There are dozens of
opportunities out there - some legit and some not. Many of them promise to make
you rich beyond your wildest dreams - overnight, while you sleep, with no effort
on your part. That's usually a dead giveaway that it's not a good choice. Those
companies will lead you to the first stumbling block in
MLM disaster - failure to
build a
downline.
People that get involved with these types of "opportunities" have the
"get-rich-quick" mentality that makes them highly unlikely to commit to your
team long-term. They will bail after the first few months of minimal income (my
first check from one of these was a whopping 84 cents and I never made more than
$20 dollars a month the entire time I was involved - which was before I learned
the facts about
MLM).
Or once they discover that in order to actually make "real" money you have to
either invest some money of your own or actually put in some "real" work, they
will be gone to the next flashy promise.
So the first sign of a good
MLM business is one
that let's you know up front that money can be made - if you are willing to do
the work. By the way, don't confuse a bad associate with a bad company.
Unfortunately, there are perfectly great companies misrepresented by associates
who will promise you anything to get you on their team. Don't take the word of
the person recruiting you unless you know and trust them. Check out the company
for yourself and see what they actually promise.
Second, look at the comp
plan. Can you actually build a team and customer base big enough to make some
money? How many levels down will you be paid commission on? Are there breakaways
(a team member promotes to the same level as you or higher and leaves to start
his own
downline,
taking everyone he has recruited so far with him). Do you have to buy products
yourself or hit a certain quota to get paid? The first company I joined had
great products and a stellar reputation. But you had to have a huge
downline or tons of
customers to make any money. Still not a problem except for one thing. You were
not allowed to mention the company name in any promotional material until the
prospect asked for more information. And you were not allowed to use any type of
capture or squeeze pages to build a contact list. So how were you supposed to
build your business? Door-to-door, in-home parties, and hounding everyone you
knew. Plus you had to purchase a certain amount of product yourself each month
to get a check. No thanks. I'd rather have a job. Lots less
hassle!
Third, check out the support and training. Is there actual
training? Do you have the phone numbers of your
upline sponsor and perhaps his sponsor and
maybe even two or three more people above him? Is there promotional material
available - either free or at an affordable cost? Is your
upline willing to assist
you while you begin to build your customer base and
downline?
Last, but most important, look
at the product. All of the above is meaningless if you're selling a product that
you don't believe in. That's what you want to focus on. Selling the product. If
you focus on just building a
downline, once you run out of friends and
family to recruit, how are you going to continue to grow? Selling the product
provides you with a ready made list of prospects for your business. That's how I
got involved many years ago with my current company. I loved the products and use them
regularly. So when my salesperson asked if I'd like to know
more about the business opportunity, it was an easy decision. The product sales
are where the money comes from. So unless you're planning to buy a whole bunch
of whatever it is yourself, you'd better have some customers. The biggest
downline in the world is
useless if you the company isn't making enough sales to pay you.
So...how
do I know
my current company is
the best? 1. No one ever promised I'd be rich overnight without any effort on my
part. They all told me I could build a great income if I was willing to put in
the effort. And they even told me what type of effort would be required if I
wanted significant income. I make a good living with this. Network marketing provides me with the freedom to pursue
other interests.
2. Comp plan is fabulous. And it's based on customer sales not recruiting new members so you don't have to worry about people giving your organization a bad name by trying to simply recruit as many as possible to make the next level.
3. Support and training. Conference
calls, training videos, meetings - we have them all. And that's just from
corporate. My team also sponsors training calls and meetings. I know how to
contact everyone on my team -
upline and
downline - and any of them will help me
whenever I ask. And as an added bonus - you get me and my team and all
that we have learned about
MLM over the years. Everyone of us has been
doing this successfully for a while.
4. Finally the products. Health and wellness products. Cleaning products. Beauty products. Even pet products. And more coming all
the time. Stuff everyone uses everyday.
Now you know what to look
for. The choice is yours.
Find out more about my company.
If it's not for you, then use these guidelines to find a company that is.
We've all been told that raising prices, cutting costs, upselling, and bundling are all great ways to boost our bottom line. But there are other ways to boost your business as well. These ideas may surprise you!
