Network Marketing with Magnetic Sponsoring and The Renegade

By Kevin Thomas

Multilevel marketing is a very popular way for people to make money online. Entrepreneurs trying to make money online are inundated by opportunities presented to them by hundreds of online businesses. These businesses need to make certain quotas in order to sustain themselves, so they promise you the world and much more in return for joining them. Unfortunately, it is getting harder to pick the diamond from the stones. However, the optimist in you should look at it this way. You have a number of businesses vying for your attention. If you work for them, they stand to gain as much as you do, if not more. Always remind yourself of that. You quite literally have the power to write your own destiny and with a little help and guidance, you will be exercising that power.

So how do you pick the right MLM opportunity?How do you know what the right choice is? How can you avoid a scam or a bad opportunity?

Picking a MLM opportunity is like buying a car. You do your research, you even test drive a few, but at the end of the day, it should meet your emotional and financial needs. After all, we all want to buy a Ferrari, but not all of us have the money to do so. Similarly, when picking a network or multi level marketing opportunity, you research the company, find some examples of it where other people have made it work and then you see whether it is a good fit for what you want to do and how much you want to make.

Test 1: Would you even drive the car? I once found an ad for a $500 Cutlass in the paper. It had low miles and the photo looked great. $500 wasn’t too shabby to pay for a car. After all, if it lasted even a year, I’d have enough money saved to buy a nice car. But then I asked myself, would I really drive a 1984 Cutlass? The answer was a resounding no.

So when you find the MLM opportunity that you believe is right for you, look at their product. Is it a product that you’d recommend to a friend? Is it a product that you’d buy yourself? Is it a good product? If the answer is yes, then the network has passed test one. If the product is crappy, remember that it will take twice as much effort to sell half the product and over time, the bad name of the product will overpower all your marketing efforts. People talk and with forums and blogs uniting the world, word spreads fast.

Test 2: Beware of the evil used car salesman. There are few things in this world more evil and more annoying than a used car salesman. You’re only their friend as long as you’re on the lot. They promise you everything you ever dream of. I once had a car salesman convince me that a 2001 Kia was better than a 2005 Toyota. Of course, he was all out of Toyotas that day, and just happened to have 2 Kia’s sitting in his lot. No offence to the good people at Kia, but seriously, that was quite a stretch. Fortunately for me, the car broke down during the test drive.

Websites like car salesman have webmasters. These webmasters have mastered the art of sales copywriting. It is a particular skill set and if you actually read through a full page of sales copy, it is actually quite convincing. Your job is to ignore the sales talk, pay no attention to the photos of big checks and pay no heed to the “testimonials”. Look for facts and figures. Write to the company and ask them to either provide you with relevant financial details or to put you in touch with some of the top marketers who are willing to share there guidance. A good product sells itself and the seller should be more than happy to have you research the company product. It’s the ones who try to make you sign up and commit for things before they give you relevant information that you should beware of. If the business owner is responsive, professional and gives you some details before asking for commitment, then they have passed test 2. Mind you, there will be certain “secrets” that they won’t give out, and that is fine. However, if they give you absolutely nothing, it is because they don’t have much.

Test 3: Look under the hood of the car. Believe it or not, many people don’t. Mostly, they don’t know what to look for. However, if you do look under the hood, you can see if the engine is kept properly, if there are any hanging wires, broken parts, funny noises etc. If it is a car that you’re ready to buy, then have a friend who knows about cars accompany you to the dealership and check the car out himself.

With websites, you have to look under the hood as well. Go to Google keywords and do a search related to the MLM opportunity to see what shows up in the search results. If the website that you’ve researched shows up within the first 2 pages, you know that the people running it are aware of SEO and have done work to properly promote a website. If the site shows up on later pages of Google, you know that this is not a good opportunity for you. After all, if they can’t even promote themselves, how good are they at marketing. Look at the product itself and see how others are promoting it. Is it easy? Is it something that you can replicate?

Test 4: Do a CARFAX report. This will tell you about the history of the car and if it has been through any accidents or major repairs. It is well worth the investment if you’re buying a new car.

With websites, you should do the same. You can look at forums and blogs and find other people who have worked with this MLM opportunity. See their feedback and if possible, write to them. You’ll be surprised at what people are willing to disclose if you just ask the question. If the results are largely positive, it has passed test 3. Mind you, there may be some negative things, but that doesn’t mean that the MLM opportunity is bad. Sometimes, there are people online who just can’t say a good word about anything, and sometimes, it may be a problem that the business had in the past but has overcome. Use your judgment. Ask people how long they have been using this service, what the payments are like, whether the products sell easily etc.

Test 5: Test drive. This is the fun part. You get to test drive the car and see how well is rides. Take it to an empty parking lot if you can and really see how good it is. However, don’t get emotional about it. While it may look like the car of your dreams, if it doesn’t ride well, be ready to let go and keep searching.

Test your MLM company too. Don’t just jump into an opportunity without thinking it through. When you do, don’t get emotional about it. Test it out and see if it works. Make sure that you give 110% of your effort towards it. However, always monitor your effort and your returns. If the MLM opportunity is not good, or if it doesn’t work well for you, move on. A good way to find out is to talk to people and see how long they took before they were successful. Once you do that, you can chart out a plan for yourself. Make a list of all the steps necessary to succeed in this venture. Then allocate some time towards each step and add an extra 10% to compensate for your learning curve. Make a list of certain returns/goals for yourself within the short term. Then, start working. If you come close to your goals or exceed them, this is the opportunity for you, if you are nowhere near your goals, then reassess. Never give up, but know when it’s time to let go. If an MLM opportunity doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean that you stop trying. It means that you have to try something else.

Test 6: Does it suit you? Did you buy the car to get from point A to point B? Or did you buy it to get attention from onlookers? Either way, are you successful?

Ask this question to yourself all the time. Always assess and reassess your objective. Are you selling the product because you enjoy selling things online or because you want to make money? Do you care more about margins than the product you’re selling or vice versa? A friend of mine sells HVAC units and is one of the best salesmen I know. He is constantly offered sales training jobs by other companies for a lot more money than he earns now, but he constantly turns them down. This is because he gets true joy in selling HVAC units directly to home owners. It is the sale and the after sales service that gives him true satisfaction. Other salesmen don’t care what they are selling. They do it because they love to be salesmen. There are still others who do it just for the money and don’t care what they are selling to who. The point is that you should identify what you’re objective is and stick to that.

In conclusion and most importantly is it fun? Always ask yourself this, whether it is while you’re driving your brand new set of wheels or if you’re running your own business. Is it fun? If you’re not enjoying yourself, then it’s not worth it. If you get up in the morning and feel like you’re forced to go to work, you need to sit back and reassess. Work should be a part of life and life should be full of fun and joy.

Kevin Thomas is a traditional business entrepreneur who has owned and operated a building maintenance franchise for over 20 years. After finishing college and a 3 year tour in the United States Army Kevin decided that corporate America was not for him. It was at this point that his entrepreneurial journey began. With nothing more than a dream and stubbornness to succeeded he took it upon himself to figure out how to run a traditional bricks and mortar business, and after many tough years of trail and error his dream soon become a reality.Kevin is now teaching people how to develop businesses online at his blog Network Marketing Industries with the new model of attraction marketing.

Areas of Strength & Interest

• Relationship building and social skills
• Business and financial knowledge
• Internet web building strategies
• Inspiration and motivational tips
• Internet network marketing and MLM

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