Some people fail to make money and achieve success with their MLM business because they make it much harder and more difficult than it needs to be.
By nature, MLM and network marketing is a simple business model that relies on word of mouth to create interest and generate enthusiasm about a product or service. That’s it.
One problem that many new MLM business builders face in our modern high tech world is an overwhelming abundance of ways to get that word out to prospects and potential customers.
In the beginning, before all the wonderful technology we enjoy now, it was very simple. Tell people you meet face to face in everyday life about your MLM business opportunity, put ads in local newspapers, and encourage people to attend in-home meetings. If you lived in a larger area with strong local leaders, you would have presentations and events at local hotels and meeting places to bring prospects to.
Those traditional offline methods still work (although it IS harder to get people to local meetings these days, it seems). However, we now have the massive power and potential of the Internet in the mix. So, what is the best way to approach building your business these days while still keeping it simple and productive?
When I say “simple”, I mean focusing on basic fundamentals and not trying to branch out and do too many different things. That’s one thing that brings down a lot of promising MLM business ventures before they have a chance for success – losing focus and trying many different things looking for a “magic bullet”.
There is no “magic bullet”. The best thing you can do, especially in the beginning, is keep everything simple. It is easy to go online and get really confused about how to prospect and get leads. MLM lead generation is a huge business, and some methods work and some are total garbage. There are lots of people out there selling leads that are very old, that have been sold over and over, and generally are a waste of your money and time. There are all kinds of theories and recruiting systems – some good and some pretty much worthless.
Your upline team should offer some basic business success training that will help you keep focus and get your business rolling and into profit. The important thing is to make connections right away and get moving as quickly as you can, and in most cases this will be easier to do offline than online. Get some experience and gain some confidence talking to people in person. This prepares you much better for dealing with online leads and prospects later.
Regardless of what sponsoring and lead generating techniques you try (online or offline) as you go along, the simple and basic skills you need will remain the same.
- being able to talk about your product and opportunity comfortably and without hesitation
- talking to people about your business (not just emailing or using autoresponders, talking to them)
- signing up prospects now who are ready, and following up consistently with those who are not
These are three of the simple basic fundamentals that will take you far in your MLM business, if you master them. Keep it simple.
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About Eldon Beard
Great advice Eldon … and it is very true that it’s tougher than ever to get people to meetings. The direct sales company I worked for spends a ton of money every month sending product samples and demos to each district across the country for sales meetings. Unfortunately, attendance at meetings has progressively shrunk in recent years so that’s left manager’s stockpiling product and on the road constantly trying to demo the stuff in the field. And those are people who have already joined! When it comes to getting people to show up for opportunity meetings, i think a lot of people are concerned about being pressured into something. Building trust is important, but it’s a bigger challenge than ever making that initial connection.
Marquita, I agree that the bigger challenge than ever is making a strong initial connection with people.
This is an important message. I think it applies to a lot of things we may be starting out with. Sometimes we get overwhelmed and over complicate things. Just keep it simple and do what we know. We can expand things later if we need to.
Thanks Melodie, most people getting into this business make things way too hard. It’s the basic fundamentals that make the difference.
So true Eldon, when people join the business it’s a great idea to get them comfortable with talking about their business.That is surely the place to start. Home business meetings are starting to help more with recruiting efforts because of all the internet social media spamming that goes on. People want to meet people face to face. If they can get some help promoting a local event online to a targeted audience and reserving spots it can be very powerful. But yes, I think systems aren’t very profitable except for funding your main business. I use them mostly to become an expert in a certain niche but nothing works like your own product or service. Unless the affiliate product is a good product and marketed to a profitable niche. I think people need to become an expert in their home business first, then create their own free and sellable product catered the that home business niche and have home business meetups to sell their products to attract people to their home business. Lots of work but once we learn how to talk to people about our business it’s always good to take it to the next level? Starting with your suggestions are the way to go.
Thanks for your comments, Rick. I believe a lot of new people lack confidence in approaching prospects because they simply don’t know what to say. That’s why I believe that getting comfortable with talking about your business is a critical first step. Some people can just wing it, most can’t, so preparation is necessary.