Does Web 2.0 Replace The Warm Market?

Web 2.0 techniques can be very powerful in the hands of a network marketer that knows how to use them. However, there are several groups out there who are advocating the use of web 2.0 strategies IN PLACE of a distributor talking to their warm market. They say that talking to your warm market doesn't work and that the only effective way to build a network marketing business in the 21st century is to use internet marketing tactics, particularly web 2.0.

I disagree completely.

Using web 2.0 techniques such as participating in community discussion groups with the intent on having other participants in these groups visit your web site or networking on social networking web sites such as http://www.myspace.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/ are very powerful and very effective strategies. In fact, I write about this in my free report available at http://www.web204mlm.com/

However, advocating the use of web 2.0 as a replacement to the warm market system is a big mistake.

The direct sales, network marketing and multi-level marketing industry was built on a foundation of the warm market. People do business with people that they know, like and trust. By encouraging its distributors to talk about the company's products & services with people that the distributor has already fostered a relationship, the company can leverage the relationship, provide value to both the distributor and her contacts, resulting in a win/win relationship for everybody.

If you have been around this industry long enough, you know that you can never really tell who is going to have success building this business and who is not. You have likely found, just as I've found that the people that you think will do well in this business will flop and the people that you think will not do well are your biggest superstars.

It is estimated that the average person knows at least 250 people personally by name. 250 people is an incredible sphere of influence to be able to find leaders who are going to run with your opportunity. By advocating web 2.0 in place of the warm market, a distributor loses out on this valuable network.

Here is a very important law in network marketing...

The only reason why you ever do any cold marketing strategy, whether its web 2.0, buying an ad, purchasing business opportunity leads, or using the three foot rule is to get into that person's warm market. You cannot effectively help a new distributor work THEIR warm market unless you have effectively worked YOUR warm market.

Therefore, I believe that web 2.0 does not REPLACE the warm market. Web 2.0 SUPPLEMENTS the warm market.

Here's how you use web 2.0...

You start the business off by making your warm market list and talking to your warm market contacts. Once you run low on prospects in your warm market, you implement a strategy like web 2.0 to be able to continue to add to your list of prospects. Once you recruit a new prospect using web 2.0, you then work with that new recruit's warm market list and help that new recruit tap into his warm market.

Agree??? Disagree??? Post your comments to this blog!

Roosevelt Cooper
Chief Editor
http://www.web204mlm.com