3-way Calls

The 3-way call is a powerful tool when used properly. For those of you who don't know what a 3-way call is, it is when you, someone from your team and another person are on the phone at the same time (for our purposes). The capability to perform a 3-way call exists on pretty much every phone now, so it is a readily accessible tool.

There are multiple ways to use a 3-way call effectively and I am going to talk about all of them in the next few days. Before I go through the different ways to use the tool to build your business, it is important to know the wrong ways to use 3-way calls. While you might think this is a strange way to go about teaching a topic, it is necessary for this way, because so many people who have been exposed to a 3-way call have been exposed to the wrong way...so its needed that we eliminate these to be sure you have no preconceived notions. Now as usual, you are only getting MY perspective, based on my 21 years of experience...but also as usual, my perspective is based on having also DONE the wrong things and seeing the results. The wrong things will always, in my eyes, be methods that conflict with the principals taught in "The Process."

Wrong way number 1: Doing a 3-way call as an approach. I was taught to do this years ago, and so of course I did it at first, and yes, some of the people who recieved these calls, did agree to learn about it...but the price is WAY too high. It is completely unnatural for a person to have another person on the line to make the approach. This makes your contact feel incredibly uncomfortable, which is the opposite of how they need to feel. They feel unsafe. It will also drive a wedge into the relationship with the contact. They will lose trust in you, because they feel like you tricked them or deceived them, or pulled a fast one. The reason this is taught in some organizations in the industry is simple: The sponsor cares more about getting to your contacts than they do mentoring and growing you. Their attitude is that if they can sponsor a few of your contacts, then if you do nothing, they will still have something. They do not care about the impact on your relationships, they just want to hype your contacts. They will say it is because they are trying to get you started (and maybe thats true) and help you find people quick. Even if this is true, the price is too high. You are not learning in this situation. You are simply a bystander while this other person speaks into your relationships. Never use a 3-way call as an approach call.

Wrong way number 2: As a close. This is when your sponsor gets on the phone with your contact after they have expressed an interest, with the specific goal of closing them into the opportunity or product. Remember there is no close! There is only the opening of a new level of the relationship. The sponsor will use all kinds of pressure tactics, and tie-downs to get the person to buy. They are "showing you how it's done," while they get your person to sign up. As you will see, there is definitely multiple places where you will want to do a 3-way call with your sponsor...all through the process, but NOT for the puprose of closing. This will again cause your contact to lose trust in you. You are putting them in an awkward and uncomfortable position....NEVER do this.

As I walk you through the best ways and the philosophy behind the success of these ways, I might recall some more bad ideas, when I do I will share them.