Before you get involved with a network marketing company, make sure it has these five key qualities before you sign up (and, of course, before you invest any money!)

If not, run like heck (in the opposite direction!)

Pillar 1. Does the company management have integrity?

Do a Google search on the company owner(s). If the owner has had any experience in building a network marketing downline then the compensation plan will keep the distributor in mind. The plan will make it easy to build a business and there will be an excellent support system in place.

If, however, the owner(s) have never built a downline, the compensation plan will put the company before its distributors. The plan will make it very difficult for the distributors to make money, if they can at all. Another thing to consider is the Policies & Procedures of the company. If the company does not make the P&Ps readily available to read before you sign up, they may have something to hide (like lots of extra hidden fees, etc.)

Pillar 2. Timing in the company. Timing in the industry!

Approximately 92% of new companies fail. If the company does not own it's own software program, they will have problems with it most of the time. They will have to hire someone to tweak it here and there, they will not be able to maintain the website themselves. This can be very costly. It is much better to join a company that has been in business for two years or more.

Timing in the company - if you current company is past the growth phase, then it will be very difficult to build a large business - the right company should be entering or in the momentum phase of its growth.

Pillar 3. MLM products!

Most companies do have remarkable products. But you have to ask yourself this question: "would I buy the products if there was not a business opportunity involved?"

If you join this company, do you get a discount on the products? If so, what is the product really worth? This type of behavior indicates a recruiting mentality. If you are only recruiting, you are only building a temporary paycheck. There must be retail sales to develop a true residual income.

Pillar 4. Network Marketing Compensation Plan.
A good compensation plan is one that pays the most with the least amount of people in your downline. Does the plan pay on your total volume, or does it pay on specific numbers of levels, or stop after a set depth? Does it pay part-timers? Do you make money on retail sales? If it is less then 7%, that will kill you!!

There is a simple formula that will show you exactly how many people you will need in your organization to make your desired monthly income:
How much money do you make per person, per spot, and divide that by your desired monthly income. This simple formula will give you the exact number of people you will need in your organization. Once you have that figure, ask yourself if this is something you think you can reasonably achieve. Then ask yourself if this is something that your team will be able to achieve as well.

Pillar 5. MLM Systems for Success!

It is absolutely imperative that you have a system that is duplicateable. People are not duplicateable, systems are!! So when your new distributor asks, "can I do this, and will you help me" will you be able to? Network marketing is about building relationships and trust. People join people, they do not join companies!! If they do, they don't stay long.

For more information on how to succeed in this business, check out my "Mentoring for Free" web site and download my FREE e-book - Success in 10 Steps. Best of luck with your network marketing business!

You need to talk to your front-line leaders regularly. At least every other day. Sometimes it's 2 or 3 times a day. Make yourself available anytime for 3-way phone calls. Give your team a system to help them find the people and sponsor them into your business. Make yourself available.

At our 35th wedding anniversary on June 21st, we had 2 of our front-line Diamonds at the celebration. And my sponsor My sponsor & his wife flew across the country to attend. Several others from our group were there. And we had a ball.

Here's what it's about.

I have a gentleman in my group, awesome guy, he lives up in Monticello, Florida. On our way back from a seminar trip to Houston, Texas, I stopped by to see Richard & Cheryl. They have a big old hickory tree that was leaning towards their home. It got hit by lightning, and it was dead. They were very concerned it could come down, and it's a couple thousand dollars to have that cut down & carted away.

So I got together one day with Linda & our son Matt & a friend, Lynn Rothfuss, from New Jersey, and we made a day of it. We took a picnic up and we cut the tree down, cut it up, stacked it up for them.

That builds relationships. We just did that to help them. When's the last time your upline did something like that for you?

That's what this business is about - it's about building relationships. We'll be in business the rest of our lives with Richard & Cheryl. I'll be in business the rest of my life with all our top leaders. It just goes on and on and on.

You've got to build it solid. We just sponsored some awesome people down in Puerto Rico, Nestor & Toni. They're so excited, they're going on the MLM Cruise with us. When we come back, we'll hang out there for 2 or 3 days and do meetings and build them an empire while we're there. They'll have it started before that, but we're going to explode that island.

The Mistake That Many Leaders Make

People are telling their downlines all the time, "You have to change. You have to get out there and sell. You have to become this other person that you aren't right now."

The truth is, YOU are perfect just like you are. Everybody on your team is perfect just like they are. They don't need to change. They don't need to become a pushy, aggressive salesperson.

Ninety-two per-cent of the world's population is sales resistant. You don't like to be sold. You walk into a store, looking for shoes. You want to look around, pick out what YOU want. You don't want some sales clerk coming around, telling you they have a sale on such & such a shoe. You want to shop & buy what YOU want. Maybe you'll ask for a clerk, once you've decided what you want.

So it's only about 5% of the people in network marketing who tell the others that they have to change, they have to become this pushy, aggressive salesperson, make a list of your friends & family and go puke all over them, force them into the business.

That Is NOT How To Build Your Business!

My belief is, just target the market and find people who already are looking for the business, people who already believe in network marketing. Don't go out and try to build them a dream to get them in the business.

It's kind of like religion. Some people believe in God, some don't. Don't try to convince the people who don't believe in God to believe in Him. And don't try to convince the people who do believe in God to not believe in Him.

Just go talk to the ones who already believe! Talk to the people who already believe, and are looking. Those people are warriors. Those people are ready to take action. Those people will build an empire. They will build a legacy income for you. Those are the kind of people who will drive 6 hours to your house and cut down a tree for you.

Those are the people you want. Build relationships with those people. Get them into your business, and never, never, never quit building the relationship with them!

All these years in the industry, it's almost comical to me. I hear so-called heavy hitters talking about building relationships. But the truth is, they don't have a relationship with their spouse, they don't have one with their kids, and they don't have one with their business partners. They rattle on about relationships, but they don't know how to build one.

Bulletproof Your Income!

What if your company went out of business tomorrow? Don't laugh - it has happened to many, many people in this business. What would you do? Would you have to start over from scratch?

Well, NOT if you have strong trusting relationships with your people! If you have taken the time and made the effort to build that steel-ribbed "know, like, & trust," then your people will stick with you. They will follow you to your next company. They will trust in your judgment.

If you haven't built those relationships, your future is very much in doubt. Why take that chance? Work hard at getting close to every person in your group. That's a strategy that will pay off for you big-time, whether your current company is around forever or not.