Making The Most Of Meetings
          
          
               If you decide to try small recruiting meetings,
          there are a few basic rules to follow.  Start on time. 
          If you call a meeting for 7:30, and a few people show
          up on time, but you don't start the meeting until
          latecomers show up at 8:00, that tells your prospects
          that you're not very businesslike.  And you'll alienate
          the people who got there on time.
               Put out a few chairs but not too many.  It's
          better to add chairs later, creating the impression of
          unexpected demand, rather than have a bunch of empty
          chairs out, giving the impression that attendance was
          disappointing.
               Don't serve much in the way of refreshments.  This
          is a business meeting, not a party.  You can offer
          coffee or soft drinks, to be hospitable, and perhaps
          some packaged cookies, but hold down the extravagance. 
          You don't want to scare people off by having them fear
          they'll be called upon for lavish entertaining if they
          become distributors.  Don't serve any alcoholic drinks,
          even beer or wine.
               Go into a brief presentation, focusing on the
          company, its products, and the income opportunities. 
          Show the video your company provides, if there is one. 
          If you company's product lends itself to sampling, give
          everyone a chance to see it, taste it, or try it on. 
          Nothing sells like a good product.
               Then, open up the meeting to questions.  Answer
          every question right away, briefly, looking each
          questioner in the eye.  If you don't know the answer,
          say so.  (But find it out so you can answer that
          question if it's asked again, at a meeting or one-on-
          one.)
               After the questions are asked, pass out the
          applications.  go for the close, but don't pressure
          people.  After the meeting, you can call prospects and
          try to sign them up while the excitement of the meeting
          is fresh in their minds.  Give prospects an
          audiocassette or video recording to help reinforce your
          message after the meeting.