How You Can Overcome The Five Major
Obstacles To Success In MLM
In the Network Marketing industry attrition rate can run as
high as over 70%. This means that the majority of people who try a
Network Marketing company don’t survive the first few months! The upside of
this is that 9 out of 10 of those who survive through ten years become very
wealthy. This industry has produced more self-made millionaires than any other
single industry in America. What a recommendation for Network Marketing!
So if this industry has produced so many self-made
millionaires, how is it that more people aren’t staying for the long haul?
First we would look at some of the major reasons for failure and then some tips
to help you escape these traps.
5 Main Reasons Network Marketers Fail
Human beings are complex creatures and so it is always a
little risky to make general statements. Over time, however, a pattern emerges
and we can get a very good idea why so many people start this business and then
drop out.
1.
Mishandling of rejection from close family
members and their warm market.
When someone is first introduced to
the concept of Network Marketing they become very motivated—mainly by the
income possibilities—to start recruiting right away. Most companies will teach
you to start with a list of your warm market and work from there. Even though
this is a logical route, rejection from this group can be very discouraging and
most people stop there. This means that the majority of recruits will give up
after speaking with their spouses for example.
Only lately has Network Marketing
become recognized as a viable and respected profession and many are still quick
to cry, “Oh! You mean a pyramid scheme”. This comes because of the negative
press that many famous companies have received and the general misunderstanding
of the public.
2.
False expectations for too early results with
too little effort.
Depending on the way in which the
business is presented, one can get the impression that there is not much effort
involved. I mean, just get two who gets two and you can become rich. When early
recruits realize that considerable networking and marketing is
involved in Network Marketing, disappointment quickly sets in. There is work
involved, and any business that presents a plan to you and says that you don’t
have to do anything is peddling a lie. All successful network marketers worked
for their success.
Many marketers do not factor into
their planning the cost of advertising their business. This cost can eat up a
good chunk of your investment especially when you are just launching. The idea
here is that you have to regard this as a normal business and not just a trial
run venture.
3.
Lack of focus.
Network marketers have gained a
reputation of jumping around and changing companies like they change clothing.
At least this applies to those who flirt with success but never reach it.
As I mentioned before, those who
survive the early years normally go on to do very well. However, there are many
people who are looking for the ‘next big thing’ and keep jumping from
opportunity to opportunity. This normally describes the behavior of those in
search of the ever evasive ‘ground-floor opportunity’. The rule of thumb here
is that you should establish yourself in one solid company before venturing off
into other companies. And if you do work more than one opportunity, make them
complementary to each other. A perfect example is working a leads company which
you’ll need anyway to feed your primary Network Marketing company. In fact,
if you find any tools that enhances your business, why not purchase from a
company that has a compensation plan attached?
4.
Failure to work an easy to duplicate
recruiting plan.
With the advent of the Internet and
all the new communication means that it affords, Network Marketing has come a
long way from the home meetings and house to house presentations. Doing these
presentations was very intimidating to many people and so the recruiting chain
often broke along the way. The key here is that if the recruiting machine does
not have a system that anyone can comfortably do, it will come to a screeching
halt. Good trainers know that a simple system must be in place or the trainer’s
efforts will not be properly duplicated. If the impression is given that a
recruit must be turned into an instant public speaker, giving motivational
speeches at the local Hilton, they can be easily scared off.
At the same time, you must take the
time to learn the system and become familiar enough with the products that you
can tell a friend about its benefit. As a user yourself, this should not be
difficult. A caution here is to work the system that has been field tested,
rather than trying to invent your own methods. This doesn’t mean that you
shouldn’t be innovative, but there is no use to reinvent the wheel either, so
be teachable.
5.
Baby-sitting of down line members.
Teaching is surely a part of the
game of building a strong team. Some marketers make the mistake of doing too
much for their down line members thinking that if they didn’t their recruits
will leave. This often backfires, however, because the down line members become
comfortable and depend too heavily on their up line and never grow strong
enough to build their own teams. There is only so much you can do for someone
and no more. These spoiled over-dependent down line members can become a
liability instead of an asset to your team. So avoid the temptation to
micromanage your team; you’ll get burnt out. Teach your team members to fish
instead of fishing for them.
The above article is an excerpt from our upcoming eBook
"MLM-Power ... Join the Recruiting Explosion!
