General info on Multi Level Marketing

I am researching a few programs to possibly start promoting. It seems like the 2-up systems reduce the teamwork concept, since you have to break away from your original sponsor after your first 2 sales? The programs that pay several levels deep would seem tp naturally promote more teamwork with all the team members who benefit financially from the downline sales? Is this an accurate comparison? I am looking at a couple of vacation programs, 2 are 2-ups and 1 claims "perpetual leverage" to unlimited depth and width. It just seems that the 2-up doesn't provide for the teamwork that the deep-down programs do?

Hi Jaxman

I personally would stay away from 1 up or 2 up systems, why would you want to pass up commissions to your sponsor. for your hard work.
Matrix programs are nice but do not rely on your sponsor to produce spillover for you. You have to make your own success. If that is the way you want to go ask questions before you join. Find a sponsor who will answer any questions you have and really wants to help you succeed and is not looking for just another commission.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
2008 Is The Year Of The Turn-Around!!

What do you have that you would like to turn-around? Family relationships? money, job? Whatever it is... SPEAK IT!!!

Quoting: mycatsI personally would stay away from 1 up or 2 up systems, why would you want to pass up commissions to your sponsor. for your hard work.
Matrix programs are nice but do not rely on your sponsor to produce spillover for you. You have to make your own success. If that is the way you want to go ask questions before you join. Find a sponsor who will answer any questions you have and really wants to help you succeed and is not looking for just another commission.


Having done both there are pros and cons to both systems - we have had excellent team support with both models, by the way...

With the 2 up you typically make a much bigger commission off each sale and once your 2 are done, your new team mates that join your team, will then owe you THEIR first two sales as their training sales , those two turn into 4, 8, 16 etc... That's where the residual or exponential income comes in with this model - once you have built your team to about 15 or 20 members and you train them to duplicate what you are doing, you need to trade in your prospecting hat for a trainers hat because they will be bringing you training sales, which will turn into more training sales - get the picture??


With the matrix or mlm plan you will make smaller commissions but as long as your team is working you will be making commissions off their work which is a true residual income...

Regardless which method you pick , it will take work, determination and persistence to get your business up and going!

Both work - you just have to determine which is right for you!

Viola

Quoting: mycatsI personally would stay away from 1 up or 2 up systems, why would you want to pass up commissions to your sponsor. for your hard work.

Totally agree! I have been with a 2 up called coastal, it requires a huge investment upfront, upwards to $11,000, yikes!

Yes you can start at $1295 but that to is a huge investment and requires another investment to advertise and market the business and sit on phones calling people.

Than to have to give up those two sales you spent so much to get in time, calls, money...yuk!

I am currently in a 1 up program and it to is a top tier program cost is $1495 and $3,000 with commissions at $500 and $1,000 BUT there are not to many people who can afford the top tier programs so I tell people....never invest more money to buy into a program you cant afford to LOSE!

There are other ways to generate a great income without a huge investment and thats what my new blog, when published will explain, called marketingfreeway, when it is up and running I will explain how I went from top tier to programs that generate a good income without a huge investment and giving up your commissions.

Terri

That is great to hear Terri!!

Terri

I look forward to reading you blog. Sounds interesting.

MLM is hard work, but you reap benefits after all said and done.

Reasons many people in MLM fail are because they quit too soon, or they run out of money.

One program called One Step For Income get rid of those problems by helping you with all the tools to start recruiting process.

You will have downline first and then when you feel comfortable, you start joining business that are screened to meet criteria to make sure they are legitimate and not likely to go under.

In another word, you only pay for the business in the program after you have enough downlines in your team and you will benefit from it. This way you won't be running out of money before you see success.

I highly recommend you take a look at One Step For Income.

Thanks

Oh I forget to mention, you only pay from your profit and grow to the next level after you and your team is bigger.

This way you keep growing from first, to second, to third and up to 7 businesses from one system.

It will provide you with multiple streams of income with one kind of work and one program to promote.

OneStep4Income

Good Information,

No doubt, I too agree, only free business opportunities should ever be considered. Where does it make sense to pay some company to represent and sell for them? I have always had a problem with any company who baits you with free, but then fees you to death for webiste fees, support fees, training fees, monthly maintenance fees and on and on it goes. When you see FREE, it better be FREE.

When I read of mandatory purchases, monthly purchases, or you have to give up your first two sales, or even one, it makes me cringe. The so called 1-UP or 2-UP systems are the most difficult to succeed at for most never make one sale, never mind two or more in any MLM. Sad, but true, and this is why you must look to represent a company that has a product or service which can easily be verified as a true value to the consumer.

I have researched them all over the years, and very few will meet this acid test of value in the consumer market place. There are too many me too products and services, and if you don't see the value of products or service in the market place, forget it, no one else will either. If there is no value, no demand, no reason to purchase if not for the get rich opportunity attached, forget it, 99.9% will fail, and this is history speaking, and why MLM has been ripped be so many critics.

As has been mentioned here, do your due diligence, don't fall for get rich quick deals, look for a real business with a real value based product or service and don't pay a dime to get involved or be hit with fees for everything to run your business. If you cannot make a sale in three months, then how would you expect anyone you introduce to make a sale. Find a product or service that sells itself, or as close to that scenario as possible. Find an exclusive product or service, not a me too business. Find one that is well funded and managed. Find one which has been in business for more than a couple months. Above all, don't pay to play as I like to say. Business should be fun, and if it is, and you know you are not screwing people with high priced hyped up products, then you will succeed, but only with these ingredients, so keep looking until you find one that meets or exceeds the above.

Good luck to all, Mike

I disagree. No business will be truly free. In order to run any business you need to be adequately capitalized. That is rule #1 in business. What type of person will you attract with a free opportunity anyway? Anyone with common sense knows that any business will require some sort of investment.

If you are let into a program for free, you are pretty much a salesperson for that company. The comp plan will be poor and the back end residual earnings will not be as large as the bigger ticket items. And with free programs people will come and go much more freely, and your downline will probably never perform for you.

I earn a sizable amount for every sale in my team. And that is forever and ever. I never passed a sale up to anyone. Why would you have to pass up any sales? You first and second sales should be treated the same as any other.

What are you selling,Bill?

Not all MLMs are legitimate. But then again Not all Brick and mortar stores are legit either.

CThompson: Read the Policy and Procedures FIRST. before ever signing any contract.


That IS a million dollar tip that too many never even consider BEFORE signing up with a company. Unfortunately many P&P's are so long and so circular in their wording that we get lost and just say 'yeah, yeah where do I sign'. Bad mistake, one of which I learned the hard way.

If I were to evaluate a company right now, the P&P's are the first thing I would ask for and if they aren't listed without having to sign up first, I wouldn't give the company a second look. Nor would I consider a company where the rep wanting to sign me up told me they weren't important.

READ THOSE P&P's !

BillChechel: I disagree. No business will be truly free. In order to run any business you need to be adequately capitalized. That is rule #1 in business. What type of person will you attract with a free opportunity anyway? Anyone with common sense knows that any business will require some sort of investment.

If you are let into a program for free, you are pretty much a salesperson for that company. The comp plan will be poor and the back end residual earnings will not be as large as the bigger ticket items. And with free programs people will come and go much more freely, and your downline will probably never perform for you.

I earn a sizable amount for every sale in my team. And that is forever and ever. I never passed a sale up to anyone. Why would you have to pass up any sales? You first and second sales should be treated the same as any other.

Interesting,

When we speak of free, it means no sign up fees, no marketing portfolio fees, no web site fees, no back office fees and no purchase required to earn commissions, that is the subject of free.

Of course you need money to advertise, if that is your only means of reaching your market, but unlike most MLM's which have taught you to go after friends and family, how many can do that successfully? Not many, unless you have a product or service offering true value, and again, how many MLM's represent true value?

Free is an overused word, and no doubt, you have to read between the lines to insure your free doesn't cost you your first sales commission, or worse, your first two like so many plans require. Heck, most in MLM don't every make more than two sales, so how sad to lose those two sales to your sponsor as so called training sales.

Then we have the free deals which require purchase to earn override commissions, or residuals. Yes, you can go out and sell a bottle of juice for $40. and earn $4.00, but how many can afford to operate this way with high price of gas these days? Not many, and this is why failure rate is so high with most MLM's, you have to pay to play.

As to your statement that you are pretty much a salesperson if you join a free business, heck, you are always a salesperson when you join any company, so this statement is flawed. Are you saying you are not a salesperson for your company? In other words, you don't need company to supply you with product or sevice? We are always salespeople in MLM or direct sales unless you are also manufacturer, as in, company.

As far as free businesses having a bad comp plan, again, not in all cases, so like you, who prefers larger commissions, I agree, it allows everyone to start earning worthwhile income more quickly than the nickel dime a dozen deals, so this I will agree with, but not all free businesses have a bad comp. plan, in fact, my free business has the best comp plan I have ever researched, and I have researched thousands over the years, so I disagree on this point.

On the last point, nothing is forever and ever. If you seriously think nothing can stop your income, you are sadly mistaken, ask Enron and Bear Stearns owners and employees. Nothing is forever in a recession, just watch how many other banks and mortgage companies go under this year, and who would have thought this was possible, unless of course you were around when last recession hit the savings and loan industry. I do hope your deal lasts forever and ever, we all do, but reality is far different from fantasyland. Never say never is a lesson I learned long ago, especially in an overregulated industry like MLM.

Good luck to all, Mike

Thanks for this info.

Its my first time to join in a mlm program, actually i just started a month ago and im really new to it.

Thanks to Corey for the insanely long explanation near the top of the thread. Those kind of posts were why I decided to join here.

anyone here use funded proposals to build their downlines??

Awesome Stuff

This is great stuff! Thanks!!