Setting Expectations for Your Network Marketing Business

You started your network marketing business with high expectations.

You have goals and dreams, thoughts of what your business can do for you, and hopefully a plan in place to reach them.

A concern that I have is helping new marketers set realistic expectations for how quickly they can generate a life-changing income.

Just ignoring this can cause discouragement and other problems just as you are getting your network marketing business off the ground.

Because network marketing is such a powerful business model, where hard work can create pretty substantial incomes in a relatively short time, expectations need to be tempered and realistic.

Let’s say you sponsor someone who is really excited about your opportunity, and they hit the ground running. After six months in business, they have sponsored fifteen people and are getting a check for about $200 – $300 per month that includes fast start bonuses and such.

If a new business builder comes in expecting exponential growth and income to happen extremely quickly, they can be very discouraged and disappointed.

Sure, some do come in and build up big incomes pretty fast. I know very successful marketers who were pretty much down and out, had nothing to lose, and were able to put a full time effort into building their business and started making big checks after 3-6 months.

Realistically, though, we’re talking here about people who have jobs and other responsibilities. They are building their future on a very part-time basis.

Think about a traditional job. If someone is earning $65,000 per year on their job, but they hate it and start their network marketing business to replace that income, what is a realistic expectation?

• work part-time and in six months get to the income level it took them 10-15 years to achieve via traditional employment

• work consistently and focused for 3-5 years taking daily part-time action to do the same

When talking to people who are disappointed that they aren’t making the big bucks after six months or whatever, something stands out. I usually find that they are really pumped up about the network marketing business model and the exponential fashion in which downlines (and income) can grow, but just don’t understand that there is a “point of momentum” that they must hit.

Momentum is that point at which your business begins to grow quickly. It’s when you’ve located and sponsored (let’s say) 2-3 leaders who are also out there actively prospecting and sponsoring like you are. This is when your group begins to grow quickly and the numbers start to get exciting!

What gets lost sometime is the concept of how work done today, tomorrow, and onward each day compounds and builds up. Some people that I connect with and prospect this next week won’t be interested in my business at all right now, or they may be involved in something else and the timing isn’t right. I’ve had some people join my team 1-2 years after that initial contact, because something changed and the timing became right!

The bottom line to all this is, you have to have some patience and stand firm as things begin to develop. I’ve seen too many people sign up and “give it a try” for a couple months then drop out (even one is too many). Setting realistic expectations for your network marketing business income right up front, and understanding that it takes a little time for your group to develop and your income to start hitting the bigger numbers, makes a lot of sense.

 

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