Overcoming the Challenges of Network Marketing

by Steven Schnedler

With the proliferation of network marketing companies, it is a rare person not approached by a friend or neighbor invited to join one. The benefits to a successful MLM business are enticing enough. The two most trumpeted are residual income and the magic of leveraging, in other words, benefiting from the efforts of others. Of course, a third very justified benefit would be adding an additional stream of income to the family coffers. As we know, the term “job-security” could be defined as an oxymoron. You either have a job or you have security, but at the very best, you don’t get security by having a job.

Nevertheless, in order to successfully overcome the hurdles of this industry, you must first know what some of the hurdles are in selecting the right company. This article doesn’t claim to be an exhaustive list, but it will mention four of the biggest considerations in selecting a company:

Timing – Is this company just starting, been around a while or old? There is not a perfect stage, because each one has it’s advantages and disadvantages. If you want something that is established and has worked out the kinks, then go for an old one. The disadvantage is usually everyone’s heard about it and already has an opinion, rightfully or wrongfully, about it. If you’re willing to be a little riskier, do your due diligence and pick a newer company. They may still have some issues to perfect, but if they have a unique product that is in demand, your timing could be perfect.

Positioning - In an older company you’re going to be at the bottom of the totem pole. That is not necessarily bad if you have a great upline, but a dog upline is the curse of a new network marketer. Some of the best recruiters are the absolute worst sponsors. They make “pie in the sky” promises, but once you’re signed up they don’t even have the courtesy to respond to your emails or phone calls, or at least they don’t do it in a timely manner. Then, they quickly label you as a whiner when you call them on it, so they can excuse their irresponsible actions (or inactions). However, if you pick a newer and smaller company closer to its beginning, there’s a good chance that there is little space between you and the upper echelons of good distributors and they are still willing to work very hard with you to get their business going. Also, this may give you a little more access to the company leadership. In one company I joined, a few days later, I actually received a call from the president of the company to welcome me. This company was already 7 years old and successful.

Available Time – Think about how much time you have and are willing to put into this endeavor. If it is a traditional “belly-to-belly” type of business, plan on many hours away from family. If you’re willing to pay the cost, then power to you. Most sponsors severely understate the amount of time to be successful in order to convince you to join. Some have the nerve to tell you that you will get a company website that will have people flocking to it to join, so you don’t have to contact anybody. There is a great English word for this. It’s called “bull”. Many distributor sites by older companies make you feel like it would be more productive to go to the dentist for a root canal. Wise distributors of these companies try to set up their own sites and companies get nervous because the distributors may actually say something of value to a prospect. Here you are definitely ahead of the game if you go with a smaller company. They tend to be more “customer service oriented” instead of specializing in the phrase “that can’t be done”.

Cost of entry – While it is true that you usually need to spend sufficient to have some level of commitment, most new distributors don’t have any idea what they’re getting into to. I actually had one individual encourage me to “invest” $1,500 to get started to get a “good position” in his organization. His justification, “don’t nickel and dime your future”. Other distributors in his organization complained that after that, he was better than Houdini at disappearing. A distributor that encourages you to start with the most expensive “starter package” is looking out for his wallet, not yours. If you’re successful, you’ll put plenty of dough in his pocket anyway and starting with a smaller package will give you an opportunity to see if he or she is a person of their word in supporting you. Don’t spend a boatload of money on something you know nothing or very little about with no knowledge of how you’ll be supported “after the sale.”

Last, I couldn’t end this article without giving you at least one good suggestion on where to start. There is a relatively new company that has a forced compensation plan of 5x7. That means that you can only have 5 persons on your first level and each one of those 5 and so forth, on through seven levels. When you sponsor a 6^th person, that person goes on a lower level.  They pay you exactly $1 per person per level. Very simple plan. When all levels are filled out, you will get paid over $90,000/month.

Now why do I recommend this company? Because it is relatively new, which gives you great timing, positioning, takes very little time to build since it is subscription based (meaning you only do the “sale” once) and the cost of entry is only $9.95 a month! There is no start up fee, no sales kit, no manuals, handbooks, etc. How hard can it be to sponsor someone at only $9.95 a month? What is the product? Tons of free stuff they promote for other companies. So even if you never sponsored anyone, you would easily recoup your monthly fee with the free stuff offered on the site. If you’re looking for great timing, positioning, low time investment and an unbelievably low cost of entry, you owe it to yourself to check out www.NoPainMLM.com. I honestly believe that with this company, you can overcome the challenges of network marketing.

(Steven Schnedler has worked in several MLM companies and as a regional sales director for one.)