How To Choose The Right Network Marketing/MLM Company For You?
Compared to a few decades ago, the total number of network marketing companies has drastically increased, up to thousands of them around the world. With so many network marketing opportunities around, how should you pick the right one to join? Here are a few points that you should be considering before joining a network marketing company.
1. Do thorough research about the company.
This is a must, and basically the first step you should do unless somehow someone else (your “future” up lines if you accept their opportunity) tells you about it. You need to make sure the network marketing company you plan to join must be legal and have a clear vision of what they are doing.
Most network marketing companies tend to fail in the first two years. So, you must ensure that you invest your time and resources in the right company to build your long-term asset. Also, you would not want to look for companies that are around for more than six years since the market will be too saturated and you will have a harder time building your down lines unless you have plans to make yourself unique in the marketplace).
Here are a few things you need to take note of while doing your research.
- Does the company have lots of reviews online? All companies should have both positive and negative reviews, hence it depends on how you weigh the pros and cons.
- How far is the reach? Are you only able to recruit people or sell products in your country only? Can you reach your market from other countries too? (The further the reach, the better chances you have in building a strong down line network)
- How excited are you about the product that you are selling? Remember that you need to believe in the products you offer so you can influence others to follow you.
2. Find out the amount of support you will receive to get you started in marketing.
This step is important since it dictates you how can you get started in building up your network marketing business, basically the “do’s” and “don’ts” in the company.
Find out if the company actually offers training programs that you can attend at affordable costs. If the company’s training is solely dependent on your up line, it will be very difficult for you especially if you are brand new and just getting started.
Besides that, the company should provide sufficient product information publicly online so you are prepared in case your buyers actually ask about the product details that you are selling. Marketing materials such as flyers, websites, videos and even social media post can essentially help you in your marketing strategies when it comes to legitimacy and authenticity of the products you are selling.
3. Does the market actually demand the products/services the company offers?
Okay, enough of the company’s matters. Now, we are moving on to the marketing side.
For this section, if you notice a great demand from the products your targeted network marketing company is offering. This is a good sign to take that opportunity and get started quickly, selling something that people are already looking for is way better than trying to convince them to buy.
To identify if the product or service is actually what the market needs, first of all, you need to find out what are the problems it can solve. Then, you got to do some research online to find out that if this problem actually exists and the market urgently wants the solution for it (That indirectly becomes the targeted niche you are going for to sell your solutions).
One more thing to look for will be the prices of the product the company sets. As you cannot control how much you want to charge, this can prove to be a challenging one especially if the product you are selling is expensive. As long as the price of the products are reasonable based on the quality and other bonuses it gives (if any), you should be able to sell effectively with the right marketing strategies.
“Always listen to what the market wants. No sales will come if you produce something that does not solve anyone’s problem.”
Based on that, figure out how to fulfil their demands and you will be rewarded for the value of the solution you provide to the marketplace.
4. Examine their commission/compensation plan.
This indirectly explains why you should not find network marketing companies that sell products that are too cheap. Cheaper products usually lead to lower commissions/compensation plans and you need to sell a huge amount of products just to make a living unless you create complementary products that come along with the offer.
The best compensation plan for a network marketing company is actually a binary network plan since it encourages you to build deep networks instead of wide networks. Wide network compensation plans only benefit yourself instead of benefiting the ones you recruited. You should find compensation plans where helping those below you actually helps yourself in succeeding in network marketing.
“A good binary plan should benefit both yourself and those you recruited. Network marketing is all about helping other people succeed in achieving their goals and dreams, while making yours at the same time too.”
Warning: Some technobabble stuff here…
Most binary plans are built such that you must have both sides evenly to be compensated well. However, some binary plans are modified such that you will still be compensated despite having uneven sides in your network marketing business. Regardless, always find out the right compensation plans that you want before joining a network marketing opportunity.
One more thing, beware of monthly purchase requirements in certain network marketing companies. This requirement is placed by the company to ensure you spend a certain amount of money on their products every month, which can turn ugly because you are forced to spend money on something that you do not need. Most people had a bad experience in network marketing because of this requirement, so be careful when selecting one for yourself.
5. Determine if you can start part-time without affecting your full-time career in the early stages.
This factor is usually what causes a lot of new struggling network marketers to quit since network marketing needs to be treated as a business and you need to spend a lot of time building it up properly.
If you are a part-time network marketer like me, you will definitely need an efficient strategy and automate certain processes in your network marketing business. Aim to look for a company that utilizes technology and automation so you can save some time for those repetitive tasks and focus on marketing your products effectively to your targeted niche.
If you cannot find any network marketing companies that provide a lot of automated systems, you can choose to set up your own systems to handle your sales process. It will take a lot of time to set up the system but it will reward you handsomely since these systems make you stand out from most marketers in the company you are aiming for.
In general, plan your time wisely to ensure your business does not affect your full-time career, yet you still can take breaks in between. It will be tough during the transition but remember that to achieve success, you must pay a price to achieve it.
6. Is the sales team culture healthy?
In all businesses, culture is everything in a company. It is what holds the entire team together. Since most companies will either be flexible or strict, it is always best to ask around for more information.
A good team culture will ensure all of the members are well updated and trained properly, the training can be received from the company itself or among your network. Here are a few signs you can probably look out for before selecting your dream network marketing company.
- The up line that introduced you to the opportunity is passionate and supportive.
- Regular offline or online meetings for announcements and company updates.
- Have active members that can answer common questions new members have.
I hope all these tips allowed you to have a clearer picture of picking the right network marketing company that fits your lifestyle. Always make sure that you still have time for yourself after you decided to venture into the network marketing business.
Anyways, if you have any questions and feedback to provide, please do feel free to email me at support@marketsolvers.zohodesk.com. Also, my upcoming podcast episodes at MarketSolvers will show you the strategies and secrets I have learnt along the way. Let me know what you guys want to know by sending me an email!
Till next time, see you in my upcoming episodes in my podcast and my publications!
