Just Do It!

Nike made the phrase popular and it is perfect for network marketing. Having been in the industry for over 29 years, I've had a chance to work with tens of thousands of network marketers and have found there are many reasons why people fail, but the consistent number one is lack of productive action.

To build a large and lucrative network marketing business, you need to do X things:

1. Learn - gain knowledge about your company, products/services, and compensation plan. You don't have to know everything, but at least know where to get the answers.

2. Prospect - talk with people about your business. There many great methods for prospecting. Make sure you talk with your upline leaders about how they are doing it. The key here is to think of your business like a funnel. You place a lot of new prospects in the top (which is wide) and a few come out the bottom (which is narrow). The more you put in, the more will come out.

3. Sponsor - the key here is to sponsor people correctly. Most network marketing businesses have a starter kit that costs under $50. This is the cost to join a company. However, if you are working with a legitimate product company, you will want your new recruits to understand the products and that requires them to use them. So, typically there is a starter product pack that you should recommend. Also, they will need a web site and marketing materials, so make sure you include all those things in their starter pack. If you start people out right, they have a much better chance of success. You should also work with your upline leaders to set goals for the number of new people you will sponsor monthly. In the beginning, you should invest 90% of your time to prospecting and sponsoring. Once you've built a good size network with a number of solid leaders, who are building on their own, then you can back off a bit, but you should never go below 50% of your time dedicated to prospecting and sponsoring.

4. Train - poor or lack of training is another primary reason for failure in network marketing, so make sure that your new recruits get good training. Check with your company and upline to see what is already offered. For the first 30 days, you should stay very close to your new recruit. Your goal should be to help them recruit at least a couple new people in their first month and to get them earning $500 a month as quickly as possible. If a person is making $500 a month, they will stick. Offer yourself for personal meetings and 3-way calls with prospects. Then help your new recruits train their new recruits.

5. Support - once your downline members are up and running on their own, continue to support them through encouragement, contests, advanced training, gatherings - meetings/teleconferences, etc. Your job is to build a cohesive team that is all striving toward success together. TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More.

Determine how much time you can commit to your business every week and then do these five things. If you do this consistently, you will be successful and enjoy the fruits of your labor - time and financial freedom.