Michael Dlouhy created the 5 pillars for evaluating a network marketing business. I critiqued them in another blog post. I’ve created my own 6 pillars for the network marketer. Regardless of how wonderful the business is, you as a network marketer need these pillars to be successful.
Pillar #1: Don’t join any network marketing company unless you are going to give 100% of your effort to your success.
Have you ever joined a network marketing business because a friend convinced you that it was a great company and when you joined you would make a lot of money? Did you then just sit there waiting for the money to pour in? Network marketing is work just like any other business. Unless you give it 100%, you will not reap the rewards.
Pillar #2: Join a network marketing company whose products or services you truly believe in and you will use. Don’t join it just because you think you are going to make a lot of money or because someone else told you that it is a great company because it meets the 5 pillars of success or any other criteria.
Just because someone else tells you that a company is great, if you don’t like the products or services, you will not have the passion to promote them and will quit when obstacles become too great.
Pillar #3: Do not join a company that requires you to stock products every month just to keep your membership if you are not going to be able to sell or use them. You will either become overwhelmed or resentful and this will keep you from being successful.
Network marketing companies thrive on requiring their distributors to purchase a quota of product each month. It benefits them but it only benefits you if you are able to resell the product or if you would have purchased the product for your personal use anyway. If you can’t see how you can move the product, don’t join the company because you will end up spending more money than you make and will have a garage full of merchandise you don’t know what to do with.
Pillar #4: Don’t do it alone. The key to success in network marketing is building a strong team that will support you. Look for a strong upline leader and allow them to help you build a strong downline.
When you look for a company to join, look for a builder in the company and hop on board with them. Make sure that it is someone who believes in training their team and with whom you feel comfortable voicing challenges and asking for help. Keep in mind that there are many successful network marketers who are great at closing the sale but who are not trainers or team builders. Then follow the strategies of your team leader to build your own downline.
Pillar #5: Educate yourself on new ways to promote your business. Do not blindly follow one leader. Listen to many leaders and choose the methods that work best for you.
Technology and the internet have changed how network marketers can promote their business. The options are vast and growing to allow you to connect personally with potential recruits from around the world. Use online methods to promote your business. Don’t rely solely on techniques that worked in the pre-internet age.
Pillar #6: Become your own leader so people will want to follow you. Learn how to brand yourself to stand out among the crowd.
Instead of promoting your business opportunity to anyone who will listen including family and friends who have no interest in what you are doing, learn how to position yourself as a leader in your field using attraction marketing so that recruits will ask you how they can join your business.
Showing posts with label network marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label network marketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Evaluating the 5 Pillars of Success
Michael Dlouhy, a charismatic salesman and seasoned network marketer, created a program called Mentoring for Free to help potential network marketers understand the MLM business. It includes an ebook called Success in 10 Steps with advice from his many years in the business along with weekly phone calls to keep his followers on the right path.
His devotees worship him as the modern day prophet of MLM success and they blindly follow every word he utters as if it is the word of God never straying from what they believe to be absolute truths about the network marketing business. Such cult-like devotion has been very profitable for Michael Dlouhy since he has been able to convince about 80% of his followers that the best network business for them is his own company, Vitamark, which sells vitamins, weight loss products and skin care products.
One of the tools he uses to funnel people into his business is called the 5 Pillars of Success. I decided to take a look at each of these “pillars”.
Pillar #1 is look for a company whose management has experience and integrity. That sounds reasonable enough yet how are you supposed to check this. It makes common sense that a network marketing company should have a team with experts both in network marketing and in running and funding a large business. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing from looking at a company prospectus if there is the proper synergy for success. I doubt that the average person thinking about starting a home-based business has the qualifications to do this evaluation.
Pillar #2 is to pick a company that has been around for 2 to 5 years because it has a better chance of succeeding. This seems like a reasonable recommendation. Yet by doing so, you may miss out on an opportunity to get onboard with an exciting company whose products or services you really believe in and with which you can make a lot of money. Longevity does not guarantee continued success. Consider the demise of seasoned companies like Arbonne and Excel Communications. Also, just because the company is successful, does not guarantee that YOU will be successful in it.
Pillar #3 is to pick a company with a remarkable product that stands out. This seems like a tall order for any company. Even Michael Dlouhy’s company has trouble meeting this pillar. What is remarkable about vitamins and skin care products? It seems like every other network marketing company is selling these same types of items. It is difficult to sustain retail sales on items such as vitamins, skin care products or exotic juices when people can go to their local store and get comparable items for a lot less money. The only way these MLM companies thrive is by requiring each distributor to purchase a quota of product per month.
Pillar #4 is a compensation plan that rewards part-timers. I don’t know enough about Vitamark’s compensation plan to evaluate it. From my years in network marketing I have found that there are very few compensation plans that reward part-timers. Most plans require people to recruit a downline of 1,000 people or more before they make any real money. This is not easy to do part-time. The best compensation plans I have seen recently are of a matrix type where people get paid if they reach the top of a matrix. This requires fewer recruits to have a good pay day. With any other compensation plan, the best chance for part-timers to make money is to find a company where they can move a certain amount of retail product each month.
Pillar #5 is to have a proven system of duplication. This last pillar is how Michael Dlouhy captures the true devotion of his followers. The truth is that only about 2% of the population have the sales skills to build a huge downline. The rest of the people who start a network marketing business never succeed. This is one of the biggest reasons that network marketing gets such a bad reputation which makes it difficult to recruit people. Michael Dlouhy allows his followers to bring others onto his weekly phone calls so he can do the recruiting for them. He has them ask everyone they meet if it would be okay if they share the ebook Success in 10 Steps. They all believe that sharing this book will make others want to go into business with them. The problem is that people join people they view as leaders, not someone who shares a book with them. If they can get people to the phone call and the prospect connects with Michael Dlouhy, they have a shot at recruiting them since Michael Dlouhy provides that leadership. The problem is that without Michael Dlouhy’s skills, duplication is difficult.
The truth is that there are no guarantees. When evaluating a network marketing company to join consider the product or service offered and if you can give 100% effort in promoting it. Look at the compensation plan and see what it will take for you to make the amount of profit you desire. Can you do it? What seems great at first glance will many times become much harder work when actually put into practice. Look at the people involved with the company both at the top and in the ranks. Do you feel comfortable around them? Do they share your values? Do you want to associate with these people to build your business even if something should happen to the company? Remember that your relationships with other people ultimately will be more valuable then any particular opportunity. If you build a great team, you can take it to any company.
His devotees worship him as the modern day prophet of MLM success and they blindly follow every word he utters as if it is the word of God never straying from what they believe to be absolute truths about the network marketing business. Such cult-like devotion has been very profitable for Michael Dlouhy since he has been able to convince about 80% of his followers that the best network business for them is his own company, Vitamark, which sells vitamins, weight loss products and skin care products.
One of the tools he uses to funnel people into his business is called the 5 Pillars of Success. I decided to take a look at each of these “pillars”.
Pillar #1 is look for a company whose management has experience and integrity. That sounds reasonable enough yet how are you supposed to check this. It makes common sense that a network marketing company should have a team with experts both in network marketing and in running and funding a large business. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing from looking at a company prospectus if there is the proper synergy for success. I doubt that the average person thinking about starting a home-based business has the qualifications to do this evaluation.
Pillar #2 is to pick a company that has been around for 2 to 5 years because it has a better chance of succeeding. This seems like a reasonable recommendation. Yet by doing so, you may miss out on an opportunity to get onboard with an exciting company whose products or services you really believe in and with which you can make a lot of money. Longevity does not guarantee continued success. Consider the demise of seasoned companies like Arbonne and Excel Communications. Also, just because the company is successful, does not guarantee that YOU will be successful in it.
Pillar #3 is to pick a company with a remarkable product that stands out. This seems like a tall order for any company. Even Michael Dlouhy’s company has trouble meeting this pillar. What is remarkable about vitamins and skin care products? It seems like every other network marketing company is selling these same types of items. It is difficult to sustain retail sales on items such as vitamins, skin care products or exotic juices when people can go to their local store and get comparable items for a lot less money. The only way these MLM companies thrive is by requiring each distributor to purchase a quota of product per month.
Pillar #4 is a compensation plan that rewards part-timers. I don’t know enough about Vitamark’s compensation plan to evaluate it. From my years in network marketing I have found that there are very few compensation plans that reward part-timers. Most plans require people to recruit a downline of 1,000 people or more before they make any real money. This is not easy to do part-time. The best compensation plans I have seen recently are of a matrix type where people get paid if they reach the top of a matrix. This requires fewer recruits to have a good pay day. With any other compensation plan, the best chance for part-timers to make money is to find a company where they can move a certain amount of retail product each month.
Pillar #5 is to have a proven system of duplication. This last pillar is how Michael Dlouhy captures the true devotion of his followers. The truth is that only about 2% of the population have the sales skills to build a huge downline. The rest of the people who start a network marketing business never succeed. This is one of the biggest reasons that network marketing gets such a bad reputation which makes it difficult to recruit people. Michael Dlouhy allows his followers to bring others onto his weekly phone calls so he can do the recruiting for them. He has them ask everyone they meet if it would be okay if they share the ebook Success in 10 Steps. They all believe that sharing this book will make others want to go into business with them. The problem is that people join people they view as leaders, not someone who shares a book with them. If they can get people to the phone call and the prospect connects with Michael Dlouhy, they have a shot at recruiting them since Michael Dlouhy provides that leadership. The problem is that without Michael Dlouhy’s skills, duplication is difficult.
The truth is that there are no guarantees. When evaluating a network marketing company to join consider the product or service offered and if you can give 100% effort in promoting it. Look at the compensation plan and see what it will take for you to make the amount of profit you desire. Can you do it? What seems great at first glance will many times become much harder work when actually put into practice. Look at the people involved with the company both at the top and in the ranks. Do you feel comfortable around them? Do they share your values? Do you want to associate with these people to build your business even if something should happen to the company? Remember that your relationships with other people ultimately will be more valuable then any particular opportunity. If you build a great team, you can take it to any company.
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