Who Owns Your Network Marketing Business?

Who “owns” your team of independent contractors, your army of volunteers?
Your downline belongs TO YOU first, not the company you rep for. Some would consider these comments heresy. It’s a complicated idea fraught with all sorts of potential landmines. I'm bound to get emails from nervous uplines. What if my downline decides it doesn’t “belong” to me ? Does this kind of thinking lead to chaos in the organization?

At some point in one’s career in MLM, one realizes that one has taken on full-responsibility for one’s future. Business ownership is more than just a way to get tax-breaks. Leadership is more than encouraging higher volumes or giving out awards and holding rah-rah meetings. Leadership becomes setting a direction for your organization that matches your business vision and philosophy. It may mean acting independently of your vendor, (but within the framework and contractual obligations you have with your vendor when you enrolled). Your decisions and your direction are geared for the overall health and longevity of the team, not your personal convenience.

Early in my network marketing career, my leadership style was more like a “boss” than a mentor. It was immature and short sighted. I saw myself only as a rep for the company “in charge” of other reps. I allowed the company to set my agenda and depended on the company for motivation. When the company started making poor business decisions, and the uniqueness of the product was lost and became a commodity, I realized that I needed to make a change. However, I had tied my organization's loyalty to the company more than me. So when I came to my current company only 3 wanted to follow. Lesson learned.

I'm keenly aware that in MLM our incomes are intertwined with each other. What I have noticed about those who have built huge (10,000+ organizations) is that they perceive themselves, rightly I believe, as independent marketing organizations that are in a joint venture with a given vendor until such time as it is no longer a mutually beneficial to them or their organization. The best of them treat their top leaders as a “Board of Directors” who participates in choosing the direction and policies of the organization at large.

Do not take my comments as advocating company-jumping. I think “company-jumping” and frequent system changes is unethical and irresponsible. But there are times when it is a sound business decision. If the market share and product mix in my company was not keeping up with trends, or they were showing poor management, or bad ethical choices, I'd read the writing on the wall and take my business and downline else where!

If you are a downline, you need to respect your upline. You model this because your downline needs to respect your leadership. If you don’t like your immediate upline, or they are a poor leader, then go around them to your upline’s upline. Provide solid leadership for your team. Work with your vendor and your upline to create a successful system and joint venture.

Do I ever intend to leave my company? No. But before it was purchased by Roger Barnett, I started reading between the management lines and knew that something wasn’t right, and I started investigating other options for myself and my team. I will not allow myself, nor by extension my team, to be left hanging because some corporation decides to close its MLM doors. (Fortunately Roger's purchase of Shaklee turned out to be a tremendous advantage to all of us).

When you join a network marketing company, you don’t join the corporation itself; you join a marketing team affiliated with the corporation. It’s a partnership, not a marriage. Responsible senior leadership in network marketing must be able to see beyond the company/vendor. You must be able to set a successful direction for your team. To me, that's part of leadership and leverage.



About the Author:
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Karen Miner Hurd has owned a home business since 1988 when she
retired from her Public Relations career to stay home with her
children. Her secret passion is Foxtrot books. To learn more about
her current business venture, so you can work at home visit:
The Freedom Project
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Does Your MLM Ignore Internet Marketing?

It's absolutely mind-boggling that network marketers, especially those in established companies, need to defend their online marketing efforts to their peers and corporate partners. Every marketing survey, every market indicator is pointing to the internet. "Home party", or "party-plan sales" is the lease searched for term in the home business category.

The biggest? "Online home business".

You would think that the home business/network marketing industry would take the hint, seize the trend, and provide serious training to allow distributors to maximize their efforts. As a marketing professional I am apalled, frankly, at the resistance I have met in established network marketing circles to building online. It's nothing less than incredible.

The truth is most MLM companies do not promote online marketing largely for 3 reasons:

1) MLM or network marketing is a relationship one-to-one business. The internet was perceived by old-timers who built the industry as anonymous and impersonal. Hmmm. Impersonal? Tell that to all those people who use online dating services, and those that have met their spouses online. Internet marketing facilitates relationships. In many instances it is better than belly to belly.

2) Virtually all proprietary MLM products are trademarked. Companies are afraid they can't control the use of their trademark online, opening themselves up to all sorts of liabilities and possible legal issues.

3) The is no "best-way" to start. The net is vast. Advertising opportunities are everywhere! Home parties have simple formulas - make a list- find a host/hostess- do the party-collect orders. I don't believe that there is a basic "one-size-fits-all formula" for online marketing. Not so easy to teach and potentially full of legal landmines for MLM corporate attorneys.

We will save the issue of poorly designed corporate-owned MLM distributor sites for another day.

If you are marketing a nutritional product, the FDA monitors websites for claims or perceived claims. The FDA is extremely broad in its definition of a "claim". If a distributor makes a claim, even telling their own story, it could generate a rebuke from the FDA. Companies did not want a bunch of FDA warning letters showing up in their mailbox because of distributor website content that they had no control over. That puts a damper on a lot of things.

Personally, I feel that the internet must have a substantial place in a network marketing business. I detail some of those reasons on my Squidoo page: http://www.squidoo.com/ezmoney

Enter lots of network marketers like me, wanting to harness the power of the internet, "yesterday!". I was shocked to find out that marketing online is not always as fast and furious as I had thought. I was surprised that there is no one way that is the agreed upon place to start. It all depends on your budget, time constraints, personal creativity, goals, offering, marketing system.... and who mentors you online. Emphasis on the mentor!!!

Nevertheless, it is a wonderful way to build your network marketing business. Online marketing skills are becoming increasingly important to any business. Network marketers who ignore the net do so at their own peril. And those prospects will find someone else who does build online. Maybe me :-).

Learn how to market your MLM online. Subscribe to my newsletter:
" Online Guerilla Marketing Secrets for MLMers".


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To find the best home based business ideas and
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Buying and Working with Leads

So you've used up your "warm market" of friends and family. Or you really don't have one that you want to contact about your business opportunity or product. And you don't want to get out a phone book and start cold calling. Then it's time to buy some leads! When I first purchased leads about 3 years ago, my expectations were way too high. I thought it would be like picking ripe fruit. Well, sometimes! Sometimes not. Here's what I've learned:

The best leads are those you generate yourself.  The leads you generate yourself are the most responsive. They will answer the phone when you call. And they are the most likely to join your business or buy your product.

However, it can take quite a long time to generate traffic to your website or capture page. Purchasing leads is a good part of your strategy to start building your database. Some companies will sell you biz-opp leads, female only leads, and product oriented leads. Purchased leads means that you know EXACTLY how many prospects that you will get for your advertising dollar. And you can get your leads in as little as an hour.

Personally, I don't recommend that you do any less than 100 leads/month. Work up to 100 leads/week or more. Some trainers say do 1,000/month. It will depend on your business and how you work your leads.

When you purchase leads, you need to have the following in place:

1) An autoresponder for follow up and to keep your name in front of your prospects. Some lead vendors or marketing systems have generic autoresponders already done for you. Some systems require that you write your own. Whatever autoresponder system you choose, find out how many leads you can upload per day. The CAN-Spam act limits some things and everyone is cautious now, so that they don't get inadvertantly blasted as spam. Some of these autoresponder companies, have agreements with lead vendors and then you can download as many as you want automatically into your account.

2) Don't buy leads unless you have an online marketing system. You need a way to process them. Don't put yourself in a situation of mailing DVDs and information packets. Too expensive.

3) Leads come in all forms. If I am using phone verified or phone-interviewed leads, I buy from companies who have scrubbed those leads against the Do Not Call list. If I am buying surveyed leads, only those that are double opt-in. I prefer companies that have an affiliate program or the pay me back for lead referrals so that my lead costs can be reimbursed or offset.

4) I prefer exclusive or semi-exclusive fresh leads. Real time-leads means you get them as soon as they are generated - within minutes. Exclusive, real-time, are the most expensive, sometimes costing as much as $5 - $10 or more a piece. The more exclusive, real-time and prequalified, the more responsive the lead is.

In the beginning, get double opt-in leads. Expect to blow some in practicing and building your skills. It's OK. I don't prefer aged leads, some of those have been sold 10 or more times. However, they are dirt cheap, and I have sponsored distributors from them. Just know that aged leads have the highest negativity because they have been sold so much.

5) Every lead company provides scripts. Some provide extra training as well. Dani Johnson has good scripts. Those of us who've been working leads have developed scripts that work for us. There are lots out there. The goal of the first call is just to introduce yourself and find out what they want. DO NOT try to get them to join/buy on the first call. I've found that if I pre-qualify people, it's a waste of time and the tone of the interview changes. Build a relationship first. Let your propsect's actions qualify them.

6) Don't buy leads that have been incentivized - e.g. "Enter to win an IPOD". They're junk.

7) Know the "territory". When someone looks for a home business online, they often respond to several websites. They have no idea that their name could be sold up to 20 times. Even if 50% of distributors never call their purchased leads, your lead could have received several calls. Even an exclusive lead probably answered several ads. So "exclusive" means that the company you bought from hasn't sold it to anyone other than you. That's OK. It's just part of the environment.

8) Some of your leads will tell you that they never filled out any form. I've had phone verified leads tell me that! 90% of the time, that's bogus, they just aren't interested anymore.

While you are generating your own opt-in list, build your database with purchased leads. I've met some great people through leads. I've met business owners, attorneys, and people that I never would have met otherwise. Be consistent in how you work your leads and patient for the results. Purchased leads can be a great way to grow your business,especially in the short term.

About the Author:
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To find the best online marketing for home based businesses and
opportunities visit: http://womanwizehealth.com
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