Internet guru Mike Dillard of magnetic sponsorship fame uses the expression “you can’t sell steak to a vegetarian.” Years ago I used a similar phrase to train my reps not to waste too much time on the wrong “Mr. Right” – don’t waste your time and effort trying to sell meat products to a vegetarian restaurant. “
Let me explain. Suppose you own a meat wholesaling business. You have a meeting with all of your vendors and tell them about an idea you had overnight to expand your customer base by selling your various meat products to all the vegetarian restaurants in your city.
It distributes special prices for its entire product line to encourage vegetarian restaurants to select its company as their meat supplier. Your sales people hit the road and make your sales calls.
That night, they go back to the office. Discouraged would be an understatement. None of the restaurants would become a customer (not even with their special discounted rates). Some of them may have even fired their sales reps because of the “evil” meat products they represented.
Any marketing person would tell you that you violated the first marketing commandment: know your market. You could keep chasing that vegetarian restaurant, but they will never ever buy your meat products.
Very often I would see network marketers, even members of my own team, trying to promote their business (think meat products) to potential customers (think vegetarian restaurants) who, frankly, are not interested in the slightest. I’d tell them to cut their losses and waste no more time with that prospect.
Most of the time they weren’t listening and kept hammering away trying to wear down the potential customer to join your business. And even if the disinterested prospect joined your business, what exactly could be expected of them other than wasting even more time from their sponsor trying to train and support them?
I once heard a statement that has an application to this: “A man convinced against his will, continues to have the same opinion.” Who said no to one of your offers? Did you keep chasing or did you keep going?
