LED Name Badge
is a cool gadget

When the money was tight, I looked to an LED Name Badge to pump some life into my MLM business.

I had worn out my warm market long ago and I was not getting the results I wanted from buying leads. I had no money to work my business. I wanted a unique way to break the ice with people I didn't know. I was never comfortable with the MLM theory of talking to people within three feet of you. I wanted people to speak to me first.

With the LED Name Badge, I found an icebreaker that helped me accomplish that.

This also happened several years before I read The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing . That FREE eBook by Ann Sieg changed my whole approach toward network marketing forever. I still use my badge on occasion, but not near as much as I used to.

You have to come out of your comfort zone a little bit for this. But, that's what network marketing is all about. You have to do something you're not used to doing and maybe don't even want to do it. It's the one thing that separates the millionaires from the wannabes.

The LED Name Badge scrolled a short message about my business. By short, I mean, real short. One of my messages would read "ARE YOU? ASK ME." That was it. Another was "R U? ASK ME (my phone number)"

A clever message isn't important. Most people won't be able to read it right away. What they see is something out of the ordinary and are curious about it. They will point to it and hopefully make a comment.

I would wear this LED name badge in some of the busiest places, like the grocery store or the mall. It's the same size as a credit card, and you can wear it on your shirt, cap, purse, or anywhere you want. You can only see 4 letters at a time as it scrolls through. I would walk a little slow to give people a chance to read it.

I would watch the reactions of people as they glanced at it. I usually got 3 different ones.

1. People would turn their head away from me. Great. I really didn't want to talk to them anyway.

2. People would stare and try to read the badge. They would look away when I would make eye contact with them.

3. People would say something to me and ask questions about it. Or, they would call it a brilliant idea. These are the people that I was interested in talking to.

They would say, "ask you what?" or "what do you do?" I would give them a quick Jack Webb (Dragnet) imitation and say, "I carry a badge."

That will get a laugh from those who remember the old TV series. I would ask them "Are you happy about your financial situation?" or "Are you in chronic pain all the time?" The latter question would be a setup to one of my products. You can fill in your own blank after the "are you."

I would introduce myself and ask the person a few more qualifying questions to see if they had an interest in working from home.

I would not get into a business presentation at all.

If they had time to talk, I would ask some questions about themselves. I think building rapport is so important in this business. I did't mind spending a few extra minutes doing that. I want them to remember me when I call them back. I would get their name (first name is fine), phone number and the best time to call back. I would give them my card and move on.

After an hour in the mall, I would get about 15 names on my list. Potential prospects that showed an interest in what I was doing. Of those people, nine would answer the phone and remember me. Four would look at an online business presentation and one would sign up as a new representative in my business. The most sign ups I ever got from a mall visit was three. On the flip side, there were quite a few times when no one signed up.

Network marketing is a numbers game. It always has been and it always will be. The important thing was that I was making contacts with people who were coming to me first. That makes a big difference.

I bought the badge on a website that does not sell it anymore. The badge itself cost $20 and a protective tin case for $5. There were different color LEDs and styles to choose from that were more expensive. It takes one thin lithium battery CR 2032 3V to operate. The battery life is about 24 hours, so have a couple of batteries handy.

Of course, the best way to do an MLM business is on the internet. It's better getting over 100 people visit your website in a day than to get 15 names from a mall visit. The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing had a huge impact on me and the Renegade Marketing System , both by Ann Sieg showed how the system works.