The Best Way to Fail in Six Months or Less

Question…Why did you decide to join the network marketing industry?

I guarantee your answer is somewhere along these lines, “I wanted to make some extra money and become financially free.”

Your right in thinking that network marketing can positively affect your financial future. In fact, it is among the only type of business that does NOT rely on your education level, social class, location or race. It is as far reaching as it is unlimited in its potential to earn wealth.

When you talk to prospects about your business, how do you broach the topic?

More than likely you make a not so subtle brief lead in statement and then hit them with the opportunity.  You try to stick to the corporate script hoping your prospect will ask you questions about your network marketing company and its products or services.

The truth is you cannot convince someone who doesn’t have a need or interest in what you have to offer.  You’re barking up the wrong tree.  Sure, one or two may say ‘yes’ initially, but if you’ve been in network marketing any length of time, you know that’s not enough.  The hardest thing to do is motivate someone to work as hard as you do.  Next question…

How much money have you spent so far?

I’ve seen many distributors spend hundreds of dollars in one shot at corporate ‘pep rally’ events. Did you know that many top tier network marketers admit to being thousands of dollars in debt?  In fact,  it’s quite common.  In addition to the initial enrollment fees, product packs, and marketing packages, they’ve accumulated hundreds or thousands (depending on how long they’ve been in the industry) in advertising expenses, purchasing opportunity leads, monthly auto-ship requirements and travel expenses.  Broke and in debt, a very high number of network marketers drop out.

What have you been taught?

Think about it, how successful can your marketing efforts actually be when it’s targeted to people who never directly asked you for information? 

Which brings up a good point, 95% of people who get involved in MLM have absolutely no formal training in marketing. The methods widely taught in Network Marketing are completely contrary to those used by business savvy retailers and marketing experts.  Could this contribute to the high failure rate? 

You’re encouraged to get in people’s faces and hit them in the eye with your message. Constantly trying to sneak in your opportunity message into every conversation you have.   How many of you can actually enjoy telemarketing?  How do you respond to calls like that?

Network marketers are pushed to work harder and harder.  But that’s not the solution.

The goals and aspirations of network marketing can only be realized through the use of the most powerful social medium today…the Internet. It is by far, the perfect tool used by a growing number of network marketers to explode their down line while simultaneously realizing huge financial gain.

Develop skills that teach you how to work smarter not harder.  Slowly, network marketers like you, are catching on to just how the Internet can exponentially multiply their own efforts in ways they could not possible accomplish on their own.   This requires a shift in your thinking.  Instead of “one, two or three new representatives” a week you’ll have 15, 20 or 30 every month.  That’s exactly what I saw when I took my business building efforts online. 

When you’ve exhausted your initial contact list of 20, 30 or even 50 people and just about alienated everyone of your family, friends and peers what are you left with?  Was it really worth the effort?  Your upline will likely tell you to do one of three things:

·         Purchase leads.

·         Start at the beginning again and rework your list.

·         Keep the faith.

Although I am a big believer in faith, running a business requires planning, strategizing and a solid monetization plan.

The goals and aspirations of network marketing can only be realized through the use of the most powerful social medium today…the Internet. It is by far, the perfect tool used by a growing number of network marketers to explode their down line while simultaneously realizing huge financial gain.

How to Protect Your Investment in Network Marketing

Would you invest thousands all in one company that inconsistently yields less than 1% return on your investment? Would you consider that a good return? The rich don’t think that way and neither should you!

If you’ve ever invested in stocks or mutual funds and such, you know that it’s extremely important to diversify your portfolio. Why? Because, it is the best way to protect yourself and your money. Should one company fail to live up to expectations, you minimize your losses. This is even the more relevant in network marketing industry.

Don’t think your network marketing company will fail you?

Distributors Rights Association is dedicated to defending MLM distributors from unfair tactics used against them by their network marketing company. It logs and displays the more recent incidents of MLM distributor suspensions, terminations, and fraud within the industry. There are lawyers who specialize in these cases and they are kept very busy.

• Distributor suspension is one step before termination. The MLM company will suspend all income from a distributor while it considers as to whether or not any rules have been broken. However, D.R.A. has noted a growing trend among floundering MLM companies to use this tactic against their top distributors and “buffer up their coffers.”
  
• Distributor termination is another common complaint. Let’s say your doing very well and moving up the ranks of your MLM company. In fact, your doing better than your upline (not surprising when using the Internet to build your business). DRA has recorded cases of false allegation against another distributor who has much to gain by their termination. Most often, the company does not do a thorough check investigation and all too quickly terminates the accused and the distributor loses all contact information with his/her downline as well as all monies earned. The accuser on the other hand, inherits the terminated distributor’s downline and all the income generated from it.
• Similarly, there are recorded incidents of top selling distributors suddenly cut-off from the company and their downline. Failing MLM companies have been known to cut off some of the top earners in an effort to lower their expenses. The example used was when you have a distributor who brings in $20,000 worth of business and receiving $50,000 in earnings. The company will consider the $20,000 an acceptable loss in light of the fact they save $30,000 after terminating the distributor ($50,000 – $20,000 = $30,0000 savings).

Look, do you believe your house will burn down, or a flood will suddenly destroy your property? No, and neither do I. However, I still pay a monthly premium for my homeowners insurance just in case. This affords me protection for the things I have worked hard to obtain. In essence, it protects my investments, my assets from certain risks.

Think of all the effort and time you are putting into building your MLM/Network Marketing business. The hard truth is that it does not belong to you. You don’t have exclusive say or ownership over your network.

Think about this…why are you investing so much time, money and effort in something you don’t own? At any time, the company could conceivably cut you and several other distributors or IBOs off from their downline. Top distributors bringing in well over $10,000 a month and living a comfortable life when suddenly there were cut off from the company, their own downline and income. It’s happened to many others before. Isn’t that enough of a reason to start taking some precautionary measures?

So how can you protect yourself?

For network marketers, the question is not “how can I become a top tier network marketer?” Think of your network marketing business as just an extension of your online business. Instead, ask yourself, “How can I use Network marketing as another income stream for my business.”

Start an online business of your own with multiple streams of income, including your network marketing’s products/services. Consider your MLM as only one of several sources of income. There are many ways to successful build an income stream using the net including information marketing, affiliate marketing, selling digital and hard goods, selling advertising space, and many others.

Did you know that in most MLM companies, a distributor’s down-line cannot be inherited by their children? They too will have to start from scratch. Use your online presence to target a ripe audience already looking for network marketing opportunities.  A well plannned website will qualify your leads and compile a targeted list of warm leads for you.  This lsit is yours! All the while you are making money from everyone visiting your site even if they don’t join your MLM.

To quote a common American expression,  ‘take the bull by the horns’  and learn how to protect yourself, your business and your family’s future first. Having your own online business and multiple income stream protects and is something you can pass along to your children in the long run.