity and they say, “If this is so great, how much money are you making?”
Oh, gosh – isn’t this objection annoying?
It’s annoying because it hits you right in the gut because you’ve thought the same thing. Even more, you’ve been hoping that no one would ask you that! But they do and it hurts. Now what?
I answer how to handle this on this month’s recorded training audio but there is something very important that you must understand before I teach you how to get out of this.
In Professional Inviter I explain how I discovered that I was causing most of the objections I got. And I discovered the profound idea that if I was causing them then I could stop causing them! What I first needed to do was to figure out what I was doing that was causing the objection and then eliminate that!
The first thing I noticed was I continually (about 80% of the time) got the “pyramid” objection. I asked my upline and he said it’s “a common objection.” So, I just assumed it was normal and kept on doing what I was doing – ever pondering WHY it was common. Well, later I figured out why it was common… I was causing it and so was everyone who used that script!
Of course I was getting that objection – I was saying what my upline was saying! It’s kind of like when doctors say that diseases are “hereditary.” Very often the diseases are only hereditary because the children eat what their parents eat! Or, they’re in the same toxic geographic environment as their parents.
This was one of those ah-ha moments of my MLM career when I discovered that I was creating the pyramid objection. I recorded several calls and sure enough I got the pyramid objection at about the same place in my script. Specifically, right after I talked about the monthly income they could make – almost in retaliation they would ask, “Is this one of those pyramids?”
To remedy this I simply dropped talking about monthly income and changed it to annual sales. Instead of saying a person was making $10,000 per month, I would say something like, “The person’s business does about one million of gross sales per year and he personally makes about 10% of that.” This little shift in the way I said it completely eliminated the objection.
By the way, shortly after this change I realized that most of what I said was creating objections. This caused me to pretty much throw out everything I was taught to say. You can learn my refined scripts in Professional Inviter.
The point I’m making is that I was causing the objection and with a tiny shift I stopped causing the objection. And, I’d be willing to bet, that you might be causing the objection “How much money are YOU making?” :)
Listen to this month’s free training teleclass and I’ll explain how to handle this situation if you ever hear, “Well, if it’s so good how well are you doing?” http:www.firstclassmlmtools.com/teleclass.
With a smile on my face,
Tim Sales
For more in-depth information on this topic study the Professional Inviter lecture series by Tim Sales.
August 20th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Hi Tim,
I get asked “how much are you making doing this business” or “have you made any money at all”
I really hate that question and do not know how to respond and I asked my upline and they told me to ask my prospects how much they want to make, but sure enough my prospects already knew that I was not making any money yet. Most of the time the question comes from my friends because they want to see proof that I have made money before they join. I would really want to learn how to avoid that question because I do not like to lie about business especially to my friends and family.I will be listening to your conference call!
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Great call,Tim! I love your answer for this question! NOONE has ever taught me how to handle this objection. I feel very comfortable answering them this way as that is the absolute truth. There are people who don’t make any money, those who make a little, and those like you who make millions. It’s according to their skill, and investment of their time and money. I’ll be listening to more of your calls. Excellent job, Tim!
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I answer “How much are yo making”? Answer: You would not believe me if I told you. OR what I make has nothing to do with what you can make. If I do it part time and you do it full time we will not make the same money. If you’re aggressive you can write your own ticket to what you make. So what I make is irrelevant wouldn’t you say?
August 24th, 2007 at 4:59 am
Great talk,
I aggree entirely with your point of not focussing in the income, making money the issue.
Great stuff
August 24th, 2007 at 6:18 am
IF I’M EARNING LESS MONEY OR MORE MONEY THEN YOU THINK, WILL THAT HELP YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO ACTION IN EARNING THE AMT YOU WANT?
August 24th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Tim How much are you making has come up with me a number of times and listening to your recording this week had been like a two by four of a wake up call for me… Have bookmarked this page so I can listen to this again, everytime I listen I pick up more.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Hi Tim, I totally agree with you. I am back to the industry after a long time away. Before I was running after the money, and had no passion for the product, even though it was a very beneficial product.
Money no longer has the attraction it once had. I don’t talk about money, I think and visualize how I want to live my life.
Now, I am more aware and I will avoid certain weekly meetings and marketing materials that focus on outragous income. I had long grown tired of listening to the people on a stage who made a fortune because they were in at the very beginning when the comparn first started.
They were talking about making $30,000 a month and it now it does not impress me, it turns me off and I would think others would be turned off as well.
In some companies, it is prohibited to show checks to anyone. I need to read further into what you have to offer on handling this objection, but listening to this triggered something I heard before, about making the prospect feel important first.
I have just begun with a new company and I don’t discuss anything about money. I am even careful about which presentation I show to someone on DVD because if it is hyper talking about the outrageous sums of money that can be made, I won’t show it to anyone.
The reason people ask “how much are YOU making” is because they don’t believe one can make that kind of money, or rather that THEY could ever make that.
It is like seeing a fine antique for the first time. If the price tag for a look alike is $1,000 it looks good, but when you see the original it was drawn from, the quality of the wood, the grain, the age and beauty that only time can create, suddenly there is a new point of reference, and the new piece does not look so good anymore.
You have to meet people where they are and it has to appear real to them., which is why I always like to find out what they are doing now.
The change in perception of income, and wealth is an education. If they make $30,000 a year now, they will not understand $30,000 per month, or even $10,000 per month.
So, I try to leave money out of the conversation all together if I can. If the question comes from them about how much they can make, I would ask “would an extra $500 a month would make a difference in your life? This is something most people can relate to.
As for the friends and family part, I have only selected a couple to work with…one has networked before, but she is now in school and her time is limited. The rest, I gave them the info and move on, dripping on them (following up with an announcement or something on the company).
My family would NEVER understand making $10,000 a month so I don’t even waste time, theirs or mine.
I learned that 99% of the time, friends and family won’t even show up to your event, and won’t do anything until they see you driving an $80,000 mercedes, or wearing a fur coat and hat, or lots of gold flashy jewelry or seing one of your checks, which I will never show anyone; it is not their business.
I used this one before, when can I see YOUR pay check?. That shut them up quickly. SAD…this has nothing to do with wealth. I like to call wealth, a quiet personal satisfaction that you can take care of all of your survival needs and some wants without sacrificing your time away from yourself and those you care about. When this happens, it gets easier, because naturally you “feel” different and you radiate a different energy and like attracts like in the mental world.
Even if we have not made a dime, we must “feel” prosperous and abundant. Others will feel it to and it becomes easier. Just my thoughts.
This is good stuff Tim. Thanks so much.
Rhonald
August 24th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
HI TIM. I AM VERRY GLAD I SUBSCRIBED YOUR NEWS LETTERS THEY ARE VERRY HELPFULL TO ME. THANK YOU VERRY MUCH.
August 25th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Thanks Tim for giving of yourself to all of us who desire more freedom, financially and in every way…..I also know, as you say, that you can’t solve a problem at the point of the problem. We are all connected in this world whether we realize it or not. If we are here to realize what we love to do and desire that realization for others, I believe Network Marketing covers most of that desire….Being a Servant Leader is what it’s all about…Thank you again for being a Servant first…Blessings to you…Nick
August 27th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
This is the first call of yours I have listened to and I am so glad I did. I know a lot of new distributors would get stumped with this one. After listening, I sent the link to others I think would really benefit from this. Thank you for everything you do, so far it is all top notch from what I have seen.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Thank you for another great teleseminar, Tim! I have to agree with Rhonald that what you earn is really no one’s business except your own. I realy appreciate your help in answering those touchy questions. I can’t wait for the next call.
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 am
I absolutely agree with Rhonald.Unfortunately, our family and friends most of the time are the first ones to doubt or question our efforts.It is sad but after experiencing some hurtful objections from them, I stopped mentioning anything about my bisiness to them.I learned to take those objections as an inspiration to succeed by helping others to succeed.Gaining trust and respect of people from my cold market created a huge statement for me.I know they are still itching to know how much I’m really making.I continue to stay upbeat and professional inspite of setbacks at times ,and this for sure makes them more curiuos.
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:11 am
Hi Minerva…that is good advice and what we have to do…our committment to our “why?” has to be stronger than any rejection out there.
The curiosity factor is the key I think. When people become curious enough, they will take a step. I am still working on some of my family members, (though knowing what I know)I won’t put out any major expense, like driving 300 miles to organize something and be the only one sitting there. I really should know by now becuase in the past, I would simply give out information and offer my help on stuff…and I never got a response, not even a comment. Still, I feel I must at least present what I know and let everyone create their own situations.
Yet on a recent visit, all I heard was complaining and disatisfaction with getting up having to go to work everyday and not enough money to do what they would like to do.
The biggest frustration for me, and anyone can dialog with me, is when people make a decision without having all the facts. To hear bits and pieces, or see part of a website, or hear something from someone else,etc. then reject it.
I intend to investigate all of Tim’s offerings and decide what is the most critical thing to study.
The “inviter” seems to be the basics to communicate with people,as getting people to show up for a briefing seems the be the hardest thing to do.
I intend to be on this call tomorrow night.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:01 am
I always love your emails, you give very good advice.
December 26th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
It’s nice to know others have the same questions and answers as I have.
The previous script was very helpful.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:35 am
I know now that this call was actually done in August however, somehow I just received it by email.
Yes I know, it’s a long long way down under to Australia. :)
WOW!!!
Once again, the man speaks volumes. And I have said this before but worth saying again:
If there is one thing I have learned from Mr Tim Sales Esquire, is that it’s better to be INTERESTED than INTERESTING.
Many thanks Tim.
ps. When are you going to do a live Down Under??