Be A Successful MLMer (written June, 2013)

You probably have an image firmly planted in your mind of what typical MLM is all about – housewives buying and selling Tupperware while gossiping and eating finger sandwiches or a high-pressure salesperson trying to convince you how easily you can become a millionaire if only you and your friends and their friends and so on would buy and sell vitamins with him.

Both of these images couldn’t be further from the reality of what MLM really is. It’s neither a hobby nor a get rich quick scheme. It’s an opportunity for you to earn money running your own part-time or full-time business with little start up capitol and a lot of enthusiasm.

But what does it really take to succeed in this industry? Here are some tips.

Choose wisely. There are six key elements you should be looking for when selecting an opportunity. Number one: stability. How old is the company? Number two is excellent products or services that consumers will use and need more of. Number three is the pay plan. How even and fair and generous overall is the distribution? This is really crucial as the pay plan represents exactly how you’ll and your downliners get paid or not get paid. There are really only two questions to ask regarding this issue: How many dollars get paid back to the distributors each month? Number four is the integrity of the company and the management. As much as possible, investigate the experience of the owner if you can. Their experience in the MLM industry and their background and have they been successful in other companies in the industry? Do they have a good reputation? Number five is momentum and timing. Look at where the company’s at, what’s going on with the company, and if it’s growing. Number six is support, training and business systems. You may have chosen a great company with excellent management, products or services that make a difference, a pay plan that’s uniquely fair and very generous, and momentum and stability, but if you don’t have a system in place that works, all of that doesn’t matter. Most companies will have a duplicable training system that they use and that’s where mentorship comes in.

Practice what they teach. To succeed you need to be willing to listen and learn from mentors. The way this industry is structured, it’s in the best interests of the MLM veterans in your company to help you succeed, so they’re willing to teach you the system. Whatever your mentor did to become successful, it’s very duplicable, but you have to be willing to listen and be taught and follow those systems.

The higher-ups. It can be called various things, but the general term is the “upline,” meaning the people above you. How supportive are they? Do they call you? Do they help you put a plan in place? Are they as committed to your success as they are to their own? You should be able to relate to the people in your upline and be able to call them at any time to say “I need some help.” How much support there is from the people above you in the company is very important.

Take up the lead with your downline. There’s a term in the MLM industry called “orphans.” That’s when somebody is brought in to your organization and then the person who brought them in is just so busy bringing in other people that they don’t teach and train this new person. You should be prepared to spend some time helping a new person come into the industry. What I do is send a newsletter out each month to train them, give them the support and understanding they need and to hold their hand until they feel confident that this program is working for them. You really need to ask yourself, are you willing to do that? Are you able to do that? This is really about long-term relationship building. It’s not about just bringing people into the business and just moving forward. It’s about working with these people and helping them to develop relationships. It benefits everyone in your upline and downline.

On the net. People are utilizing the Internet as their main marketing tool. You can set up your site with autoresponders so when you capture leads, the autoresponder can follow up with that person. One of the greatest keys to success in this industry is follow-up. Many people will have someone call them who’s interested or they’ll call the person and say they’re interested, but then they don’t follow up with it. Automation on the internet has allowed a much more consistent method of following up. The only drawback with the Internet is people who utilize it to spam. If there was one thing I could put forward to say, “do not do” when utilizing the Internet as a marketing tool, it’s spamming because that can give a very bad reputation not only to you but also to the company you’re working with.

Taking care of business. This is a business and just like if you were running a regular traditional business, you should have an accountant. You have all the same write-offs tax-wise that you have with running a regular full-time business, so it’s very important to do your research prior to getting involved, before you start making money from it. How is that going to affect you tax-wise? What are your write-offs? It’s important to set up a support team around you. I’d suggest seeking out lawyers who deal in MLM, so they’re very versed in all the laws and how that affects your business. There are also accountants who specialize in dealing with home-based businesses specifically in the direct-selling industry.

Don’t quit your day job…yet. Never leave your full-time position unless you’re absolutely certain that the income that’s coming in with this company is going to be there. Be sure that you’ve been with the company for a while and that you know it’s a stable company and the income that you’re earning is equal to or greater than the income you’re earning from your full time job before quitting.

The author of this article is Uncle L., President of CME, Inc., 118 Julian Place #160, Syracuse, NY 13210, now in his 29th successful year. Uncle L. is now published in most of the best Money Making Opportunity Magazines, such as, Six Figure Income, Opportunity World, Ben Franks…etc. Uncle L. is like having an uncle in the Mail Order Business. He invites you to send three self-stick first class stamps to check out his discounted services designed to help you promote your business. Uncle L.’s sole purpose, through his services, is to help your business grow.  When you succeed, Uncle L. succeeds. Send for his FREE 16-PAGE CATALOG NOW!