Avoiding the Biggest Mistake in MLM

It is heartbreaking to know that approximately 97% of all those who enroll into an MLM will fail because of not knowing the simplest mistake to avoid.

Of course, it goes without saying that one should ensure the company he or she is enrolling in is a legitimate, reputable one that possesses stability and won't just fold up after a couple of years. But provided that factor is in, the biggest mistake will still be committed by the vast majority of distributors.

You see, the problem with most companies that use multilevel marketing as their business model is that they tell you WHAT to do, but not HOW to do it. Compensation is usually quite predictable and those yachts and sports cars seem nice when one figures out how many downlines go where by when and how much volume is generated where and when. That is all fine and dandy. One can study this and plan out how much he or she needs to do by this and that time. However, none of it will ever come to fruition unless one also confronts how to go about actually finding distributors to enroll.

There is a missing piece of the puzzle here. Any successful expansion in any network marketing venture requires an effective marketing campaign. And that marketing campaign, for it be effective at all, requires isolating one keystone: the right market.

Who comprises "the right market" for an MLM? First off, it is NOT the consumer of the product you are offering. A consumer is just that: a consumer. You can rely on them to drink the juice, swallow the vitamins or use the shampoo, but do not rely on them to build a downline and expand your sales organization; they rarely will. Your CORRECT market is individuals seeking new business opportunities. By virtue of them enrolling and needing to maintain an autoship, they become consumers, automatically. And truthfully, most MLM products are somewhat luxury products, so aren't likely to be afforded by anyone but a niche market if only appealing to consumers. But a distributor, seeing his or her autoship as a necessary business expense, must maintain it, for they usually disqualify for receiving compensation unless they do.

Those seeking business (and not job, by the way) opportunities form a small percentage of the population. By experience, 5% or less. Therefore, marketing has to be ever so targeted. This rules out the majority of one's "warm market" of friends and family. Perhaps among them you may enroll a viable downline, but that is rare, and expect no more than 5% at best. Yet, "talk to your friends and family" is a fallacy perpetrated by most MLM companies and is nothing more than a means of amping up a distributor's confidence or milking a quick sale before that distributor eventually bails (which, remember, around 97% do). It is not much worthwhile in terms of long-term viability, however. An analogy: If you and I were to, say, open up a restaurant and never advertise or promote outside of "friends and family" and expect anything worthwile to come out of it, we'd be in trouble. What slow progress that would be! Meanwhile, payments for overhead do not wait. Not very feasible, is it? Well, the same rule applies to MLM as network marketing is as much of a business venture as a restaurant is. The key is to target the right market: those seeking new business opportunities. And that will take some work – really doing your homework, investing some capital, going through trial and error, doing your research, until you have it down. That's the only way through it, I'm afraid. Unless you're upline has it all taped and can tell you how to do it, you'll have to pioneer this line yourself.

Once an effective campaign is established, that, in and of itself, is not enough, however. You need to write up and assemble an easy-to-follow startup package and ensure your new distributors have this knowledge exported to them as a "how-to" and that they actually work on executing its steps. Remember, the trouble with most MLMs: they tell you what to do, but not how to do it. Well, be an effective upline who provides real leadership and gives something workable to your downlines instead of just giving hokey pep talks and other hopeless "motivation" without real substance. Once you yourself figure it out, tell them how to do it and then make sure they get cracking. Then watch the handful of your best ones take the ball and run with it. And as they replicate this to their downlines, watch your sales organization grow.

This is a cold, hard fact, borne out of experience. Steer clear of the lies, follow it and may you win.

By Emanuel Simonian
© 2011 Emanuel Simonian. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.YourFreedomAndProsperity.com

Emanuel Simonian is an entrepreneur and mentor who helps others attain financial freedom and prosperity.