How many people do you know who fit this description? One day they're hotter than hot about some great new MLM opportunity? Talk to them a month or two later and they're hotter than hot -- about ANOTHER MLM opportunity? But, you sputter, what happened to that first opportunity, the one you were so keen to get me into? "Well," they respond weakly, "it collapsed..." Or, "I couldn't recruit anyone into it..." Or "I didn't get any upline support... But this time..." Yea, we've all heard this before time and time again. Sickening, isn't it?
Fortunately, there are things you can do before you sign to ensure that your time in any MLM opportunity is going to profitable, instead of yet another exercise in futility. These things consist of a series of assessments -- of you and your situation, the company and its situation, and of the necessary components of sales success. Because of what these assessments discover, you're going to have a very good idea in advance of your systematic involvement about whether such involvement makes sense.
Note: Make these assessments as hard-headed as possible. It's amazing to me how many people in MLM continually fall prey to self delusion and hype. As a result, they are constantly disappointed. But this disappointment, take note, is their own fault. The fact that the wrong people constantly get into MLM, that there are worthless programs in the land, that marketing communications are lousy and upline support nonexistent -- these are not the problems. No, the problem is that you didn't do your homework in advance and so avoid them. In short, caveat emptor.
Assess Your Temperament
When you go into MLM on even the tiniest scale, you're becoming an independent consultant, and succeeding as a consultant demands a certain temperament. Of course, you're beguiled by the lure of the riches... but do you have what's necessary -- both in terms of skills and attributes -- to get them. Personally, I've been a consultant now for nearly 15 years -- a large chunk of my adult life. And I have no hesitation telling you what you need to succeed.
When you go into MLM, you're a business owner. And making any business work takes bucks. Just how many, of course, depends on your own situation, including: your objective, your own ability to generate leads, how good you are at closing leads and retaining people in your organization as well as, of course, the actual cost of participating in this opportunity. Are you up to all this?
Just the other day I talked to a fellow who was thinking about joining the Personal Wealth Systems MLM I promote. He and his wife had just had a new child and -- in the same month -- declared personal bankruptcy and lost their home. (No, I'm not making this up!) Yet, without any successful experience in MLM, he was thinking of this as his prime way of making an income! As politely as possible, I advised him to get a real job first... save a little money (his "seed capital") and then get back to me and let me help him. Most MLM hucksters, of course, would have taken him (on the "any warm body" theory of recruitment)... letting the chips fall where they may. Lucky for him, I didn't, but he should have been more responsible for himself instead of relying, a la Tennessee Williams, on the kindness of strangers.
As everyone in business knows, the cost of producing or buying the product or service is the least of one's expenses. The real cost is in ongoing marketing and general overhead. Thus, in MLM, no matter how much you're paying to be in the opportunity, you're going to pay a lot more to market the opportunity and sustain your organization. Are you prepared for this? The sad fact is not only that most MLM companies are egregiously undercapitalized but those who are recruited into them haven't got a clue how much it's going to take to run their shop. Ridiculous!
Assess The Company First: Can You Make Any Money?
Most people go into MLM for one major reason: to make money. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. There are, to be sure, some MLM zealots who joined (so they say) to improve the moral fiber of America; I, however, am not one of them. I went into MLM because it was a way of diversifying my already extensive product and service line and because I knew (I'd done my assessing after all) I could make a heap of money through it. One key constituent of this is making sure the company you select can deliver the lucre. Most companies can't.
Look real hard at how money is made through the MLM opportunity you're considering. Let's say you've chosen one of the ubiquitous companies that forces you to sell diet powders, personal care products or some kind of health device. Just what do you have to do to make the income objective you've set for yourself? Don't just guesstimate the process, either: write it down, step by step until you see how money is made.
If the company tells you you can make an annual six-figure income with their opportunity, find out exactly how they're figured this out. What are the assumptions they're using to compute this return? Are these assumptions reasonable given your circumstances? In other words, can YOU achieve the level of financial success you want? In most cases, you're going to find out you cannot.
Towards this end I'd like to share where I'm coming from on this point. I don't think it's possible to make real money in an MLM unless you have to pay at least a moderate monthly fee (that is over $40) for belonging, unless a substantial portion of this gets paid out to the members based on the size and productivity of their organizations, and if the amount you get is predicated on substantial product sales. In other words, if you're even thinking about joining a company that sells personal care items and where your income is based on how many units of potions and lotions you sell, forget it. Unless you already have a proven buying network in place and unless you're adding this opportunity to your line (and not promoting it solo), run -- don't walk -- from this "opportunity." The same holds true for most of the other so-called "opportunities" available today.
Assess The Company Second: What About Their Customer Skills And Ability To Provide You With Technical Assistance?
I talked to an MLM drop-out the other day who had stayed with an opportunity for 8 months, pumping in money and time all the while, but never made a dime. During this period he kept trying to get the assistance of the company but was continually put off ("We'll call you back.") I couldn't figure out why the guy hadn't chucked the "opportunity" long before he did. "They told me it would take time," he said ruefully, "but they never said how much and so I just kept hanging on." Yikes!
Dear reader, the way a company treats you from Day 1 is the way they're always going to treat you. If their technical assistance is bad at the beginning, it'll be worse later; if you can't get phone calls returned right away, you'll never get them returned. If the people you talk to are disorganized, rude, inefficient, pre-occupied now... they'll be that way in spades afterwards. Thus, ask for references from regular people in the company's organization... not the stars... but the trench troops, people who are like you. Find out if they're happy; find out if they're making it. And find out what they have to say about the company. And always beware what company officials have to say... if they can even be bothered to tell you.
Personally, I know one company where the creature in charge of marketing is a blowhard of mammoth proportions. Uttering one meaningless word after another, he spends the majority of his day telling people how much he "appreciates" them... but is so disorganized he can never deliver on the overblown promises he makes. To get him to return a phone call, respond to a fax -- or, even more importantly, think through what needs to be done and to do it is near impossible. Yet he'll tell you at the drop of a hat what a great marketer he is, usually moments after he'd made yet another elementary error. That the company keeps him in such an important position is beyond understanding, for the harm he does them is enormous. Unfortunately, such people are rampant in this "say anything, do nothing" industry.
Before joining a company make sure:
Assess Their Marketing Materials
One major reason why so many people fail in MLM is because the marketing communications they're provided by the company make failure inevitable. Unfortunately, most people -- not being experts in client-centered marketing -- are not in a position to determine if what the company provides them is sufficient to achieve success. They get their marketing communications. They believe the nonsense the company dishes out. They use the inadequate materials. They fail... while the company, content to milk the rubes of their monthly fees, tells them to be "patient." Dear reader, let me share a marketing truth with you: either the marketing communications you use work right away... or they don't. It isn't a question of "patience"; it's a question of effectiveness.
Given the fact that most individuals -- even those with significant business experience, much less ingenues -- are not going to become marketing specialists, it is therefore the company's responsibility to work hard to produce client-centered marketing communications. These are communications that hammer home benefits... and make an unanswerable case for taking prompt action.
Sadly, even the best MLM companies do not produce such communications. Instead, they specialize in gloating "me-centered" documents full of unsubstantiated adjectives. You can tell such communications right away. They start with things like the company's name, motto, logo, some nonsense about the fact that the opportunity is "revolutionary," "world-class", etc. In other words, a lot of stuff about them -- not you. These, of course, won't work.
The best documents, on the other hand, are directed at one of two people: either the person who is still a prospect... or the person who has already joined who must still regularly be reminded of the benefits of belonging. Either way, the structure of the marketing communications they get is the same, full of lines that go something like this:
Do your marketing communications look like this? I doubt it.
Note: I'm such a fanatic about client-centered marketing and the importance of such documents to organization building and retention that I junked all the company's marketing materials for the opportunity I'm promoted and created my own set of unrelenting materials. Because I knew every Tom, Dick and Harry in MLM would want this set, I put them under copyright protection and strictly limited their use to members of my organization. Not even others in the company generally get to use them. No wonder! If you had to buy these materials from a copywriter, they'd cost $5000+. You bet I'm keen to protect their use!
Conclusion
In another report, I shall go on to provide you with five more areas you must assess before joining any MLM opportunity. As you can already see, however, conscientiously assessing any opportunity you're considering will spare you a lot of grief and lost resources later. All MLM programs are not bad as some shallow people think. There have been many reputable money-making programs over the years... and many exist now. But it is your responsibility to put the opportunity you are considering to sustained scrutiny and decide carefully if it provides the vehicle you need to give you what you want. If the company is good, it will not mind this scrutiny. Indeed, it will invite it. If it's not... why that's yet another sign that you really should carry on your researches elsewhere.
Most people who go into MLM fail to make any money; indeed, most lose their limited grub stakes and are actually worse off after working their opportunity than before. In this regard, there is a distinct parallel to the '49-er's' who risked their all seeking gold... just to get older and poorer in the process. But it doesn't have to be that way! Despite the plethora of abysmal MLM 'opportunities' in the land, there are now -- and have been for years -- good, solid, reputable MLM companies where a reasonable return is possible for reasonable effort.
Unfortunately, it isn't just a question of finding these opportunities; it's also a matter of making sure there's a match between what you're seeking and what they're offering. Thus, in my last report on how to make your experience worthwhile, I discussed the first five crucial factors that must be carefully considered if your success in MLM is to be profitable, namely whether:
Assess Upline Support
Just the other day I startled a new member of my downline organization: I called to make sure he was getting off to a good start. The man almost wept in gratitude, telling me that in the two previous MLM's he'd been in, NO ONE HAD EVER CONTACTED HIM! (Unsurprisingly, both those programs flopped.) I own to being somewhat taken aback by his astonishment and, dare I say it?, gratitude! It never dawned on me that one would recruit a new salesperson (for what else is an MLM participant if not that?) and not welcome him properly and, let it be said, set the objectives and, later, see they were being met. This sensible course may, however, be that of the distinct minority!
Before you join any MLM opportunity, it is your bounded duty to ascertain just how much assistance your upline is going to give you. Presumably these people are as interested as you are in making the opportunity productive; additionally, having been in the opportunity longer and worked with other people in it, both at company headquarters and without, they are in a position to show you how to get off to a faster, more lucrative start. It only makes sense, then, to quiz them about what they will do with you (for the accent is necessarily on the crucial preposition) to make things go apace. Find out if they will:
Assess Your Ability To Generate Leads And Any Lead-Generating Programs Either The Company Or Your Sponsor May Offer
As all business people know, no business can prosper without a steady stream of dependable leads. All successful businesses are based on knowing what these leads cost and what percentage of them you can convert to new business. Thereafter, the game becomes expanding your lead base and increasing your closing percentage. This is a large chunk of what business is all about. Thus, it is crucial for you to assess 1) your own lead-generating facilities and 2) the lead-generating programs offered by the parent company and your sponsors. Let's take a look at each...
-- What facilities do you have for generating your own leads?
The people who are least likely to succeed in MLM are those who are simply promoting just the opportunity itself... instead of promoting the opportunity as part of a diversified product/service line. This stands to reason. Say you have no lead-generating sources whatever, no catalog, no subscription list, no customers, no card-deck leads, no leads from other ad sources, etc. In other words, say you simply decide to take up an MLM opportunity and promote it exclusively, generating your leads accordingly.
The problem in this situation is obvious: the cost of generating your leads is generally too expensive given the money you will make from the opportunity. Here, in a nutshell, is why so many MLM businesses fail so quickly. When you link this to the poor marketing communications being used and the absence of closing skills, it's no wonder over 95% of the people who try to make money from MLM don't. Thus, the first people who should consider going into MLM are those who are already successful in businesses where the kinds of people buying their products/services are those who'd be interested in the product/service being provided through the MLM.
To show you what I mean, consider this: I run, as you may know, a business-to-business catalog, a business-to-business card-deck and nationwide lead generator program, write this column (which reaches over 1.5 million monthly), write business books, etc. In short, I run a linked series of business-related enterprises. Thus, when I went looking for an MLM opportunity it had to be something that fit into this mix. It didn't make sense to add one that promoted primarily personal care products, nutritional supplements, diet powders and drinks, etc. Those just didn't fit. Instead, I selected Personal Wealth Systems, Inc., a company specializing in deep discounts to 250,000 products both individuals and businesses can use and providing a very lucrative business opportunity that would make it attractive to the kinds of people I come in regular contact with -- including, perhaps, you! Thus, people responding to any of my other offerings naturally became instant prospects for PWS and, not surprisingly, many join without any extra, expensive effort.
Equally unsurprisingly, when I started to build my extensive organization, I targeted people in similar situations, people who had existing lead-generating systems. These people included publishers, catalog owners, existing heavy advertisers of products/services, stock brokers, insurance agents, card-deck advertisers and publishers, etc. These people knew nothing about MLM, of course, but that didn't bother me a whit. The basic concept of MLM -- financial leveraging -- can be learned in a couple of minutes. However, the sales techniques that these people have take literally years to learn and perfect. In short, you'd always rather recruit a cracker-jack salesperson than an "expert" in MLM. Remember these words and keep them before you at all times! By the same token, if you have such databases yourself, your absence of knowledge about MLM should pose no barrier to joining. You already have what it takes to succeed.
Note: to show you how powerful this basic truth is, consider the following. I have only been in MLM a short time, but my downline is dozens of times bigger than people who have had experience for years in this field. Why? Because I'm a marketing specialist with existing means of generating -- and closing -- large numbers of leads. This, not MLM experience (which can easily be gained), will always be a critical factor in MLM success.
-- What lead-generating programs do the company and your sponsors offer?
Unfortunately, you may not have in place the means for generating large numbers of leads. That's a drawback, but not an insuperable one. Networks can always be made... if you're willing to put in the time and energy to doing so. In this case, you've got to know what the company and sponsor offer in terms of lead-generating programs.
To my utter astonishment, the large majority of MLM companies fail to have in place any lead-generating program that systematically seeks to generate prospects from classified, space, card-deck and other ads. This is a ridiculous miscalculation! All MLM companies worth their salt should be running such ad programs and offering these leads to their members at cost price. Obviously, most people who need leads in this fashion are not advertising specialists. Equally obviously, they need new leads regularly. It is therefore to the interest of both company and consultant to make sure these leads are promptly forthcoming and not to leave the burden of generating such leads to the untutored consultants themselves. If this is true, why, then, can you run your finger down the list of MLM companies and find hardly a one that offers such a sensible, inexpensive lead-generating program? It just doesn't make sense.
If the company fails to provide such a service, see if your upline sponsor does. In my own case, for instance, I run a lead-generating service that seeks to generate prospects from many different kinds of advertising, including card-decks and space ads. In this way, I can make sure my downline has the leads they need to succeed. And I make at least the card-deck leads available AT COST, which is just the way it should be. Since your upline is going to prosper in other ways by having you in its organization, there is no need for them to make money selling leads, too.
Thus, before you even think of joining any MLM, see how they handle the lead-generation problem. If you can't satisfy all your own lead needs as well as those of the people you recruit, this question will necessarily assume critical significance.
Assess Your Client Follow-up And Closing Skills
One of the invidious notions that has gained ground amongst (inexperienced) people working MLM opportunities is that you can build a successful organization by mail alone. That all you have to go is mail things out... and that enough people to make you rich will simply mail things back. THIS IS UNADULTERATED HOG WASH.
As anyone who has built any kind of business knows, prospects have questions. Some of these questions are frivolous, even stupid, indicating that the "prospect" isn't. Many of their questions, however, are valid, important and must be answered before the prospect will sign up. This is especially true in MLM where many people either don't understand how this proposition works or bring a lot of baggage to the table from previous, unsuccessful experiences or tales they have heard.
As a result, you cannot succeed in building up a profitable MLM business without getting on the phone and talking to people... answering their questions, identifying and isolating their objections, answering these objections, and following up as necessary. This means work!
The idea of such work puts off any number of people who, despite all evidence to the contrary, continue to seek for "get rich quick" scams and shams. They want big money with zero effort. They abhor people contact and are afraid both of getting their hands dirty and facing the constant rejection which is a necessary concomitant of the sales career which is at the heart of successful MLM activity.
Thus, you must scrutinize yourself closely.
I have now talked to dozens of people who were unsuccessful in MLM. Almost without exception, they tell me that they were gulled into believing that they could succeed merely by mailing cards, merely by sending out flyers. That they were never told of the hard work of building an organization and of the need to master the sales skills which are a critical constituent of MLM success. Don't let this be you. Unless you are prepared to learn salesmanship and to continue to perfect your skills, learning from experience, don't go into MLM. You will merely be another casualty of your own stupidity and the lies told by the misleading to the unwary.
Assess Your Willingness And Ability To Work With Your Recruits
This point grows naturally out of the one above. Just as you need technical assistance from both company and upline, so your recruits need ongoing technical assistance from you. Are you willing and able to provide it? If not, don't go into MLM.
The glory of MLM is that if it is done properly people with limited resources can generate significant financial rewards by enlisting the support of a nationwide sales force, each of whom (properly coached and directed) will provide ongoing, generally monthly revenue. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with this concept.
What's wrong, however, is that all too many people in MLM focus on 1) income, then 2) recruitment, leaving 3) retention sadly in the rear. This is ridiculous! While recruitment is logically prior, retention is significantly more important in the long run, since you make more money by retaining than by continually recruiting, especially where each retained recruit is paying a monthly membership fee.
To this end, are you willing to: keep in close touch with your downline? Work through problems with them promptly, efficiently? Act as their own customer service liaison to the company and, where necessary, their recruits? Will you push, prod, wheedle, nudge, praise, chide and, always, keep on keepin' on? If not, this isn't the business for you! If you're going to be a success in MLM you cannot be only a successful sales person; you must also become a top-drawer sales manager, the force behind the successful efforts of an organization which may, in time, number hundreds, if not thousands, of others.
Assess Your Ability To Keep Assessing The Situation To Improve It
While all the previous 9 points are obviously significant, this tenth one may be the most significant of all, involving as it does your willingness and ability to alter your behavior as necessary both to preserve and augment your success. To this end, I'm thinking about an MLM-er I know who happens to be a well-known columnist and, so he says, "business authority." Unfortunately, he is also one of America's most accomplished whiners. He's been recruiting for his MLM organization about the same amount of time as I have, yet he has only about 5% as many recruits as I do. Reason? The techniques he uses don't work... but he's so pig-headed he won't think of altering them. Instead he fills fax after fax with detailed complaints "explaining" why he's doing so poorly, seeking to shift the blame every which way instead of where it squarely belongs: on himself. Don't do this.
Understand that to grow a business means being willing to constantly assess all your techniques to see which of them can be improved, which must be jettisoned as now unproductive. One of the reasons for my success is that I'm unendingly adaptable. I'm the magpie of marketing, taking a crumb here, a notion there, filching a productive idea from an unproductive situation, dumping the weakest component of an otherwise brilliant success. You must do the same!
Every day I make a bargain with God: I tell Him that if he continues to let me learn, I shall not only keep learning but applying what I learn. Over the years, this celestial hand-shake has stood me in good stead. And I commend it to you.
Conclusion
MLM works. There are people -- quiet, unassuming, steady people -- whose names you mostly do not know who are doing quite well, thank you, from MLM. They will recognize in these two reports lessons which they themselves regularly apply. Some day you may well find yourself among these people -- the best of whom make a million a year or more from MLM. If you do, I suspect it will be because you became master of these assessment techniques and used them religiously to build a prodigious and profitable MLM organization for yourselves and those you recruited. Godspeed.
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