MLM Help --
Jump-Start Your
Network Marketing Business

Could you use some mlm help? Do you need some ideas for jump starting your struggling mlm business?

If you are struggling, don’t feel bad. Remember, 97% of people who join network marketing businesses fail. That means that most people in mlm have gone through, or are going through, the same struggle.

Maybe you have been involved with your mlm business opportunity for 6-9 months. You started out strong – got the training, went to the meetings, sponsored one or two people right away (or not) – but then things started to slow down for you. You haven’t sponsored anyone in months (if at all), and you’re not making any money to speak of.

Or maybe you are new to networking marketing and you are overwhelmed and unsure what to do to be as productive as possible in the shortest amount of time.

What can you do?

Here are a few tips. The first three tips should take you about an hour. Don’t delay. Don’t drag them out.

Ask for help. Pick up the phone and call your sponsor in the organization. Share your concerns and issues and ask for help. One of the negatives of the mlm industry is that there is so much talk about success and positive attitude (which is great!) that most mlm businesses have developed a culture that actually discourages affiliates (or distributors, or whatever your company calls them) from asking for help when they need it. Everybody expects the newcomers to ask for help, but those who have been in the program for over six months are not encouraged to admit their need for help. Get over it. If your sponsor is not helpful to you, or if you feel uncomfortable asking him for help, ask somebody else, but ask.

Set some goals. I recommend setting several short term goals (one week, one month, three months) and one long term goal (one year). These goals should focus on outcomes, rather than activities. How many new distributors will your recruit? How much product will you sell?

Make a plan. Write your plan on paper. It should include what you will do today, and what you plan to do daily and weekly to reach your goals. Keep in mind that success in network marketing is largely a numbers game. For example, if you want to sign up new distributors, you need to present the opportunity to people. Whether you use some of the online tools and methods I discuss on this site or do it the old fashioned way, you’ll need to present and talk to a certain number of people about the opportunity every day if you hope to successfully sign up new distributors.

Every company has its own statistics for how many people you should present the opportunity to in order to sign up a certain number of distributors. It is based on averages for successful distributors and mangers. Then, make your plans based on those estimates.

If you want 1 new distributor a week and your company says the average successful distributor presents the opportunity to 8 people for every one that signs up, you will need to make a plan that includes presenting the opportunity to at least that many people.

When you make your plan, include at least 4 hours per week for developing internet prospecting tools. Once you learn about the potential of these tools, you will probably re-write your plan to revolve around them, but you should at least budget some time to get started with them.

Get into action! Here is where most people struggle…and then fail. Regardless of what you have been told, people won’t just show up at your door asking to be let in on your business opportunity, and the products do not sell themselves. No, not every customer is going to be dying to become a distributor within a month.

You have to do something. You have to pick up the phone and call prospects. You need to meet with people. You need to invite people to join you. You need to present the opportunity.

There is one mlm company that has developed a training system called “The Daily 8”. Through this system, points have been allocated for a variety of different business development activities (making phone calls, demonstrating the product, sharing the business opportunity, etc.). You track your activities each day and assign yourself points every day for the business development activities you complete. You are encouraged to get at least eight activity points every day. After a while, eight points is nothing and you start going for more. Before you know it, the business development activities are a habit and you don’t count points anymore because you are engaged in the right activities every day. It works.

Track your activities. It is human nature to overestimate their activity when it is not documented in writing. For example, studies have found that people who do not write down how much time each day or week they exercise tend to overestimate how much the exercise. The same thing happens with income producing activities in your own business. Develop an activity tracking sheet that matches your goals (or modify one that your mlm upline provides). Then, each day, note on that sheet how many calls you made, cards you sent, prospects you followed up with, etc.

Review your progress and modify your activities as needed. Stop and take a close look at your tracking sheets and activities at least once a week, It is very common that once people start tracking their activity, it becomes very clear exactly what they need to do to get on track. Share your tracking sheets with your upline. Ask for suggestions on how you can be more productive.

Focus your activity on income generating activity. For those of us in network marketing enterprises, income generating activities are things like sharing the opportunity with others, following up with potential prospects, and demonstrating our products. Marketing activities can also be considered income generating, depending on the specifics of the activity. Be careful not to waste your name organizing your files and contact lists, making plans that are too detailed, or reading endless online product guides. Those activities are certainly important, but they should comprise 20% (or less) of the time you devote to your business.

For example, if you are working your business 10 hours per week, 8 of those hours should be spent in direct income earning activities and the other 2 can be spent on support activities.

Being successful in jump starting your mlm business is all about focus. Make a plan, get into action, and then stay active. Connect with others who have been successful, and share your own success with others. That is the formula for success!

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