Do you know what a funded proposal is?
It is a low cost item, a product or service, that sits at the top of your marketing funnel to get new prospects. It is called a funded proposal because it can generate enough income to cover the cost of your prospecting. It pays for itself.
Prospecting for most network marketers, especially in the offline world can get very expensive. You have to pay for your brochures, CDs, DVDs, and product samples and then you give them away for free in the hopes that you can follow up and get them to join your team, or at least buy your product. In most cases they will not join, and if they do, it may take months of follow-up before they do. In the mean time, you keep spending more money. It’s going to take a while before you are operating in the black.
With a funded proposal you are offering something of value for a small price, usually $35 or less. That something of value is usually an info product that has little to no cost to provide, like an ebook, video, or other downloadable content. The goal of the funded proposal is that the sale pays for your prospecting upfront.
The funded proposal approach has several benefits over giving away a CD.
Build a list. If your funded proposal is online then you can have your prospects opt in to your list before they buy it. Now, whether they buy your offer or not, they are on your list and you have their permission to market to them.
Better quality prospects. Your prospect must have some level of interest for them to pull out their credit card. When handing out free CDs, your prospect will accept it just to be polite whether they are at all interested or not.
Free marketing. The income from your funded proposal pays for your marketing so that you don’t have to. If you have a good offer, you will never pay for marketing out of your own pocket again.
Something to offer everyone. The funded proposal gives you a bigger reach and income opportunity because you have something to offer to people who may not be interested in your opportunity, or at least not interested yet. This establishes a connection and gives you a means to stay in touch and build a relationship. They may be interested in your network marketing opportunity later.
What are some possible funded proposals
You could always write your own report or ebook or create a valuable video yourself. Another possibility is to purchase the resell rights for someone else’s ebook or content.
Some affiliate marketing programs make for easier options because they are already done and can cost a lot less than buying resell rights.
One affiliate program that I use is Magnetic Sponsoring. It provides some of the best internet marketing training available for beginners.
Magnetic Sponsoring was created by Mike Dillard and has been around for a number of years. One of the benefits of Magnetic Sponsoring is that they have several programs at various price levels and they pay out a 40% commission. One of the downsides is that they control the list. Maybe that isn’t a complete downside because they will continue to market to it for you to build you a commission.
You do have to be a little more careful emailing the people on that list because you don’t have access to the opt out capabilities. You should have your own list management system, like Aweber, and opt them into that list so that they can opt out if they want to.
One more thing. I think you have to buy the Magnetic Sponsoring program for $35 one-time to be an affiliate with Magnetic Sponsoring. Like I said, it offers good training for people getting into internet marketing for their network marketing business. If you choose to promote any of the other products from Magnetic Sponsoring then I highly recommend that you buy the product first so that you can promote in integrity. It’s easier to sell something when you know what is in it.
Wayne Woodworth
Disclaimer: I use both Magnetic Sponsoring for funded proposals. I have purchased several of their products and I am an affiliate. If you decide to buy anything through a link on this website you can safely assume that I may earn a commission.
