General info on Multi Level Marketing

MLM companies have come and gone. People will always move from one to the next. This is why I think it is important to learn Internet Marketing in general and form multiple streams of income. Affiliate marketing can work well in conjunction with your MLM buisness. Work on branding yourself and not your oppurtunity. Become the expert on showing people how you do it successfully and they will want to join you. Notice that I said show them and not sell them. People respond to people they trust and they will trust you if you can show that you are sincere about helping them. This is the way the top dawgs get it done. They have branded themselves as experts. Share valuable information with you prospects and grow you buisness.

I'm inclined to agree with rmartin. I was network marketing cliche number 4b until I really took a good look at the industry itself and realized that there HAD to be a way to make money in this racket, I just hadn't found it yet. People who have been in network marketing and couldn't cut it will always complain and hold on to their skepticism out of sheer pettiness. When I hear people harping on the industry it sounds like the cries of a boy or girl that liked somebody and when they found out they didn't feel the same way or they already had a bf/gf they said 'oh, well I never really liked them much anyway'.

Personal branding is the only way to set yourself apart from the herds and herds of people that are following the same traditional methods of building their businesses and also positions you as a LEADER; after all leaders are the only people who make any REAL money in ALL walks of life not just network marketing. Also what you should take into consideration is the TYPE of distributor you want in your business. I see the power of leveraging the internet to grow your business so I know make it a rule to build my team of solely internet marketers. They already have lists of people who trust them and buy from them and they just simply sort through THEM for leaders rather than chasing family and friends which in reality is no real way to build a business. If you built a traditional brick and mortar business you wouldn't really solely on your friends and family to keep you in business forever you would need to find a way to reach the cold market and sustain your profits, and the internet is the PERFECT medium to do so. Now in this industry there are entrepreneurs who make HUGE sums of money without EVER even picking up the phone and calling a lead, THAT is the power of the internet and what it can do for your business.

Good points,

No doubt, anything worth having is worth working hard for, and this includes starting your own business. With the low cost to start the major attraction to MLM, it is well worth your time to research, but without value and saving people money, not costing them more, you will have to choose wisely.

I research them all, and very few can meet my criteria, especially the saving money aspect as most every MLM will price their products or services at a higher rate to pay out attractive commissions which most are promoted on, money, income, get rich quick, etc

In an economic collapse like this one, value rings louder than how much you can earn, saving people money is what it is all about, and if you have these components, then, and only then can the average newbie become successful.

Success to all,

I am new this this MLM business...
Glad to read this sticky post to gain my knowledge in MLM industry =) Nice to meet you all!

Greetings,

Network Marketing is still "The Greatest Opportunity In The History Of The World." It only requires you to work hard and smart. It has no race, religious, or educational background. Anyone can through their own efforts, take Network Marketing to the top.

Happy Marketing,

Marc LaClair

Yes MLM's are work work work BUT with an MLM you get paid for it .... maybe forever

Jan Hickling

I will have to say that RMartin is right about branding yourself. I've been in network marketing for 2 years now and have been in 8 different companies. Up until recently I just hopped around and had many different websites for lead generation. I never had just one I could send people to that was considered branding. A couple of months ago I picked out a domain name that I planed to use to brand myself with. Just this week I decided to actually use it. I should have been using one domain name these past two years instead of some 75 different ones or at least I should have had my branded domain name link on each of these sites. I now know that in network marketing you build a list of marketers that you know or have come in contact with. I wish I could jump back 2 years. The list of network marketers is your gold mine! Especially if you treated them nice and left them with a positive trust-worthy feeling about yourself. If I had of branded myself back then maybe more of them would have remembered me.

has anyone used SBI in the network marketing arena?

Bill, I totally agree.

More and more it is about branding. Sometimes people get confused about the details but forget that branding is just about you being you. Offering expert advice to those in your niche and creating a platform to make that advice available to others.

Excellent discussion! I'm glad to have found this forum!
I'm working with a company in energy deregulation and it certainly stands up to the test - what a great product, electricity!
Funny how I read another post where the op was talking about how he should "react" if someone asks him "if it's an MLM." As if he was afraid because, well, maybe he's the one with the stigma about MLM.
Sure it is, it's a network model, but in this particular one, you actually don't have to build a team if you don't want to, and you can still be successful. It's pretty cool. Adios amigos!

Hi all

Patience, patience, patience is the secret in mlm.

Be patient and you will be successful.

Philip

Of course in addition to patience you must be doing much work during that period. But even with a lot of work, you'll still need to be very patient, so there is certainly much truth in what you say.

Honestly, the only key to MLM is "exploit while the exploiting is good."

You will never be able to succeed once the mathematical inevitability catches up with it. Nor will you be able to succeed in an oversaturated marketplace. 500 reps in a town of 5,000 aren't going to make much or sell much.

So if you are going to be in an MLM then acknowledge that you need to hit it early, hit it hard, then get out before the collapse.

needs2stop

Why are you so much focusing on saturation within certain area codes only?
Why not, think about Geographical diversification..
Personally, Im trying my best to have people from abroad to join my network.. I have 4 direct downlines, I am trying to have a foreign person underneath each, to ensure I would never fall in what you're saying.. I pass this idea to each one of them also.

auditt05, I agree that geographical diversification is a good thing. But the reality is that if my body is located in Texas, then people in New York aren't going to buy much from me. So I will be most effective at selling to people in the area I live in.

But keep in mind that you can't use geographical diversification to avoid market saturation. Because the same rule in Texas applies to New York. Because while YOU are moving to a new area to do business, some other random rep is moving OUT of that state to do business somewhere else. All you are doing is moving right into his/her old territory. And that "territory" is likely going to be an already saturated market.

However, reaching into new countries and new marketplaces is a goal of most MLM's. That way they can find a new "layer" of customers and reps to put on the bottom of their organization. That's actually the primary factor which has enabled many MLMs to stay in business. Because the marketplace they originated in will usually become saturated, forcing them to spread outwards into new areas.

Just because I move and set up shop in Siberia, doesn't mean I'm going to be able to sell airconditioning units there. While there may be some customers there who need A/C, there are likely already a few A/C providers in that area already that I will have to compete with. A lot of MLM companies assume that just because they finally reach an area, that the everyone there will accept their products and services with open arms. But the rules for market saturation and product competition still apply no matter where you are.

needs2stop
I like your reasoning, however, think of MOBILE Prospects...

I pretty much look on these people. People who move and travel very frequently, people who attend exhibitions in other states/countries every now and then.

People who have relatives/friends in other places. People with WARM contacts distant from them.

I am striving to find a single Sign-up from the USA because im not locate there, Im in Egypt for GOD's sake however, I wont lose hope, I might be in the USA in 8 weeks, then I would definitely be capable of getting a singup MUCH Easier.

I want you to be FIRED UP. Have beleif, and YES it aint Easy and YES saturation is in the horizon after a while, but no one will saturate all over the World Except for Hollywood movies

I wonder someone with your business skills and is lacking the motivation You seem skilled, USE'em... NEVER let yourself down. Plan MORE and MORE.

Transfer your knowledge and Roadmaps to your downlines.

auditt05,

Not even just mobile prospects, but prospects who have contacts in remote locations. If you know a Korean guy in California, he might have relatives in the country of Korea. Now you are plugged into the Korean market via your California connection, albeit indirectly. But indirect contacts work just as well as long as they are in your downline.

You're right needs2stop, it's all about making the most of every single person you talk to. Everybody knows so many people, that's the foundation of network marketing. Of course, the way people talk about your company must be elegant and genuine, but if that can be done, you're good.

The future is IRP (Incentivised Referral Program) This is basicly an MLM that rewards the members better and has methods in place to control attrition better. It may also have caps in place to spread the wealth around better. There is a 97 percent failure rate with MLM companies. This is primarly do to high attrition. It also creates a bad reputation in the indursty that limits growth of new members. attrition rates can be lowered and the 97 percent failure rate can be lowered. You are already seeing a transition with some companies that are doing just this. In the future I think we will see more and more programs being marketed as IRP and not MLM.

DavidCarter9000
Yup, any proper to be precise mlm company, will reward those who put in the most effort in prospecting. Doesn't mean you are at the top, you will earn the most. Only those who put in the effort to recruit and expand the network get paid the most. So if you are new, as long as you duplicate and put in effort you will earn. Everyone is given a fair chance to climb up the ladder not just because of seniority.