MLM business – go in with your eyes wide open

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Gary Weigh

Lesson #1 in my business coaching Brisbane practice is, “Go in with your eyes wide open!”  There are many things to think about if you are considering being a distributor in a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) organisation, including:

  1. Many people are going to cringe at the offer of an incredible ground floor business opportunity and relationships may be burned along the way.  However, if the products are good enough, customers should be asking you how to join as a distributor.
  2. Don’t be enticed by the perception of easy money.  Focus on the products and everything you do to satisfy and support your customers.  The product should be something of quality with high repeat demand.  It can’t merely be a cover for the flow of commission through a pyramid shaped network.
  3. Don’t be hooked by ‘the dream’ – the vision of wealth and lifestyle.  If you do, building a business may become a secondary consideration.  It is essential to set goals but keep your feet firmly on the ground and your head out of the clouds.
  4. There is a certainty (mathematically at least) that in time, your market area will become crowded with the very distributors you recruited; and by some you didn’t recruit.  There is no contractual protection of markets or territories.  It is survival of the fittest, so you must ensure that you and your business are the fittest.
  5. There must be a balance between selling product and recruiting distributors.  While many focus on recruiting only, someone somewhere along the line has to buy the product.  As in any business, your customers, together with quality products and quality service should be your primary areas of focus.

Understanding what you are dealing with is the first step in making your part of the MLM organisation a success.  Realise now that the majority of distributors will be unsuccessful.  Some will get caught up in the hype and will not focus on reality, while others will simply wither on the vine because they can’t sell product and / or can’t recruit distributors.

Those who start earlier or are nearer the top of the pyramid in their target geographical area are more likely to make money.  Those who start later and find themselves nearer the bottom of the pyramid in an area that is becoming distributor / product saturated are more likely to struggle.

So it will pay you to do some research in your target area before you commit.  Like any business, customer care and repeat sales are the keys.  They in turn depend on the quality of your communication and support, together with the strength of your relationships.

Note: I do not operate any form of MLM business, and I have no affiliations with MLM organisations.  I am an independent, professional specialising in business business coaching in Brisbane.  I am expressing my own views based on 25 years of coaching experience.  I have coached and advised clients who have participated in MLM business, and some who have sought advice before committing.   I have coached many more clients who have not participated in MLM business.  So if you would like an independent appraisal of any business opportunity, please contact me.