Leads vs Customers

Many independent entrepreneurs struggle with their network marketing business because they do not have enough customers, which causes many to turn to buying leads. They then try to turn those leads into customers, a very difficult proposition. Leads can be rather expensive and, the truth of the matter is, it takes a lot of leads to produce a customer. I’ve heard the national average of converting leads into customers is typically three in one hundred, or three percent.

If you’re involved in network marketing (MLM) you probably already know everything you need to know about leads. However, many still don’t understand, and this is for that person. In this article, we’ll take a look at leads vs customers and how they relate to your business.

Let’s start with finding out what leads are. According to Wikipedia, sales leads are basically “potential customers”. Keeping that definition, “a sales lead is only a potential customer”, in mind will help you as we continue to move along.

Now that we know what leads are, let’s see what customers are. To keep it fair, let’s go back to a familiar place, Wikipedia, to get the definition of a customer. According to Wikipedia, a customer “refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy.”

As you can see, a customer is “purchasing”, or has purchased, goods and/or services already. So, now that we know what leads and customers are, it’s time to see how that relates to your network marketing business.

Just like with any traditional business, independent entrepreneurs running network marketing businesses need customers to survive. Without customers their business will not last. Customers are the heart and soul of any business. All businesses need customers to survive. People spending money to buy products or services bring in revenue, and revenue sustains a business in the long term.

If you haven’t figured that out yet, you’re probably like the majority of network marketing businesses, struggling to make money. It’s quite possible that you’re just spinning your wheels, and have nothing to show for it. Why? Customers!

The majority of MLM companies teach their independent reps to keep on recruiting, and recruiting; keep on bringing in fresh blood into “the system”. Most of those systems are front-end loaded to benefit the company, not the rep. I would have to believe that if you’re like that, you have more reps within your group than you have paying customers. That, in most cases, is a ticket to disaster for any business.

I hope this is starting to make sense!

Remember, you need revenue to survive. Revenue is where the profits come from, and if you’re not making a profit, it may be time to close the doors and get a job. I don’t mean to be a nay-sayer, or be raining on your parade, I’m just being honest. It takes hard work, perseverance and customers to survive.

I’ve struggled in the past, but I kept the faith and continued to move forward, continuing to generate new customers. It’s finally paying off! All because of the customers, “individuals or households that purchase goods”, not “potential customers”. And now it’s possible to have even more customers, and share the revenue with other entrepreneurs.

So, how do you get customers? Do you buy leads, spend more money and try to turn them into customers? Do you knock on your neighbor’s doors? Do you set up a little shop at a flea market, or set up a table outside your local Wal-mart? Nope!

In part two of my article, I’ll share a story, and explain how I get my customers. It’s not rocket science, but it does require making a change.

Jeffrey