Network Marketing/MLM Tips

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How do I choose and MLM company?

Breakaway Compensation Plan

A Breakaway Compensation Plan allows for:
*Unlimited first-level width
*Finite depth (determined by the individual company)
*Generational commissions
*When certain levels are reached (based on various qualifications often including personal and team volume) the distributor and his team "breaks away" from the upline sponsor.
*Commissions can still be earned by the sponsor, but the "break-away" teams's sales volumes will no longer count toward the sponsor's qualifications.

   
How do I deal with being told no?

Selling or Convincing?

OK, so now you're in a great MLM company and you're ready to start offereing your products to the world. You've read all about every products and can quote directly from your product manual. You've gone to your first presentation and "wow-ed" the audience with all of your knowledge...or so you thought! You went home only to add up less than $100 in orders--what happened?!?!

What did you offer these customers? Did you offer them a ton of products that could solve every problem in the world? Or did you offer them what they wanted and needed?

The key to successful marketing (selling) is to LISTEN first and find out what people need. Then your job is to find something that will fill that need. You should listen more than you talk. Ask questions. Contrary to popular belief, selling is about filling a need with your product or service, not convincing someone to buy something they don't want or need (or convincing them that they do need it).

Listen to your customers. You'll have higher sales and get loads of respect!

   
How do I deal with being told no?

Can you hear no?

The business of Network Marketing is about sharing the right product with the right person at the right time. Be prepared to hear "no" many, many times. This does not mean you're a failure.

When you offer someone a snack or something to drink at your home and they say "no", do you get upset and run crying from the room and mope the rest of the day? Of course not! The person most likely wasn't saying no to you, just to whatever you offered. Maybe they had just eaten. Maybe they are allergic to what you offered. The same goes for Network Marketing. Timing is everything. No doesn't always mean no forever. It often means:
"No, not right now." or "No, not that one, but maybe a different one."

Stay persistant and stay focused. Always remember, "Some will. Some won't. So what? Who's next?"

   
How do I know if a company is a pyramid scheme?

Downline

In Network Marketing, your downline are all of the distributors who are in your personal organization. Those you personally recruit, those they recruit, and on down the line.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Find the RIGHT business for you.

When deciding on which Network Marketing company to join, keep a few things in mind:

1. Is the company established? How long have they been around?

2. How does the compensation plan fit in to your lifestyle? Does it emphasize selling, recruiting, both?

3. What is the product/service being sold? The more passionate you are about the product/service you are providing, the easier it will be to succeed.

A company that's right for one person may not be right for another. All compensation plans have their pro's and con's. Take your time when deciding--this is a BUSINESS, and it is YOUR business. Do not let anyone pressure you into signing on the dotted line. If they truly believe in their company and the industry, they'll wait until you're ready to make a firm commitment.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

What to look for

When looking at a Network Marketing company, there are two fundamental items to look at to help you determine if it is legit or a pyramid (or other) scheme:

a) The product/service-if there is a tangible product or useful service that could be sold to the general public on it's own (without any recruiting) then you probably have a valid business.

b) Can the "last" person make money? If the there were to be no more recruiting, could the last person recruited still make money (via sales)-some scams only pay for recruiting, which goes back to the first point about having a valid product or service to sell.

   
How do I learn how to sell?

Features vs Benefits

How do you sell your products? Do you tell everyone about all the doo-dads and wahoos your product has? And all the different colors it comes in? And how it's smaller than a shoebox?

Sure, these features are important, but your customers can see these things for themselves. Your job is to let them know how these "features" will "benefit" them:

*all the doo-dads and wahoos = convenience-everything in one place so you don't have to search for many different items
*all the different colors = selection for various moods-you can find the one that fits YOUR personality
*it's smaller than a shoebox = compact and portable-it doesn't take up a lot of shelf space and you can take it with you easily

Take a look at each of your products' features and come up with a benefit for each. Facts are nice, but facts backed up with benefits will sell.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Binary Compensation Plan

The Binary compensation plan offers:
*First Level width limited to two
*Infinite depth
*Generational commissions
*Commissions are determined on the accumulated sales volume in each of the two "legs". The more volume, the higher the commission.
*Most binary plans pay based on the leg with the least volume

   
How do I build a downline?

Share and share alike

Think about why you signed up with the company you're with. How did you find out about it? Typically we find out about great things from:
*friends who recommend them to us (a good movie, a new restaurant)
*a testimonial from a third party (the NY Times said this book is a "must read")
*we come across it and decide to try it out (a brand new product on a store shelf)

Have you come to expect to find great things from these methods? do you trust your friends' recommendations? Do you trust the "experts" in the field? Are you willing to try something "new and exciting"?
This is no different than sharing your business opportunity with others. If what you're doing is so great, then why not share it? No, it may not be for everybody...but then again, neither is that new Mongolian restaurant that your best friend just told you about!

If you find something great, share it with everybody. Someone will thank you for it some day!

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Matrix Compensation Plan

A Matrix Compensation Plan offers:
*Limited first level width
*Finite depth
*Linear commissions
*Usually all the volume that falls within the pay-level matrix counts toward qualifications.
*The matrix is defined by the first-level width limit and the number of levels, for example a 2 x 12 matrix allows for a first level of two distributors and pays 12 levels deep.

   
How do I build a downline?

A sorting business

While building a large downline is one of the keys to MLM success (hence the name "multi-level"), however, this is still a sorting business.

One of the benefits of owning your own business (which in MLM you do own your own business) is that you can choose who you work with. If someone's goals and vision don't match yours, you do not have to work with them. If you're looking to build a team of leaders, you get to hand-pick each and every person who joins your team.

Don't be led into believing that there is scarcity in this business, that there aren't enough new distributors to join your team and that they all might go somewhere else. There are plenty of potential new distributors. And anyway, do you really want to sign somebody up who is just going to be unhappy (with the product or company or you)? You're better off "sorting" through the rocks to find your diamonds!

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Unilevel Compensation Plan

A Unilevel Compensation Plan allows for:
*Unlimited first level width
*Finite depth
*Linear commissions
*There is no breakaway in this plan and any number of distributors can be placed on any of the levels.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Australian Compensation Plan

The Australian Compensation Plan (also known as the Two-Up plan) allows for:
*Unlimited first level width
*Infinite depth
*Linear commissions
*The commissions earned on your first two distributors on your first level are passed up to your sponsor and the commissions from the first two distributors recruited by your third recruit are passed up to you.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Compensation Plans

Often the most confusing part about deciding on which Network Marketing company to associated with is in trying to decipher the compensations plans. When deciding on compensation plans, find one that fits your preferences and lifestyle.

*If you are a hot recruiter, then you may not want a Binary Plan which limits your first level to two distributors. Something like a Unilevel or Breakaway Plan might suit you better.
*If you are great at selling, but not a great team builder, then you'll want to look into a plan that pays a high commission on your personal sales with not so much emphasis placed on your downline's sales.

There are only a few basic types of compensation plans, and most companies use some hybrid of the basics, tailoring them to their own unique niche.

Do lots of research, ask lots of questions, and don't sign on the dotted line until you are satisfied with the answers you've received.

   
How do I know if a company is a pyramid scheme?

Upline

In Network Marketing, your upline are all those who came before you and are above you in the hierarchy, including your sponsor and his sponsor and her sponsor.

   
How do I choose and MLM company?

Stair-Step Compensation Plan

A Stair-Step plan is any type of plan that has multiple ranks of advancement such as Member, Leader, and Director.
This term is usually only found with Breakaway Plans.

   
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