by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Every single day thousands of people enroll in various network marketing companies. And every single day thousands drop out of these same companies, frustrated, embittered, poorer.

There are, of course, lots of reasons why those hopeful people in Group A become the disheartened people in Group B. Some of these reasons involve the companies these people have stupidly chosen to represent. Ill-managed companies that don't have --

-- a niche market and/or quality products. They're trying to sell the same old same old -- and that just won't work.

-- client-centered marketing communications. Too many companies are trying to be successful screaming about how good they are at the top of their voices. Well, going around saying "I'm great," doesn't make you great. Telling the prospect in no uncertain terms about the benefits he gets from the company does.

-- any prospect leads. Lots of companies, while proclaiming how up-to-date they are, give dramatic evidence every single day of their old-fashioned thinking. If independent distributors are going to be successful, they need regular sources of prospect leads... and it's the company's job to help them get these leads. However, by far the majority of the companies are perfectly happy to say, "We've signed you up. Our job is finished. If you want prospect leads, figure out where to get them yourself." That's just plain daft.

-- ongoing marketing technical assistance. Typical boardroom thinking in most MLM companies goes something like this, "It's our job to manufacture our widgets. It's not our job to help the independent distributors sell them. That's their job. If they want to know how to do it, they'll have to figure it out for themselves." Stupid, no? Yet all too typical of what passes for distributor-centered behavior among MLM CEO's, some of the most stupid people on the planet.

So, yes, these ill-managed companies don't help us independent distributors to succeed. But the blame doesn't stop with the companies, not by a long shot. No, part of the blame attaches to the independent distributors themselves, who seem to stop thinking when they enroll in an MLM opportunity. How else can you explain behavior that's witless to the point of self destruction?

The Appalling Behavior Of The Typical New MLM Independent Distributor

Consider the situation of the typical new MLM distributor. He/she enrolls, gets a welcome pack, orders some of the characteristically overpriced "marketing communications" from the company, spends a day or two getting "organized", gives the brochures to a couple of friends and then... stops! Apparently waiting for lighting to strike. In short order, this would-be Horatio Alger becomes another failure stratistic in an industry where failure in the norm.

This result, of course, was and is inevitable so long as people new to MLM behave in such a foolish, self-defeating manner.

Doing What's Necessary To Succeed In MLM, Becoming Your Own Sales Director

All independent distributors for all MLM companies are going into business for themselves. This means they have to behave like the sales director of their company -- from Day 1. They've got to think like someone who is running a national organization... and they've got to do what these people do. Here's how this works:

-- Determine what you want

If you're going to succeed in sales, which is all that MLM is, it's essential you know what you want out of the deal. And I don't just mean knowing in general. I mean knowing specifically. To be a success in MLM means looking deeply into your heart and probing for the things you want that MLM can help you achieve. Do you want a new home in five years? A new car in two? Just a couple of hundred bucks extra a month to help you with household expenses? Write down specifically what you want... specifically how much it's going to cost... and specifically when you want it. MLM success starts in wanting... wanting something important enough for you to motivate you to do what it's going to take to get it.

-- Then write it down

Once you've determined what you want, write it down. Treat this moment with the seriousness it deserves. Enter into a contract with yourself.

"I am going to give myself <item> of <value> by <date.>" Now sign and date this contract and treat it just as you would any important document in your life, like a life insurance policy or passport. Deposit it where other important documents go.

-- Post a visual representation of what you want where you'll constantly see it

Once you've filed the contract with yourself, post a visual representation of what you want. Or post a bunch of them. The important thing is that you constantly see what you want. Make it the first thing you see when you get up; the last thing before you go to bed, etc. What you are doing is focusing the mind and when the mind is focused it becomes your single best ally in reaching the objective. Don't be shy about this. Of course some loud-mouthed idiot may make a couple of chuckle-headed remarks about what you're doing. Shrug them off. It's your success, isn't it, so do what's necessary to get it.

-- Figure out what your organization has to look like to achieve what you want

Once you know what you want, how much is costs, and when you've decided to have it, work out a detailed numerical plan based on your network marketing organization. Your plan is going to be based on certain assumptions including

## number of distributors ## amount of product each must purchase each month ## number of distributors each must recruit ## when this recruitment must take place

Sit down at your computer with your calculator and start playing with these numbers. BUT BE REALISTIC. Remember, you're probably always going to be your most enthusiastic and diligent distributor (which means that if you do nothing, you can be assured no one else will do anything either). Don't assume others will do more than you and don't make heroic assumptions about what your organization's going to look like after 6 months or a year.

Once you've made your calculations, write them down. If you're new to MLM, your estimates are going to have to be tested. If you're a battle-scarred veteran what you write down now should be fairly accurate. Either way, write down what your organization has to look like to achieve your objective. Then place your estimate where you can review it regularly. Yes, "regularly." All plans are subject to editing as new data become available. Your plan is no different. A good plan is necessary to begin, but a better plan is the result of carefully considered experience.

Doing What's Necessary To Achieve Your Objective

If you've followed my recommendations to this point, you're already well ahead in the MLM game. Start asking people in network marketing if they have an objective, a plan. Virtually all will look at you dumbly. But the truth is, they're the dumb ones. Now, you need to take the necessary steps for achieving your objective.

-- Develop A Client-Centered Marketing Document

To succeed in MLM means convincing the requisite number of people that your company offers them value. This simple fact has, as I've often said, eluded the directors of marketing at most MLM companies who keep tooting their own horns... instead of making it crystal clear to prospects what they get by enrolling. Thus, if your company doesn't make the value for joining clear, you'll have to do it.

Draw up a single 8 1/2" x 11" communication listing the benefits the prospect gets by joining you and your company. Make these reasons pointed and specific. Make them as value-laden as possible. Then put them in priority order. Remember, people join companies to get value. It's the company's job to make this value clear... but if they cannot or will not, you're going to have to.

Note: Don't think you can write such a communication yourself? Then contact Jim Van Winkle, Director, The National Copywriting Center at (815) 827-5050 for copywriting assistance. Jim will also be glad to assist you with your ads, card-deck cards, brochures, etc.

-- Ensure Your Supply Of Prospect Leads

To my continuing amazement, most MLM companies don't provide any source of prospect leads. They want you to sell, of course, but they're damned if they'll provide any lead source for you. This is ridiculous! To succeed in network marketing means to have a regular source of prospect leads, not just to cull your Christmas card list hoping against hope to find enough people to build a business.

Note: One good place of getting prospect leads is from Ad-Net, Inc., a network marketing company that specializes in providing members with between 30-100 prospect leads monthly. Call me at (617) 547-6372 for more information on this company and how it works.

-- Deal Only With People Who Are Willing To Work To Achieve Success

I've been an entrepreneur most of my adult life now. I went into it with my eyes open. I knew it would be hard work... and I wasn't wrong. I knew that my success was in my own hands... and I was willing to do what was necessary to succeed. This point of view, however, is considered downright revolutionary among a large number of the people in network marketing. These people, some of the greatest parasites I have ever come across, seem to feel that other people ought to support them, that they have no responsibility for their own success.

Indeed, one of the most galling things about MLM as far as I'm concerned is how much irresponsible behavior there is in this industry, both among company CEO's who do so little to support their independent distributors and among these distributors themselves who are some of the most stupid and irresponsible people I have ever encountered, always talking about the success they're going to have, so rarely doing what's necessary to achieve it.

Well, friend, chances are you're going to encounter any number of these blow-hards and the bigger your organization grows the more you'll knock into them. That's why you've got to learn how to become a champion qualifier as soon as possible.

Learn to probe the intentions of the prospects you encounter... ask them tough, hard questions like these --

-- how much time have you got to devote to becoming a success in my organization

-- how much money

-- what kinds of skills and abilities do you bring to the table

-- will you join a lead-generating program

-- will you call people

-- will you purchase product from the company on a regular, monthly basis, etc?

Don't be coy about these questions, and listen hard for the answers.

The exchanges that take place between you and your prospect should be informative, direct, candid and specific. You shouldn't beat around the bush... and neither should your prospect. In business, the conversations that take place between people in a sincere negotiation are often blunt... and they should be. Human time and resources are limited and valuable... and they should be treated as such. That's why you should probe deeply... and expect your prospect to do the same.

Note: if you aren't hearing what you need to hear from your prospect, flush him/her out of your life. Don't waste one minute of time or one cent of your money on someone who's not going to do what's necessary to succeed. No exceptions. Post this message where you can see it... since the temptation is often strong to overlook what you're hearing and hope for the best.

Getting Your New Distributor Off To The Best Possible Start

If you like what you hear, enroll the prospect and get him/her off to a good start. This includes --

-- enrolling him/her in the company's automatic product purchase plan. The best distributors don't place a product order every month; they arrange to have the company send them product automatically. This saves time and precludes forgetting.

-- ensuring prospect lead sources

-- helping the distributor with a precise objective and date for achieving it, and

-- setting an objective for recruitment for the next month, and

-- scheduling a follow-up appointment.

Remember, how a distributor starts is how he/she will go. If the distributor starts off with slack habits, vague direction and no oversight from you, just what good do you think can come from this?

Note: open an individual file in your computer for each of your distributors. Enter useful information including name, address, phone, fax, pledged resources, distributor objective, dates of telephone and other meetings, results, etc. In short, you want a profile of all your distributors. Remember, you are not entering into a relationship for just a few weeks or months but one that should last for years. Such seriousness deserves your serious attention.

Another note: if the distributor is unclear on an objective, help. One very good objective is spelled out in my "Awesome Power of One" System. Here, the distributor guarantees to recruit at least one person per month for one year and to assist his/her distributors do the same. Thus, starting from his own recruitment on Day 1, this distributor by following this plan will have 2048 distributors in his organization at the end of one year... while never having to recruit more than one person per month! It's a very powerful system, and I commend it to you.

Now Start Acting Like The National Sales Manager

If you're going to succeed in MLM, you've got to start acting like the national sales manager of your company right from the start. Don't expect to receive notice of your appointment in the mail; you're going to have to give it to yourself. What more, you've got to start acting like the national sales manager when you have no one in your organization. As such here's what you must do:

-- on or about the 15th day of each month, call all the people on the first line of your organization. Ask them if they've recruited someone this month (if not, you must provide guidance and instruction so they'll do so), if they've purchased product and if, in turn, they've been in touch with the members of their first line. Your job is to keep applying the pressure to the ample posteriors of people who all too often brag much and do little.

-- during the last five days of the month, you need to call your key people to ensure that they're doing what's necessary to meet the monthly product sales quota.

-- the first week of the month (or as soon as you can get the genealogical information from the company) you need to call all those who didn't recruit anyone during the last thirty days... and who didn't purchase product... and find out why. You're going to hear lots of "dog ate my homework" excuses. Accept none of them. Successful people find a way to do what's necessary to achieve success. Your job is to bring this message home and keep the people in your organization focused -- at all times!!!

Your Job Is To Be Successful -- Not Liked

Face it, nobody likes a nag. But if you're going to achieve success in MLM, you're going to have to become a nag par excellence. You've got to keep peoples' feet to the fire, remind them of the overall group objective and of their part in achieving it. You have to listen to excuses for non-performance, of course, but you never have to accept them -- and you shouldn't. Your job is to do what's necessary to achieve success... and the extent to which you accept failure in others is the extent to which you are willing to accept failure for yourself.

Inevitably there are going to be people you encounter who will not like this focused, systematic approach to network marketing success. My response? THAT'S THEIR PROBLEM, NOT YOURS. As I myself can attest, the more successful one becomes, the more focused, the more criticism one hears about a systematic approach to success -- from people who themselves will never be successful. They resent your own degree of focus because they cannot or will not emulate it. So what?

Your job is to do what's necessary to succeed... starting today, right now! Don't allow the inept and pathetic habits of others, who have never known the sweet delights of personal and financial success, to inhibit you in any way -- or to stop you from doing what's necessary to succeed. If you do, you're certain to end up like the vast majority of people in MLM -- second raters all, denizens of the dark inadequate world where little will do well enough, where failure is accepted as the norm, and where insisting upon a dedicated, systematic process for success is idiotically thought to be an infringement of one's standing as an entrepreneur instead of a necessary precondition for reaching one's goals.

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