Principles for MLM Success

Network marketing is amazing. In my over thirty-five years of working, it’s the only form of business I’ve found that offers a level playing field. In other words, anyone can become successful in network marketing. The great part is that others have already blazed the trail, so it’s just a matter of looking at what they did and doing the same thing. Over the last ten years, I’ve had the distinct honor to interview many top income earners and in this article I will share some of their principles for success.

1. Coachable – MLM is a business of duplication. Those who have already been successful will share their secrets to success and all you need to do is listen and do what they tell you to do. Unfortunately, I was not very coachable in the beginning. I was successful in traditional business and figured I could do the same things and be successful in network marketing. Boy, was I wrong and because I didn’t listen to my upline leaders, I didn’t make any money. They’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and the pay-check to prove it, so be coachable and duplicate their success.

2. Dreams, Goals, and Objectives – Studies have shown that very few people have written dreams and goals, yet those who do, achieve high levels of success. Identify your dreams first – if time and money were not inhibitors, what would your life look like? Describe your dream house in great detail? Likewise, your dream car, vacations, wardrobe, lifestyle, and so on.

From those dreams, goals can be developed. A dream is the big picture and goals are the steps that will get you to the dreams. For example, let’s say your dream car is a Mercedes SL65 with a cost of $225,000 and a monthly payment of around $3,800. What are the steps necessary to achieve that dream? An increase in your income might be necessary – so the goal would be to increase your monthly income to let’s say $10,000.

Next, you break that goal down into bite-size objectives (the things necessary to increase your monthly income to $10,000). Each day you should review your dreams, goals, and objectives in order to determine your daily activities.

3. Work – Network marketing has probably produced more millionaires than any other industry and although each of those people built their businesses with different companies and using different methods, they all did one thing – WORK. MLM is not a get rich quick scheme. It’s a get rich through hard work business. One of the main differences I see in those who fail and those who succeed is the level of work. Most of those who fail treated their MLM business like a hobby – working whenever they had some spare time. However, the top income earners work their business every day. Let’s say that after a thorough evaluation of your schedule, that you can only devote ten hours a week to your business. Take a daily planner and block out those available time slots and commit to working your business. Now, work is not filing, checking e-mail, or surfing the web. Work in MLM is prospecting, presenting, follow-up, registering new associates, training, and support. In the beginning, you should spend 90% of your time in prospecting, presenting, follow-up, and signing up new people. As your network builds, you can devote more time to training and support, but never, never, never stop prospecting or your business will die.

4. Consistently Persistent – Most network marketers give up to early. They expect to make $10,000 their first month and when they don’t, they quit. Just like any business, it takes time to build an MLM business. You are going to have to contact a lot of people, give many presentations, and endure a great deal of rejection. However, it is the person who is consistently persistent, that will succeed. If you are duplicating a successful system, then the only thing separating you from success is time. When things are looking dark, keep going. Make one more call. Talk with one more person. Follow-up one more time. If you are with the right company, you should never give up.

5. Make a Million Friends – The advice that made the biggest impact on my success in network marketing was to go out with the idea of making a million friends, instead of a million dollars. You can only be successful in network marketing if you help others become successful. So, every day go out to find some new friends, who you can help become successful in your business. Forget about your wants and needs and serve. This is called servant leadership – you lead by serving those you lead. The more friends you make and serve, the greater your success in network marketing.

These are just a few of the principles of success. I’m sure that your sponsor and upline leaders have their own list, so make sure you ask them for their principles for success. Now, the final key is that it’s one thing to have this knowledge and it’s a whole different thing to actually do what you’ve learned. Be a doer and watch your business and income skyrocket.

Power Prospecting

If you talk with the top income earners in network marketing, they will all say that prospecting is the key to success. It’s just like prospecting for diamonds, the more successful you are, the higher your income. Diamonds are very valuable and you don’t have to find very many of them to become wealthy. In network marketing, it’s the same – all you have to do is find a few diamonds. So, how do you find them? That’s what we’re going to discuss in this article.

First, let’s examine what a network marketing diamond looks like. Quite often, they will surprise you. My friend, Collette was a single mom with five children. She had no education beyond high school, was working as a part-time secretary, and had a mountain of debt. On the outside, Collette didn’t seem like a diamond, but she had a big reason to succeed. So, the first quality of a diamond is a big purpose or “why”. If the “why” is big enough, everything else will fall into place. Today, Collette is the top income earner in the network marketing company she represents. Beyond the big “why”, diamonds are also open to coaching, they schedule daily time for their business, they’re positive and upbeat, and they feel blessed and are grateful to have found the right business.

Now, let’s discuss how you can find those diamonds. As in the epic story, Acres of Diamonds, you may have diamonds right in your back yard. They could be your parents, children, other relatives, friends, co-workers, pastor, accountant, attorney, hair stylist, and so on. These are the people who make up your warm market (people you know and who know you). Typically, when you join a network marketing company, you are instructed to make a list of everyone you know and begin contacting them about your business. Unfortunately, this usually turns out to be disastrous, as the new networker is not prepared to handle the questions and objections. However, the warm market is a good place to find diamonds, so here is a time-proven, rejection-proof method for prospecting in your warm market.

Instead of calling the people you know and telling them all about your company, spend the time finding out about their life. Use F.O.R.M. – that’s Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Money. In your conversation, ask them questions about time with the family, how their job or business is going, what vacations they have planned, and how they are preparing for their financial future. As you ask the questions, listen for areas that are causing stress – working too many hours, not enough time with the family, possible lay-off, no time or money for vacations, no savings or extra money for investments, etc. Make notes of those areas and when you have two or three stress areas, then it’s time to present the concept of your business, with a question like: “You have several areas that seem to be causing stress (mention each one briefly) and I’m wondering if you would be open to a possible solution?” If the person responds favorably, then present information about your business and how it will be a solution to their areas of stress.

Beyond your warm market, there is a whole world full of diamonds. All you have to do is sift through the dirt to find them. Even better, would be if they found you. This is called attraction marketing. You set yourself up as an authority and high quality prospects come to you. One of the best training programs on attraction marketing is called Magnetic Sponsoring by Mike Dillard. It will teach you how set yourself up to attract quality prospects. Visit http://RWN.magneticsponsoringonline.com to order Mike’s book and participate in his program.

Another great way to find diamonds is through purchased leads. There are a number of companies that do the advertising for you and some even do the prequalification. You are working with people who are already interested in operating a home business, so all you have to do is present your company. Most of the lead companies provide you with scripts and some even offer phone training. The company I have used for many years is Cutting Edge Media, http://www.cuttingedgemedia.com.

A number of top network marketers built their large networks through advertising. They place small classified ads in the newspaper, business magazines, and on the internet. The add shares a few of the benefits of a network marketing business – fire your boss, time and financial freedom, travel, great tax benefits – and then directs the respondent to either call and listen to a recorded message or visit a web site. The message and site will continue to create curiosity, so that the prospect will move on to the next step – a phone call with you.

There are many, many methods for prospecting. Take the time to talk with top income earners in your company about how they prospect. Read books, listen to tapes/CDs, attend teleconferences, and web conferences. Become a sponge for information about prospecting. Decide which methods are going to fit you and your life best and put them to work every day. Work consistently and persistently and soon, you will have a network full of diamonds.

How to Choose the Right Network Marketing Company

When I was first introduced to network marketing in 1979 there were far fewer companies than there are today.  Back then, people didn’t go searching for the right network marketing business, but today it’s quite common.  In fact, I believe that in order to achieve a high level of success in network marketing, you must be with the right company.  Since there are well over 3,000 companies and more popping up every week, the task of finding the right one is often daunting.

Back in the seventies and eighties, it was difficult to research the network marketing industry, but today, primarily because of the internet, it’s quite easy to gather the information that you need in order to make an educated decision.  In the past most people got into network marketing because a friend, family member, or co-worker introduced the company.  Unfortunately, in most cases, this was not the right company and so it resulted in failure or at best moderate success.  Today, you are not forced to go with whatever company is introduced.  Now, you can do your own research and find the company that is going to be best for you.

Choosing the right company doesn’t guarantee your success, however it does increase your odds.  Ultimately your success in network marketing is determined by what you do.  Network marketing is all about building a network of people all buying/using products/services.  Your job is quite simple: provide information about your business to people, answer questions and objections, follow-up, sponsor, train, and support.  Those who have reached the highest levels of success are those who have done more than those who have failed.

Working in the right company will increase your excitement and enthusiasm, which will make all of the necessary tasks much easier and more enjoyable.  Having chosen the right company will increase the odds that the company will be around for many years to come – providing you and your family with financial security.

So, how do you choose the right company? Here are the key factors to consider:

1.      Company – Carefully research the company. How long have they been in business as a network marketing company? If they are a new company (under 2 years old) then carefully examine the financial backing and experience of the management team. They should have a solid mix of people who have been involved in managing successful traditional and/or network marketing companies. It's also best if the management team includes people who have been successful distributors. Research the internet to see if the company has any lawsuits or large numbers of people complaining. A solid company is the foundation for your network marketing success. If the company is solid, you can move on to number two.

2.      Product/Service – First, is this a product or service you can get passionate about? If not, then you might want to find another company. Second, is this a product or service that is in high demand and will be for many years to come? Third, is this a consumable product or service, where people must re-order every month? Fourth, is the product or service unique in some way?

3.      Compensation Plan – Is the plan easy to understand and explain? Does it reward the new person who sponsors a couple people or do you have to sponsor hundreds to make a decent income? Check to see if there are individual and group volume or purchase requirements, so you can weigh that monthly investment into your decision. Find the average amount of time it takes to reach that level. Find out if the commissions are paid monthly, weekly, or daily. Weekly is actually best, as it puts less strain on the company and yet provides quick and consistent pay. The plan should enable a person who has never been involved in network marketing to recoup their initial investment and cover their monthly investment within the first 3 or 4 months. It should also be lucrative enough to attract the big hitters and should enable people to develop a long-term residual income that they will receive whether they work in the business or not.

4.      Marketing – Does the company offer full-color marketing pieces, DVD presentations, and customizable associate web sites? Is there training available that teaches you how to market your business? Make sure that the company has developed a solid internet based ordering system (so your customers can order via a web site). Also, the web site should allow you to sponsor new associates.

5.      Training – Does the company offer a reasonably priced (under $50) associate training kit? Is there training available on the web? Are there conventions and conferences available in cities near you? Are their weekly webinars and teleconferences.

These are the five main factors you should consider when choosing a company. When companies meet your criteria, then you have to use your gut instinct to make a final decision. Does this company feel right? Do I have a sense of peace? If so, then you are ready to join and begin a successful career in network marketing.

5 Questions Prospects Are Asking

In my 32 years of involvement in the network marketing industry, I’ve heard tens of thousands of questions. Network marketing is an often misunderstood business and so often the questions have allowed me to help someone gain a greater understanding of this business.

I find that there are some consistent questions that candidates ask (either verbally or in their head), when considering involvement in a network marketing business. The answers to these questions will help them make a decision, so it is critical to know these questions and how to answer them.

In this article, my intention is to introduce five information gathering questions and the typical answers I give to those questions. Since there are many other questions that can and will be asked, I highly recommend that every network marketer sit down with an upline leader and talk about the typically asked questions and how to answer them. Those who learn how to answer the most commonly asked questions, will succeed in business.

Here are the top five information gathering questions:

1. Isn’t this a pyramid?

My answer: “Pyramids are illegal in all fifty states and the business I’m involved in is a legal network marketing business. The primary difference is that, according to the Attorney General (this information is available on most State Attorney General web sites), if this were a pyramid, you would get paid a fee to recruit people into your business. In my business, I only get paid if products are sold from the company to someone within my network – either a customer or associate. Also, in a pyramid scheme, the only people who make money are those who get in first, but in my company everyone has an equal opportunity to make money and become the top income earner in the company. Can you see how this isn’t an illegal pyramid?”

2.  Do people really make money doing this?

Here’s my answer: “Yes, but the only people who do are those who treat this like a business and work at it every day. Money is made when products (services) are sold within your network, so if you want to earn a solid income, you will need to recruit a network of people who are buying and selling products (services). The company provides excellent training and I will be there to help you succeed, but ultimately the success or failure of your business is up to you. So, are you ready to start making money?”

3.  Does this require sales?

I will ask: “Do you enjoy sales?” If they say “no” then I say, “That’s great because you don’t have to be salesperson in order to succeed. This is a business of sharing information and we have great tools that will present the products/services and business to your candidates. All you do is work with those who are interested.” Now, if they say that they like sales, I say, “That’s great, people who are good at sales often do very well in this business.”

4. How much time does this require?

In other words, they’re life is busy and they aren’t sure this will fit. Here’s my answer: “That will depend upon your goals. If you would like to make a few dollars a month, you could probably invest five hours a week or less. However, if you want to develop a full time income, so that you can fire your boss and enjoy more time freedom, then you will need to invest at least 15 hours a week. The great part is that we have tools that will help you leverage that time. Let’s take a look at those tools and then your schedule to see if this is going to work for you.”

5. Do I have to talk with my friends and family?

This usually indicates that they’ve either had some personal experience with network marketing or they’ve talked with someone who has. Here is how I answer this question: “That all depends on whether you care for your friends and family. This can be a life-changing business. Those who succeed enjoy complete time and financial freedom. Do you think any of your friends or family members would like to enjoy either of those?” The candidate will offer a hesitant “yes” and I continue: “That’s great, then let’s only offer this business to those who want the benefits. The best part is that you can provide them with one of our great marketing tools and it will do the presenting. I will be there with you to answer questions and help you help them get started, how does that sound?”

As your candidates ask questions keep in mind that although it can seem confronting, it’s a sign that they are interested. They are asking questions to gain the information necessary in order to make an educated decision. If their questions are effectively answered, the odds of them joining are increased. I have found that one of the primary differences between the top income earners and those who fail in network marketing, is the ability to answer the most common questions.