The other day, on a webinar I did on the importance of self-branding, one of my students asked somewhat puzzled if their MLM opportunity was “not enough”.
In other words, why all the bells and whistles of personal branding – can’t you just promote your MLM opportunity? It’s a great question and one I’m sure many others are pondering as well, so I want to take a minute to address this important topic in today’s post.
You see, the truth is that no matter how much you love your MLM opportunity, if your MLM is all you’re marketing, you’re making a big mistake which may cost you down the line.
Are You Really Building Someone Else’s Dream?
If you’re promoting your MLM company, exclusively – its name, its products, its brand, its founders, its leadership – the reality is that you’re buidling someone else’s dream.
Because your MLM opportunity isn’t “yours”. You don’t own the company, and therefore you are also not in control of what happens to it. In essence you’re building the dream of the company owners.
You may call yourself an “indpendent distributor” but think about it – how independent are you really? So independent that if something happended to the company you would still be in business?
So independent that if significant changes took place within the company that negatively affected your distributorship, causing you to have to walk away, you would be able to take your customers and reps with you?
Would you still have a residual income? Would you still have a list of leads to market to? Or would you have to start all over from scratch?
Your answers to those questions say everything about the extent to which you OWN your business.
How Loyal Should You Be To Your MLM Opportunity?
It’s interesting to observe how often, when someone is new in the game, they’re completely married to their MLM opportunity. (I was no different by the way, so there’s no judgement here.) All they can think of is how to get people signed up as reps or retail customers for that particular MLM.
As far as business model and comp plan go, their MLM opportunity is the greatest, and of course no one in the whole wide world has better products…
They’ll wear caps and t-shirts with their company logo on ‘em, and put up pictures of the same logo on their Facebook profiles.
They’re often so “loyal” to their company that if they’re told by the leadership that they may not use the Internet to market their MLM opportunity, they don’t even question the decision.
(I know this because I regularly hear from prospects who state that they would love to use my system and training, but that they can’t because they’re “not allowed to”.)
If they don’t “follow the plan”, they’re made to feel guilty about it. If they skip an auto shipment, or fail to purchase the batch of leads they committed to, they’re made to feel like they’re not serious.
No one likes to be ostracized, so of course the vast majority of these network marketers continue to “build” their MLM opportunity the way they’re “supposed to” – not realizing that in reality their leads and customers belong to their company, not them.
Money As A By-Product Of Your Service To The World.
Then, for the few rebel souls that dare open themselves up to the “foolish” concepts of personal branding, automated sales funnels, leverage and multiple income streams, they come to realize that everything does not, in fact, stand or fall with their MLM opportunity.
They see that their MLM opportunity is really just part of the puzzle. It’s merely a starting point.
These marketers become less concerned about signing up reps for their MLM opportunity and more concerned about finding new and different ways to SERVE their customers and clients.
They discover how to tap into affiliate marketing to monetize all those leads that don’t sign up with them in their MLM opportunity.
They learn how to do up-sells and back-end sells to move their customers from one level of commitment to the next. And as a result, they themselves make more and more money from various income streams, and they acquire increasingly more satisfied, loyal, life-time customers.
Rather than trying to get their prospects to see how much they need their MLM opportunity, it’s now about the marketer responding to their prospects needs! No longer do they have just a single offer (i.e. their MLM opportunity), no, they now offer their prospects a smorgasbord of options to suit their needs.
And no longer does money only trickle in occassionally as a result of the marketer aggressively pushing their MLM opportunity, rather it flows naturally as a BY-product of their ongoing service and creativity…
To sum it all up: Your MLM opportunity is enough to get you started, but not enough to take you to where you’ll want to go.
Not if you want the security of multiple income streams. Not if you want to be behind the steering wheel of your business rather than in the backseat. Not if you want to truly be your own boss and build your dream.
And what does all this mean for you right now in practical terms?
Well, first of all you’ve got to start investing in yourself and your own education.
The single most important thing you can do right now is to start adding value to yourself by honing your skill sets: You gotta learn to market like a pro if you want to get paid like a pro!
I would also suggest you start thinking about ways that you can be more personal in your approach… Think about how you can step up to the plate and be the leader your prospects are looking for.
People join people, not companies or opportunities. Simply put, your prospects will not join you for the sake of your MLM opportunity per se but because they like you and trust you.
Consider also how you can use the Internet to create leverage and automation, and to tap into multiple streams of income. That’s where you’ll want to start right now – if you are ready to get the results that you deserve.
Don’t know how? Not to worry…I can help. Take a look at the link right below to discover the next steps.
<<<<< If you enjoyed this post, please take a sec to share, tweet, and Google+ it. And remember to leave me a reply below to let me know your thoughts on this topic!
PS: If you want to learn how to generate your own leads, up to 50 quality leads a day, if you’re ready to step up to the plate and be the leader, and you want to create leverage and automation in your MLM opportunity, you may want to take a look at this. (Rebels only.)
Successfully,
5x Award Winning Marketer
Industry Top Earner
Work With Me In Numis
Comments
Tags: MLM opportunities, mlm opportunity
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2012 at 2:11 am and is filed under Personal Branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Hey Lena, as always good to hear from you! I always enjoy reading your articles and info info.I m hoping to match your earnings someday! Thanks, Ada
Appreciate your comments, Ada. Yes, just keep pressing on!
Excellent post & I totally get your point. But isn’t there always someone else at the reigns unless you truly do create your own product? ie:”Her Success Blueprint” Otherwise you’re just building their biz like with MLSP or ProBlog Academy. Just another perspective.
Thanks for your courage! ;)
Good points Wyn! Well, MLSP is def meant to be a launching pad as they are all about empowering their leaders and up and coming leaders. It can be a fine line sometimes, that’s for sure. Obviously, if you can be in a partnership or JV (Joint Venture) with someone that’s profitable to both parties and where it’s helping the businesses of both parties long-term, that would be the ideal. It’s certainly something worth striving for… ;)
Lena,
This might be a little off the topic of this blog post (great post btw) but… I love the level of detail you use in your tracking link in the P.S. that points to MLSP. I am going to start using that kind of detail in my tracking so Thank You for letting me borrow that idea from you.
Blue Skies,
Jeff
I’m so glad that was helpful to you, Jeff! Yes, you never know what little nugget you’re going to pick up in unexpected places, haha. Appreciate your feedback!
I love this article. Great job explain how to offer more value to your customers as a way to build your business. Branding yourself is very important. Thank you for your leadership.
Glad that was helpful to you, Chef Katrina! Thanks for your comment!
I’ve enjoyed reading this blog – I’ve come to the realisation that it is true that the opportunity is not going to get me all I desire. I struggled with chasing strangers to join me and I failed to sponsor anyone. It was even difficult trying to retail – I felt like a fraud as deep down I was also not 100% confident with what I was selling. To be honest tho, I thought all MLMs were the same, worked along the same lines. If they fail, you fail. Is this truly not the case?
wow lots to think about here Lena, thanks as always Selena
Are You Really Building Someone Else’s Dream? – NO
I am working with a POSITIVE group of entrepreneures helping the 2% creative a life of FUN and PROSPERITY! I thank you, Lena, for your encouraging notes, words, and shared information to keep the fun coming.
How Loyal Should You Be To Your MLM Opportunity?
Your loyalty should be in sharing information with others seeking what you have and share with them the repeating method that many of us are using to successfully reach the dream! Your dream and their dream are different, however, everyone has a dream. Our dreams are attainable as we continue to learn and share with you.
Great feedback, Ronald! Appreciate it!
Yes Lena you are so right that our MLM opportunity is only a part of our business. It is a tool we can build on as we brand ourselves when we have our business plan in place and see ourselves as entrepreneurs. We have to see our MLM as our business and we are using the products etc provided to our own advantage as well as promoting the company. Our contacts see us first and if they like us and feel they can trust us they will join us.
You got the message, Elaine – spot on!
Hi Lena!
I am not involved with a MLM but I did listen to video. It pretty explains exactlly how we function.
I will tweet this as a coutesry for a fellow entrepreneur.
Congratulations on your success!
Marion, I appreciate that! Have a great weekend, my friend!
Lena,
I haven’t read this yet. I’ve forwarded it to my work email to read later.
I read your previous blog and I thought it was awesome! It made great sense (dating…). It really cause me to look at what I am doing. Thanks for posting it. It really helps.
-Shaki
So glad you found it helpful, Shaki! Appreciate you stopping by!
Hi Lena, Over the past 2weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do next. My current MLM opportunity isn’t working out for me. It is so funny, how I open my email today and read your blog, its what I’ve been thinking about for the last 2 weeks. Am I really independent? Is this my own business? The answer is no, because if the company fail, I loose everything, so I agree with you 100%. I decided to get into affiliate Marketing now, so I am learning and doing my homework. I hope this work out for me. Thank you Lena for your insights on helping me be better.
Karen, sound like you have made a VERY important discovery that’s going to put you on the right track now. So happy for you! And I’m glad this post landed in your inbox at the exact right time – funny how that works! Best of “luck” – let me know how it goes! ;)
Thank you for your comment.
You provided very important information.
Sorry to say I already know it and find it very frustrating.
Hi Lena ,
So very true in what you said in your blog ! Love reading your blogs , wonderful info to help all
of us !
Have a wonderful day !
James
Thanks so much for the feedback, James! You too have a fab day, my friend!
this is my own work i have achieved it to my own benefit and got personal recognition and st my self to a possitive commitment to the business
Hi Lena, That is a great post,it blows away all the myths,and shows true Leadership, Leo