Brand New MLM Distributor: 10 Good to Know Things

I’m going to assume you are a brand new MLM distributor. If so, congratulations. You’ve made a wise decision to join this amazing industry.

I want to share some advice with you that I wish someone would have told me when I was a brand new MLM distributor way back in 2002. Some of this will be hard hitting. It might even upset you. I’m willing to share this information because I believe I have an obligation to share it with you. Take this advice to heart.

Keep in mind that it is just my opinion, based on my experience over the past 18-years in this industry. Do what you want with the advice, but at least hear me out. Enjoy.

My Advice for the Brand New MLM Distributor

I have done many things wrong and a few things right during my past 18-years in the industry. What you will see below are some of the most valuable lessons that I have learned, mostly through trial and error. Hopefully, you can avoid the mistakes I made, and shorten your timeline for success.

# 1: Have Realistic Expectations

What are realistic expectations? You get out what you put in. You will not build a big income quickly (highly unlikely anyway). You will not build a big income working a few hours per week.

Contrary to what you might have been told, this industry is not a get rich quick type of thing. It is not the lottery either. You don’t become successful by luck. It is a business. It requires a BOAT LOAD of hard work to make it to the top of your company’s compensation plan. Much more work than you think. It requires time, money and effort.

It is simple, but it’s not easy. Building a six figure MLM Income will be one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. It’s worth it, but it’s hard to do.

Assuming you are working your network marketing business part-time, it’s going to take you a while just to be profitable. The goal your first year in any new business is to learn and survive. If you make a profit, that’s great. If not, that’ normal. Keep in mind, most businesses in the real world don’t make a penny of profit their first year or two in business.

Don’t expect your business to be an overnight miracle to your financial problems. Don’t expect to make six figures your first year. Chances are you have been working in your current job/career many YEARS, and if you are like most people you aren’t making six figures yet. Why would you expect to make six figures in network marketing working part-time, right out the gate?

This pay structure is performance based. You don’t get paid to show up. You don’t get paid based upon the number of hours you work. You get paid to perform well and find others who can perform well. That’s our business in a nutshell. Perform well, get paid well. Perform badly, make nothing! That’s how free enterprise works.

Finally, make sure your actions match your goals. Don’t set big goals for yourself if you’re not willing to put in the work it requires to achieve those goals. You can’t make six figures with a minimum wage work ethic.

# 2: You Must Pay the Price

All success comes with a price. You, the brand new MLM distributor, must decide if you are willing to pay that price. Most people won’t. That’s okay. Success comes to those who will pay the price!

What price must you pay? Well, you will need to give up some television time. You will lose some family time. You will get less sleep. You might have to give up some hobbies for a few years. You must be willing to go through the rejection and temporary failure. You must be prepared to sacrifice these things temporarily for a few years, if you want to succeed on a grand scale.

The bigger your goals the bigger the sacrifice. The bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the reward. Only you can decide what you are willing to sacrifice.

Decide what you want, then decide what you are willing to give up, and then get to work!

# 3: You Must Develop Specialized Knowledge

Every industry requires a special set of skills. Even working at McDonald’s requires some basic skills and on the job training.

The most basic skills in network marketing are prospecting, inviting, presenting, following-up, sales, leadership, communicating, training your team and acquiring customers. As a brand new MLM distributor, it will take you time to learn and master these skills.

It will cost you money to learn these skills. It will take minimum several YEARS to truly master these skills, probably closer to 10,000 hours. However, you can earn while you learn!

I suggest you make a commitment to learn and master these skills, regardless of how long it takes you. The sooner you can do that, the quicker you will achieve massive success.

Keep in mind, you won’t develop or master these skills by accident. You must get in the trenches and stay in the trenches. Learn by doing, not by studying.

You must become a student of your profession. You should find a mentor, read books, attend events, and enroll in automobile university. This is non-negotiable. However, while you are learning from these different resources and people, remember that it is APPLIED KNOWLEDGE that matters most. Take what you learn and implement it. That is the only way to master something.

The quicker you master these skills the quicker you achieve success. PERIOD.

# 4: This is a Numbers Game

Regardless of what book you read, or what your sponsor told you, this business is a numbers game. Selling is a numbers game. No matter what type of business you own, it’s a numbers game.

You could walk around your town handing out free $100 bills and not everyone would take one. Some people would be skeptical and avoid you like the plague. Trust me.

Yes, you can go through smaller numbers of people to achieve success ONCE you have developed your specialized knowledge. Like I said before, it takes several years to master those skills.

As a brand new MLM distributor, here’s what you need to know right now. Most people you talk to will not be interested. Most people who do join your team will do nothing and quit. You can expect a minimum 75% yearly attrition rate in your business.

In most cases, you’re going to need to personally sponsor somewhere between 100 and 500 people to succeed. Of those 100 to 500 people, 80-90 percent of your income will come from just one to three of them.

You are looking for gold. Miners have to turn over a lot of rocks and sort through a lot of dirt to find their gold. You will need to do the same thing.

Remember this. You must talk to thousands of people… to sponsor hundreds of distributors… to find your 1-5 key leaders… who generate 90% of your income.

# 5: This is a Five to Ten Year Plan

Building financial independence and wealth does NOT happen overnight. For most people, assuming you are working your business 20 to 30 hours per week, this business is a five to ten YEAR plan to create an empire.

That sounds like such a long time. It’s not. The time goes by quickly. Ten years from now you will be glad you built it.

Here’s what you need to know. Successful businesses, of any kind, are typically built over a period of MINIMUM five to ten years. Many take decades to build.

How long will it take you to succeed? That varies from person to person. It depends on how long it takes you, the brand new MLM distributor, to master your skills. It depends how long it takes you to find quality people to work with. There are lots of variables and factors.

Contrary to what a lot of people in our industry teach, most successful reps have stuck with one company at least five to ten years, before becoming really successful.

Are there exceptions? Of course. But not many. I personally believe five to ten years is a realistic time-frame for success in just about any kind of business. Considering you are doing the business part time, I think it’s a great deal.

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# 6: New Reps Are the Lifeblood of Your Organization

In this business, it’s not your job to manage anyone. You can’t drag anyone across the finish line. You can’t make anyone else successful. Don’t make the mistake of wanting success for someone more than they want it themselves.

As a brand new MLM distributor, you must keep recruiting and never stop. You won’t get to the next rank with the same team. If you stop recruiting and stop finding new customers, your business will die a quick death.

Always personally sponsor at least 2-4 new business builders every single month. Find several new customers every single month. Help your team members do the same thing.

Always work with the newest, most excited people at the deepest levels in your organization.

Recruiting new distributors will solve almost EVERY problem you have in your business.

On a side note, please realize that all BUSINESSES, even Amazon, Walmart, churches and McDonald’s are constantly recruiting new customers. All businesses have attrition with customers and employees. It’s normal. Without a steady flow of new customers and employees, most businesses would go under.

# 7: Not All Tasks Are Created Equal

As a brand new MLM distributor, you’ll be excited, and the business will be on your mind 24/7. You will “think” about the business all the time.

Remember that thinking about your business won’t make you a penny. It’s only when you focus on the money producing activities that your business will grow. Money producing activities include prospecting, inviting, showing the plan, following-up, training your team and getting customers. All other tasks are inferior.

Do not confuse busy work with productive work. You must spend 90% or more of your “work hours” on productive work, not busy work. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are building and growing your business if you aren’t doing productive work. Most brand new MLM distributors make this mistake.

They think cleaning their office will grow their business. They think browsing the company’s corporate website will grow their business. They think listening to conference calls will grow their business. Keep in mind, NONE of these things will grow your business. It’s only when you do the money producing activities over and over that your business will grow.

Retailing and recruiting are what grow your business. Everything else is busy work.

# 8: Work with the Willing

This business is not a charity. It’s not your job to save people. It’s not your job to make other people successful. If you want to do those things, volunteer with a charitable organization, but don’t start a business.

Remember, this is a business. As a brand new MLM distributor, you must spend your time where it is deserved. You only have so much time in a day. You have to work smart.

Don’t make the common mistake of wanting success more for someone than they want it for themselves. You must spend your time where it is deserved, not where it is needed.

Typically, your best people will require the least amount of help and support. Typically, people who need the most help will do very little, if anything at all with the business.

Who should you work with? Work with the people who are actually doing things to grow their business. Look in your back office and see who is retailing and recruiting and go work with them.

As one MLM Millionaire says, “watch the feet, not the lips.” Work with the willing! Your time is valuable. When you have a team with hundreds, or thousands of people, you can’t work with everyone. You have to spend your time where it is deserved.

I would rather spend 90% of my time helping one serious person than spend all my time helping 20 people who do nothing to help themselves.

# 9: You Only Need a Few

If you get nothing else out of this post, remember that you only need a few key people to build a big network marketing business. Most people are not leaders. Most people are not doers. Most people will do very little, if anything at all with their business. These are facts!

What other people do with their business is out of your control. Keep recruiting and keep building depth UNTIL you find your key people.

How will you know when you’ve found a leader in your team? Trust me, you’ll know. They will be actively recruiting and retailing. They’ll be plugged in to the calls. They will attend ALL events. They will call you with questions. They will be self-motivated and do what you teach them.

Your key to success in this business is your ability to find and develop leaders. I think it’s much easier to find leaders than develop leaders. That being said, you should do both. Encourage everyone on your team to work on their personal development.

Check your back office and look for potential leaders. Whenever you see someone actively building a business, reach out to them yourself, and act as if you personally sponsored them yourself. Work closely with them and build up a solid relationship with them.

Keep in mind that most MLM Millionaires have less than FIVE key leaders in their team who are responsible for a large majority of their income.

# 10: Your Business Will Only Grow As Much As You Do

Your business will only grow as much as you do. You must have a personal development plan, if you want to succeed in network marketing.

Earlier, we talked about developing your specialized knowledge. You must do that, and you must also grow as a person. You must become a better leader. You must become a better communicator. You must become a better salesperson. You need to tap into your potential and awaken the giant within. Work harder on yourself than you do on anything else.

Make it a point to get a little bit better every single day. Never stop growing and learning. It’s true, this business is really a personal development course labeled as a business. The more you grow as a person, the more your business will grow.

Come up with a personal development plan and follow it every day. Teach your key people to do the same thing.

Final Thoughts

There you have it folks. This is my best advice for the brand new MLM distributor. Do you agree or disagree with what I said? Does it all make sense to you? Why or why not? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you. To your success!

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