Downline Builder (software review)

I've always received a lot of inquiries from networkers wanting to know if there is a good software program for tracking downlines. Now I have something good to recommend.

The Downline Builder by Kaizen Software is a full-featured program for Windows that is designed from the ground up for the professional networker.

Not only does The Downline Builder help you organize and analyze information, it actually motivates you to build your business. The first time you run the program, it will take you through an interview, where you answer questions about your phone numbers, your sponsor, and your MLM company. Then, you're asked to fill in the names of 20 prospects. These prospects go directly into your prospect database.

The program is very flexible and able to accommodate a variety of downline structures. You can assign a name (Gold Ambassador, Diamond, etc.) to each of up to 14 levels of downline ranks.

The Downline Builder presents you with a graphical, hierarchical view of your downline. You can customize your view of the hierarchy to fit the growth patterns of your company and navigate your way up, down and sideways. Clicking on any downline member will bring up detailed information on that person. You can also mark entire sections of your downline -- perhaps a group of people to whom you wish to place phone calls -- and print out their names and phone numbers. You can even "zoom in" on specific areas of your organization and look at them in more detail.

If you have downline members who are also using The Downline Builder, you can import their information into your database. For any distributor in your organization, you can get a numerical analysis of how many distributors they have at each level, and the total number of distributors in their organization.

The Downline Builder permits you to keep very detailed information prospects, customers and distributors in your organization. The database includes places for name, address, several phone numbers, fax, email, and custom fields for storing information such as distributor ID. For distributors, it keeps track of their upline (with a separate field for sponsor). You can also mark individual distributors as "leaders" so you can quickly find all your leaders for special events, phone calls or mailings. The database tracks personal information, such as birthday, spouse's and children's names, and the person's current goal. And if that's not enough, there's a "scratch pad" for each individual where you can make additional notes about the person.

In my opinion, the most useful part of The Downline Builder for networkers is the Phone Builder. After you've "marked" individuals and groups in your database, you can create a phone session to contact all the people you've identified. For each phone session, a purpose and six possible outcomes (Busy, No Answer, Left Message, and three others that you specify) can be entered. Then, you just go through the list. The Downline Builder displays the name and phone number(s) of each callee on the list, along with the purpose of the call, the possible outcomes, and space for you to make notes. At the completion of each call, you simply check the appropriate outcome, type in any note you might wish to make, and click on the arrow to go to the next person. It's a fantastic tool that keeps you focused and productive. With The Downline Builder, there's no excuse not to call that list of prospects, or those new distributors. In fact, it's fun to go through the list and check off each name. At any point in your phone session, The Downline Builder can display the status of the session (how many are coming to the meeting, how many didn't answer, how many you still need to call, etc.)

There's also a calendar for scheduling meetings and other events, and a to-do list for tasks that don't have a specific time period associated with them. Each event can be linked with a specific person in your database, and a repetition option lets you schedule events (such as opportunity meetings) that repeat on a regular basis.

And there is even a function that helps you think of prospects by giving you a long list of "memory joggers" (Places where you are a customer, Neighbors, Friends of friends, etc.)

It is obvious that a great deal of thought went into the creation of The Downline Builder, and that has been designed by experienced networkers. What I find so exciting about this program was that not only does it organize information in a way that's very useful for networkers, it also provides motivation to do the business. Looking at a graphical representation of my downline made me want to start calling people so I could add more little rectangles to the picture. This is something that will help the new distributor get off on the right foot, and will help the seasoned professional to make better use of his/her time.

The Downline Builder is available through the Upline Resources catalog. To order or for more information, call 804-979-4427. The software retails for $69.95 and is available to Upline Subscribers for $59.95. Upline accepts all major credit cards and offers an unconditional money-back guarantee.

The software requires an IBM-compatible computer running Windows 3.1 or higher with a minimum of 4 megabytes of RAM. Kaizen recommends a 486 or better with at least 8 megabytes of RAM. It seems to run fine on my sister-in-law's 486 with 4 megabytes of RAM. My only complaint is that they don't have a Macintosh version yet, so I can't use the program on a daily basis.

At the Downline Builder Web site you can get more info, see screen shots from the program and even download a free demo.

This is a very useful program and I recommend that you take a look at it.

Ralph Marston