Is Network Marketing/Direct Sales Right For You?

Hello everyone. 

I’m noticing many people via facebook and G+ interested in joining a home business opportunity. But when an offer presents itself, noone seems to know how to handle the offer. They feed off others in response to the offer, call it a scam and then proceed to fall for a scam.

I’m noticing this happening in all age groups, but primarily with the millennials. This is a problem, or rather a sign of a larger problem in the business world. 

Issue #1

What I’m noticing is people asking for a home business, but they don’t want:

• Home parties
• Monthly fees
• Startup costs
• Recruiting customers
• Recruiting team members
• Posting ads on social media
• Handing out business cards
• Talking to people

I’m sorry, but if that’s you then what you want is a job. Not a business. Not all home businesses have monthly fees or startup costs. Not all require home parties. However, regardless what type of business you start, home-based or otherwise, you need to get the word out. You won’t be successful if you don’t put the work in. 

If you want an opportunity that simply has no startup or monthly costs, and doesn’t require home parties, look into mine. But you will need to put time and effort in if you want to earn a weekly check.

Companies that do have a startup cost and/or monthly fee should be seen as investing in yourself. Business has overhead. My company has no startup or monthly fees because it’s cloud-based which allows our CEO’s to keep costs down for team members. But we still have to purchase our business cards and other physical marketing material. A brick-and-mortar business, you would have overhead in the thousands of dollars between your real estate, supplies, insurances, etc. A home-based business shaves a huge percentage of that off of you. 

A home business is not a job. It’s a business, very similar to a franchise. You are under corporate, you have some rules and limitations, but you’re responsible for your own earnings. No time and effort = no pay. 

If you’re introverted (shy), some sponsors (such as myself) will help you. They are exceptional at what they do and go above and beyond to help their team members. It’s just a matter of finding the right team with the right company. 

As far as advertising goes, without advertising there is no customers. Without customers, you don’t have a business. Proper advertising and marketing is required in any business in order for it to grow. 

Issue #2

Another huge issue I see is people who had a crappy sponsor now thinks the whole industry is a scam. Or at the very least, the company they were with. And this is a damn shame. One person ruining it for everyone. This is one reason why 97% of people fail in this industry. 

Some companies do have sponsor training in place. But only few actually have any kind of actual oversight that their promoters/distributors are actually utilizing the training. So is it any wonder why most companies eventually crash? A company whose team is largely comprised of greedy people not properly training their downlines is doomed to fail. If you’re in NM/DS, pay attention to how many sponsors are being spoken poorly about in comparison to the size of the company. If it’s more than 5% of your companies promoters/distributors, I highly recommend pushing corporate to do something about enforcing better training onto new team members. 

Those of you who may be reading this who got left behind by a crappy sponsor, on behalf of the industry I apologize. But don’t wrongfully accuse the company or industry as being a scam. You had a crappy sponsor, that’s it. Your sponsor didn’t know their job or how to do it and should have stuck to seeking customers, not team members. Keep on looking for a team or company that will help you succeed. 

Issue #3

Patience. I’m noticing many people who don’t understand patience is a virtue. They believe 2 to 3 weeks is a long time in a business. 

Two or three weeks is a blink of an eye in the business world. Most brick-and-mortar businesses take 3-5 years to break even. And it could take weeks before their first sale is made. Home-based businesses aren’t any different. Yes, they are more cost effective to start. Yes, the time required on average is less. But it still takes 1 to 3 months to start earning on average. It takes as long as a year on average to start earning reasonable income. 

Now, this isn’t true for everyone. We’ve all seen ads, or even know someone, who started making sales day 1 and hit the near impossible $200K/mo in their first month. But look at these peoples lives. How much of a warm market did they have? How many resources and funds were at their disposal for paid advertising and promotional material? Many of these people were already upper-middle class, if not upper class. They had larger circles and more resources than us average people. 

The most I’ve seen an average person hit was $10K/mo in their second month. And that’s only because they got involved with a company that has products or services they believe in; which means they could better represent the products/services without selling or pushing them on people. 

If you’re with a company and 3 weeks went by without a single sale, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I marketing to my target audience?
• Am I spending enough time learning about and promoting the products/services?
• Am I able to stand behind the products/services I’m selling?
• Am I working with and listening to my sponsor?
• Am I in this for the right reasons?

If you don’t feel comfortable selling what your company offers, you’re not listening to your sponsor, or you don’t know why you’re with that company, you’ll never be successful. 

Three weeks isn’t very long. Don’t give up. Keep working with your sponsor. Find out why you’re not selling, and fix the problem.

Issue #4

All the wrong reasons. Why did you get or do you want to get involved in NM/DS? Many people either have umbrella answers, wrong answers, or no answer at all.

If you want to be in NM/DS just for:

• The money
• Discounted products
• Percieved freedom

Do yourself a favor and get a job. A home-based business is not for you.

• Greed won’t get you success
• You can be a customer with auto-ship to get discounts with most companies. You don’t need to be a distributor. 
• Freedom of time and money only comes available after a period of long hours and hard work to build up to the point of financial and time freedom.

If you want to succeed at any NM/DS business, first you need to understand it’s a business. You must treat it like one. Next, you need to understand that these types of businesses are only successful through helping people. People will only buy from you if they can get to know and trust you. You need to be able to offer a solution to a problem.

This industry isn’t just products and services. It’s people helping people. You’re products or services should be solving a problem for your customers. You should be a leader for your team members in your downline, helping them reach success. If you can’t do that, if you can only look at everyone as dollar signs, this is not the industry for you.

Issue #5

Wrong company. I briefly touched upon this is in issues above, but this is a big one. You must only join a company you can truly stand behind. I joined a health and wellness company because it’s what I’m into, and have been for a long time. I strongly believe if we were all in optimal health that many diseases today wouldn’t exist and we’d get sick less often. I believe through optimal health, our bodies would be able to heal itself of many illnesses and diseases. So I joined a company that has all natural health products. It’s a company and products I can truly stand behind. 

It’s very important you do the same. It doesn’t matter how much I earn or anyone else earns in this company. There is no guarantee you’ll earn as much if you’re not into health and wellness. If you’re into shoes, join a shoe company. If you’re passionate about makeup, join a makeup company. 

But don’t join a company selling products/services you’re not passionate about simply because someone said they’re earning a huge income at it. You can be successful even in the most saturated of niche’s if you’re passionate about it. 

When you’re passionate about something, you don’t need to memorize pitches; it will come natural. Nor will it feel like work because you’ll be doing what you love. 

Conclusion

Those interested in joining an NM/DS company or those who failed at a previous company:

Don’t call the company a scam without proof. There are more scammers then legit business people, but there are more legit companies then there are scams. Just because you failed doesn’t negate the fact that others are successful. Look at why you failed and learn from your failures so you don’t make the same mistakes in your next business venture. Research the company before investing. 

Sponsors who may be reading this:

Don’t signup just anyone because they show interest. Be sure your company is a good fit for them first. Teach your team members proper marketing and be sure you’re current team members are properly training their downlines. Through proper training, more of the right people will join your company and more team members will see success. 

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Related Article:

Advice For Network Marketers And Your Recruits

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If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or email me.

If you’re into health and wellness, I recommend taking a look at my company. Here’s an overview of our products and business opportunity.

Advice For Network Marketers And Your Recruits

Sponsor Confusion

A lot of people in Network Marketing / Direct Sales get lost. Those that are earning $4K/mo and above don’t seem to understand their way of marketing might not work for everyone and certainly isn’t the only way. They’re also largely unaware that many new promoters/distributors/etc (whatever your company calls you) are sincerely broke.

Broke as in no coffees, no fast food, maybe even no tv or WiFi (if they even own a computer).

And all the marketing advice given by many NM/DS companies doesn’t cater to people who are legitimately broke and in a rough spot and/or doesn’t have a workable warm market to target.

And these same people (sponsors), when trying to sign these people (recruits), or getting them (recruits) to buy product to push after signing up, don’t understand they need to talk differently to these people (recruits) and offer different marketing techniques.

My DS company is really good at that. “You need to get on this”, “You need to start pushing product/giving away free samples”, etc. I’ve heard it all. Though my sponsor isn’t like that. He’s a real person. But even he has it easier than a lot of legit broke people in this industry.

My Story

This is true at the time of this writing. I will not be updating this section as it helps prove a point.

Let me tell you a little about me. At the end, I want you to share this with everyone you know in NM/DS and with every potential recruit to your team. There is a message in here, and lesson, for all of you.

I fall into the legit broke category. I have no tv, no expensive clothes or shoes (havent bought any new clothes period in years, I have a cheap android with MetroPCS, no computer or laptop so no WiFi, and my car is 24yrs old being held together with bubble gum and glue. I literally only have my rent, my cell, my electric, my auto-insurance, food, and supplies.

I know how hard it is for many people. But I also have my own business that I’m bootstrapping. Do you know anyone who commercially fishes out of a canoe? You do now. I decided I was sick and tired of not having anything, not being able to have anything. I was going to work just to go to work. It takes three full-time jobs just to cover all my expenses. And remember, no tv, no computer or WiFi. I’m building my business strictly in-person and using my phablet. And no I don’t live in a rich area. My area is quite poor. But things are expensive. And I have a family, it’s not just me. And you know what? Thats when I realized I have more then anyone. I have a wife that loves me, a small ministry I pastor (and now a customer base of my fish market) full of people who love me. Money can’t buy that. And I don’t need to wear air jordans or armani suits either.

No matter where you are financially, if you’re determind to get out of that rut, you will.

Now, I’m also in this DS company. I’d love to get other people on the products, let them see how amazing they’ll feel and how much healthier they’ll be before buying any themselves. But what do I do? Not pay a bill? Not cover my businesses overhead? After all, I’m in slow season, so why pay for my business, right?

No, I’m busting my behind trying to get the funds together so I can get packages to sample out and get people on these products. In the meantime, I know what these products are capable of and I have plenty of resources to show to my prospects. Having money to do something doesn’t mean shit if you’re not in the right mind to do it. Sometimes it takes to be a broke back bastard like myself to truly appreciate what life has to offer. And when you’re broke, if you really want to get back up, you will.

See, I think people who are all about the coolest jordans or latest iWhatever or most expensive thing on wheels or the most bedrooms, bathrooms, and private rooms in their home have completely missed the mark. Those are objects. Objects don’t define you as a person. How you feel about yourself does, how people see you does, whether or not you have a heart does.

You see, I dress like your average joe. Some of my clothes I wear haven’t worn out yet in over 10yrs, and other clothes I got as gifts from my dad and others on several birthdays or Christmas’. And you know what? People love me and respect me despite that. They don’t care I’m not driving a 2018 ferrari sitting in the driveway of a 100 bedroom, 25 bathroom mansion that’s sitting on hundreds of acres of property as I’m dressed in a $100,000 suit. They don’t care.

Material objects don’t make you. If you want something bad enough, you’ll do whatever you have to to get it. No matter how hard it is or how long it takes to get there.

A few years ago I lost everything. I mean everything. It would have been easy to just give up and accept being poor. But I can’t do that. But, I can say that what happened to me taught me a valuable lesson and has allowed me to see things from a whole new perspective.

So yes, money is an excuse. If you’re poor, why is that? And how hard are you willing to fight to not be poor anymore? Or do you view yourself as a statistic that you can’t do anything about? A lot of poor people, money isn’t there problem. There problem is they have no hope left. They need someone to give it to them, to support them and be there for them. And you will be amazed how fast they turn $0 to invest into $1M revenue.

Advice For The Sponsor

Once you (the sponsor) understands that some people are legit broke, you need to find a way to help your recruit. They need a different method than spamming their warm market, that won’t work. They need ideas of how to market that will work for someone in their position. If that means fronting them a free product to get on themselves and use themselves as their own selling point, then pass down the PV. If it means giving someone a free sample for your downline, then hand it out. But don’t push them in a method that won’t work. You’re only going to push them away from the business feeling like they can’t do it.

You don’t need money to invest if you’re willing to invest the time and effort. If your downline appears that they will do the work and stop at nothing, that is the downline you want to help because that downline won’t take your help for granted. They will take that little bit of help and blow up their downline. They’ll be unstoppable.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying help everyone with a sob story. You want people that legitimately need the help and are willing to do the work at all cost, without giving up; these are the ones you help if you want to grow your business. You have no idea what a little bit of encouragement, support, and hope can do for someone when the rest of their world is crashing down on them. Sometimes that’s all they need.

Sponsor, don’t just disregard your recruit because of funding. Vet the recruit, see how willing they are to do the business, and help them get started.

Advice For The Downline/Prospect

The key to growing any business is persistance. It helps to have a supportive and understanding sponsor. But this business is yours. The level of success you reach is a direct reflection of your own efforts and consistency.

Don’t let your current financial status hold you back. The right time to begin is the very moment you decide you want to better yourself. Even if you’re legitimately broke with no extra spending (ie: coffee from 7eleven or Starbucks, fast food, etc). There are companies (such as mine) that are free to start. And there are sponsors in other companies that are willing to help those that will treat the business like a business and actually work it.

There are also more than one way to properly market your business without spamming your family and friends and scaring everybody away. I’ll touch base on a few of these methods in a future post and link it here.

If you’re legitimately broke, nothing extra you can cut away, you can still grow a business if you’re willing to put in the efforts. You’ll need to invest additional time and effort due to the lack of funds to jumpstart you’re business. But it can be done. Yes, it may take longer than if the funds were available; but it can be done. You just need to keep in mind that no empire was built overnight. And, because you’re broke you have something that others don’t – accelerated drive.

What I mean by accelerated drive is this:

• Most people who have the funds don’t have the same drive,
• Most people with the funds aren’t willing to put in as much time, or go the lengths, that you are willing to do,
• People with the funds aren’t in your shoes. They don’t have the same desire to better themselves that you do.

So you see, you’re a warrior in disguise. Whether you know it yet or not. You can do this. Don’t let anyone or anything act as an excuse to keep you down.

Stop using your financial woes as an excuse. All you’re doing by doing that is guaranteeing your permanent poverty. If you want to get out of poverty, you need to do whatever it takes to succeed. Even if that means making the life you’ve grown accustomed to a bit more difficult. But this difficulty and hardship will only be temporary if you give it your all and not give up. If I can do it, anybody can.

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If you’re sponsor sent you to this article, work with them. You’ll do fine.

If you found this post in a NM/DS group or a search engine, and are looking for a company to join, click here for an overview of my company and get in contact with me.

If you’re a sponsor with a recruit or potential recruit using finances as an excuse, show them this article.