7 Steps to Winning the Network Marketing Game

Network marketing, also known as multi level marketing (mlm) involves the process of distributing products through a team of independent business distributors, and has in its time been tainted with some very negative publicity.

But despite that, network marketing has survived and is a fantastic business model when you find the right company. It is one of the few business industries where the opportunity to earn money is only limited by your own mind! But the difficult question to answer is always "What company should I become a distributor for?"

Below are 7 very important aspects to consider when thinking about becoming an independent distributor for a network marketing company. If they can tick all the boxes mentioned here then chances are they will make a great company to become involved with.

Due diligence is important before you start because nothing is worse than finding yourself involved with a company that doesn't last, or finding yourself ready to give up because you did not get the support you require.

1. Look at the experience of your sponsor

I have placed this first because it is even more important (in my opinion) than looking at the company. You can join the best company in the world and get no support, or a small network company and have constant daily support that helps you to achieve your financial goals.

The thing to look at is the experience of your sponsor in helping you with this business. Many people will be working full time while building their business, or they may be a sole proprietor earning extra revenue. Take a look at what they do or did in their main job and how those skills can help you when you are building your business.

You also want to find out how accessible they are. Can you easily get hold of all their contact details? How long does it take them to respond to your calls or emails? Of course this ma y not be an indication of how they will help you after you join. They may start off attentive until you are in their team. But it can also be an indication of a supportive sponsor.

Do they offer any activities or business building resources outside of the normal company ones? Maybe they run tele-seminars for their team, or provide worksheets that will help you plan your business.

You can succeed without an attentive sponsor, but it makes life so much easier, and really shortens the learning curve when you have one.

You should seek to align yourself with an experienced leader and learn as much as possible from his or her recruiting methods. Be sure to investigate your sponsor because that can be the one factor that determines success or failure for you. It is said that misery loves company; so does success.

2. How Stable Is The Company?

Now take a look at the company. Have they been trading for more than 5 years? Do they have solid financial backing? Excellent management? Training and Resources? A 'distributor first' philosophy? These things are important. You have the advantage of being able to choose from a huge range of network marketing businesses, so why choose one that doesn't care?

You want to make sure that learning how to make money as a distributor is easy to understand, and you want to make sure that the company has been doing it long enough to believe they will be around for a while.

You know the saying that the proof of the pudding is in the eating; just so the proof of the stability of a Network Marketing company is in the duration of survival.

3. What customer support is available?

What support is offered for new distributors as they learn the ropes? How are established distributors looked after? You want to know this not only for you, but for everyone that you will introduce into the business. If you introduce someone who becomes unhappy with the lack of support they will give up and leave very quickly. It takes a lot of work to build your team, don't let lack of customer support ruin it.

Usually as a distributor you are also the customer, so what support is offered on that end? Is customer support for your potential customers easy to get hold of and do they have a policy for answering questions quickly?

4. What products are available?

What you are looking for here is quality, it is a tough enough job to spend your time recruiting new distributors without having to deal with unhappy customers. High quality (unique if possible), reasonably priced products or services.

It has been a tradition of network marketing companies to produce high end, great quality products because the thousands saved on advertising is instead used in product creation and distributor training.


5. Compensation Plan

I have already mentioned that a successful MLM company will have a "distributor first" philosophy. In no other place should this be exhibited more than in the compensation plan. It takes only some simple arithmetic to see how many sales or distributors you need in your organization in order to be in profit. Most people don't take the time to do the math and sometimes are "deceived" by the fancy potential income charts that are put out by the company.

Take a good long look at the whole compensation plan, do not skim through this because it seems "boring." Also avoid getting taken in by claims of 60% compensation and other large percentage claims.

Many companies provide training and promotional materials for their distributors but it is often difficult to strike a balance between product promotion and distributor training. And distributor training normally takes a backseat (which is why a great sponsor is important - see No1 above). You should be wary of companies that charge exorbitant prices for their promotional materials. You are investing your advertising dollars so the company should not seek to make a profit from you here-although many do.

6.Terms and Conditions

Of equal importance to the compensation plan are the terms and conditions. Look to see whether you are tied in for a certain period and whether you are willing to comply with that. Check out whether there is anything stopping you from immediately leaving the company. In the company that I am a distributor for you are paying for a package. They provide a monthly option for those not able to pay the full price upfront, but you cannot turn around a few months later and decide to leave (although a settlement fee is available).

Read More