The Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan for MLM Reps

In today’s post, I’d like to share my Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan for MLM Reps. While this training is designed for network marketers, it could be used by any business owner.

Marketing 101

I think it’s best to begin this training by giving you a Marketing 101 overview. Most new business owners (in every industry) are clueless about marketing. They love their product or service, but they have no idea how to SELL it. With that in mind, here are a few things you should know about marketing.

Marketing is EVERYTHING you do to find and keep customers. This includes how you dress, how you talk, what you say, and what you do. Marketing includes your business card, your hand shake, your signage, etc.
For a business to succeed (in any industry) it needs a steady flow of qualified prospects, to keep the sales pipeline full.
Marketing includes PROSPECTING and ADVERTISING.
When you prospect people, you chase them. When you advertise, the prospect chases you.
It’s in your best interest to do both: prospecting and advertising.

The Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan

Contrary to popular advice, you don’t need a huge marketing budget to successfully promote your business. It’s best to start small, figure out what converts best for your business, and then scale up your efforts.

Here are the four principles of my $100 Marketing Plan.

Just $100 per month, invested wisely in your network marketing business, will work.
It must be done consistently.
Everything you do must be tracked.
You must work from a plan and never wing it.

Your Advertising Options

Here is a brief (but not comprehensive list) of your advertising options. You do not need to master EVERY option on this list. Instead, you want to choose a few stratgies that align with your personality, skills, and goals, and focus on those.

Customer/Distributor Retention

Handwritten Note ($1)
Samples ($1 to $10 each)
Contests ($5 to $50)
Small Prizes/Gifts ($1 to $10 each)

Customer/Distributor Acquisition

100 click solo ad ($40-$50)
Craigslist ad ($15-$35)
Newspaper ad ($15-$75)
Mail 50 postcards ($30-$35)
100 drop cards ($5-$10)
100 business cards ($5-$10)
Handwritten note & stamp ($1 or less)
Facebook ad ($5 to $20)
Product samples ($1 to $10 each)
Raffle ($20 to $100)
Banner ads ($10 to $100)
Safelists ($20 to $50)
Flyers (5 to 10 cents each)
Fish-Bowl Raffle ($20 to $50)
Sponsored Listing ($25 to $50)
Live Event ($25 to $75)
Contest for Team ($25 to $100)
Pay per Click Ads ($10 to $100)

If the strategy you want to do costs more than $100, don’t do it initially. Try the less expensive strategies first, and stick within your marketing budget.

Budget Allocation

Your marketing budget should be divided between customer acquisition AND customer retention, not one or the other. Here are a few things to remember.

It’s cheaper to KEEP a customer/distributor than find a new one. Set aside a percentage of your advertising budget for customer retention.
If you have 1-5 personally sponsored active customers/distributors, put aside $5 of the $100 for customer retention.
If you have 6-10 personally sponsored active customers/distributors, put aside $15 of the $100 for customer retention.
If you have 11-20 personally sponsored active customers/distributors, put aside $50 of the $100 for customer retention.

*** The remainder of the $100 will be used for customer acquisition.***

Assumption

The paid strategies you choose work in conjunction with your free strategies. In other words, these paid strategies are not the only thing you are doing to grow your business. You should be using a combination of paid and free strategies to generate leads and retain customers.

What I want to do in the paragraphs below is share THREE example marketing plans.

Example Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan # 1

Budget: $100
Brand new rep with 5 or fewer personally sponsored active customers/distributors
Goal: 2 to 4 new customers who order and maintain current customers

Customer Retention: $5

Mail a handwritten note to five customers
Send sample to 2 customers or prospects

Customer Acquisition: $95

Craigslist Ad x ($20)
100 drop cards ($5)
Mail 50 postcards ($30)
Hand out 100 flyers ($15)
Facebook giveaway/raffle ($25)

*** Keep in mind this does not include the hundreds of free things you can do***

Example Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan # 2

Budget: $100
Rep with 6-10 personally sponsored active customers/distributors
Goal: 2 to 4 new customers who order and maintain current customers

Customer Retention: $15

Handwritten thank you notes to customers who ordered previous month ($10)
Send an inexpensive gift to 1 team member

Customer Acquisition: $85

10 coffee samples ($15)
200 drop cards ($10)
PPC Ads ($30)
Facebook Boosted Post ($10)
Craigslist Ad ($20)

Example Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan # 3

Budget: $100
Rep with 11-20 personally sponsored customers/distributors
Goal: 2 to 4 new customers who order and maintain current customers

Customer Retention: $50

Team contest for anyone who orders ($25)
Send free samples or gifts to 3 customers ($20)
Handwritten notes to 5 customers ($5)

Customer Acquisition: $50

Craigslist Ad ($15)
Hand out 100 drop cards ($5)
Mail 15 postcards or flyers ($10)
Facebook giveaway/raffle ($20)

What I Would Do

20% of my budget for customer retention and 80% for customer acquisition.
Free samples ($45)
100 drop cards ($5)
Team Contest ($25)
10 Handwritten notes to prospects ($10)
Gifts/Notes/Prizes for Current Customers ($20)

Recommended Marketing Books

Here are a few book titles that have helped me immensely with marketing.

The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib
No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy
Magnetic Sponsoring by Mike Dillard

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article describes my Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan for MLM Reps. None of this is rocket science. If you sit down, get organized, and formulate a gam-plan to grow your MLM Business, you will be WAY AHEAD of the masses in our industry.

Once you have a plan, it’s important to take all out massive action, track your results, make minor adjustments and tweaks as needed, and stay the course until you hit your goals. You won’t hit success right away, but if you keep improving and stick with it, you will figure out what works for you, and your business will grow.

What are your thoughts about my $100 Marketing Plan for MLM Reps? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.

The Hundred Dollar Marketing Plan (for MLM Reps)