Mark Yarnell: Quotes, Wisdom & Tribute

This blog post is a tribute to my # 1 MLM Mentor of all time, Mark Yarnell. I am going to share some valuable lessons he taught me, some of his best quotes, and pay my respects.

I’ve had a lot of mentors during the past 19+ years in this amazing industry, but no one else comes close to the impact Mark Yarnell had on me. Although we never met in real life or even worked in the same company, his books, videos, and audios taught me almost everything I know about the industry. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Although Mark Yarnell is now deceased, his legacy lives on. Many of the the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people he mentored and coached continue to build big network marketing business. I’m happy to be one of those people.

What I Learned from Mark Yarnell

I figured the best way to start this post is to share the top lessons I learned from Mark Yarnell. He taught me a lot, more than any other mentor, but these are the things that really stand out and helped me build a big business. I have broken these lessons into categories to include recruiting, leadership, mindset, and team building & duplication.

Recruiting

Recruiting is the one subject that I learned the most about from Mark Yarnell. He was a big advocate of putting in large numbers (throwing a lot of mud against the wall to see what sticks) and letting people sort themselves out. Rather than spend lots of time with each new person, building depth, he would teach you to keep recruiting new people UNTIL you found your serious people.

Of course, there are pros and cons to this approach. Not everyone can recruit a lot of people (not initially anyway), but this is definitely one way to grow a big team quickly. It has worked out well for me.

Here are a few Mark Yarnell quotes from his books about recruiting.

• The more people you approach, the more people will sign up as distributors.
• MLM is a numbers game until people sign up and then it becomes a “people” game.
• Every prospect is a prospect for life.
• Most people you contact will not sign up.
• After you sign people up, the attrition rate is still about 75%. Don’t take it personally.
• Any system will work if you passionately approach a dozen or more new prospects each day with the greatest opportunity in free enterprise.  
• Anyone in MLM can triple their income by tripling their efforts.
• I achieve great things because I focus on wealth through front-line recruiting.
• We always encourage our distributors to primarily recruit individuals with no former experience in MLM because they are so much easier to train.
• Whether in a breakaway, a uni-level, a matrix, or a binary plan, the greater the number of personally sponsored distributors, the larger the income.  
• Once you have begun using the products and/or services yourself and have found your ten customers put all of your energy into prospect for business builders.  

Leadership, Followership, & Mentoring

Mark Yarnell also taught me a lot about leadership, especially in following the lead of a PROVEN MENTOR who has achieved success in what you are trying to do. That’s a much easier strategy than trying to figure out everything on your own. Here are a few Mark Yarnell quotes about leadership.

• The hardest thing I ever did was shut up long enough to listen to someone who knew more than I did.
• Everyone in every great company, with the exception of the Master Distributor, has wonderful people with whom to partner.
• No one is more important to your success than your upline partner.
• If someone in your upline is earning ten times as much as you, don’t waste their time with war stories about yourself. Learn what they are doing and duplicate it.  

Mindset

Mindset is everything in this industry. Successful distributors think differently about their business than the average distributor does. That is why they succeed. Here are some things Mark Yarnell taught me about mindset.

• You cannot peal two potatoes at the same time, nor can you achieve dramatic wealth by doing two or three MLM deals simultaneously.
• Make a five-year commitment and never look at another company no matter how slick some recruiter sounds.
• It takes a minimum of five years intense focus in one company to make the truly big money in network marketing.
• MLM is about long-term focus, not short-term opportunism.
• I am shocked by the number of people who blame their failure in MLM on everyone and everything except their own inactivity.
• Every great networker was a lousy networker at first. 

Team Building & Duplication

Mark Yarnell also taught me a lot about team building. In my opinion, I don’t believe he was a big believer in duplication. Instead, the stressed the importance of personal recruiting and finding the right people. Here are some things he did teach me about team building.

• I support those who demonstrate a willingness to work and refuse to argue with those who do not.
• I focused on getting a lot of people to do a little bit. The real key to success in network marketing is to get a lot of people to do a little bit.  
• Make certain that every step you take can be duplicated by the very least skilled in your organization.
• The secret to building a successful business is to become the leader of your own organization – never dependent on others for extended local support.  
• The key to building a successful business is to stick with one system long enough to allow it to work.  
• The depth takes care of itself with sufficient numbers in width.  
• The sooner someone quits who isn’t serious about the business, the sooner he knows with whom he need not waste a lot of time.  
• A well-balanced organization will be made up of a large body of wholesale buyers, many retailing distributors, some part-time business builders, and a few full-time, gung-ho, recruiting maniacs.   

I hope you have enjoyed these lessons.

Tribute to Mark Yarnell After His Death

With a heavy heart, I’m writing this tribute to one of my business heroes: Mark Yarnell. Mark recently passed away (March 2015). He was just 65 years old.

Although I’ve never met Mark in real life, he really impacted my life and business in a big way: a positive way. I have considered Mark my greatest business mentor for over a decade now. I’ve never been part of his team, or met him in real life, or worked with him, but his philosophies and teachings have changed the way I think about entrepreneurship and network marketing.

I first learned about Mark Yarnell back in late 2002 or early 2003. I found a copy of his book Your First Year in Network Marketing at a local bookstore in Colorado Springs and bought it. Dang, I loved that book. I think I’ve read the book 50 times now.

That book led me to his other training materials. I’ve watched pretty much all of his YouTube videos at least 20 times each. I’ve purchased most of his books, courses, and materials. I’ve learned more about network marketing from Mark Yarnell than from anyone else.

Here are a few of Mark’s accolades:

• Member in the Network Marketing Hall of Fame
• $30 million plus earner in the industry
• Consultant to many network marketing companies
• Author of several best-selling books to include Your Best Year in Network Marketing and Your First Year in Network Marketing
• He has built teams with more than 300k distributors
• Contributing editor to SUCCESS magazine
• He created the first “university level” course about network marketing at the University of Chicago
• Named “Greatest Networker in the World” by Upline magazine
• And tons of other things!

While those are all amazing achievements, what I admired most about Mark is how straightforward he was about what it takes to succeed in this great industry. He never sugar-coated anything.

He is the ONLY person I have ever met who says that duplication is a lie and that network marketing is really a numbers game. I’ve found him to be right about that!

Mark Yarnell was a straight shooter, a man’s man. He had a great personality. I thought he was humorous, intelligent, kind, honest, and genuine. Despite his huge success in our industry, he was still a down to earth guy. He’d help anyone, talk to anyone, and make you feel like he was your friend.

I hope that when I achieve the level of success he did, I can maintain the same level of humbleness and kindness.

Although Mark Yarnell is no longer with us physically, his presence and legacy will continue for many, many years. Between the people he has personally mentored, and the people he has helped through his training materials, he will continue to positively impact our great industry for future generations.

I’m going to miss you Mark. You really are the greatest networker of all time. Rest in peace my friend. I’ll do what I can to continue your legacy. And when I meet you in heaven one day, I’d love to have a great chat with you to learn even more of your wisdom!

Mark Yarnell is survived by his wife, Valerie.

Top 143 Mark Yarnell Quotes

What I’m going to do in the paragraphs below is share some of my favorite Mark Yarnell quotes. These quotes come from his two popular books: Your First Year in Network Marketing and Your Best Year in Network Marketing.

Each quote is in bold and italics. At the end of each quote I will also provide my own two cents. Enjoy!

# 1: The hardest thing I ever did was shut up long enough to listen to someone who knew more than I did.

The fastest way to become successful in the business is to partner up with someone who has already done what you are trying to accomplish. Listen to their advice and do what they tell you. Do not reinvent the wheel or deviate.

# 2: You need to be recruiting and selling products rather than reading.

Always focus on the money producing activities. Spend MOST of your time showing the plan, prospecting, following up, getting customers and training your team. Don’t confuse busy work with being productive.

# 3: Every great networker was a lousy networker first.

Everyone has to pay their dues and develop their skills. It takes time to do that. The people you see walking across the stage at your corporate convention are “finished products.” What you see is years of personal growth and experience. There’s a good chance that when they first started the business, they were a completely different person. The bottom line is that there is always a story behind the story.

# 4: It’s important for MLM leaders to present both sides of the MLM story.

When you talk to your prospects and new team members, you must give them realistic expectations. By all means, talk about what MLM can offer someone, but make sure you talk about the work that will be required to accomplish it.

# 5: My best year occurred when I calmed down long enough to experience genuine serenity and balance.

It’s great to work hard and be focused, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself, your family and take time to relax along the way. Enjoy each step of the journey rather than just focusing on your destination.

# 6: The real adult report card is fulfillment, not cash.  

Money will not make you happy. It will just make you more of what you already are. Money is neither good nor bad.  What you want is happiness, fulfillment, peace of mind, and money.

# 7: Anyone with half a brain recognizes the stupidity of working for a salary or hourly wage when they can multiply their efforts through ten thousand others.

When you have a job you have no leverage. The day you want to stop working or can no longer work is the day you have no more money coming in.

# 8: The only people who don’t understand the power of professional network marketing are hopelessly incompetent.  

Most people in network marketing don’t know what they have their hands on. And most people outside of our industry don’t really understand MLM or they would be doing it.

# 9: You cannot peal two potatoes at the same time, nor can you achieve dramatic wealth by doing two or three MLM deals simultaneously.

To succeed in network marketing, you must pick one good company and focus on it exclusively. If you divide your efforts, you will lose focus and fail.

# 10: Flakes never make it to the top. They jump from deal to deal until everyone knows their game or they are so exhausted they’ve got to resort to dot com IPOs.  

People looking to get rich quick or people looking for magic dust will never succeed in this industry. Successful reps pick ONE company, put on their blinders and stick with it.

# 11: The best revenge is a life well lived.  

The best way to prove your skeptics and haters wrong is to become ultra successful.

# 12: Make a five-year commitment and never look at another company no matter how slick some recruiter sounds.

Pick a good company and stick with it for the long haul no matter what. Don’t get lured by the Shiny Object Syndrome.

# 13: Most of us stop short of our potential, once our primary needs have been met.

Our comfort zone is our biggest enemy. Don’t let “good enough” keep you from being great. Never settle. Always strive to do more and be more.

# 14: Most of us can never profit from the unlimited income potential of networking because our primary needs are met by an income of substantially less than a million dollars a year.

Lots of people who make $3k to $10k per month in MLM could make a lot more money if they weren’t “comfortable” with what they are already making.

# 15: Great leaders always innovate, they don’t duplicate.

This is one of my favorite Mark Yarnell quotes. Mark is one of only a few leaders in our industry who does not agree with the duplication myth.  He believes that great leaders use their own natural talents and abilities to build their own business in a way that works for them.

# 16: Nobody is really a legendary dynamo singularly responsible for building a huge group. It’s a team effort and those of us who work really hard will eventually blunder into one or two other people who work really hard and so on. Nobody ever really duplicates anyone else. Each of us brings our own unique personality, competence, ethics, and work habits to the table.

No one builds a big group all by themselves. Most successful leaders (even on the same team) build their business differently. Most successful leaders have two or three “work horses” on their team who account for most of their growth, volume and check.

# 17: It’s entrepreneurial innovation, not organizational duplication that works.

Once again, to succeed in this industry you need to use your own natural talents and abilities, not your upline’s system.

# 18: One of the biggest fallacies in MLM is that we should attempt to force creative people to use systems which they don’t like and often can’t copy.

You should never have one system for your entire team. Your goal as a leader is to help each person you sponsor find a way to build the business that works for them.

# 19: Many people, approached properly, can and will become professional networkers if the company is legitimate and the product is effective.

Most people are good prospects for your business, if you are a professional and approach them the right way (no hype, lies or pressure).

# 20: The more people you approach, the more people will sign up as distributors.

The people who do the best in this industry are the people who make the most exposures. This really is a numbers game.

# 21: Every prospect is a prospect for life.

When someone tells you NO today that does not mean NO forever. People’s situation in life can change. It will change. Follow up with people until they buy or die.

# 22: I am shocked by the number of people who blame their failure in MLM on everyone and everything except their own inactivity.

We are all responsible for our own success or failure. I’m never met a successful victim. You must take 100% responsibility for your own actions.

# 23: The best way to distribute products is to ask people to buy them. If you can’t look another human being in the eyes and ask her to buy what you’re selling, get out of network marketing.  

You have to be able to ask for the sale. No, network marketing is not traditional selling, but you still must develop your salesmanship skills and know how to close people.

# 24: MLM is a numbers game until people sign up and then it becomes a “people” game.

This business is a marketing and selling business until you sponsor someone. Then it becomes a relationship business after you’ve sponsored someone. Long-term relationships equal long-term money!

# 25: Common sense told me that there was some person above me who was smarter, wealthier and more compatible with me than my sponsor.

If your sponsor isn’t much help, look for someone in your upline who can help you out. Keep calling upline until you find a mentor.

# 26: Everyone in every great company, with the exception of the Master Distributor, has wonderful people with whom to partner.

Leverage successful distributors in your upline to help you. Chances are there are several to choose from.

# 27: People end up feeling cheated if someone they brought to the table ends up front line to another distributor.  

Never steal a distributor from someone else, especially someone in your own downline.

# 28: MLM has a way of gradually weeding out the non-workers.

Lazy and unmotivated people typically don’t stay around very long in network marketing, especially once they figure out work is involved.

# 29: Real MLM legends are ALWAYS accessible to their downline partners.  

You will quickly discover that most successful people in your upline are accessible when you call or email.

# 30: Don’t ever send a prospect who is uninformed about your company to your upline partner.

When you have a prospect, make sure you show them the plan and explain things to them before you do a three-way call with your upline (or introduce them to your upline).

# 31: No one is more important to your success than your upline partner.

Your upline mentor is your single best resource. Treat them accordingly.

# 32: Your past and future are irrelevant.

What you’ve done in the past doesn’t matter. You can change your future. It’s never too late to reinvent yourself.

# 33: To be an effective networker you must be enthusiastic, sincere and believable.

People don’t join companies they join people. Be someone worth joining.

# 34: Most people you contact will not sign up.

You have to accept that most people will not be interested in what you have to offer. Your job is to find the people who are interested.

# 35: After you sign people, the attrition rate is still about 75%. Don’t take it personally.

People will quit and there is very little you can do about it. Focus on the people who STAY.

# 36: When down, go upline.  

When you are feeling down and negative call your upline. When you are happy and enthused, called your downline.

# 37: Make sure that you never let anyone in your downline get the impression that you are discouraged or depressed with the business.

Stay positive with your team members. Never share your personal problems with them. They have enough problems of their own to worry about. They don’t need to know about your problems.

# 38: No news for a year.

One of the best things you can do is turn off or get rid of your television. Get the negativity out of your life.

# 39: Honesty is the best policy no matter how painful.

Always be honest and keep it real with your prospects. Never tell them what you think they want to hear. Tell them the truth.

# 40: People hop from deal to deal then blame their failures on our industry.

No one ever became successful by being a MLM Junkie. Pick something and commit to it!

# 41: Find a great company, a great upline, a product you love then go to work full-time and make a two-year commitment. Don’t look at any other company and don’t treat our industry like a part-time hobby.

This is some sage advice.

# 42: MLM is about long-term focus, not short-term opportunism.

This business, just like any other business, is a marathon not a sprint.

# 43: A person must have grandiose objectives to ever reach high levels of accomplishment.

Small goals won’t get you very far in this industry. You won’t reach the mountain top with little goals.

# 44: If ability has let you down, try enthusiasm.

Ignorance on fire is better than brains on ice.

# 45: I know dozens of people who are all building substantial downlines and no two are using the same strategy.  

Different strokes for different folks. Find a method to build your business that works for you and then stick with it.

# 46: Winners don’t get stuck in the process of managing people. Nor do they build organizations for others.

Your job is to set the pace and lead by example at all times. Your no one’s boss and it’s not your job to manage anyone or to make people successful.

# 47: Until you’re earning more money than you can spend, work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life to personally sponsor and train new distributors. Go wide fast!

In the beginning, your job is to sponsor as many people as possible UNTIL you find your key leaders. Then you help them do the same thing.

# 48: Any system will work if you passionately approach a dozen or more new prospects each day with the greatest opportunity in free enterprise.  

This business comes down to the amount of exposures you can do on a daily basis.

# 49: If someone in your upline is earning ten times as much as you, don’t waste their time with war stories about yourself.  Learn what they are doing and duplicate it.  

Don’t reinvent the wheel or argue with your successful upline that your way is better. Listen to what they say and do it!

# 50: Anyone in MLM can triple their income by tripling their efforts.

If you want your business to grow faster, talk to more people.

# 51: Prospects haven’t earned the right to be critical of your opportunity. Until they’ve signed up, trained and gone to work, they don’t really have the wisdom to provide constructive criticism.

Don’t listen to your prospect’s negativity, doubts or concerns.

# 52: Until new distributors have proven their loyalty and achieved a few months of productive retailing and team building, they haven’t earned the right to begin criticizing anything.

People don’t have the right to complain about the business until they’ve actually given it a fair chance.

# 53: Networkers require a tremendous self-image and a pioneering, risk-taking mentality.

You have to be willing to fail, to talk to people and deal with rejection if you are going to make it in this business.

# 54: When people say “yes,” unless they go to work immediately, they don’t always mean, “yes.” Actions speak louder than words.  

Don’t listen to what your new team members say they will do. Instead, watch what they do. Talk is cheap. Watch the feet, not the lips.

# 55: I support those who demonstrate a willingness to work and refuse to argue with those who do not.

 Work with the willing! You can’t motivate anyone or drag anyone across the finish line.

# 56: It takes a minimum of five years intense focus in one company to make the truly big money in network marketing.

I hope everyone reading this page reads this quote five times. Pick one company and stick with it.

# 57: I am closed to all opportunities except the one to which I am committed.

Don’t even consider looking at other opportunities. The grass is greenest where you water it.

# 58: The real key to success in this new century is figuring out the assets of new distributors and then helping each person build a lucrative business by capitalizing on their strengths.

Spend time with each of your team members and give them a game-plan they can follow using their own natural talents.

# 59: No single system is duplicable for every personality type.

Mark has said this several different times in his books. What works for one person won’t work for everyone. 

# 60: I achieve great things because I focus on wealth through front-line recruiting.

You won’t hit your next goal with the same group. Always keep adding new people to your team. Never stop your personal recruiting. New recruits solve most problems!

# 61: What amazed me was the lack of tolerance some MLMers had for their own associates.

Treat your team well. Don’t baby them, but encourage them and be supportive.

# 62: Everyone starts at the top and fills in the bottom.

When you join a MLM Company you start at the top of your own pyramid. All you have to do is fill it in. It is a true level playing field.

# 63: I win when others win, not when they lose because I was promoted ahead of them.

The only way to succeed in network marketing is by helping others succeed.

# 64: Perseverance and commitment are the cornerstones of their success.

Top earners are extremely committed and they persevere no matter what.

# 65: Warriors are discovered by their actions, not their words.

Watch what people do, not what they say they will do.

# 66: People fail; MLM doesn’t.  

The industry provides equal opportunity for all, but no guarantee of success for anyone.

# 67: The key to our industry consists in finding the one performance-based entrepreneur out of every ten prospects, not attempting to change and motivate the other nine.

Ideally, you are looking for the people who are self-motivated, who like to sell, have a good self-image and are willing to work hard. You are looking for people who want an opportunity, not a steady paycheck.

# 68: By adulthood, most folks are sheep and certainly not interested in performance-based industries.

 Most people have been taught their whole life to get a safe and secure job and play it safe.

# 69: Find the one winner in ten and teach him or her everything you know. Don’t try to convert frogs to eagles.  

You can’t turn a chump into a champion. Look for the champions and potential champions.

# 70: The greatest thing about our industry is that you only need to find about ten to wind up with thousands.  

Ten really good people can make you millions of dollars in this industry.

# 71: We have rarely met anyone who has worked steadily in network marketing and doesn’t eventually achieve success.  

Study any successful network marketing distributor and you will find that they are persistent and consistent with their network marketing business. They treat it like they have a million dollars invested in it. They set business hours and stay the course, until they succeed.

# 72: Our analysis shows that an estimated 95 percent of those who survive ten years in network marketing become wealthy beyond their wildest expectations.

 It’s true, when people stick with something for the long haul, the ODDS of them becoming successful go up significantly. You won’t be successful in any kind of business in just a few months. If you make a long-term commitment, get better every day, and keep taking action, you will eventually make it.

# 73: It’s much easier to give birth to a new distributor than it is to resurrect a dead one.  

It’s true, most people are quitters. Very few people follow through with anything they do in life. When it comes to the selling profession, there is high turn over in all sales organizations, including real estate, insurance, and other sales jobs.

# 74: In year one, survival is the name of the game.  

Did you know that the first year in any business is very critical? Very few businesses in any industry turn a profit in their first year. That doesn’t mean the business isn’t good. It just means that it takes time to build a successful business.

# 75: Every great MLMer was a lousy MLMer at first.

Whenever you see a successful distributor, you see a finished product; someone who has experienced a lot of rejection and taken the time to develop their skill-set and mind-set. They’ve gone through YEARS of personal growth and have taken the time to develop themselves into a successful entrepreneur and network marketing leader. I like to call this “The Story behind the Story.”

# 76: We are convinced that rejection causes more people to fail in MLM than any other factor, and often they fail literally before they ever begin because their approach is from the head, not the heart.  

Rejection is a dream killer. I know very few people who like rejection and can deal with it on a frequent basis. To succeed in MLM, you need to develop thick skin and not take rejection personally. You have to realize that people aren’t saying NO to you.They’re just saying NO to what you are offering them.

# 77: It’s the responsibility of every recruiter to fully prepare prospects for rejection, then provide them with the tools to overcome rejection.  

As a sponsor, you have an obligation to help everyone you sponsor get started right. This means you help them identify their why, set goals, develop a plan of attack, AND you teach them about selling and how to deal with rejection. It also means you plug them into your system, you get them reading and you educate them about the business tools you use.

# 78: Friends are often our biggest dream stealers, and once a dream is stolen, it is not easily recovered.  

In most cases, your biggest critics are the people who are closest to you: your spouse, family and close friends. They think they know what is best for you and they fear you becoming ultra-successful or changing, because it would make them feel like a failure.

# 79: For me, this business has been the greatest self-development course in the world.  

The personal growth you can experience in network marketing is unlike any other industry. We are quite perhaps the only industry that is extremely focused on personal development, setting goals, and reaching our potential.

# 80: There’s a seed of greatness in everyone.  Never qualify prospects for any reason.

You need to know the difference between pre-judging and pre-qualifying people. You should never judge someone before you talk to them. But, you should never show a business presentation to someone you have not pre-qualified, either.

# 81: Think of prospecting in MLM as a sifting process.  

Your job in MLM is not to sell, convince, pressure or persuade others to join you or buy your products.  You simply need to sift and sort through your prospects to find people who are looking for what you have to offer. The top earners don’t sell. They sort! Never forget that.

# 82: Unless, as a part-timer, you are approaching at least five to ten prospects per day, you are not serious about succeeding in this business.  

To succeed in MLM you need to work the numbers. If you don’t talk to lots of people, and sift and sort them, you won’t sponsor many people, get any customers, or build a big team. Even if you are building your business part-time, make sure you work the numbers.

# 83: The growth of your business will be in direct proportion to the numbers of people you are prospecting on a regular, daily basis.  

Let’s face it; even as a part-timer you must talk to at least five to ten people a day if you have any hopes of growing a big business. Selling is a numbers game and you have to work the numbers if you want to succeed. Learn more about working the numbers in your MLM Business.

# 84: Network Marketing is based on a team-building philosophy rather than a supervisory one.  Perhaps the single most frequent cause of failure in network marketing is the mistaken belief that we must manage our downline distributors.

Your goal as a network marketing leader is to train, help and inspire your team. Never forget that you work for your downline. They do not work for you. 

# 85: New blood is the lifeblood of any organization.  

You should never stop personally sponsoring people into your business. It creates momentum and excitement in your organization.

# 86: Those front line recruits who demand the least attention are usually the ones who become the most successful. 

Typically, your best people won’t need your help.They will take the business by the horns and run with it.

# 87: The new people who whined and moaned and complained were all out of the business in a few months. Those who have become millionaires did it primarily on their own.  

Most of your reps that are high maintenance will never do much. Your best reps are self-starters who are self-motivated and take accountability for their own business.

# 88: The last thing a winner needs is a manager or savior.  

A winner simply want someone who encourages them and helps them. They don’t need you to act like a parent or boss. Just be their friend and support them when they ask you for help.

# 89: The biggest challenge to me was figuring out who was really going to build a business once they showed an interest.  

Our job is to evaluate our team and figure out who is serious and who isn’t, so we can decide where to spend our time.

# 90: Go wide fast!  

To build momentum in your team and build a large team, you need to sponsor 20 to 30 people in your first few months and eventually personally sponsor 100+ people. If you don’t sponsor enough people, and do it quickly, it will be difficult to find leaders who duplicate what you do and build depth in your organization.

# 91: Generally, leaders must be found; they cannot be created.  

It’s hard to convert a non-leader into a leader. Rather than trying to convert everyone on your team into leaders, you will be much better off LOOKING for leaders. It’s true, your best team members will be found AND they will need little guidance and help. You can identify leaders on your team by their actions.

# 92: Recruiting is the only viable way to offset the inevitability of attrition.  

Most people quit. Replace the quitters with new people until you find your 10-12 winners!

# 93: Stop recruiting and your organization dies a slow death.  

You never want to stop sponsoring in your business. Once you have a good team going, you don’t have to personally sponsor tons of new people, but you should still recruit 2-4 people per month.

# 94: Don’t ever allow yourself to be duped into believing that you can buy your way to the top of the company.

You can never buy your way to success. The only way to become successful in this industry is to work hard and work smart.

# 95: If distributors are doing this business right, they will be recruiting enough new people each month in order to advance through the ranks.  

Never stop personally recruiting new distributors. Set a good example for your group to follow. New reps are the lifeblood of your business.

# 96: Never tell your people that all they’ve got to do is sign up, give you a list of potential distributors, and then you’ll do the rest.  

Never do for a distributor what they can do for themselves. Help your team, but make them do their own work. This is not a charity.

# 97: The depth takes care of itself with sufficient numbers in width.  

Most successful MLM Distributors personally sponsor 100 to 200 people, in order to find a few key leaders who build large teams themselves. While it’s great to build depth in your team, the easiest way to do that is to sponsor a lot of people, so you have a lot of people to work with, and a few really serious people.

# 98: Our is a business of leaders building their front lines and teaching their people to do the same. Those with leadership ability will seek out other top leaders to mentor them and give them help in closing serious prospects.  

Always keep personally sponsoring new reps. Teach your team to do the same thing. Utilize your upline to help you close new prospects.

# 99: Baby-sitting a downline is not an effective way to build a business.  

If you’re running an adult day care center in your MLM Business, you are doing things wrong. Most distributors babysit their team members, hold their hand and try to do everything for them, and then they wonder why no one on their team performs.

# 100: Don’t be offended – be joyous – when new recruits finish their training and go to work without calling you every day and asking you to do everything for them.  

Be happy when you sponsor people who go to work and work take responsibility for their own business, and don’t need or want your help.

# 101: A depressed person cannot survive in this industry.  

To succeed in MLM you need confidence, enthusiasm, and a good self-image.

# 102: The sooner someone quits who isn’t serious about the business, the sooner he knows with whom he need not waste a lot of time.  

Spend your time with the people who put in the work. Don’t get upset when people quit or do nothing.

# 103: A well-balanced organization will be made up of a large body of wholesale buyers, many retailing distributors, some part-time business builders, and a few full-time, gung-ho, recruiting maniacs.  

Don’t just look for the heavy hitter. They will represent a very small percentage of your organization. Ultimately, your goal is to create volume.

# 104: Attrition happens. People lose their initial enthusiasm.  

Most people in our industry will quit, because they have unrealistic expectations or they aren’t willing to do the work.

# 105: If you are up go down; and if you are down, go up!  

Talk with your upline when you are feeling sad, blue or depressed. Never call your downline and share your problems with them. They have enough of their own problems to worry about.

# 106: In network marketing if you aren’t having fun you aren’t do it right.  

This business is meant to be a lot of fun and it shouldn’t be stressful. People already have a job and the last thing they want is another job (or more stress).

# 107: Work diligently for one MLM Company for four years, build an income based on the honest movement of products or services, and you’re set for life.  

Pick a good company, stick with it and focus.

# 108: We believe new marketers should set realistic objectives ranging from one, two and three-year to five and ten-year goals.  

Just like any other business venture, you need to set clear, written goals and have a solid game-plan.

# 109: Part-timers attract part-timers.  

You attract what you are. Focus on the products to get customers. Focus on the business to attract entrepreneurs. Focus on your vision to attract leaders.

# 110: When is the last time you met a person who became a millionaire in his spare time? Prosperity is a full-time venture.  

You won’t build a huge business working part-time or just a few hours a week. You can start out part-time and build up a nice little side income, but to make the big bucks you must commit to full-time effort.

# 111: This is a business of teamwork. Don’t be misled by the false expectations that somehow your upline is supposed to take you by the hand and do everything for you.  

This is YOUR business. It’s your job to take ownership and responsibility for your own business and your own actions. No one cares as much about your own business as you do.

# 112: The truth is this: Network marketing is about a lot of people using and sharing a little bit of product.  

It’s true, your team will ultimately be hundreds, or thousands, of people all doing a little bit every month, and very small amount of people doing a lot.

# 113: Everyone should be responsible for finding ten legitimate retail customers before building a sizable network organization.

All businesses need customers. I think 10 is a lot, but I do believe everyone should have at least 2-5 retail customers.

# 114: Once you have begun using the products and/or services yourself and have found your ten customers put all of your energy into prospect for business builders.  

Get 10-20 customers BEFORE you start trying to recruit distributors. That way you have an immediate profit and you can teach your team how to do the same thing.

# 115: Whether in a breakaway, a uni-level, a matrix, or a binary plan, the greater the number of personally sponsored distributors, the larger the income.  

The more people you sponsor the more money you will make. PERIOD!

# 116: The larger your warm list, the more solidly you will establish your business.  

Pretend you are getting paid $100 for every name you put on your name list. Do that and I am 100% sure you could come up with at least 2,000 names.

# 117: It is vital to the success of your newest distributors that they not ignore this warm market phase of the business.  

Make sure all new reps on your team create a name list and work with their warm market.

# 118: Many people avoid their warm market because of their poor self-image.  

Your warm market is your greatest asset if you will tap into it. Many of these folks will become customers or reps if you approach them right.

# 119: It’s best to present the opportunity to small groups of three to six people at a time.

This business works great one-on-one and in small groups. It’s personable and proven.  

# 120: Call all the people on you prospect cards every six months until they either sign up or die.

The real money is in the follow-up. Many of the people who tell you NO today will be on your team in the future if you keep following up with them. 

# 121: New distributors must be warned to put on blinders during their first year.  

Come up with a plan and never deviate. Don’t be affected by the Shiny Object Syndrome.  

# 122: The good life will come soon enough if you pay the price in the first year.  

If you want to accomplish something big and worthwhile, there will be some sacrifice involved.

# 123: Distributors, who have stayed with one company for many years, and built new legs in each of those years, are now very wealthy.

Find a good company and stick with it for the long haul. Don’t chase shiny objects or keep switching companies.

# 124: They key to success is to stop jumping ship and stick with one.  

Find a good company and stick with it for the long haul.  

# 125: We always encourage our distributors to primarily recruit individuals with no former experience in MLM because they are so much easier to train.  

Don’t try to go out and recruit MLM Junkies. You want people who are trainable and will listen and follow the system you use and recommend. Ideally, look for people who are MLM Virgins.

# 126: If you’re a new distributor, we encourage you to track upline until you find a highly successful distributor and follow the exact systems she or he has used.  

Keep calling people in your upline until you find someone who is successful and willing to help you succeed.

# 127: To try it alone in this business is to swim upstream.  

Leverage your sponsor and upline as much as possible. They will be your coach and biggest cheerleader if you let them.

# 128: New marketers can be handed everything on a silver platter and still fail if they refuse to duplicate a simple system that has already been tried and tested.  

If your upline has a system in place, and they are successful, follow their system. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

# 129: The key to building a successful business is to stick with one system long enough to allow it to work.  

Find something that works for you and stick with it for years. Never deviate.

# 130: New distributors will never be as enthusiastic about personal sponsoring as they are in the first year.  

Get your new distributors started right. Leverage their enthusiasm, especially in their first few months in the business.

# 131: Too many new distributors find that it’s much easier to become professional meeting attendees than it is to face the rejection of frontline recruiting.  

Don’t over train your team and do tons of pointless meetings. What you want to do, and get your team to do, is to go out and recruit.

# 132: Ultimately the only people who make real money in MLM, with very few exceptions, are those who conduct their own meetings.  

Don’t rely on others to do meetings for you. The sooner you can start doing your own meetings the better off you will be.

# 133: You can’t expect someone with no vested interest in your downline to give your associates the same kind of attention that you would provide them.  

Don’t rely on other distributors in your company or your upline to train your team for you. No one cares about your team as much as you do.

# 134: Build a customer base among your family and neighbors prior to creating a downline.

Get a few customers before you go out and try to sponsor a bunch of people. This way you will be making a small profit and will have a legitimate business.

# 135: Never loan money or products to your new distributors.  

Treat your business like a real business. Don’t make your team members dependent on you. This is not a charity. This is a business, not welfare.

# 136: Network marketing should be presented in a small group or private setting.  

This business works great when you work it one-on-one.

# 137: Take pride in our industry and select your company based on realistic expectations. Select the one that has the very best record based on your values.  

Pick a company with products and values that align with what is important to you.

# 138: The secret to building a successful business is to become the leader of your own organization – never dependent on others for extended local support.  

At the end of the day, you must take responsibility for your own network marketing business. Yes, it’s nice to have a mentor and support, but it’s your business. Your success is ultimately up to you.

# 139: Make certain that every step you take can be duplicated by the very least skilled in your organization.

Don’t make things complicated in your business. Keep things so simple even an eight year old could do it.

# 140: Whatever you do, your people will duplicate.

Make sure you are setting a good example for your team. It’s not what you say that matters. It’s what you do that matters most.

# 141: Our best description of the type of person you are trying to recruit is one whose back is against the wall financially; who is driven by a cause; who is coachable and willing to follow your system without changing it; who comes across enthusiastically; and, finally who enjoys working with people and seeing them be successful.  

You are ultimately looking for people who are hungry and willing to work!

# 142: I focused on getting a lot of people to do a little bit. The real key to success in network marketing is to get a lot of people to do a little bit.  

You are not looking for a few salesmen who sponsor hundreds of people personally. Instead, you want hundreds of people who use the products, have three to five customers, and sponsor a few people.

# 143: Currently, 3 percent of the MLM Population earns over $93,000 per year, and 56 percent earns less than $5,000 per year.  It is the middle 40 percent that we believe we can and must reach.

I disagree with Mark with this one. I know there are average people in every industry. No matter what you do they won’t make it to the top.

Final Thoughts

I hope you have enjoyed reading my post about MLM Legend, Mark Yarnell. If you ever met Mark, or worked with him at some point in time, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below to tell us about your experience.  R.I.P. Mark!

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Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
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