Generating MLM Leads Post-COVID19

Written by Matt Zavadil
Updated May 28, 2022

COVID-19 certainly changed how things operate…not only in terms of society “at large”…but also in how the process of generating MLM leads works. 

No matter your personal beliefs about the situation, there’s no doubt that many of your network marketing prospects are going to be afraid to meet you in person. 

For how long? 

There’s no way to know. 

So, we all need to move forward with empathy towards their fear and anxiety about the situation. 

I can’t think of a better way to accomplish that while also successfully building our businesses than getting even more efficient at generating MLM leads via Internet marketing techniques. 

That’s where things can easily go south, however. 

Let’s dive in…

When MLM Lead Generation Turns Sour

I remember when I first got involved with network marketing. This is waaaaay back in the early 90s when I was only 19 years old…yeah, I’m an old guy LOL

Anyway, I was excited the first time I heard about this thing called MLM because I never fit into the “work 40 years for others” paradigm. 

My upline told me the same nonsense being taught by MLM companies to this very day: Create a top 100 friends and family list so we can call them. 

I vividly remember the sweaty palms and anxiety I felt calling that list. 

Nothing came from it. I was a long-haired guitarist playing in a rock band back then. My contact list didn’t want to go into business with me!

And, that is the epitome of how things go sour when you’re on quest for generating MLM leads. Let me explain…

Bugging Friends, Family & Social Media Contacts To Generate MLM Leads

I’m sure you’ve come across people who ask, “Is this one of them pyramid thingees?”.

Or, people who outright tell you, “Do NOT talk to me about that network marketing stuff!”.

Why does MLM  have a bad rap with some people? 

It’s because MLM companies have been telling people for almost 100 years to bug family and friends to move product and sponsor distributors. 

Most people don’t have a desire to build a business like you and I do. Trying to convince them how great your products or opportunity are is like trying to convince a Pittsburgh Steelers fan how great the Baltimore Ravens are…

…there is no amount of convincing that will ever work in that situation…I’m a Steelers fan so just try it…ain’t gonna work LOL

And, yet, you’re told to use things like:

• Invest time at local mixers, getting business cards & following up
• Use the 3-foot rule at your local bookstore
• Invite your work contacts to next Tuesday’s opportunity meeting

Basically, you’re told that any breathing human being is a prospect.

Is This a Really Dumb Way To Go About Generating MLM Leads?

In my experience, yes.

I don’t know if that surprises you, but here’s why I say that…

It’s a matter of psychology.

Which scenario do you think gives you the best chance to sell your products or recruit a new rep:

One where you randomly “hit me up” at the supermarket or if I contact you from your blog with questions?

Scenario #2 wins hands down. Will you sell to or recruit 100% of those contacting you from your blog? Of course not.

(by the way, the correct way to use a social media post or blog…more on that later)

But the percentages are far more in your favor when you’ve done the upfront work it takes to become your own MLM leads generator.

When a person has looked up info at the search engines, found your blog post and then wants to engage with you…that’s a home run as they look at you as their trusted advisor.

When I’m sipping coffee with my wife at my local bookstore & get interrupted by you and your sales pitch you’re in a dangerous position.

First, I’m probably annoyed that you’re interfering with my family time. Second, I have no earthly idea who you are and am not remotely in a buying or joining mindset.

I hope you consider that seriously as you work to build your MLM business to great heights.

DISCLAIMER: Am I saying offline tactics don’t work? Of course not. There are countless networkers who have successfully created network marketing businesses before the Internet was invented and since 🙂

I personally never enjoyed the process offline and the immense time required. We must ENJOY the process…it’s a key aspect to the Law of Attraction. If you enjoy the offline methods, by all means go for it!

Navigating The Sometimes “Murky” Online Lead Generation Waters

Here’s where things can get hazy really quickly…

Where can you find the BEST network marketing leads on the Internet?

Have you ever seen ads for Lead Companies that will sell you “fresh MLM leads”? Sounds great, huh?

Not so fast. Usually those “hot, fresh” leads are names they pulled off those late-night “get rich quick” type ads. Yup, they’re usually worthless.

If you want to try it don’t say I didn’t warn you when you’re calling out-of-service phone numbers or reaching people who say,

“I have absolutely no interest in network marketing. How the hell did you get my number?!”

Another option might be solo ads. I’ve been down that path, too. There are very, very few solo ad campaigns that will bring you the results you’re looking for.

The problem is you’re usually reaching a huge pool of people who have been in and out of network marketing or who just have a general interest in “making money online”…

…Meaning they are looking for some gimmicky get-rich-quick “share a link” type of deal that will turn them into instant millionaires.

If you’re looking for solid business builders for your downline…well, good luck with solo ads.

DISCLAIMER: Am I saying ALL purchased leads or ALL solo ad campaigns are worthless? Of course not 🙂

I encourage you to read this post where I go into much more detail about the dangers of:

• Business Opp Leads
• Co-Registration Leads
• MLM Genealogy Leads

Generating The Best Network Marketing Leads Online

I can hear you possibly asking,

OK, Matt, if the Internet is so great for generating “hot” MLM leads then what do I do?

My recommendation is to blog. I referenced it above but you need to understand why blogging is powerful for building a network marketing downline.

Let’s step back a second and ask ourselves this:

What’s the lifeblood of your business?

Prospects, right?

If you’re anything like me back when I got started in my first MLM company then you’re waking up each day excited about your opportunity…

…but at the same time feeling a pit in your stomach because you have no earthly idea who you’re going to talk to about your business!

Did I hit the nail on the head…LOL

The problem with a lot of the usual “trainings” put on by most network marketing companies is they teach you an extremely untargeted way of gathering leads.

They teach you the “3 foot rule”, to build a warm contact list, to hit up people at work, call people you knew 15 years ago, scour the local malls, etc.

It’s network “MARKETING“…

It’s NOT called network “throw a dart & hope it hits the right target”…

Right?

Real Marketing Is Targeted

A true marketer identifies his or her best customer & then targets their marketing message to only that one type of person.

They don’t go to the mall, throw a dart and hope they can sell whoever the dart hits!

You’ll build a large organization if you identify who best fits what you offer and then craft a marketing message to that exact profile.

For example, if you’re in a health & wellness MLM company with products that specifically help lower blood pressure you should be focused on attracting prospects looking for this solution.

An essential oils company rep should look for people actually interested in oils.

A weight-loss MLM company or fitness company distributor should look for people who…wait for it…actually need to lose weight or are interested in their fitness.

You can choose to run around the mall shotgunning your message to anyone within 3 feet or…

You can find a way to market exclusively to those people who want and need a product to help them lower their blood pressure.

How To Target Your Best Prospect

There are several options: social media, paid marketing, blogging…

I use all 3.

But the most effective I’ve experienced by far is blogging. And it’s not hard to create content for it.

Social media activity and paid marketing are Interruption Marketing. You’re interrupting folks when they’re hanging out on Facebook or any of the other social media platforms.

Again, these tactics work & I make some use of them.

But when you take the time to build a blog you’re setting yourself up for a residual lead flow that will last forever (or as long as civilization remains intact, at least).

My best online network marketing leads (by far!) come through my blog.

This is because folks get the opportunity to get to know me through my writing, videos or audios. They get a feel for who I am as a person.

Remember that people buy from and join people they like and trust.

If you want people to get to know you and trust you in this busy world, then build your blog. I detail here how to start your blog if you’re a bit unsure about the process.

MLM Leads That ASKED For The Information

This is a huge distinction between your blog and your social media (or paid advertising) efforts.

Your blog readers went to a search engine like Google and typed in some sort of keyword phrase that matched the content you placed on one of your blog’s posts.

Think that through…

They basically asked for a solution to a problem at Google and Google delivered them to YOU…

…please let that sink in…

…how did you land on this post? Probably from a Google or Bing search about getting leads for your business?

If your blog post answers their question in a real and honest way they’re going to like you. They might bookmark your blog and come back again later.

• They might join your email list.
• They might subscribe to your RSS feed.
• They might see your Facebook page widget and become a fan. Or your Twitter widget and become a follower…
• They might just buy or join you right away.

I’ve experienced all of this on the very blog you’re reading now.

The point is you’ve positioned yourself to be their best solution exactly when they’re looking for that solution.

That’s huge and that’s why blogging allowed me to build an international downline after years of struggling with all that offline stuff.

I hope I’ve opened your eyes to the possibilities blogging can have when it comes to generating MLM leads. If this has been enlightening to you, let me know in the comments below how you plan to use this info.

2 Things Successful MLM Marketers Know About MLM Leads

People that succeed with generating MLM leads do two things extremely well:

First, they learn the dividing line between network marketing lead generation methods that work well and those that don’t.

Second, they leave the “get rich quick”, “free network marketing leads”, “something for nothing” stuff behind…

…and focus all their time & attention on the best way to get MLM leads, which does actually take work, time & just a little bit of cash outlay.

Don’t worry:

By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll know:

• exactly what they know,
• and how you can become a master at generating network marketing leads online

Most vital: you’ll get actionable steps that lead to generating daily MLM email leads for your business on autopilot.

But first:

I’ll lay the groundwork for the understanding you need in order to become one of the successful ones…

…and what to avoid so you don’t end up in the MLM graveyard of folks who say, “I tried but I just couldn’t get people to listen to me.”

By the way, I define success in network marketing as generating 5, 10, 15 or more MLM email leads per day who not only are interested in what you offer but FEEL as though they already KNOW YOU.

Let’s get started:

Here’s where various sources of network marketing leads start separating in terms of effectiveness…

Types of Network Marketing Leads

• Generic biz opp leads
• Co-registration leads
• MLM genealogy leads

There are others but these are the basic places some folks think are the best MLM leads sources.

Are these types of leads any good? Generally speaking, the answer is no.

In reality, the best network marketing leads you can get are the ones you generate on your own.

Why is that?

I’ll get into the reason why below.

Let’s first explore why I say the above lead sources are NOT the best sources when you want to know how to get prospects in network marketing:

Generic Business Opportunity Seeker Leads

They offer you the lowest conversion rate possibilities yet they’re the most common types of leads you’ll run into if you pay a “lead company” for them.

The challenge here is where these leads are usually sourced from. The folks generating these leads will run late-night “get rich quick” TV ads, classified ads and other types of ads that target the general population.

These are NOT people specifically interested in building a network marketing business. They’re generally folks looking for “something for nothing”.

Years ago, a buddy of mine and I bought one of these lists. We dedicated ourselves to Sunday night “call parties”.

You know how a “party” feels when it’s fun and exciting? Imagine the exact opposite feeling and you’ll understand our experience dealing with this type of lead.

Have fun calling those leads (if the phone numbers are even real numbers).

What About Co-Registration Leads? Are They Your Best MLM Leads Source?

Unfortunately, these aren’t any better than the biz opp leads. Have you ever opted out of a list you were on and were presented with a list of about 10-15 unrelated offers?

You’re asked to place a check mark next to anything you might be interested in.

Where in that process were you qualified as being specifically interested in building your own business through MLM?

Exactly…so how much quality can you expect if you buy these leads for your own business building efforts?

…NOT the best MLM leads for your network marketing biz.

MLM Genealogy Leads

Hypothetically, these are supposed to be much better quality because they are compiled from people who have invested money in “working” an MLM home business at some point.

The idea is that, unlike most biz opp/co-registration leads, they’ve invested money in a business already and are likely to do so again.

There are many problems associated with using these lists.

One is the simple matter of old, outdated information. Most of these lists are severely lacking in terms of correct email, phone number, etc.

When MLM Lead Generation Might Move Into “Illegal” Territory

The biggest problem with MLM genealogy lead lists is that you might be doing something illegal and breaking the law.

Yup, as this website details (the site is now gone, however, after some digging I found it archived at Wayback :), the Do Not Call list, the manner in which MLM genealogy lists are harvested & the identity theft issue all add up to re-thinking this way of building your home business.

If you’re not going to take the time to read the above link, know that MLM genealogy list reports are NOT a real listing of someone else’s downline report. Instead, they’re usually obtained illegally by using scraping software.

Do you have a replicated site from your company that lists you, your email and phone number? Reps in most companies do these days.

So-called MLM genealogy leads lists are obtained when unscrupulous “lead companies” scrape MLM replicated distributor sites and harvest the contact info. Then, they sell these to you as so-called “fantastic” genealogy report lists.

By the way, another trick some of these lead companies use? They go on Fiverr & pay people $5 to give them fake video testimonials. (go ahead, go to Fiverr.com and type “video testimonials” into their search bar. See how many folks will do it? SMH)

Nothing but a scam (and, as the above site mentions, may also get you in trouble with anti-identify theft laws). I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not deal with this kind of shady way to generate leads for a network marketing business.

(Am I saying ALL lead companies are “scams”? Of course not. I would simply question HARD where they are getting any network marketing lead they send you.)

Be Careful of Misleading Testimonials For MLM Leads Companies

As an aside, I was on one lead company website and investigating their testimonials.

I found one woman to be real. I found her LinkedIn profile and guess what? The MLM company her testimonial said she was making $30,000+ a month in? She quit that back in 2008 and is now selling real estate.

What that tells me is that something is fishy here. Either those leads didn’t pan out as her testimonial said…or the income claim was made up…I don’t know, but if that lead company was providing REAL, awesome leads to YOU all these years and YOU were generating $30,000 a month back in 2008, why would you quit to go sell real estate? Hmmmmm…..

The 2nd testimonial on this MLM leads site was also a real woman. However, her updated LinkedIn profile says she’s working in retail and the only MLM reference to her I can find was on a forum from 2006.

So, the top two testimonials on this particular MLM leads site are from people who last worked in network marketing in 2006 and 2008.

Make your own conclusions about the validity of bought MLM leads…

When “Yours Truly” Almost Got Into Legal Trouble

Just in case you might think this is all scare tactics…

…allow me to show you what a cease letter looks like. Here’s one I received from the lovely folks over at Rodan + Fields when (before I was educated) I was calling from these lists a few years ago (I removed the list of references they detailed to condense the image).

…boy, I was such a schmuck back then LOL

By the way, I wasn’t saying to anyone I was with their company, but it was obvious to me how this type of MLM lead generation could go up the chain to ANY company’s legal dept and turn into any number of weird allegations.

Suffice it to say I stopped immediately!

Don’t mess around with this nonsense. I’ll show you how to get the very best MLM leads that will listen to you…

…and that won’t get you into any legal wranglings…

Does Buying MLM Leads Work?