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How to Survive in MLM...and Succeed!

Can you make thousands monthly with mlm? Yes. Is it hard to do? Many people choose to make it hard.

Careful planning is absolutely essential before you start any MLM business. Using the right mlm business plan can determine your success or failure.

No matter whether you are representing a product or a service, it goes without saying, you need to have confidence that your company will deliver what it promises and that your upline sponsor can and is willing to help you achieve success before you start an mlm business.

Obviously a good first step before you start an mlm business is to try the products and/or services for yourself, and give them a genuine rating. Would you see yourself recommending them to your family and friends even if you were not getting any kind of benefit?

You dont want to be selling something that you know is of poor quality.

The next very important step is to find out just how successful your sponsor has been, and how willing they are to help you achieve success.

This is critical - if they are not interested in helping you, your work will be harder.

Actually, industry experts know that network marketing is more of a people business than it is a product or service business.

Ok, so now you think your ready to start your home business, and you are about to register.

WAIT!

Before you do, you need to be absolutely certain that you are registering under the right sponsor. Otherwise, you risk becoming yet another mlm orphan, trying to battle it out on your own. It is more important to have the right sponsor than to have the right downline. That being said, you shouldnt think that joining directly under the company or in the first 2 tiers will put you in good stead either. You are really looking for a sponsor who has a reasonable number in their downline and also has clearly demonstrated their willingness to help their downline also achieve success.

Far too many new mlmers have the mistaken belief that once they have signed up, the bonus checks will start rolling in. We have all seen the sites where people even scan in their bonus check on their sponsoring website in an attempt to lure you in to share in their riches. Dont be fooled. It takes a lot of hard work to start earning money, once you start an mlm business. That is why many people choose to work at a regular job. If you take the time to look into it though, an mlm business has some huge advantages over any regular job. (Just to name a few...tax advantages, residual income, travel, family time, no boss, no commute, an income that continues to grow, and so forth.)

Your goal should NOT be to just get anyone to sign up under you, but to build relationships with others and through those relationships you can then develop business partners. Why do I call them business partners? Simple. Their success adds to your success. It is then in your best interests to do everything you can to help them become successful. If they are successful, then so are you. Treating your downline enrolees as business partners will strengthen you relationships with them and teach them to do the same with their downline.

Ok, so now you are really ready to get started in your MLM business - right? Well, not quite. Take some time, and read everything you can about the company, its products/services and its success stories. Go to your library and check out some books on starting your own business. Just because it is network marketing doesnt mean you should treat it any different to running a traditional business. Not if you expect to create a six-figure income. Of course, it goes without saying, that you need to attend all company meetings & teleconferences - you will meet other marketers that will also pass on valuable tips to help you on your way.

In the last steps of preparation, you need to plan how much capital you have to start your MLM business. If the answer is $0, then chances are, you wont succeed. No, I am serious. You will find it very slow and difficult to build your business. You will need some capital for advertising. Simply creating a webpage wont bring you any business, you need people to see your webpage. If the opportunity is one that only costs $39 to get started...then people that join will not be very serious or committed. You should be very skeptical of those that are free or almost free to join. They usually do not bring in a significant income and fail quickly.

Of course, finding a few serious distributors to personally sponsor is absolutely critical to getting started. Your upline mentor should be willing to help you talk to your first few prospects, in person or on a three-way call. Unfortunately, only a few sponsors are committed as you might think that they are. It is all too common, to sponsor 10 or more people, before you find your first serious business partner (enrolee). Don't worry. That is ok. Percentages will only improve with practice. For now, you should concentrate on duplicating yourself just twice. Teach them to do the same. Eventually, youll be able to train and mentor more than two, but for the first six to twelve months, concentrate on quality, not quantity.

You will find that most people dont believe that they can "sell" and probably wouldnt even want to try. The word sell can be a scary word. Done right, it never feels like selling. You have to decide whether to "lead with the product" or "lead with the opportunity." If the person is interested in a health product for example, and you instead tell them of a business opportunity, they suspect that you want them to go out and "sell" to their friends and family. That is why many people fail in this industry. While selling is an important part of any successful network marketing experience, you might be more successful if the process took on a softer focus.

Think about your experiences to date. Could this be why you have trouble sponsoring? Your first impression is very important. Preconceived notions can build mental roadblocks that are difficult to overcome. If the prospect seems cold to the opportunity offer, many companies have a Preferred Customer program that is in between becoming a retail customer, and a full-fledged distributor. This may be a good place to start, and you can then work them into a business opportunity offer later, once they bond to your products.

Success in your mlm business requires proper direction, great products or services, making a serious commitment to a specified goal, following a proven plan of success, and then giving it at least 4 to 6 months of serious effort.