« 2007-07 | HomePage | 2008-01 »
12/23/2007
MLM business/Is This a Pyramid or a Legitimate MLM?
I found an article from a MLM lawyer that I thought explains the old question: Is This a Pyramid or a Legitimate MLM Business by Jeffrey A. Babener. Here is an excerpt:
What to Look for (in MLM)- A Checklist
So, what do you look for with respect to legitimacy vs. pyramid? Here's a good checklist to consider.
First, Product and Price
Does the company offer a high quality product for which there is a strong demand in the real world marketplace? Is the product fairly priced and priced competitively with similar products? Can the product be demonstrated, and does it stand out when you show it to friends? Is the product proprietary to the company, and available only through its distributors? (Have you ever noticed that you can't buy Avon products in stores or Shaklee vitamins at pharmacies?) Is it backed up with a customer satisfaction guarantee?
Is post-sales service or customer assistance available? Do the people who participate in the program buy the product enthusiastically based on its own merits, even if they don't participate in the compensation program?
Second, No Investment Requirement
Can you participate in the company's program without having to make any investment other than purchasing a sales kit or demonstration materials sold at company cost?
Third, Look at Purchase and Inventory Requirements
Can you become a distributor or sales representative without having to fulfill a minimum up-front purchase or inventory requirement? (When you are pitched to put thousands of dollars of inventory at the very beginning, run fast in the opposite direction.) Does the company's compensation plan discourage inventory loading? Garages and backrooms filled with product serve no useful purpose to anyone.
Fourth, Look at the Sales Commissions Sources
Are sales commissions paid only on actual products or services sold through distributors in the network to the end-user or ultimate consumer? (This means that products don't end up in basements and closets. They are used, because they have genuine value.) Does the compensation plan avoid paying commissions or bonuses for the mere act of sponsoring or recruiting? (If it pays headhunting fees, it is illegal.)
Fifth, Check the Buy-Back Policy
Will the company buy back inventory and sales kit materials from distributors who cancel their participation in the program, as long as these items are in resalable condition? (This policy is required in states that have adopted multilevel distribution statutes.)
Sixth and Very Important, Look for Retail Sales
Is there an emphasis on actual retail sales to end-consumers? Can the company demonstrate efforts to market products to the ultimate consumer? Do the company's distributors have ongoing retailing requirements to qualify for commissions? What is a "retail sale?" The industry and many MLM statutes include both sales to nonparticipants and purchases in reasonable amounts for personal use by distributors. Some regulatory groups, including the FTC, have historically rejected personal use as a legitimate retail sale. Stay tuned as this debate continues. The legislative trend is definitely supportive of the industry position.
Seventh, Expect an Active and not Passive Role for Distributors
Are distributors in the company required to actively participate in the development and management of their networks? (Many of the MLM statutes require that distributors perform bona fide, supervisory, distributing, selling, or soliciting functions in moving product to the ultimate consumer.)
Eighth, Watch Out for Earnings Misrepresentations
Do the company's literature and training materials scrupulously avoid claims of income potential that is promises of specific income levels other than demonstrations of verifiable income levels within its program? (The Federal Trade Commission, attorneys general, and postal inspectors all have their eyes on the matter of earnings representations. The acceptable approach emerging is that there should be no earnings representations unless they are based on a verifiable track record of the average earnings of distributors. For instance, a company should have statistics to show the percentage of active distributors and the average earnings of active distributors.)
Finally, Look for Good Training
Does the company offer its independent distributors solid training opportunities in sales and recruitment? Are different levels of training offered to match the increasing levels of experience and responsibilities of distributors?
The Journey Begins
OK, is this the end of your journey? Obviously not. You have now looked at some legal issues and its time to move on to some solid business analysis. But it's a great start.
To view the article in its entirety visit MLM Legal
22:54 Posted in MLM business | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: mlm legal, mlm business, mlm pyramid, legitimate mlm
12/06/2007
Network Marketing and Your own Website
Many people have asked, 'How do I build my own website?' Here is a great resource for you:
How To Build Your Very Own First Website.
The Newbie Club Website Builder is a 4 volume library written by 3 successful Internet Marketers and a NEWBIE!. The result is a stunning Newbie-Speak publication that details everything you need to know to create, write, design, automate, backup, promote and publish your own first Website. All in 2 days using FREE programs and graphics! This blockbuster blows away the myths once and for all. Click here My First Website for FREE TRIAL.
All the best,
Monica
21:04 Posted in Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: how to build a website
12/02/2007
How to Know if You are With the Right Company
The following article are excerps from "How to know if you are in the right company" by Mike Lewis;
A lot of people who love the concept of Network Marketing are completely disillusioned about how about their
business is going..Or in most cases, isn’t going!
These folks have read ALL the training materials. They listen to ALL the CD’s. They go to ALL the meetings. They try everything they are told…with little or no results, so they ask their ‘upline sponsoring leader’ for advice and direction, and here’s what they get:
‘You need to work harder….’
‘You need to be more committed…….’
‘You need to go to more meetings……’
‘You need to get used to the rejection…’
‘You need to get outside your comfort zone….’
‘You have to put the rest of your life on hold to achieve success..’
‘Make a list of 100 friends and call them…’
‘You need to get better at ‘closing’ people….’
‘Talk to everyone who comes within 3 feet of you….’
‘Sponsor like crazy to achieve momentum…’
‘You need to take all-out-massive-action….’
‘You need to become a ‘leader’…..
‘You are being negative..Get back to work….’
Have I missed any????? And THIS is what is commonly known as ‘UPLINE SUPPORT’ I have a better word for it….I call it BULLSHIT! Lets get one thing very clear here!
Your success as a Network Marketer has very little to do with what you say or do, but it has an awful lot to do with how you FEEL about what you say or do!
Want to know what the REAL key to success is in Network Marketing?
It has NOTHING to do with the following..
* The Product
* The Pay Plan
* The Company
* The Training
* The Upline
..and if you are thinking I’m wrong..check your ‘BS Meter’!
What’s the ‘secret’?????
There are NO secrets, and there are NO special skills required to become successful at Network Marketing…NONE!
That stuff is ALSO BS! (Sorry MLM Guru’s the truth had to surface sometime!)
There is ONE solution to your problem and that solution has been right under your nose all the time!
You just have to look at why people QUIT..and why people STAY in any Networking company!
The real reason people quit is because of ……. THE WAY THEY FEEL ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE BEEN TREATED!
..It’s simple! This is an all volunteer business..if you DON’T treat people with kindness, with respect, with care, and with gratitude sooner or later they will quit.
If you tell people they are lazy, not committed, need to get out of their comfort-zone, or they have to get used to rejection, or tell them to do things that just don’t work, they WILL quit!
Why wouldn’t they? Who in their right mind would tolerate that BS in an all-volunteer business. So why do people STAY?
The ONLY reason people stay is because of ……THE WAY THEY FEEL ABOUT HOW THEY HAVE BEEN TREATED!
If you treat people with kindness, with respect, with care and with gratitude, THEY WILL NOT QUIT!
I told you it was SIMPLE! Here’s where it can get a little more complex! If you treat people well, they smile a lot.
When they smile a lot, they feel good. When they feel good, people ask them why they are feeling good..and no matter how hard they try they can’t help telling people why they feel good!
Now, do they tell the people they meet all about their wonderful product?
Do they tell them about their wonderful Pay Plan?
Do they tell them about their wonderful Company? Hell NO!
They tell them about this great group of people they got to know who is helping them create their own home based business!
Those people can’t help but ask ..What kind of business?
Do they tell them what kind of business? Hell NO!
They say …’Why don’t you come and meet some of my new friends?…...Who knows..if you ever wanted to start your own home based business they might be able to help you too!’
So they go visit with some of the new friends. Do the new friends tell them about their wonderful product?
Do they tell them about their wonderful Pay Plan? Do they tell them about their wonderful company? Hell NO!
They don’t TELL them anything. They ASK! They ask questions like. Have you ever thought about starting a business of your own? What have you looked at? What was it about that kind of business that you really liked?
Was there anything about it you didn’t like?
If you could design a perfect business for YOU, what would it look like? In short they engage people in conversation just like you would with any new friend. You get to know them by talking about how life is right
now, and how you might like it to be.
They don’t make any presentations..there is no need, unless you are particularly fond of rejection! They answer any questions that surface in an honest, open and direct manner, in much the same way as if you were talking with your best friend!
They simply have a conversation to discover if this person is looking for something that their home-based business idea might fulfill.
So, if the upline that you are with doesn’t support you in finding a way to create your business that works for YOU. OR if the support you are offered is CONDITIONAL on you doing things that you cannot do or don’t work for you. OR if the support you are offered is CONDITIONAL on you saying things that make you feel uncomfortable or don’t work for you.
It’s time to re-evaluate!
Don’t think of it in terms of quitting! Think of it in terms of adjusting your course. If you were sailing in heavy seas and all you could see ahead were storms, storms and more storms, you would be well advised to change
course for sunny skies and calmer waters, right? Then change course!
Go find a group of people in your current company that you really enjoy..Who show you kindness, respect and unconditional support in helping you find a way to build your business that works for YOU! Pretty soon, you will be smiling…Then you will start to feel good..Then someone will ask you why you are feeling good..then you can mention your new friends!
By the way..if you current company doesn’t ‘allow’ cross-line cooperation…RUN! Corporate BS is deeper than upline BS! Go find a company that ENCOURAGES cross-line support..and find a group in that company that fits..for YOU!
Here’s a quote from Zig Ziglar that has supported me on my journey for many years.
‘You can have anything in life you want…if you just help enough other people get what they want!’ You‘ll notice that he doesn’t say..convince..persuade…force..sell..close..arm-twist…or talk to death! He says ‘help’…and to find out how to help..you only have to ASK and LISTEN..there is no telling involved!
Keep Smiling!
Mike Lewis
http://www.adventuresinnetworkmarketing.com
P.S. If you would like the entire article, let me know. I will be happy to pass it on.
Monica
http://MLMnurse.com
04:04 Posted in MLM Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: right network marketing company