With Network Marketing being the Hottest secondary income stream for most people nowadays, I thought we should put together some key pointers in what to look for when considering joining an MLM company.
These are not necessarily in order of most important. But just some pointers to consider if you are looking for a company to join. It will depend on your goals which of these if any you want to follow. ​
So let's dig into it.
​The reason you should consider this, is because companies come and go all the time. (Just like traditional businesses) If the company you join goes out of business, you will have to start over building your rep and customer base. This has happened to myself once and let me tell you, it's not the funnest thing to go through.
Generally if a company has been in business for 5 years or more they had gone through a lot of the hurdles of getting off the ground. Not to say start-ups are all bad, bu probably a little more risky. I would consider this one of the more important ones to keep in mind. ​
Is it privately or publicly owned? What kind of financial backing do they have? These are all things to consider. It takes a lot of money to start a company and do it successfully. Probably Millions.
Health & Wellness, Travel, Technology, Personal Development, ​Agriculture, Services...etc. There are so many opportunities out there. First of all what are you passionate about? Or what can you get passionate about?
One thing you might want to consider.... is the company in more than one niche? If all they have is weight-loss products....what are people going to do when they reach their weight-loss goal? What about technology....it seems to be changing very fast. Are they staying ahead of the game? Do they offer products or services that people use every single day or do you have to convince and/or educate people about something new?
This is very important from a compliance stand point. If it's all hype and "make money with me" oriented beware. The FTC and the FDA regulate this industry fairly heavily. There have been numerous companies shut down for not following the rules properly. Or like in Herbalife's case, they survived the FTC but had to make some changes.
The Network Marketing Industry is a great business model to move products and services, as long as that stays the main goal. Once companies start paying for recruitment they are in danger of being shut down or checked out by the FTC.
Also lots of people can't recruit and build a team. But they can sell products. So if they can sell, you definitely want to make sure the company is customer friendly. (Great prices and Value...etc.)​
​What's the culture of the team? Are they doing Home meetings, Hotel meetings, Coffee shop sit-downs, Online Marketing, or Parties? Those are all good and legit ways to get customers and build teams, but not everybody can do all of those.
For example, a stay at home Mom or a business owner that already runs 2 or 3 businesses doesn't have the time to travel all over the country doing meetings. And not everybody can stand in front of a room full of people doing a Home Party. Lots of people are scared of public speaking.
Online marketing on the other hand is definitely something most people can do or at least learn with time. Whatever you do, I'd highly recommend you Brand yourself and not the company you are with.
People join People
What it probably will all boil down to is who do you know that is successful in the company they are with. Understand People join People. Not companies, or products. But it's still important to consider a lot of these points if your goal is to create a long-term residual income and impact a lot of lives in the process.
​Some of these points might not be important to and there might be others things that are more important that I didn't even mention. What ever you decide to do, always stay Honest, build with utmost Integrity, and have realistic expectations. Understand that having an MLM business is just that. A business!! It's not a lottery ticket and it won't ever pay like one either.
It is a great Industry to be in and you'll most likely make a ton of new friends in the process. The best thing about this industry is the people! The worst thing about it is the people! Figure that one out.
If you are looking for Online Marketing training, my friend Ferny has a great Free Attraction Marketing Bootcamp that's very popular right now. You can sign up for that here.
​Check out the rest of my Blog for more great training and tips.