Step by step
- Baby steps every day
You may have read thousands of books and attended dozens of seminars on ‘how to do it’ BUT if you do not apply your knowledge, there is little point in knowing it.
All successful people know this!
Ralph Waldo Emerson said ‘Do the thing and you shall have the power”
Research Research Research
After many years of choosing the wrong MLM company, having boxes of useless products in my spare room, and getting fed up of being broke, I got wise.
Think about it. If you have any common sense, before you start any business, you do the research:-
- Is there a demand for the product you will be stocking?
- What is the supplier minimum orders {important to cash flow}?
- Is it a product or service that really excites me or helps me?
- Is there a market for this product or service?
- What is the likelihood of repeat sales?
- is the product viable on price, quality etc
- How long have the company been established?
- Can I really see myself doing this for the rest of my life?
- What is the payment structure? Some of them are appalling, but as a newbie, you may not understand that?
- Can I place new recruits where I like to build my legs?
- How much does it cost to start up?
- Will I have my own mentor to help me at every stage?
- How much FREE training does the company provide?
- Are other people likely to want to join this company?
The questions could go on and on for ever, but it is in your best interest to ask yourself these questions. I never used to. I just naively thought that I could make a go of any MLM opportunity and, with a rather gung-ho attitude, I threw a lot of money up walls that just fell down as soon as my money hit them! Oh what joy that was.
Do countless Google searches on the company that you are looking at. Type in all sorts of different target and broad phrased searches and really read them. There will be links to forums, read them. There will be linked to distributors, talk to them or email them and ask direct questions. You need to know the answers before you join the company.
Don’t be misled into thinking that just because a company has been around a long time, and appears to be a ‘good’ company, that they will be right for you. Trust your heart, your instinct and your common sense.
You can also lots of information at Better Networking - link on the right under Blogroll
Classic mistake number 1
There are a series of classic mistakes that we all do when we get started, and few people realise until, maybe, it is too late and they have given up.
Classic mistake number one.
Recently, I joined a networking site online MLM support group. Well, that was what it was supposed to be. Once I was approved, I was sent details of recent discussions. I scrolled down 17 seperate discussions and, without fail, every single topic was a blatant attempt to promote the writers MLM business.
It is hugely irritating to keep having opportunities rammed down ones throat, particularly as the person espousing huge incomes, company cars etc is, in reality, probably earning….zilch. To succeed in MLM, you have to be congruent. Of course this is just my opinion, but based on the networking premise that we all do business with people we know, like and trust, I am not about to trust anyone who comes at me from this angle. Are you? have you?
It has been documented that people don’t like being hard sold, and from 15 years in direct sales, I can confirm that this was most definately true. I built my best clients by forming relationships with them, getting to know what was important to them. This, of course, takes time, but ultimately the clients remained loyal to me.
The way to build downlines is to build trust. Help people, get to know what is important to them, what worries them and what are their dreams. Be patient. Your role is to be a leader and mentor, and wait for the people who are looking for someone like you to work with. The people that come to you in this way will be coachable {because they believe in you} and will stay the course.
So beware of false statements and don’t make this classic mistake yourself.
More classic mistakes coming soon
What you are up against
Did you know that the retention rate of people who stay in their MLM company is a staggeringly small 6 – 7%
That means that around 93% of people give up. 93% of people in MLM feel like a failure. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a tiny bit better about all the failures that I have had with MLM companies. With the majority of companies, we are pre-destined to fail, it’s kind of set up that way.
The problem is that many people, having had a series of failures, end up saying, as I did, ‘well, I am clearly not cut out for MLM. You have to be a particular person to be able to succeed at it, and that obviously isn’t me.’ Incredibly sad.
After I walked away from the PLC opportunity, I had decided that I was definitely not the kind of person to make it work. Fortunately, I met Sally, a perfectly normal mum and grandma, the least likely person you expect to be in MLM, doing very well. She is not pushy, she is not a salesman, she is not hard-nosed and she does take no for an answer. She gave me hope. She never once promised me the world, but she showed me the steps that she was taking. All I needed to do was model these steps with her support & guidance.
Please don’t give up. You deserve to be successful. You deserve to have an abundant life, freedom and a residual income for the rest of your life. Yes, there are certain things you do need to be aware of, but armed with that knowledge, you can relax and know that you can do it, take your time and work systematically towards your success.
But you can’t do it on your own, so do join my blog here and let me help you with what I have learned in the last six months. I am not a MLM Guru, but I have learned the hard way, by experience. I am not rich yet, but I know the steps that I need to take to get me there. I do so hope that you will come along for the ride and learn alongside me.
Public limited companies
Earlier this year, I joined a MLM opportunity, which had sprung up out of a well-known, successful public limited company. In my mind, I was thinking that I wasn’t going to get ‘shafted’ by a public limited company and, in fairness, the likelihood is that I wouldn’t have been, but…. think about it. Who is the most important person to a public limited company. Think about it…. the shareholder. If the chips are down and we are all drowning, who is the public limited company going to save ….. think about it…yep, the shareholder. It isn’t rocket science not really. It’s a consideration we need to make before signing the dotted line, because the company, after all, cannot make guarantees.
Product availability
Mabel buys £100.00 of product of me. She is thrilled. {so am I!!}Her skin feels wonderful, her husband said she looks ten years younger. I smugly relax in front of the fire thinking to myself, ‘ah, what joy, I have my first repeat customer.’
Months go by and I haven’t heard from Mabel, so I call her up. She is still overjoyed with the products and raves on for a full ten minutes. Eventually I get around to asking her when she will be ready to order again. ‘oh, I don’t need to, I got my last lot from the shop in town. Ooh, I got quite carried away and spent almost £300.00. It’s so good to be able to see all of the products and test them.’
I have stopped listening. I have rigged up a rope from a beam in the garage, and am now standing on the chair, wondering who will kick it away for me. Oh yeah, I got it, the company I distribute for!
The company I joined have 160 shops throughout the UK. I know that I would rather go and see, and test, products before I buy, so I am taking a wild guess that my customers will have that same preference. Der!
I am not saying it is bad to join a MLM with a PLC, but these two things, at least, need to be taken into consideration before you commit. It was the latter situation that I drew objection to, fearful of doing a lot of hard work locally with product parties, only to have my customers take my business direct to the company.
Have a think about it
The first step
Love the products
I was in direct sales for fifteen years. I worked for a lot of different companies, from frozen food to architectural ironmongery. The one thing that stood out for me, over and above everything else, was that if I didn’t have belief in, and passion for, my products then I couldn’t sell them.
I love the products that I now promote. I see the benefits that I have gained from them and I 100% absolutely believe in them. Unless you can authentically say to others that the products are brilliant, let the opportunity go. You WILL find the company and the products that suit you, so be patient, it is worth waiting for.
If you are not 100% don’t do it! Before I joined my new company, I had enrolled with Neals Yard Remedies. I believe in organic products and they are good products, but I couldn’t see myself doing parties at other people’s homes in the evenings. It just wasn’t me, and also the products didn’t radically improve my skin, unlike the skin care range that my new company promote. So, that was a no brainer.
Know what you like
I started my career in the police force, so I prefer working with men as I am not a girly type girl. So the architectural ironmongery was my absolute dream sales role. All day long, I bantered with the guys, did good business and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was very successful, taking an area with ten accounts, to sixty in one year.
Like & trust the people you work with
Success is also linked to the people you are working with. Earlier this year, I contacted a lifestyle MLM company. The guy – who was a top earner {apparently} sent me an impressive pack of information, emailed me and was very supportive. When we eventually had our initial contact by phone, he made me aware of the financial levels of joining the company, which went from £30.00 to £900.00 {no small division!!}. Almost the minute I said that I couldn’t afford the higher level, he lost interest. Let’s cut to the chase, he dropped me like a stone covered in something smelly and horrid. I felt inadequate and embarrassed that I couldn’t afford it, and spent the rest of the day feeling bad.
I recovered from his slight and moved on – not with his company.
I met my upline at a WIRE networking meeting. She didn’t push the opportunity at all, in fact it was quite difficult getting her to talk about it {there will be an explanation for this in the blog later}. After several coffee meetings, which were not intended to be about the business, I joined up. The support of the company is unparalleled, and the training is superb. So far, they haven’t failed to surprise me, and I feel very confident for long term success.
Don’t be in a rush to get started. This is a business and must be approached strategically, just like any other business. Stop thinking of it as MLM and consider it your business, which will change your whole ethos and approach to one less menacing 
Welcome to MLM success
Bullseye!!
MLM success… there’s a thought. Is there any such thing? Do you know of anyone personally that is earning the $15,000 a month that these top companies profess. I don’t, and I don’t expect that you do either.
From memory, I have joined at least ten different companies over the last fifteen years, and ‘failed’ at every single one. Why? Why did I fail? Probably for the exact same reasons that you did. They all gave me a ‘tried and trusted’ blueprint for success, didn’t they? Did they? No, not in my opinion, they did not. They gave me a system that had worked for some high energy dipweed that can sell ice to eskimos. They did not give me a blueprint that was applicable to me … a normal average human being, complete with flaws, self doubts and no freaking idea of how to make a MLM business work.
First of all, I never gained the training and support that I needed. All except them telling me to canvass my immediate circle; family, friends, people in ther queue at Tesco’s, your doctor, dentist, candlestick maker & the Jehovas witness that knocks on your door. That would get him off your doorstep that’s for sure.
I don’t know about you, but that always got stuck in my throat. The thought of doing that froze my feet to the floor as if with super stick, non removeable super glue. I somehow always managed to look away when this was said to me, drifting trancelike into a state of being almost coma like.
Come on, let’s get real. You go to your best friend and say, ‘hey, Dave, I have joined this great company. The products are fantastic and you will make a mint.’
Dave asks, ‘how much you making then mate?’
Er…….
This is the fundamental flaw in the system. It’s a stupid crazy idea. The worst possible place you can start canvassing is to your immediate circle. The company I distribute for have taught me that this is a no go area, and I don’t mind telling you that this was a HUGE relief. I love them for this. I don’t have to make an idiot of myself and listen to my mates saying, ‘oh god, what are you selling NOW?’
So, this is the first thing that you need to know, and I hope that, like me, you are now celebrating with a glass of wine, basking in the sun of relief.
More to come later
