(Please enjoy this guest blog post from my friend Andrew T Draughon)

A successful network marketing business is predicated upon building a solid team of “a-players” who will produce and duplicate.

So, needless to say, it’s super important to prospect the right people.

Yet this is where just about everyone goes wrong.

You see, most network marketers are so desperate for a quick buck they’ll recruit just about anyone who can fog a mirror.

And hey, it’s easy to let excitement cloud your better judgement.

But, spoiler alert: you can easily waste days, months, and even years trying to motivate the halfhearted slowpokes and lazybones who’ll do nothing but waste your time and energy.

In contrast, recruiting a top flight prospect who actually makes sales, builds your organization, and doesn’t require constant hand-holding, is like investing in a blue-chip stock—

They are prized assets that will only increase in value over time.

So, how do you qualify your prospects?

And ensure you’re only focusing your attention on the cream of the crop?

Well, it all comes down to understanding the psychology of prospecting and knowing the right questions to ask your prospects.

With an effective qualification process, you can easily figure out which prospects are worth your time, and which are best left to their own devices.

Best of all, it can help you handpick the exact kind of team you want while skipping over anyone who simply wouldn’t be a great fit.

Now, most world-class closers have a “signature” qualifier they consider particularly effective…

And that’s precisely what we’re about to explore through discussing the logic and purpose behind five of the best prospecting “one-liners” from the world’s most recognized sales and persuasion authorities.

Ready?

Alright, let’s go!

Starting with a ‘sneaky’ question from Chris Voss…

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Chris Voss is an ex-FBI hostage negotiator.

Think about that: this means asking the right questions, in the right way, at the right time, while the person on the other end of the line very likely has a gun pointed to someone’s head.

Pretty intense, huh?

Fortunately, Voss is pretty darn good at asking questions—which is how he makes a living as a sales and negotiation consultant these days.

Chris’s forte was asking non-threatening questions the other person couldn’t help but feel compelled to say “yes” to.

This was a key skill, because just one wrong word could make a criminal jumpy (and leave someone dead).

So how did Chris get people to say, “yes?”

Well, usually by asking them “no”-oriented questions like, “is now a bad time to talk?”

Now, this might seem odd.

Maybe a little awkward?

Well, yes…and no.

The thing is…

People HATE committing to things!

Especially if it’s something serious (…you know, like agreeing to be part of someone’s network marketing organization).

As a result, they look for excuses to say “no” as quickly as possible.

They don’t want to get hooked into your spiel, as a matter of habit.

So what you do by asking a “no”-oriented question is remove all the pressure, giving the other person a chance to walk away—and disarming their instinctive desire to say “no.”

You essentially take advantage of the natural human desire to disagree by using simple reverse psychology.

The result is a question that’s non-threatening easy to agree with.

Any “no”-oriented question works in this capacity.

(“Is it a bad idea if…?”)

Which is cool, because this allows you to combine them with other question types, like this gem from Brian Tracy…

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“…what would you change?”

A world-class network marketer doesn’t have to magically imagine exactly what their clients and prospects want.

Instead, they ASK the right questions and get all the information they need directly from the source.

Makes sense, right?

Brian Tracy’s way to do this is with the question, “If you could create the ideal situation, what would you change?”

This open-ended question works on two levels:

First, it creates a hypothetical situation in which the potential prospect can imagine anything they want, which allows you to focus on helping them achieve this ideal future.
Second, these questions identify what is working and what isn’t working, creating a link between an imaginary perfect future and the reality they have now.

It’s a crafty “trick” that engages the prospect using their imagination, while keeping them grounded—giving you all the information you need about what really matters.

We recommend using this question verbatim, because there’s nothing you can really add to improve upon it.

Next, consider this great line…

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“…might influence the decision?”

This is an oldie but a goody, and a favorite of Grant Cardone.

This is recommended as a prospecting tool for one important reason…

A major demotivating factor for your team members will unfortunately be discouragement from those around them.

Many members of the public have heard stories of dishonest, unethical, and outright scammy business opportunities and in their eyes, your company is lumped in the same boat.

Understanding this reality can help you counter this objection and also provide your prospects the confidence they need to legitimize your business or opportunity in the eyes of others.

In other words, thinking through this question helps you “bulletproof” your prospects and customers from negative thinking and influences—even when you’re not around.

Of course, it’s also important to know what irritates your prospect—

And that’s what this next question from our friend Lisa Grossman achieves.

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“…what you’re currently doing?”

Lisa Grossman is an MLM legend who we’ve featured here on our blog and at our events before—and we love her signature prospecting question.

This is similar to Brian Tracy’s, “What would you change?” question (#2), but with one key distinction…

Barely anyone is 100% happy with what they’re doing.

Everyone’s got something or other that they like to complain about.

As a result, this question is almost guaranteed to engage your prospect emotionally, while allowing you to gather key information about their fears and dreams.

It’s also a great way to build rapport by showing a real interest in the other person; always a good thing.

Finally, we’ve got this en vogue line from Jordan Belfort:

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Belfort, as I’m sure you’re well aware, is the “Wolf of Wall Street.”

Now, he may have made his biggest mark selling shady deals, but you can’t deny his knack for prospecting—and you also can’t deny that the man knows how to pick the right people and turn them into cold-calling rock stars.

This one’s a bit different from the rest, because…

His go-to question—the one featured at the end of the film—isn’t really a question at all.

It’s a trick.

You see, it’s the person asking the questions who controls the conversation, so the “answer” is to ask a question in response.

And a solid answer is based on the reply Zig Ziglar gave to Johnny Carson many years ago…

Reframing by saying something like…

“How long have you been in the market for a pen?”

Or…

“How much would you pay for this pen?”

Now, the real insight you’d glean by asking this question is through paying attention to how your prospect responds.

Do they panic, scramble at a loss for words, or go overboard trying to impress you?

All are normal (yet telling) for someone put on the spot, because most people will get this question completely wrong the first time.

And that’s okay.

What really matters is what they do next.

Are they hungry to learn, coachable, and excited to receive a critique so they can “get it right” the next time around?

Or do they have a bad attitude about being “tricked” or looking “foolish?”

Watch out for unhealthy egos—as those are the folks you don’t want on your team and shouldn’t be prospecting.

At this point, give yourself a pat on the back!

You learned a lot about prospecting today, which will help you dive deeper into your prospect’s world and get them to open up and make a meaningful connection.

After all…

Network marketing is all about…networking!

These questions will help you guarantee only the finest and most committed join your organization.

However, if you’d like a few more tips about recruiting successfully, and specifically how to do so using Facebook (and sites like LinkedIn)…

Then I’d like to invite you to check out a step-by-step social media playbook written by my friend Julie Burke.

Julie’s a multiple six-figure earner in network marketing, who personally sponsored over 270 reps and grew a team of 8,300 distributors, all from the comfort of her home, in just 3 years.

DOWNLOAD Julie’s “Social Media Recruiting Frenzy” guide absolutely FREE!

A master recruiter, Julie has tested different posts over the past four years and has “dialed in” on what works and what doesn’t work on Facebook.

So if you want to be instantly more effective at recruiting and sponsoring online…

Click the link below to get immediate access her exact scripts, example posts, and critical “dos and don’ts” on Facebook that will help YOU prospect like the masters of the craft.

Download Julie’s free guide right here to learn how to take your prospecting to the next level.

And if you found this content helpful, I would love to read your comments below!

Moni Arora’s Blog