subject: Lead Systems Make The Difference--MLM finally comes of age [print this page] Author: Jim Crosbie Author: Jim Crosbie
For most people over the age of thirty five the mention of multi-level marketing conjures up images of sitting around someones living room or some hotel conference room looking at charts showing how to get rich by finding "three people who get three people". For the vast majority of those who got into MLM and did business the old way, it never panned out. Success was predicated on the idea of everyone getting a few of their friends involved and so on down the line. The problem is soliciting friends is not very comfortable for most people and after their first few friends react negatively the initial enthusiasm quickly flames out. For those who are able to "sell" some of their friends or families the result is often strained relationships. When these new recruits do little or no recruiting of their own they begin to resent their sponsors and dodge their calls. Often the sponsor too develops negative feelings toward their recruits who put in no effort and produce no results. Rather than face their own inability to be successful those who dont join often actually undermine the sponsors efforts and the efforts of those who do. No wonder these compensation plans that look so lucrative and are so logical mathematically become to be viewed as some theoretical ideal that can never be attained by most. The failure rate was so high that often those who believed they could make money with these plans were dismissed as frivolous or foolish. The paradigm dictates "duplication" for success. However, those who did well were usually charismatic speakers who had the ability to mesmerize a room. Certainly that is not a quality that many people possess and is not one that can realistically be duplicated on a large scale. So why are so many people suddenly making more money than ever in MLM? Why is it finally living up to all the potential to make so many big money that everyone in the industry always promoted? Is it the bad economic times? Is it people taking advantage of the ability to start a business with little or no cash? Is it the chance to make immediate profit? Sure, but these traits have always been present in MLM companies. So whats changed? Is it the use of the internet? Yes, partially. With the ability to operate nearly worldwide and the webinar replacing the hotel "opportunity meeting" some estimate that nearly ten thousand people per day join a direct sales company. But its not the army of new representatives using company generated replicated websites hanging out their shingles that is sparking the massive successes being seen by many. The magic lies in the online lead generating systems that have come onto the scene. Its contained in the new ways of marketing that the internet makes possible, not just the internets ability to market to the masses in and of itself. These MLM lead systems allow for duplication while still letting marketers specialize within the system and also for them to promote different primary companies without conflicting. Its the concept of attraction marketing coupled with these new online marketing systems that create whole communities of expert marketers who all work together synergistically. What exactly is "attraction marketing"? Its the concept of promoting yourself as an expert rather than marketing a company or an opportunity. This influences prospects to seek you as an expert for help managing their business online. It flips things one hundred eighty degrees whereby rather than always pitching skeptical prospects with little interest in your opportunity and often little aptitude for business, instead you only talk to interested qualified "leads" that have been sorted automatically through your systems "sales funnel". They arrive already knowing something about you and already at least somewhat knowledgable about MLM. But how does one do this? Is there something unethical here? Does it require misrepresentation? The name seems to connote somehow fooling people into thinking that even new members are experts at internet marketing. MLM has long had a history of people who "fake it till they make it". Sadly most of those never survive to the "make it" part. Here, however, the concept of attraction marketing develops relationships with interested parties by providing real valuable help to potential recruits for free WITHOUT seeking any sale. What? Why would anyone do this? One reason is that with a good marketing system lead generation becomes so effortless that producing between 10 and 100 leads per day is not a problem.. With so many people to talk every day there is no mindset of scarcity. The marketer knows there are always others waiting. By helping so many people with their businesses the mentor knows that they naturally will bring a percentage of those (5% is a good number) into their own business. Also the MLM lead system sets up many affiliate products that are tested by the group and known to work. By teaching others and showing them to use these tools to market any company the mentor earns a commission by providing legitimate and valuable instruction even when these people never join the mentors business. Although much information is gladly dispensed free as a demonstration of value, the prospect quickly see how much more knowledge he can gain from the mentor. The mentor knows that he can give away large amounts of free content and still only be divulging a fraction of what is contained within the marketing system. If even a relatively new member can honestly report that although they have only been in the system a short time but are already generating 10 or 20 network marketing leads per day they can impart real value. This is actually quite easy to do and highly impressive to those only using a warm market strategy. For a warm market mindset even one MLM lead source a day seems bountiful. Within the system everyone is promoting their own business and the generic system as well to provide additional immediate income. They help others knowing that the market is so large and there are so many sub niches that there can never be too much competition. There is currently far less than 1% of the population involved with MLM companies. By promoting others success it grows the industry bringing in more people that have seen others truly profiting and also establishes the credentials of the expert thereby enabling them to recruit more people themselves. The system works for all involved in a rare circle of mutual self interest. What a new member needs to focus on in order to be successful is learning, starting by picking a specific niche to become proficient in and then expanding into others. They can legitimately help their recruits in the areas they have competence in while the rest is filled in by the system training. The failures of the traditional way of doing MLM ironically leads to the ability to make huge sums online with an internet based marketing system. Since in the past it has been so difficult for the average rep to sponsor ANY people, companies kept designing comp plans in such a way that people could make money with limited sponsoring. Now that it has become so much easier to sponsor many more, the income potential becomes staggering. Mark Yarnell, author of "Your First Year in Network Marketing" has made over 30 million in the industry. He says that to earn $100,000 per month you would need to sponsor only 6 true leaders per year. He provides a hypothetical example of working twenty days per month. You would speak to 30 people a day or 600 people per month about your business. If you convert 5% into reps in your business you would add 30 members a month. From those 30 let's assume that only one actually really produces. At the end of the year you will have 12 people who are seriously working their business in the same manner as you do. Then let's assume that half of those leave. That leaves you with 6 true leaders working with you. Mark maintains that having 6 quality people is enough to generate a six figure monthly income from almost any good MLM compensation plan. Then why doesn't every make $100,000 a month? Up till now the problem has been that almost no one has been willing to do what it takes to actually speak to 30 people a day about their business. Many probably never presented their opportunity to 30 people in total. This is how using an internet based marketing system is giving so many more the chance to make the level of income that had previously been reserved only for the super salesman types. Presenting your business to 30 people a day is not only easy with your marketing system, it happens practically on autopilot. By the time you actually speak to most of your leads for MLM they have already passed through the system's "sales funnell" and been qualified. You only speak to people who really have genuine interest in what you have to offer them. Often prospects are ready to join your business before you have even spoken to them. David Wood is an example of the new type of MLMer who is having extraordinary success after moving his marketing online and starting to use a preexisting lead generating system. After running his business offline for seven years and enjoying only moderate levels of success Dave moved his efforts to the internet only four months ago. His business has grown exponentially during that time to the point where he is now sponsoring an average of two people per day into his company. He claims that he never suffers rejection as he doesnt "sell" or "recruit" anyone. The way he markets his business is to sell himself by teaching. After conducting a seminar outlining a specific online marketing strategy that he has developed and offering it for free, Dave saw his income climb to $50,000 after on three months online. People have become highly skeptical of sales on the internet and sales resistance is extremely high. However, by giving away his information for free Dave is able to demonstrate to prospects the value he provides without asking them for any money. Consequently he was immediately flooded with people asking to work with him. His free instruction morphed into a remarkable MLM lead source. Dave plans on sponsoring 2 people a day for the next year and to build an organization of 20,000. After four months he is on track to meet that goal. He is emphatic that he could never gained since employing the marketing system he uses. Dave wants people reading this to understand that the lead system is only a tool. It is a very powerful and effective tool but still only a tool. He doesn't want to give the impression that all you need to do is sign up with a MLM marketing system and sit back and watch the money flow in. MLM will always be an industry where relationship building is the key to success. But a lead generation system can serve as an entry point to building relationships with strangers who may eventually become business associates. It also isd an excellent place to receive training contained in one location that would be very time consuming and expensive to assemble piecemeal. A lead system can also enable you to provide a way to build mutually beneficial relationships with other business owners and ensure that your recruits have access to the information necessary for them to be successful after joining. For a rapidly growing number of network marketers doing business on the internet, a fully integrated online marketing system is proving to be an indespensible tool that provides them with the two most important things they need to find success, training and a steady stream of bona fide leads for MLM. About the Author:
If you are trying to market your business online and are not using a MLM lead system to generate and manage a steady stream of prospects for you business it's time to investigate the benefits one can offer. To see what lead generating system Jim Crosbie recommends for your MLM business, visit his blog.
Jim Crosbie recently came back to MLM after being out of the industry since 1995. He now specializes in working with those new to MLM and teaches techniques to market exclusively on the internet. He believes that anyone can capitalize on the huge numbers of those looking to start businesses by showing beginners how the internet can virtually guarantee success to anyone who is persistent and willing to learn.
For a free consultation about starting an online MLM business visit Jim's blog at http://modernwaymlm.com and schedule an appointment. His schedule can be found on the contact page where you can directly book an appointment up to fourteen days in advance.
