All companies treat their affiliates differently. In fact, your affiliates are your driving sales force. Unlike in the off-line world, they don't get paid by the hour, they get paid for the sales they make.

This means you, the business owner, only pay for what you sell, but it also means that you need to train your affiliates to motivate themselves to dedicate their time to marketing and selling the products that will bring you and them a an above average income.

No matter if you're an affiliate owner or just a participant in some or other affiliate program, you make money when you and your downline make sales. Having 500 affiliates will do you little good and bring in little money, if they won't sell.

How can you successfully train your affiliates to achieve the best sales results on-line or off-line?

The key answer is- spread by word of mouth.

You can explain how your program works to people. While word of moth can be powerful when applied to other areas, advertising is very weak when applied to sales training. However, it can function as a good tool with other methods. Training by word of mouth works primarily on the mind by acquainting people with something either by confirming or denying a certain way of thinking.

Sometimes even a single word or sentence read is enough to unleash an avalanche of new ideas or experiences. Although, when that happens, the person was already on the verge of change and just needed one final push to get there.

The Art of Repetition. Either you repeat what you said or repeat what you've demonstrated. There are only two possible consequences. 1) either the trainee will accept what you are offering and build towards critical mass in this new direction. 2) they will reject what you're offering and turn inward.

If you say or show things that this person is not yet ready for pushing, every repetition will generate a new and greater resentment. By doing this you are building a critical mass of negative feelings towards whatever it is you are pushing the person to accept. The best way is to teach by example. This is the only way that really works in real life.

People do not generally "do as you say," they "do as you do." It's also the only method where you can't be aggressive and doesn't compromise the person's integrity. Speaking may be welcome if the person you speak to really wants to hear what you have to say. They may feel unwelcome and forceful if the person isn't yet ready to open up to new information.

First, you must show how something can be done and the right avenue to achieve it. This means you lay out the exact steps your affiliates should take when marketing your products.

Give them correct and trustworthy directions with real life experiences of how those very steps worked for you. Give them all the sales material you can generate and also tell them exactly how each piece worked for you and how to use it best. But do not give them empty words and promises. Never show them something you yourself haven't tried before and cannot back up.

People will feel when you are just saying something to make them sell harder, but haven't really succeeded with it yourself. This is especially important if you are a only part of some affiliate program and are trying to teach your affiliates how to market more successfully.

If you try to teach them things that you are not 100% certain in they will get worn out and lose faith in you in the long haul. Most affiliate programs offer their affiliates old steps that everyone already knows about.

People today are much smarter than before and most know they don't work anymore. This can be YOUR point of difference. The most important thing to remember is to say what you mean when you mean it. Tell your affiliates everything you know. Show by example and provide them with all the information you can create. This will help build a trustworthy relationship.

By Abe Cherian

Copyright © 2005

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