What NOT to do when you have a networking business

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Lately there has been a huge influx of people adding themselves to your personal Facebook pages I bet. Well, maybe I don’t know for sure about you, but I have been getting over 200 a day.

Now, I love networking online so I go through and see how many friends we have in common and if there are enough that they seem to be legit I will accept them.

But there is a drawback to my method. I have slowly realised that someone somewhere had a brain wave (and shared it) that if you could add tons of people to your FB profile you could then SELL to them. This means that along with the new friends, I have been getting a lot of “Do I have an opportunity for you” messages or WORSE I have been added to product groups without my permission.

Now, there is a right way and a wrong way to make the most of FB and I don’t know who is giving them advice but they are doing it OH SO THE WRONG WAY.

In the hopes of helping anyone thinking of using this method, here are a few things NOT to do:

1. Once added to a person’s FB page, DO NOT go onto their timeline and spam them with your product/business opportunity (unless your goal is to be unfriended immediately).
2. DO NOT send them a private message about your “great opportunity.”
3. DO NOT post 5-6 posts a day on how great your MLM products are (especially not with photos that are obviously downloaded from Google).
4. DO NOT add people to your group without their permission.
5. DO NOT message them constantly telling them how great the product is and how it would benefit them to use it.

So what can you do? Try these tips:

1. Once added to their page, do your research (find out who they are, where they live, what they do).  
2. Engage in their posts but not by talking about you or your business.
3. Send them a private message to introduce yourself (who you are, where you live) and thank them for adding you; say you look forward to building an online friendship (again, nothing about your business).
4. Remember online selling is all about ongoing building of relationships so populate your FB page with value.
5. If you think someone would do well in your group then send them a private message saying “Hi, I have a group called ____.  My goals for this group are to ____ and ____. This might be of interest to you. Let me know what you think. Talk soon.”
6. If they decide to not be added to your group, it isn’t a reflection on you—it could be simply a time thing.
7. Most Importantly, ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE. Get involved, be vulnerable, ask questions, provide good content and build relationships!

So you are now thinking “But, how else do I sell?” The rule of thumb is 90/10: 90% good content and 10% selling. Provide value and the sales work is 90% done. Trust me.