How to Choose a Network Marketing Company
Choosing a MLM company is the most important step in entering the world of
network marketing. Everyone has different needs and expectations, and so you must carefully choose what kind of MLM product you want to sell and what kind of MLM company will pay you for it. A poorly chosen company can result in loss of money, time, and even confidence in network marketing. Conversely, when entering a good and proven system, one can take
full advantage of business opportunities it offers. Give choosing your MLM company enough time, it will pay off.
Nowadays, there is a huge number of companies operating on the principle of network marketing. Many are already established and proven, while many other try to pretend they have been here for decades even though they had been established a few weeks ago. It is always necessary to carefully examine the MLM company, its products, and the way it treats its distributors. If you want be successful in MLM, you need the right company.
It is likely you get MLM business offers very often. Whether from family members, work colleagues, or classmates at school, always first get as much information as possible about the offer. The number of companies and products and services they offer is enormous, and you must choose the one that suits you best. If you enter a MLM program just because the offer comes from a close friend, you can lose plenty of time and – in the worst case – money.
Still, choosing a solid MLM company that has many positive reviews and plenty of satisfied distributors does not automatically mean that you will succeed. Others’ success does not guarantee your success.
To build a successful business will take a lot of work, high commitment, patience, and positive attitude. Network marketing is about selling products and recruiting new distributors, and that’s something no system will do for you. An appropriately chosen MLM company will give you a tool with which you will be able to effectively build your own team of motivated people, a circle of satisfied and returning customers, and ultimately fair and sufficiently high financial rewards for your efforts. It will be up you to use that tool the best you can. So how to choose a network marketing company?
Your Expectations and Goals
Working in network marketing is suitable for a wide range of people. Some people use it to ensure a stable additional extra income, others aim to create a huge business with astronomical profits. Before you start thinking about entering into an MLM company, think first about your expectations. What can you give MLM and what do you expect to get in return?
Whoever has a permanent employment and has no other income should not enter an MLM program that will be a full-time job. Some companies have their compensation plan set up so that without constant work and recruitment of people your income gets significantly reduced. Such programs are suitable for those who can afford to invest all their time into the program.
On the other hand, if you have to go to work, select an MLM business that will allow you to work in your spare time without having to meet strict monthly sales volumes. In that case, you can work your MLM project only when you have time to gradually build extra income. If so, you cannot expect to get rich quick in a few months. The amount of time invested is proportional to how fast you start earning real money in network marketing. If your expectations are realistic given your options, try to avoid disappointment and rapid loss of motivation when your MLM business does not expand as quickly as expected.
Never leave your regular job just based on promises of someone who wants you to join an MLM program. Results may not occur nearly as fast as you were told or as they did with others. This strategy will help you prevent problems that come along with failure.
When planning your business, think also about the other things in your life – family, friends, hobbies. MLM is just like any other work. If you give it too much time, you can end up losing more important things than the opportunity to earn good money.
The main benefits of network marketing are mainly financial independence and the freedom that it brings. And that’s something most people want to get when entering MLM. The ideal way is to enter MLM, work in it along with a regular job, and when you feel you earn enough money from MLM, leave the job and start working in MLM full time. That’s the way to achieve truly great results.
What You Want To Sell
To achieve success in MLM, you must believe in the product you sell. Product selection is the first step in choosing your MLM company. The product forms the basis for honest network marketing. And if you are not totally convinced about its qualities and benefits, you’ll hardly be able to talk others into buying it. Also, it is not likely you want to sell low-quality overpriced stuff to your friends, family, or business partners. Your reputation would suffer quickly, and you would end up with zero sales and possibly damaged relationships with your loved ones.
You need to build a positive relationship with your MLM product or service. You should be familiar with the given field, understand it, and preferably make it your hobby. If you act as an expert on the issue, it will be much easier to sell the product. People will seek you themselves, on the web and social networks. As a recognized expert, it will be easier to
get recommendations from satisfied customers and thus
new leads.
The nature of the product divides many MLM companies into men and women categories. Although there is naturally no rule that would allow distribution of products to only one sex. More often, however, you will come across women sellers of cosmetics and vice versa men sellers of gym supplements. In practice, it does not matter if you honour this rule at all. The important thing is that you are interested in the field, because customers will know.
Do not choose MLM companies that sell products or services that leave you cold. To succeed in such business would then be very difficult. Better pick a MLM product that is of high quality, convenient, and that you will use yourself. Convincing other people about its qualities will then be much easier. When you talk about a product that you trust 100%, people will automatically have a positive and pleasant feeling about the deal.
Questions to Ask When Considering an MLM Company
If you get an offer to work in MLM, check out all the following points and make sure the offer is the right for you. Many people do not spend enough on evaluating individual offers, which can result in frustration and financial loss.
MLM Products
It is very important to evaluate the product that the company sells. Successful sale of MLM products depends on many factors. Even if you like your products and you are interested in the field, you need to consider several aspects before you decide to enter the system and sell the product.
The most important factor is, of course, quality. Unfortunately, many products that are distributed through MLM are inferior. The pressure on minimizing production costs and the ability to offer higher commissions to distributors often come at the expense of product quality. Before you decide to sell a product, try it out for yourself or let your friends or family do it. Go online and try to find some customer reviews not written by MLM distributors.
The quality of the product or service will decide whether to customers will come back and thus whether you keep good sales. Moreover, customers can share their positive experience with the quality of MLM products with other people.
Conversely, nobody will come back to buy poor-quality products. A more likely scenario is that they will slander it.
Each MLM product should have all the necessary certificates. This is especially true for cosmetics and wellness products.
A crucial role in your business will always play the price. If your MLM product is unreasonably expensive given its quality, customers will look elsewhere.
If you want to sell an expensive product, the price must be in line with the quality. In that case, however, you need to understand that your target group will be narrowed down only to the wealthier customers. It is therefore preferable to sell medium-priced products of satisfactory quality. Such products can appeal to a wide range of consumers.
The final price of the product is also determined by whether the MLM company produces its own product. Companies with their own manufacturing facility are usually able to offer a cheaper product of the same quality than companies who have their products produced by an external company. Own production also guarantees greater stability and control over the company’s own products.
If you are planning a long-term successful business, you should have a product that is somehow unique and hard to substitute. For instance, if your MLM company owns patents or unique know-how, you have a guarantee that the same product will not be sold elsewhere in the foreseeable future. You would not want to start with network marketing only to stumble upon your product being sold in supermarkets for half the price.
MLM products must never be such that they are bought only by people who want to engage in the distribution network and capitalize on network marketing. In that case, you will never get end customers. In addition, such an MLM program borders on illegality because the only way to generate commissions is to register new sellers who buy the product. Primarily, the product must be attractive to ordinary people outside the distribution network.
Another aspect you should take into account when evaluating MLM products is whether it is consumable goods or not. If you offer products that everyone normally buys only once in a lifetime, you will need to keep looking for new customers and recruit new distributors. You had better avoid such MLM programs because creating a passive income here would be extremely difficult.
On the contrary, sustainable high sales volumes can be achieved by products such as cosmetics, food supplements, or certain financial services. This, however, obviously only applies if they are of high quality. Selling quality products that your customers keep consuming and ordering is the right way to create passive income from network marketing.
How Long the MLM Company Operates on the Market
When entering MLM, it likely you will aim to build a stable passive income. That is the most interesting thing MLM offers. If you are to keep your income, your company needs to stay around. Unfortunately, the reality is such that the vast majority of new MLM companies will wind up within the first few years (some sources say the number is even 90% of MLM companies to close their business during three years).
If you are considering entry into a MLM company, you should first find out how long it has been on the market. Do not be tempted by claims of a unique opportunity when entering a completely new MLM company. This is not to say such new company can’t be a good opportunity too, but you must be extremely careful in that case. Such companies may not last long, and if entering the MLM business cost you a considerable financial investment, you can end up with a severe loss.
When recruiting new members, distributors like to highlight the benefits. They say the market is still unsaturated and that distributors are few and with limitless future profits. In a year, it will not be so profitable, they say. That would, in fact, mean that the company has no future if it would not be advantageous to enter the distribution network any time later. How then will you look for new people to your team?
Entering a newly established MLM company is bit of a gamble. Sometimes you really can get rich, but mostly you will close the business before earning any real money. The money and time that you put into building your business will be lost forever.
If you don’t like to gamble, do not enter into these young companies. Rather pick an MLM company that has already had several years of successful operation. There are usually many reviews about such companies you can find online. The fact that a company has been selling its products through network marketing for the last five years itself indicates that its products and their quality and price are indeed competitive.
Still, if somebody offers you to enter an MLM program that has been in business for many years, it does not automatically mean that it is the best choice. But at least there is smaller chance the company will go bankrupt before you even get settled in the new business and make some money.
Some MLM companies have been operating for decades. They have tested products at reasonable prices, their compensation plan is well set up, and nothing prevents them from staying around for another decade. One reason why you should not enter such companies is that such companies must have already built their distribution network and so there should not be much opportunity for other dealers. It is true that in these programs distributors may get rejected because their potential customer already purchases the product from someone else. However, complete saturation of a market never takes place. New generations of economically active consumers keep growing, and they always present a new target group.
Try to find out who owns your MLM company, its history, and if the same people have not previously bankrupted other MLM projects. Make sure that the company does not drown in debts and has cash reserves for the payment of commissions and the growth of the business.
Selecting tested MLM companies minimizes the risks associated with network marketing. A long-established company usually provides its distributors with quality products and suitable conditions for the development of their businesses.
Where the Company Operates
Not all MLM companies offer its products globally. Some companies operate only in selected markets. You should check where it is possible to offer the product and where the company distributors can come from.
Some companies that use network marketing, for example, only work in the United States. In that case, it is not possible to bring a new distributor, for example, from Europe.
For those who want to start a big business, it is important to check on what markets the MLM company operates or where it plans to expand in the future.
Larger companies usually have branches in every country in which they operate. It’s always good to work for a company that has its own office in your country. In case of any problems, you can turn to it for help and assistance and resolve your issues directly with a representative who speaks your language. For example, if there is a problem in the payment of commissions or delivery of products, it is more efficient to deal with these matters through a local branch than a far-way headquarters.
Direct Selling Association Membership
Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a national trade association that brings together companies selling their products through network marketing. Its members include more than 200 companies operating in the USA. The organization aims to protect independent distributors, their customers, and companies distributing their products through direct selling. The association oversees compliance with a high level of ethics and customer support of the member firms.
DSA aims is to keep the good name of network marketing. It inspects companies, their operation, compensation plans, and compliance with the principles of communication with customers.
MLM companies that are members of this organization are usually certified companies with a good history. Their distributors must comply with basic ethical rules when selling their products and even when recruiting new distributors. Membership in DSA minimizes the risk of being involved in a fraud scheme.
If you can choose, prefer MLM company which is a member of DSA. This will protect you against rapid loss of money, if your company turns out to be dishonest.
For the list of companies which are members of the Direct Selling Association, visit its
official website. Each member is also given the type of products or services it sells, including important contacts and telephone numbers.
Compensation Plan
MLM compensation plans determine what commission you get for your sales and for the sales of your team. It’s a very important document. Never enter any MLM program without a complete understanding of its compensation plan.
Companies often advertise high commissions for sales as the total amount they pay into the distribution network. However, each distributor gets only a fraction of this money because the total commission needs to be divided throughout the entire structure. Sometimes, MLM companies even do not pay distributors the entire amount of commission because they failed to meet various sales targets.
Always ask the person who offers you the business opportunity to give you a detailed explanation of the compensation plan. You should learn how many new distributors can register directly under you in the network, from how many levels you get paid commissions, or how commissions are graded at different levels. Also, find out if the payment of commissions is conditional on achieving monthly sales volume of your own or of your entire team.
Setting of the compensation plan determines how quickly a new member starts earning money. Sometimes, it is necessary to build a fairly large team of people in order to create even a small income. This usually takes a long time and no one wants to wait for the first payment half a year after the beginning of this intensive work.
Your MLM company should have a compensation plan set up so that even novice distributors had the opportunity to earn money within the first one to two months of work so that at least they could cover their expenses associated with entering the program. If the plan is set up so that an interesting income can be reached only by distributors positioned high in the structure, you will soon get demotivate and so will every member you recruit. Most of them will soon leave the business and your business will get nowhere.
Sometimes a MLM compensation plan is set up to support end dealers, sometimes it favors previously registered distributors with a large team under them. When considering signing up for an MLM program, think about what your goal is. You should decide whether you want to sell products to end consumers or build a large team of distributors.
Unfortunately, it often happens that even distributor who work in MLM for a long time do not really know their own compensation plan. They don’t know exactly how commissions are calculated from different levels of the supply network, cannot explain the system of special bonuses and rewards, and cannot even tell you what the conditions for the payment of money are. You should avoid such sponsors because they you will not be able to help up with your business when that need comes.
When choosing your network marketing company, you will usually come across one of these compensation plans: unilevel, binary, stairstep breakaway, or matrix. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
The unilevel compensation plan allows you to register an unlimited number of first-level distributors, but the number of levels from which commissions are paid is limited. Of all the MLM compensation plans, this is probably the least suited for individuals who plan to build a large sales network.
The binary plan, in turn, allows you to register directly under you only two distributors, other distributors must be placed deeper into the structure. To achieve maximum profit, sales volumes in individual branches need to be balanced.
Stairstep breakaway is a widespread compensation plan which is focused primarily on meeting sales volumes at specified time intervals. Here, distributors climb the career stairs depending on the performance of their team while gradually attaining higher commissions.
The matrix compensation plan has a fixed width of the structure and the number of levels from which commissions are paid. The matrix compensation plan has a popular feature called spill-over where distributors in your upline must put their new dealers into your team because they have reached the maximum allowable limits.
When choosing a MLM company, you must pay close attention to the compensation plan. If so, you might avoid possible disappointment in the future when you find out that the commission system works completely differently than you thought.
Initial Investment
The size of the initial investment is obviously an important factor when deciding about a business opportunity. But it’s not just about how much money you have to pull out of your pocket. The investment you have to make to be even able to participate in the program also determines how difficult it will be for you to register new distributors into your team. When starting a business, each of us is willing to give a different amount of investments. What may seem like a reasonable amount for some may not be acceptable for others.
Another problem is that if the network marketing company requires an unreasonable amount of purchases of the product to enter the program, it might be in violation of the laws of some countries. They prohibit the so-called front end loading, which is a practise of forcing distributors to create a large stock of products. These MLM schemes are based only on recruiting new resellers who themselves buy large numbers of products. Very often, distributors then have a problem with selling such amounts of goods.
Calculating the return on investment in MLM is very difficult. It is hard to guess how fast you manage to create some income. There are many variables that you have to put into the equation. How many regular buyers of your products you get, how often they will order goods, how many new distributors you register into your team, how they will operate and further expand the team.
You certainly cannot rely on promises of the person who tries to lure you in to an MLM company. Their objective is to involve you in the system, and not all distributors are exactly honest when doing so. Obviously, there is a difference when you are dealing with a family member or a complete stranger. Never base your calculations on the results of someone else, whether they are real or imagined.
Doing reasonable estimates allows you to approximately determine what income you can achieve, for example, after three months of doing business in MLM. Such calculation can also serve as your goal and motivation, but you cannot count on it or plan your future around it.
Doing MLM business is never risk-free. You will not have a stable income until you build a solid network of distributors who will generate regular commissions.
Sometimes, your investment in MLM may not return at all. And it’s not only about if your company winds up or even deceives its distributors. It may be that you simply fail to succeed. You may realize that this type of business is not for you, even though you had thought you could do it. People around you may react on your offers differently than you had originally anticipated. There are many reasons why you can fail in MLM.
Never invest too much money in your MLM business. The golden rule says, never invest more than you can afford to lose. Avoid business opportunities that require huge investments. Do not join the ranks of those who put their savings into a dubious scheme, left their jobs, and then ended up with no money and no income because they overestimated their abilities or were deceived.
Support and Training
A good MLM company should provide its distributors with their own training courses. If you want to be successful, you have to be well trained in the products that you sell and in the methods of recruiting new members for your team.
Not every sponsor can be a good coach. Even if the person who brought you into your MLM program is himself well-trained and understands the system, he may not be good at teaching. Therefore, when choosing a network marketing company, make sure that the company offers its own training courses.
When you begin to work in network marketing, your first goal should be to get as much knowledge about the product you sell as possible. You should also train sales and communication skills.
Perfect product knowledge is a condition for the successful acquisition of satisfied and loyal customers. You must be able to advise your customers with the choice and emphasize the benefits of your offer. Therefore, pay close attention to studying informational materials about products and to corporate training.
Network marketing requires a high level of salesmanship. If you do not have a natural talent, try to attend as many coaching courses as possible. Meetings with successful people who master these skills can also help you to move forward.
Your MLM company must offer you regular training courses where you learn about new products and current business and marketing strategies, and let you improve your selling skills.
When evaluating MLM companies, also observe what kind of support they provide to their distributors and end customers. Does the company have local branches? Is customer service in your language? How does the company handle complaints? Many reviews can usually be found on online discussion boards. If the company does not resolve problems properly, you will certainly read about it somewhere.
Choosing a Good Sponsor
Selecting the right sponsor is as important as the choice of the company itself. If you already know for which MLM company you want to work, you have to find a person who will register you into the program and who will cooperate with you.
Each networker prefers a different strategy for sales, reaching new people, and building a team, and your future sponsor should be in line with your ideas in this respect. Some prefer online methods when building the team, some use more traditional ways.
Your sponsor in network marketing should primarily be a leader. He should be able to pass on his experience, inspire his team members, provide them with knowledge, and assign tasks so that the business moves forward. The sponsor must have a positive attitude toward his job and be able to motivate his team. A good MLM sponsor is constantly actively building up the business. He follows current trends, devises new strategies, and works on his skills and education.
Do not start MLM business with someone who will not have enough time for you because he has a large number of distributors under him or because he is busy with a completely different activity. Especially in your early days you will often need his help.
In today’s world of network marketing, a key role is played by modern technologies and the internet. Your future sponsor should be adapted to this trend. Avoid people who completely reject online methods for building their business.
Finding the Right Company and the Right Sponsor
You have probably received many network marketing offers in your life. If, however, none was the right for you or you were not satisfied with the person who should have been your sponsor and mentor, you still can look around for other business opportunities.
Most MLM companies have established websites where you can learn about their products and offers for distributors. Social networks are full of discussion groups and MLM job offers. Try to get into groups that connect people working in MLM business in your area. You can meet interesting people and compare offers of various enterprises and companies.
If you want to meet MLM professionals from your country or from around the world, create an account at MLM Gateway. You will be able to reach people working in the field of network marketing that interests you. You can listen to their offers and choose the right partner to enter the world of network marketing.
Choosing the best MLM company may not be a simple task. Comparing various options and evaluating offers take time and patience. Entering MLM is a serious matter that often requires a financial investment, so do choose carefully.
