The Importance of Product Sampling in MLM

There is a good reason the warehouse clubs like Sam's and BJ's sample products on a regular basis. They sell more when they do this! When marketing products that people will eat or drink, I find the most common question they ask is, "how does it taste?"How can you sample your MLM products to prospective customers?
Tasting events
Giving away samplesTasting events have traditionally been done as "home parties." I have found that it can be difficult to get people to show up for these. So many people these days have 2 jobs, or they need to be home with their kids and have nobody to watch them. And I am seeing many people these days who babysit their grandchildren because their children can't afford to pay for daycare.One approach I recently heard for inviting people to a home party, is to call it your "grand opening." You tell your friends and neighbors that you are starting a business and invite them to your grand opening. At the event, you have products available for them to sample. Do not serve other refreshments or get too fancy, just let them taste and provide information for them to take away.You can also do tastings at other events. If you have a booth at an event you could have some products there, ready to taste. If you have found a convenience store owner who wants to carry your product, set up an event there for people to taste the product and help your new distributor get some business.Another way to get people to try your products is to give away samples. With some products, the taste is not an issue or it's not the only issue. If you sell supplements that should help people feel better, they may not see a difference until they have used the product for several days. If you sell an energy drink, they might want to see how it makes them feel over time during the day (did they feel jittery, how long did the energy last, did they crash when it wore off.) So if your company packages products in a way that you can give a small supply away, you might get a new customer this way.Two rules apply when giving away product:
Make sure they actually want to try it
Make sure you have their contact information to follow upI have been making up small gift bags with an 8-day supply of a couple of products. I purchased some raffle tickets at the dollar store and I have a little basket with me. There are a couple of small group meetings sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce held monthly. I ask who wants a chance to win (so I know they want to try the product), I put in a number for each person, and I draw a number. Then I make sure I have the business card of the person who won and I follow up in 8 days.I also have a couple of products that I can sample which the person can assess with just one use. I give those away and check back to see how they liked it.You can also do this with friends of course, or people you meet in other settings. Just make sure they really want to try the product, you know how to reach them, and they are willing to give you feedback.Happy sampling!