I talk to fellow network marketers on a regular basis that think the concept of "cold calling" is some left-over business concept from the 80's that just doesn't work in today's hyper-skeptical society. It's interesting listening to these people give the reasons why they think cold-calling is an absolute waste of time. I hear things like "people hate telemarketers", "it feels awkward", "people only buy when they know, like and trust you."

Really? Is warm-market marketing the only way for a network marketer to grow their business? When someone tells me that the only way to grow a networking enterprise is to warm-market their product or service, I walk away. The reason I walk away is because I know for a FACT that I'm talking to someone who doesn't know the first thing about marketing.

Let me explain:

When someone buys a franchise, they don't make a list of 100 friends or family as the foundation of their marketing campaign. When a retail establishment opens up a new store in a new location, the managers don't "warm-call" all their friends, and hope to build a six-figure income off that type of marketing campaign.

It's the same thing for networkers.

If a distributor is told to simply go out and attempt to leverage personal relationships in the hopes of attaining some sort of financial benefit, then that distributor will probably fail. Why? Think about it. We all hate being sold stuff we don't need, so when a friend or family member attempts to sell us their product or service when we weren't even looking for it in the first place, we see straight to the bottom line, and the bottom line is this: we understand that the friend or family member doing the selling is attempting to use their relationship to leverage a financial gain. And that is absolutely offensive.

So what is the alternative? Is cold-calling a viable option?

You bet it is!

But not just any type of cold-calling will work. It has to be systematic, and it has to be well planned. Here's the process:

1. Acquire Leads - It all starts with leads. Now, most network marketers are familiar with the "opportunity lead", which costs about $5 - $7 a pop. They're usually not worth the paper they're printed on. Opportunity leads are what is known as a "response" lead, or a lead that simply responded to some sort of message. Many times, the lead actually filled out a pop-up ad to win a free laptop, and then their data was actually pawned off to a lead brokerage firm as an "opportunity" lead.

What a rip.

How about this for a lead. Lets say, for example, I'm marketing a nutritional product that improves the body's ability to heal itself. If I were marketing this type of product, I'd go out and get a lead that has purchased a similar product or supplement in the previous 6 months, so I know that they were recently looking for my type of health solution. I would also specify that they buyer have used a credit card, be between ages 35 - 60, and have an annual income of over $50,000 per year. Why? So that I know the lead is actually looking for my type of solution, is willing to spend money on my type of solution, and has a credit card so that if we get to the point where we want to do business, I can take payment over the phone immediately. And the best part is that when you know how to purchase these types of leads, you can buy them for as cheap as $0.07 per name.

2. Design A Script - Yeah, I know, there are plenty of people out there that say that scripts sound fake or "canned", that you should just be natural, be yourself. Hmmm. Do McDonalds or Honda change their commercials every single time they air? How is it that if I turn on my TV, and you turn on your TV, we each see the same commercial? Maybe it is because that in order to track results, we have to have a consistent message. The people that think scripts sound phony have never used a script. Actors read off scripts all day long, and we spend our hard-earned dollars to watch them read scripts to us. We watch TV shows all night long, with the people on the shows reading scripts the entire time. But they don't sound canned. They sound professional. So instead of just "winging it", design a script that focuses on the benefits and the value of the product to the consumer, and show leadership throughout this script by asking the prospect questions, as well as allowing the prospect to make decisions based on their needs, and not your own. What I mean is this: don't be twisting arms or "selling" your prospect on your product. Educate the prospect. Allow the prospect to participate in the process. And always let the prospect take the next step based on their own desire and curiosity.

Do this, and you will understand the power of scripts. You will also understand why every pro out there uses a script. We don't just "wing it".

The telephone is one of the most powerful business growth tools available to network marketers. In the right hands, it can add thousands of dollars per week into your business. Not utilizing this tool is simply limiting the amount of business you can complete in a days time. If you don't know how to use the telephone, that's fine. Find someone who does, and learn from them. Anyone who doesn't think the phone can grow a business probably doesn't even have a business in the first place.

Use the phone. Your checking account will thank you.