How Effective Are Your Communication Skills?

Many people today are taking second jobs or trying to start their own home business. The economic situation has people panicking. They don't want to have to rely on their day job as their only source of income. So, many people decide to do online marketing or join an MLM (multi-level-marketing).

Now, this is all well and good. You start out all excited. You are going to make those dreams come true and make lots of money. Hope are high. But, after a few weeks, you find out, hmm, this is not as easy as I thought. Of course, that is a normal response if you have been working in an office all your life, or have been a stay at home mom. Marketing is not something that comes naturally. This is a skill, an important skill that needs to be cultivated. With these skills, communication is one of the most important.

How effective are your communication skills?

Now, I am an extrovert and most people that know me would use the word bubbly, or effervescent to describe me. I can get a person to tell me their life story in about two minutes. I know information about my mother-in-law that my own husband doesn't even know, LOL! I thought, oh, piece of cake, I can do this. But, I slowly learned that I really didn't know how to invite a prospect, nonetheless really make money doing this for a living.

I found that this aspect of doing a home business is not always offered to most people. I am not saying that you should toss what you are doing to the side, but make sure you surround yourself with the right people. I like to connect with people that are where I would like to be. I use them as mentors. These are the people that keep me motivated and know that I too can achieve my dreams. Read everything you can get your hands on and try to find the right training tools, even if they are outside your MLM or home business. Any investment you make, large or small, is an investment in your future.

Call reluctance is a known phenomenon amongst people just starting out in the business. You get your desk all ready, pens in place, office set up, but when it comes to speaking to a prospect on the phone...fear sets in. I know I have suffered from this. One of my favorite mentors is Tim Sales. He was with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team for 11 years and then found an ad that got him into network marketing. He realized that many of these skills didn't come naturally for him either and set out on a quest to perfect his skills so he could go on to mentor and train others.

On the issue of call reluctance, these are direct quotes from two of Tim's friends who were having these issues:

“Lack of planning, lack of preparation, and failure to recognize and receive training on the parts that make up building the business, was the reason for my call reluctance,” one of my friends told me.

“All this time I was thinking that my own call reluctance was due to fear of rejection, even though that didn’t even make sense to me. I thought maybe it was some sort of a subconscious thing. But now I know that the fact that I don’t have a clarity on exactly what to do if they say, ‘Yes,’ is the real problem.”

When I read this, I said "yes, yes, yes...this is the reason...I really don't know what I am saying or how to really handle these conversations". So, it really didn't matter that I was an extrovert, because "what" you say can have everything to do with gaining a new client/prospect or losing one.

There are so many resources out there for the newbie as opposed to people who started in this business back in the old days, say 25 years ago. The internet it self is filled with programs and tools to help you.

I love to get free newsletters and I print out articles and keep files for myself. A tip is a tip, and one more thing you can store in your memory bank to help you on your way to having a successful home business.

I strongly encourage you to do all you can to build these skills within yourself.

Tim's newsletter is a great way to start. There are tons of free articles to help you gain the skills and confidence you need so you can make your dreams come true too.

I will have more resources for you in coming posts but thought this was an important one to start with.

If you are reading this, I would suggest clicking on the title of this post or on the blinking ad next to this post. This is where you can sign up for Tim's free newsletter and free articles!

Happy prospecting! :)