If the headline shocked you, it should. It is a proven fact that within the first 12 months of a person joining a MLM company, there is a 97% chance their hopes and dreams of success have melted away and they have stopped being active in their business. Is Network Marketing such a bad business model that only a select few can succeed? The answer needs to be a qualified No. A qualified no because Network Marketing in and of itself is not a bad business model, it is because of the way MLM companies train their representatives.

Back in the 1950's and 1960's when Network Marketing was just getting started, the model worked great because people actually interacted with their friends and neighbors. They had barbecues together, they chatted about their day at work and they liked to help each other. Selling a MLM's product and opportunity was relatively easy and profitable because most people had a strong network of friends and family or what is affectionately called their 'Warm Market".

Fast forward to 2009. People are stretched thin in their jobs, they might talk to one of their neighbors and their family is spread out all over the country. Their warm market of friends and family is essentially cold. Couple that with the fact that most adults today have been approached at least once to join (and have probably already failed) a MLM company, it is next to impossible to grow a MLM business from your warm market. The techniques Networking companies teach to ask your warm market for 'a favor' or 'help me out' just do not work past getting 2 or 3 people in a downline. If you look at the vast majority of compensation plans of these companies, you need to have at least 50 or 60 people in your downline to start seeing a measure of success. With even a liberal sign up rate of 10%, you would need to have 500-600 friends and family to talk to.

The other problem with using your warm market to 'help you out' is that you are trying to sell them something they necessarily don't need or for that matter want. How hard is it to sell a vacation package to your home bound uncle or sell a telecom service to your mom and dad that already have bundled services or a health tonic to your neighbor the couch potato?  You are not selling products and services that people want. You are trying to leverage your relationship to convince them to just 'try it, you may like it'. Chances are that if you are a really great salesman and you do convince them, they won't continue on for more than 6 months. Then, your hard fought battle to build a downline is gone and you are back at square one.

So, how do those people you see in the MLM companies' promotional DVD get thousands of people in their business? And better yet, how do they keep them in their business? Here are a few ways:

  1. Find people who want what you have to offer.
  2. Effectively present your products, services and opportunities to those people.
  3. Give them compelling reasons to join you.
  4. Help them get started in their business.
  5. Give those people reasons to stay with their business by giving them the skills and training they need to succeed

If you have people that truly believe in your product or service, have a passion to sell that product and they achieve at least some measure of success, then you will have people that will stay in your downline. A lack of passion is a major downfall for many businesses out there in and of its own. A lack of passion and a lack of skills is a sure fire recipe for failure.

Network Marketing presents a great opportunity for people today to supplement their income, but only if they have the skills necessary to build their business the right way. I can tell you unequivocally that you will not succeed in an MLM if you rely solely on your friends and family. You need the skill set to find interested people and train them what you know. If you are one of the 3% of people that got lucky and was able to build a multi-thousand person downline from your warm market, congratulations! If you are in the majority of people that don't have that kind of warm market, then you need to acquire the skill set necessary to succeed. If you don't have the first clue on how to effectively market an MLM company in today's environment you have 2 choices; either save yourself the time and money and don't join or find a mentor that can give you the training to succeed.

I myself have had a failed MLM business or three and it wasn't until I went out and found the skills necessary to succeed that I truly understood how to effectively grow and manage a Network Marketing business. Now I mentor others so they can see the path to success and explode their rep downline into the thousands. You are welcome to seek my advice at www.rep-builder.com or by email scott@rep-builder.com. Even if you don't seek the help from me, find a mentor somewhere that can give you a blueprint to success.

Scott Warner is a professional marketer and mentor. He has available the tools needed to succeed marketing any business and specializes in Network Marketing business. To find out more about Scott and the blueprint to success, go to http://www.rep-builder.com/index or by email scott@rep-builder.com

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