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 may 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.
What you are looking to do is to be paid on a regular basis, you want monthly income coming in from your customers so look for products that will provide that.
Apart from being consumable, another important factor is how ‘needed’ this product or service is. If the product on offer is one that can be picked up locally then chances are you will not do as well as if you are selling a unique product that is hard (or at least harder) to find.
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).
Once you join you must pay the full fee, and it is important for potential distributors to know this in advance. Rather than a hindrance this is actually an excellent policy for stopping potential distributors from joining who want to “try it out” or who are not serious about building a business. After all nothing is worse than spending 6 months of supporting a distributor to then have them leave because they found a better service. Having this in place means that distributors who join are immediate in for the long haul and are ready to begin building a profitable business with your help.
7. A wide and even global market if possible.
With the arrival of the world wide web you will find that many network marketing companies are now becoming global, and in fact if they are not I would question why not! Business survival now depends on being able to operate online and the internet provides you with the opportunity to widen your market reach.
Also look at the potential customer base as well. Does your opportunity appeal to all ages and groups, or is it limited to one or two in particular? Some of the most popular network marketing opportunities are those that run from the internet and offer you the chance to promote via a website.
Choosing a company that has a product or service for which there is no ready market will make it very difficult on the distributor. And in this industry encouragement and a fairly easy way to recruit are essential if you are going to survive!
Network marketing is one of those business models that provide success for people who are determined to succeed. You do not need any particular background or level of education, and as long as you have a “never give up” attitude and are willing to put in the hours it takes then you will go far.
The financially important aspect of network marketing is the fact that it provides you with an opportunity to earn continuous income. In fact once you have grown your team to a certain size you have very little to do and the money keeps on coming!
If you work in a job or run your own business it provides a welcome and important secondary income. Nothing is secure anymore and being able to tap into other sources of income outside your main one is being seen as an essential activity to engage in.
A sad reality of the MLM industry is that there are many scam artists that come along just for the quick cash just before they close shop and disappear, which is why due diligence is so very important. Watch out for scam artists that want to charge you a lot of money, make huge promises on commission, and are not delivering quality products. These people pray on the fact that we basically can be quite lazy and want things quick and easy. They also pray on human emotion, if we are stuck financially and believe that getting involved will earn us quick money.
Stick to a company with years of experience, a great product, a fantastic sponsor and support for its distributors and you really can’t go wrong.
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