How to Recruit Up in Your MLM Busines

I recently had someone in my team ask me HOW TO RECRUIT UP IN YOUR MLM BUSINESS. I figured this would be a great topic for an email and blog post.

The 1-10 Scale

First off, I believe there is a grading scale that goes from one to ten. Every prospect and every distributor fits somewhere on this scale between those two numbers.

Someone who ranks a ONE would be lazy, with a bad attitude, no sphere of influence or contacts, no credibility, and no money. They are the type of person who would probably NOT get involved in the industry, and if they did join, they wouldn’t do much.

A TEN, on the other hand, is already successful in life, is highly motivated, has a great attitude, has credibility, has contacts, is respected by the people who know them, and is entrepreneurial by nature.

To clarify, just because someone is a one does not mean they are not a good person. I’m just using a number to describe whether they are a QUALITY PROSPECT for the business.

What’s Your Number & How to Improve It

We all have a number. When I first joined this industry back in 2002, I was a TWO on the grading scale. I was self-motivated, but I had a bad attitude, no people skills, low self-esteem, no contacts or influence, and countless other issues.

Now some 19-years later, I would rate myself as a 9.5.

I’m confident. People respect me. I am successful. I have resources, credibility, and contacts. I’m a leader and doer.

I’m not saying this to brag. I have worked EXTREMELY hard to improve my number and become a better-quality prospect and distributor.

We can increase our own number by developing our skills and mindset.

The only way to do that is to work on your personal development.

1. Read daily.
2. Attend events.
3. Find a mentor and listen to them.
4. Enroll in automobile university.
5. Learn something new every day.
6. Work on yourself and never stop.

As you gain experience, improve your skills, and improve your attitude, your number will increase! That is your ultimate goal.

The Problem

Most distributors look for people to sponsor who are at their level of motivation or below. They do this because they feel comfortable talking to these people.

For example, someone who is a 5 on the scale will try to recruit someone who is a 3 because they feel comfortable approaching them. They sponsor the 3 and help them get trained and get started.

Next, the person who is a 3 approaches someone who is a 2. They get them started and trained in the business.

Now the person who is a 2 goes out and sponsors a 1. They get their new person signed up and trained.

By the time this cycle repeats itself a few times you end up having a HUGE organization of unmotivated people who take up your time and do little to move their business forward.

Can you relate? If you are the most motivated person on your team, you will fail.

Your goal is to have hundreds, even thousands of people on your team, at your level of motivation and higher, who are actively recruiting up.

That is the ONLY way to grow a big team that produces and continues to grow on its own.

How to Recruit Up in Your MLM Business

You never know WHO is going to join the business and build it big. Often, people will fool you. You should never prejudge anyone, BUT you should be strategic with your prospecting and recruiting.

Certain demographics of people typically do quite well in our industry.

# 1: Professionals

Lawyers, doctors, accountants, and other professionals are great prospects. Why? They have contacts, credibility, and disposable income. They are highly respected by their peers. When they speak, others listen. They’re also ridiculously hard working, normally burnt out, and are looking for an exit strategy.

# 2: Commission-Based Pay

Anyone who works on commission-based pay understands that if they don’t produce, they don’t make money. They know they can produce, and they have no problem not having a salary or guaranteed income. These are typically your sales professionals.

# 3: Entrepreneurs

One way to recruit up in your MLM Business is to focus on recruiting entrepreneurs and small business owners. Why? They understand investing time and money in their business. They are used to working hard. They understand delayed gratification. They have lots of contacts and they are normally respected in their community. Plus, many of them are burnt out and want an exit plan from their small business.

# 4: Teachers

I had a mentor once tell me that teachers are the best people to recruit. Why? Because this is ultimately a teaching business. Most teachers in the real world are highly under paid and want something more. If you can show them how they can use their current skills to succeed in this business, many of them will at least look and give it a try.

# 5: Anyone with PMA

I love prospecting people with a positive mental attitude. They are confident, like themselves, and have high self-esteem. I’d bet this represents no more than 10% of the population. These folks have normally already done some personal development. If they join the business, they don’t have a lot of baggage or self-limiting beliefs to overcome.

# 6: People with PROVEN MLM Experience

I like prospects with PROVEN MLM Success in the past. Not your typical MLM Junkie, but someone who has at least built a big team once in the past. They know what to do and how to do it. If you can show them how your business opportunity would be a good fit for them, many of these people will listen.

# 7: Women

I had to add women to my list. Women are amazing. They can multi-task. They are nurturers. They are great at building and maintaining relationships. Also, many are underpaid and undervalued in the corporate world and they are looking for something better. Women CRUSH IT in our industry and if you aren’t actively prospecting ladies, you are leaving a lot of money on the table.

# 8: Influencers

We live in a social media world. Social media influencers are great prospects because they have a large following online of people who like, know, and trust them. If they become a customer or join your team, and decide to pursue the business, they will make a lot of sales and sign up a lot of people.

Insights

As a disclaimer, you could approach these groups of people and they still might not be interested. Or they might join your team and do nothing. That is always a possibility. Plus, you could recruit someone outside of these demographics and they might crush it in the business.

Like I mentioned earlier, you just never know who is going to get serious and crush it in the business. However, the groups mentioned above are great prospects to focus on if you want to recruit up in your MLM Business.

Where & How to Find These People

The best way to reach these groups of people is to advertise. Look for websites they visit, publications they read, etc. Pick keywords that target them for your PPC or SEO campaigns. Consider a direct mailing list of people in this group.

Plus, when you are out and about living life, make sure you keep your eyes and ears open for these groups of people. Also, LinkedIn is a great way to find these people because of the search feature LinkedIn offers.

A Secret Tip

When you find a quality prospect, introduce them to someone in your upline success team with a similar background to them. That way they can connect with someone they have something in common with. This will help you close more prospects.

Final Thoughts

Remember this:

A stud will NOT partner up with a DUD.

If you want to recruit up in your MLM Business, you must become a quality person in the eyes of your prospects. We attract what we are, not what we want!

To attract better quality prospects, you must increase your value. You must improve your mindset, skills, and attitude.

People don’t join businesses. Instead, they join people. Be someone worth joining! Be the type of person you want to sponsor and be the type of sponsor you wish you had.

In conclusion, these are my best tips on how to recruit up in your MLM Business. Whenever possible, prospect people are who sharper, more motivated, and more successful than you. This is the fastest way to build a big team.

What are your thoughts about how to recruit up in your MLM Business? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com

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