Mastering the basics of network marketing is absolutely paramount to making money. One of these basic fundamentals is your ability to gain new customers and business partners. Your success depends on your ability to consistently find or create new interested prospects.

3 Sources of Leads For Your Business

1) Warm Market - The idea behind warm market prospecting is that you're going to 'share' your products or business with people you already know. This is where most people tell you to go out and make up a list of everyone you know. It also includes people with the ability to flip a conversation around to network marketing. Those are the people who walk up to you in the book store, and act like they like your shoes and then try to sell you a business. This approach is not for everyone.

One potential problem with this kind of prospecting is that it's aggressive and requires a lot of nerve. Most people don't like it when someone does it to them, and most of us really don't want to do it. But don't get me wrong, for some people it can work. It's just not my cup of tea. On the positive side, it's free.

2) Cold Market - This is where you buy leads from a company that specializes in doing marketing to find people who are interested in a home based business. On the cheap end it will cost you anywhere from 5-50 cents per lead... for higher quality leads it can cost you between 3-7 dollars per lead. The higher the quality the less you'll probably get yelled at.

Most people will tell new network marketers to avoid doing this, because it's pretty far out of the average persons comfort zone. For some people, cold market leads can be really good. Other people will probably need therapy afterwards. On the positive side, if you can afford it, this can be a very consistent way of building your business. You're just working the numbers.

3) Create Your Own Leads - This is done by creating a system that helps people who are already hungry for what you have come to you. It can be done through article marketing, blogging, message boards, newspaper ads, or any means that helps people find you. A prospect that finds you because they are hungry for what you have, is worth 10 times any other kind of lead. Why? Because they are hungry and they are looking for you.

This approach is obviously my personal favorite. The beauty of it is that you can do this for almost nothing. All you need is a little information, and some hard work. When you get a system working for you that brings highly interested people to you. It will help you run circles around anyone else in this business. You'll make money, and you'll enjoy it more to.

Summary

It's a basic skill to be able to create new leads for your business. You need a way that works for you, that you feel comfortable with, that you can afford. You don't have to master all of the ways. You just need one that works for you.