Building Your MLM Business Online

Just two questions about MLM.

1) How is a MLM format different than a pyramid?

2) What makes this format legal?

Hi. Is mlm success important to you?

I am sure it is. But, are you investing your time and hard earned money purchasing motivational tapes, mlm leads or tickets to seminars held by your network marketing company?

The truth is many network marketers do these things. However, after many months or even years their dream of saving time and money is still unattainable. This can be frustrating.

If mlm success is important to you then continue reading. That is what this article is all about. I will discuss hints that I picked up while running my own mlm business such as:

1. Not Focusing Too Much Attention on the Product. Not even if they are the best on the market.

We are trained to believe that the goods we can access are the best on the market. Therefore, everyone would want them.

Based on my experience in mlm, I do not think this is true.

In reality customers do not purchase products simply because we (network marketers) tell them that it is the best. Even if we personally had favorable results using the products. It takes a lot more than just that.

Furthermore, today the mlm industry is not a respectable business venture. Why is this?

Because of the poor prospecting strategies we use when selling our mlm opportunity.Here is an example.

I was invited to a meeting once by a network marketer. But his methods were so sneaky that I refused.

Here is what he did. He approached me and said, I have a business proposition for you but I cannot tell you what it is right now. However, I will explain everthing tomorrow at 7:30P.M.

I was so amazed that I did not know what to think. Then he continued by asking if he should book a seat for me at XYZ Hotel.

His network marketing strategy was unprofessional. I was convinced that his business was drugs or something illegal.

And unfortunately, this is the exact view many hold towards mlm. I guess the industry needs more professionalism.

And that brings us to my next point. Network Marketing is Not for Everyone.

Many consultants or IBOs believe that mlm can work for anyone. But the fact is not everyone can own and control a successful business, whether it is mlm or a traditional business.

Furthermore, not everyone wants to be business owners. Some people are quite happy as employees.

Sure, being an employee has its disadvantages. But some workers are comfortable trading time for money and would not give that up to become a network marketer or any other type of business owner.

Moreover, there are people who get into network marketing to get rich quick. They are the worst downlines you can ever have and should be avoided.

Then there are those who do mlm because they are buying hope. This means that they are not interested in learning to win at business but are relying on luck. They too should also be avoided.

So here is my advice. If you spend precious time and money on persons who are not cut out for mlm then you will run into financial difficulty and also have little network marketing success. Take a look at the video called The Quixtar Scam on youtube and you’ll see what I mean.

I know you maybe wondering how do I sell my mlm opportunity and products to the right persons to experience mlm success. Well, here are some questions hints.

Do business with only serious persons. In other words, do you thoroughly interview your prospects before you sponsor them into your mlm business or do you just accept anyone who says they are interested?

All serious businesses depend on a day to day business system for leverage. Is there a system in your mlm business?

Every successful organization has a monthly marketing budget. Do you have one?

Sales is the lifeblood of an mlm business. Do you know techniques of selling?

Bill Gates said that in five years time every business will be located on the world wide web. Do you think the internet can help in experiencing mlm success?

Copyright (c) 2008 Colin Meunier

So, you have just successfully made up the first ring of your MLM members, and everyone is earning good at the moment. But nothing is permanent in this world, except maybe change. No business plan can work without the steady inflow of resources, and that goes the same for MLM business. Make sure that you have an ever increasing circle of fresh MLM prospects.

One of the most basic resources of the MLM business is fresh and willing MLM prospects. Therefore, it goes without saying that you should try to have new MLM prospects at any given time. Ideal situation would be one prospect for every MLM member you have, but that is aiming too much.

Also, keep in mind that MLM has got a bad name simply due to people who have invested money in MLMs, got their returns for once and then have stopped working. And when they stop getting in the regular inflow of money, they start criticizing MLMs. Yes, the very success of the entire concept of MLMs depend on the duplication of one’s MLM success. This duplication can be done only if one continues with the same dedication and verve every time they meet a new prospect.

There are various ways of filling your pipeline everyday with new MLM prospects. Networking and connecting is one of the best ways of ensuring of new MLM prospects to be filled in everyday. Therefore, one should never stop networking and connecting, no matter what. You may have a hundred members for your MLM right now, but there is no guaranteed new membership. And in most MLMs, the biggest amount you earn is when you help other members sign up.

While networking, remember that you should keep your marketing collateral like visiting cards and other pamphlets with you. This is the only way to ensure that you are always ready for a prospect, whether it be your family, friend or even some prospect of a cold call.

You should take some informed decisions about the type of people that you haven recruited. If you recruit like minded, dedicated people, you will not longer need to do the footwork, but simply guide them to get new recruits for the MLM business.

Also, pay attention to your downline. Spend time with them any and every time possible. If you pay attention to them, they will ensure that your downline grows almost all by itself. There is no bigger perk than success, and if you help your downline become successful, your downline will grow almost all by itself.

Also, no matter how many members you have under your belt, keep on networking and cold calling. Another way of keeping a regular inflow of MLM prospects is by telling your team members to go ahead and be aggressive in their prospecting for MLM members.

These and other suggestions will ensure that you have a prospect list that is ever increasing. Make sure to spend time with your own recruiter, as they will be the best people to suggest as how to increase your MLM business.

Has it been proven enough yet that these generally are set up as ponzi schemes, and those that are actually legal have products that no one could make a living selling on their own, thus making the recruiting part necessary?

I am sure there are those who will respond with their company being the best and wanting to get my email etc…or those who are making big bucks but won’t show me a financial statement despite calling this a business opportunity (who would start a business without seeing operating statements?). But I want to hear from those who are actually convinced about network marketing/mlm without having to sort through the above mentioned replies.

So, is anyone out there, or is is this industry dead?
ibofightback – thanks for the answer, but going over your numbers I had to comment.

You say Network Marketing Firms distribute over $100 billion a year in goods and services and there are 8-10 million distributors…well simple division means that is $10,000-$12,000 annual sales/distributor!!! Even at 50% commission you could earn more with minimum wage in a year!

With all due respect, your numbers give more credence to the belief that network marketing/mlm is a pure ponzi scheme than anything I have heard.

It seems to me more than ever that the issue with network marketing/mlm is that its all about recruiting others to do the work, and not selling the products themselves. Of those 8-10 million distributors, how many can possibly be distributing enough on their own merit to make a living? Its all about making money off the efforts of others isn’t it?

If you are going to take the time to write and post an article you really want to make sure you are seeing some kind of return on your time investment. To ensure your article marketing is effective as possible you will want to avoid these seven deadly sins.

Sin #1: Article Marketing outside the context of a larger marketing strategy. In other words many are putting the cart before the horse. The main purpose of article marketing is to secure backlinks to your primary blog or website.

Your secondary purpose is to establish your credibility and position yourself as a leader. Lastly you may drive some traffic to your site. However… building your blog or websites reputation with the search engines should be your primary objective. Why? Because search engines deliver free traffic to quality sites and one of the main factors they use to determine if your site it worthy is incoming links aka backlinks.

Sin #2: Linking your articles directly to affiliate programs or sites that redirect to them. First off no one likes to be manipulated especially in such an obvious way. It instantly puts a negative connotation in the minds of your prospects never mind the fact it is highly ineffective anyway.

This also brings us back to Sin #1. Search engines are not going to start ranking your affiliate site because it has a few incoming links. Secondly, you simply aren’t going to drive the amount of traffic you need to be successful this way. You have to think bigger.

Imagine for a moment you have a website of your own that receives ten thousand visitors a day from the major search engines. Now you can direct that traffic to your affiliate programs, prepackaged MLM sites or anywhere else you like!

So your goal should always be to build a business (website or blog) that generates its own free traffic, free leads, retail sales etc…

Sin #3: Regurgitating “MLM Gurus” information. Everyone already knows what they have to say about attraction marketing and so on… Nothing makes you look more unprofessional than being a second rate version of a true MLM Leader.

Be a first rate version of yourself! Establish yourself as a leader by being uniquely you, sharing original ideas and expressing yourself genuinely. You bring something to the table…find YOUR voice. Develop your own business plan, marketing strategy and business philosophy.

If your spiritual than own it and incorporate it into your message! If you’re aggressive, sarcastic, critical… just be yourself. You aren’t going to become a leader by just being another follower of the “gurus” in this industry.

Sin #4: Submitting One big block of text. Seriously you can learn all the HTML you need to know in about fifteen minutes anywhere on the Internet. White space is beautiful. You can only hear sound against the backdrop of silence. It is the same thing with reading.

One huge block of text is like an assault on the eyes. The only response you will ever get is the dreaded backspace button.

Sin #5: The pitch disguised as a pitch! Effective article marketing is designed to be informative and valuable to its readers. Unfortunately no one cares about your opportunity. I know, I know…that’s all you really want to talk about but you do want to eventually make money at this right?

At least attempt to disguise your pitch as valuable content. Even better…deliver real content that helps your reader! In fact if you can truly deliver excellent information there will be no need for a pitch at all. Your prospects will ask you for information. Why? Because they will know that you are in a position to help them.

This industry is in desperate need of true leadership. Establish yourself as someone who can actually help and you will no longer need to pitch anything.

Sin #6: Not giving your readers a way of contacting you. MLM’ers are a savvy bunch. They know the ins and outs of the business and most don’t want to become your “lead.” Now this goes against everything you have ever been taught but…lead capture pages are genius in most industries but in ours they might just keep you from seeing the success you are looking for.

Are you really looking for a lead or are you looking for business partners? Business partners want to contact you, ask questions, make proposals…not get a free report on MLM tips.

For example…when I come across a good article I immediately do research on the writer and check out a couple of their other articles. If I find them valuable and our business philosophies match I reach out to request an interview for my site. Free promotion for them, value for my visitors sounds like a win win.

But if all I can find is a lead capture page then this person lost an opportunity to promote their business. Therefore I suggest you ensure you’re not losing business by establishing a way people can contact you.

Sin #7: NO SEO. In business you should constantly be looking to accomplish multiple objectives at once. We already mentioned two or three of your article marketing objectives for MLM success. Your main objective should be to get your primary website into search engine results but it doesn’t hurt to get your article there as well.

In fact the higher your article page rank the more “juice” your link will have to your blog or website. Therefore you will want to incorporate a little white hat SEO into your article layout. Your article should be designed around a single keyword or select few. The title, first 90 characters, last paragraph and even link should contain your keyword as well as disbursing it throughout your copy.

Another tip would be to link one article to another article. In this way you build the credibility of the second article and the power of its link back to your home site.

If you enjoyed my 7 Sins of Article Marketing you may also want to check out my article… Going Beyond Attraction Marketing For MLM Success

Of Life Can Succeed With This VERY Easy System. Come See Proof Of Over 1550 Members In Only 10 Months. Anybody Can Do This Business! (I’ve already helped hundreds down the path to financial freedom…and soon to be thousands.) I was put on this Earth to help others create financial freedom, as well as all other types of freedom. Are YOU our team’s next success story? www.StayHomeGetCash.com … Success University Residual Income Passive MLM Network Marketing Online Business Internet Jason …

Recruiting people into your MLM business can seem like a difficult thing to do. Especially when you’re doing home parties and upline calls. So, what I’m going to do is share with you some MLM recruiting tips. That way, you will be able to recruit a lot more distributors into your downline.

The MLM recruiting tips are:

1. The first thing you can do to recruit people is find the right people for your products or opportunity. What I mean is, think of the type of person who’s looking for the benefits that your products offer. Also, think about what type of person is serious enough to get into a MLM business and work it like a business builder.

2. Another MLM recruiting tip is to know how to connect with the right people. This means you need to know how to engage your prospects. They need to know that you are truly trying to help them and not just trying to make money off of them. When a person feels like you’re really helping them out, they will gladly buy from you.

3. The third MLM tip on recruiting people into your downline is to know how to overcome objections. This is important. You need to know how to overcome the basic objections. People will either be skeptical or they will say they don’t have money. Both of these objections are easy to overcome.

These are some MLM recruiting tips. If you want to start adding more people into your downline, be sure to use the tips above. It’ll help you recruit more people into your downline.

Most people start off their MLM/ Network Marketing business by prospecting their friends and family. These people, no doubt trust you the most, but they are also the hardest prospect you will get.

Without proper handling of your appointment with them, you can forget about recruiting them to your network. This is because friends tend to be more judgmental of you, and they view you as an equal, therefore it is not easy opening them up to listen to you. During the presentation, some may joke, and are not serious in the presentation, some may also give you objections before you start your presentation.

Therefore, as a new comer to the industry, it is good to have your upline who is willing to help you in your first few appointments with your friends. They are the best people to leverage upon.

You need to practice the rule of ABC during presentations when your upline is helping you. ABC

A- Advisor (your upline)

B- Bridge (you)

C- Customer (your prospect/ friend)

It’s your job to bridge the gap between your friend and your upline. Give background about your friend to your upline, and let your friend know why you respect this upline so much. During the presentation, you should sit by your friend, giving support through out the presentation.

You should always be around during such presentation to show respect to your upline and friend. Try not to give advice and “try to help” your upline, during the presentation, this will undermine your upline’s authority. Just sit there and agree to what he says is the best help you can give.

You will be the one closing your friend to join you in the business, not your upline. Give moral support to your friend and assure him that joining you will be the right choice. You should also be doing problem solving if your friend is reluctant or indecisive. Give support as a friend, so you won’t be too aggressive or pushy. It’s not worth losing a friend over this.

A lot of sincere, earnest people get into network marketing with the plan of learning everything they possibly can about their company’s products or service. Some of them actually become an expert. Problem is, that is a total waste of time. MLM products experts are all broke.  If you were going to sell a product, it might make some sense. But the MLM business is about building relationships rather than selling product … because you are not a salesperson.

So, here is the only training you need with your MLM product. Are you ready?

“Try it, you might like it. If you don’t, there is a money back guarantee.” There, you are now fully trained. Period. End of story.

If you try to get people to buy from you, then you are dead before you start. And even if you can do it, you won’t be able to train anyone else to sell a product. Selling just is not duplicatable. Better to spend your time becoming expert on people, because in network marketing, people are your REAL product. Your job is to help people achieve their dreams in life. To do that, you must get to understand them. You must build trust with them. Build the relationship. That’s the most important thing. Devote your time to getting good at relationship-building skills. Train yourself to be a great listener, so you understand exactly what the people you talk to want. Focus on helping them get it. To reach their dreams, they’ll buy your products … if YOU have built that relationship with them.

It’s the little things that really decide whether you have a chance for long-term success with any particular MLM company. This sounds pretty wild but, trust me, it is true.

One decisive factor can be whether your company owns its own software. What possible difference can THAT make, you wonder? The way it works is, most new companies are cash-poor. One way to keep costs down is to rent the software to run the company. Rather than paying a huge up-front fee, maybe they’re spending $10,000 a month on the software rental. So far, so good. But there are a couple problems that can come up. First, every compensation plan has its own idiosyncracies. No two seem to be alike. Often, that off-the-shelf software rental cannot be tweaked to handle compensation plan changes. So if the company discovers a better way of doing things, it can’t … because it’s locked-in by the software. And second, most of these contracts specify that the software vendor is a co-owner of the database. The result is, if your company has tough times & can’t make a payment, the software vendor can rent out the database if they want … that includes all the names of the group you have built. Incredible, but it has happened. You’re much safer with a company who owns their software.

Biggest reason for the popularity of network marketing is the idea that if you can get a lot of people to do a few simple things, it can be very profitable for you. You get the details of this idea and many others in Michael Dlouhy’s classic MLM ebook, “Success in 10 Steps.” It’s all useful, personal information explaining why people have been frustrated in network marketing.

You also get a step-by-step long-term relationship-building plan to make you successful in MLM. And since the ebook never names any company or product, it is a tool I highly recommend because lots of MLMers now use it to generate their own targeted MLM leads.

Peace and Happiness

Derek Hames 

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