There are so many scams in home business that as soon as you mention the idea to someone, they or a family member are likely to assume that it’s a scam. Getting past this and other objections is very important to successfully building your direct sales downline.

Of course, worry about an opportunity being a scam isn’t the only objections you’ll run across. It’s likely to be the most common, however.

To effectively address this concern you need to know what constitutes a scam, especially in the eyes of the prospect. Explain to them what the symptoms of a scam are, and why your opportunity shows no signs of being a scam. These signs may include:

• Excessive emphasis on recruiting. Some opportunities are almost entirely about recruiting, and almost not at all about sales. If an opportunity pays for recruiting, there is a lot of temptation for marketers to work on that alone, rather than sales. This can be a sign of a problem.
• Required purchases. Requiring members to make purchases in order to be paid on their sales can be a symptom of a scam. Your opportunity should pay you whether or not you needed to buy anything yourself in a particular month. Otherwise, this is dangerously close to paying for recruiting.
• Miracle products. Yes, some products can do amazing things. But if the claims are excessive you’re asking for trouble. Make sure any claims about the product are backed up scientifically, not just by anecdote.

Give your prospect time to make up their mind. Yes, this does mean that family members have a chance to talk them out of it, but if they aren’t that motivated they probably wouldn’t work much on their business anyhow. You also don’t want to pressure them, which can make your opportunity seem more like a scam.

Encourage them to research your direct sales company online and give them resources that mention your company, yet have a good reputation. The BBB and state Attorney General are two good resources. If your business is listed with the DSA, mention that as well, although people may not trust is as much for the simple reason that they haven’t heard of it.

Be very clear with your prospects about what they have to do in this business and how they earn money. Don’t promise a particular income level, as this depends on their skills, interest and dedication to running their business.

Talk about the money side of things. What does it cost to join the opportunity and why? What do they get?

Talk about ways they can earn money from your opportunity. Can they have a website? How do they sell locally? Are home parties a big part of it?

Try to get your prospect’s spouse in on your discussions. This way you can address objections from both parties and maybe even get the spouse to be more supportive of the new business.

Whatever the objections are, listen carefully and think about how you will respond. You don’t want to answer an objection by talking about a completely off topic part of the opportunity. It will sound like you’re hiding something. If it’s not something easily answered, say so and say why.

You can also use objections to discuss ways the prospect could run their business if they join your opportunity. If they don’t like home parties, talk about what ways they would feel comfortable marketing. Let them tell you what they would like to do and help them to refine the idea.

If you don’t understand an objection, ask your prospect to clarify it. Sometimes a word will mean one thing to you and something else entirely to someone else. What do you say when someone says they don’t want to sell to family and friends, for example? They’re being pretty clear in that case, but what about the many people who just say “I can’t sell” or “I hate selling.” If you find out what they mean by selling you have a way to get them talking about the kind of selling they would be comfortable with.

Above all, be honest about what your opportunity is. Many people get turned off by opportunities that insist there’s “no selling” involved. To many people marketing is the same as selling. Don’t play the semantics game. The more honest you are about what has to be done, the happier your prospects will be and the more likely they will be to seriously consider what the opportunity entails and whether they would actually go anywhere with it. Do you want a large yet unproductive downline or a small, enthusiastic and productive downline? Your recruiting techniques can make the difference.

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