The # 1 MLM Book of All Time: Guerrilla Multi-Level Marketing Book Review

In today’s post we are going to talk about what I consider to be the # 1 MLM book of all time. To be quite frank with you, I’ve read several hundred network marketing books during the past 18-years and one book really stands out above all others.

Guerrilla Multi-Level Marketing is, in my opinion, the # 1 MLM book of all time. This book is the ONLY network marketing book that I know of that helps people formulate their own marketing plan, their own unique selling proposition, and their own custom business building strategy. It’s unlike all other network marketing books I’ve read.

It actually teaches people WHAT to do to succeed in network marketing. It’s loaded with great content. There’s no hype or fluff either. If I was only going to have one MLM book in my personal library, this would be the one!

There is so much wisdom in this book. It offers more than 100 free or low-cost strategies to build your network marketing business and take it to the next level. I truly believe that any new or experienced or network marketer could read the book and know exactly what they need to do to build a successful network marketing business.

About the Book

The # 1 MLM book was first published in 2007. It is published by Warm Snow Publishers. The book has 271-pages. It retails for $16.95. It’s available anywhere books are sold. It’s authored by Jay Conrad Levinson, James Dillehay, and Marcella Vonn Harting.

It comes in paperback or Kindle format. The book is easy to read. The authors keep things simple, on point and very easy to understand. It’s also very well-organized.

Quotes and Lessons from the # 1 MLM Book

What I want to do in the rest of this post is share FIFTY of my favorite quotes from Guerrilla Multi-Level Marketing, the # 1 MLM Book of all time. Each quote is in bold and italics. After each quote I offer my own thoughts. Let’s get started.

# 1: The majority of new network marketing distributors don’t have a business background or clear understanding of network marketing. Nevertheless, recruits are still being urged to treat network marketing as a business.

Most of the people you will sponsor into your business have never owned a business before. All they’ve ever done was a have a job. As a result, when you tell them to act like a business owner, and treat their business like a business, they don’t really know what that means. Ultimately, you have to teach people how to think like a business owner, if you ever want them to have lasting success. Or, you can focus on sponsoring people who have already owned a business before. I’ve found that most new reps crave tasks and step-by-step instructions, just like they get from their boss at work.

# 2: 90 percent of new distributors quit their first year.

There is a high attrition rate in network marketing. You should also realize there is a high attrition rate in ALL small businesses and in sales jobs. It’s not easy to succeed with your own business and it’s not for everyone. Getting people in the business is just the starting point. Keeping them in is where the magic happens. Even if 90% of your team quits each year, you can still build a big team and large residual income.

# 3: The reality is that most people in network marketing do the business a little differently from each other anyway. Evidence shows that you will earn more money by teaching systems that supports variety and is suitable to different personality types.

Everyone is unique. A business building strategy that works for an extrovert might not work for an introvert. Some folks want to do home parties and others don’t. Ultimately, you need to know several different ways to build a business, so you can help each team member find a strategy that resonates with them. Each person has their own natural talents and abilities. It’s your job to figure out what those talents and abilities are and show the person how they can use their own talents to succeed in the business.

# 4: Instead of concentrating on leads, responses or sales volume, the size of your compensation check is the yardstick by which your measure your marketing effectiveness.  

If you really want to evaluate how your network marketing business is growing look at your bonus check. That is the most important factor. Yes, results follow activity. Leads are important. So is sales volume. But, the most important thing when it comes to marketing is your Return on Investment. All other things are secondary. Your goal is to make sure your bonus check grows each month.

# 5: Working smarter pays better than working harder. Creating strategies is working on your business.

Anyone can work hard. Most people do. Working hard is important, but overrated. Ultimately you need to work smart. You need a simple and effective game plan that you can follow every day. The best thing you can do is make sure you are spending 95% of your “business hours” on money producing activities. Focus on productive work, not busy work.

# 6: High earning network marketers take action based on a marketing plan – a plan that allows them to stay in control of their business.  

You want to be focused and have a game-plan when you are building your business. You need to know your target market, your marketing strategy, and daily routine.

# 7: Marketing to those who have already bought from you is cheaper and faster than trying to get new customers. It costs an average of five times as much money to acquire new customers as it does to retain existing customers.  

It’s much easier to sell something new to a current or former customer than it is to go out and find a new customer. Make sure you take a percentage of your marketing budget and time to stay in touch with current distributors and customers. Make them feel appreciated and do what you can to keep them reordering each month.

# 8: Large organizations grow over time.  

Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take several years to build a team with thousands of people in it, maybe even longer. You need to have some patience. This is a minimum five to ten-year plan, not a six to twelve month plan, especially if you are doing the business part-time.

# 9: One of the best ways to bring an organization together is to create and send out a personal newsletter.  

Sending out a mailed newsletter each month to all of your customers and distributors is one of the best business decisions you can make. This reminds people to order, lets them know about specials and incentives and keeps them up to date with what is going on in the company and in the team. I believe this tip is even more relevant in the internet age.

# 10: Guerrillas earn bigger checks because they target niche customers.  

Identify a target market and then focus your marketing and advertising efforts exclusively on that target market. Pick a niche that you know and understand. For instance, if you are a school teacher, focus on recruiting other school teachers into the business. You already know how they think and what they want, plus you have something in common with them. This is a lot easier than recruiting someone you have nothing in common with.

# 11: Form a Mastermind Group made up of individuals with offsetting talents and abilities but equaled in their commitment to bring about a big win – fast.  

Team up with three to five people on your team who are serious about the business, and do monthly calls and training where you can share ideas with each other and help each other. Learn from each other’s mistakes. Share ideas. Talk about what is and what isn’t working in the business.

# 12: Go for distributors who are entrepreneurial minded.  

Sponsor people who like sales, marketing and business. Look for people who are accustomed to commission based pay. Look for people who understand hard work and what it takes to build a successful business. This is a much smarter approach than trying to sponsor people who have simply had jobs their entire lives.

# 13: A compelling reason to go for entrepreneurial types is that they regularly put money into growing their business.  Entrepreneurs invest money on their personal growth and training because they know that the training will improve their profits. 

When you sponsor someone who has already owned a business before, they typically have the right mind-set and skill-set to build a successful business in network marketing.

# 14: People must buy you, before they commit to your program.  

People don’t join businesses, they join people. Work on your people skills. Work on your business skills so you know what you are doing and have more value to offer people.

# 15: Avoid treating family or friends like sales agents. Talk to people who are close to you face to face, rather than sending impersonal sales material.  

Don’t treat your close circle of friends and family like a typical sales prospect. Meet with them face to face and share what you have with them. Don’t try to pressure or hard-sell them either. Just invite them to take a look.

# 16: People are not interested in your product or your business: they are interested in solving their own problems.  

Find a way to offer a solution to people’s problems. Do that and you will make a lot of money in this industry. People don’t buy a drill because they want a drill. They buy a drill because they want a hole. Find out what your prospects want, and then show them how your products, services or business opportunity will help them get what they want. Be a solution provider!

# 17: Find a company you can be off the charts passionate about.  

Picking the right company (an at the right time) is so important. You want a company with products that excite you and set your world on fire. Look for a company with a great reputation, a proven track record, and an amazing product line.

# 18: Confidence is often cited as the number one reason people buy anything.  

You must be confident in yourself, your products, your company, and the industry if you want to succeed. People don’t like to do business with wishy-washy people. People want to do business with people who know who they are and where they are headed in life. People want to work with the best of the best.

# 19: Satisfied customers make happy endorsers.  

Find someone who loves the products and they will give you referrals, or even sign up as a wholesale distributor to get a discount on their own purchases. What you ultimately want is thousands of people who are really passionate about your product line.

# 20: Mail catalogs to previous customers.  

Keep in touch with current and former customers. Send them things in the mail to get more repeat orders. Provide great customer service and do the little things. It makes a difference.

# 21: The guerrilla network marketer knows that the real money isn’t in a particular opportunity or product; it’s in the people.  

Once again, this is a people business. Companies come and go. The relationships you have with people is what matters most for the long-term. The money is in your list: your network.

# 22: Your marketing activities should create a funnel that gathers leads, establishes rapport, and gets appointments. That’s all.  You don’t try to persuade, convince, or sell anything until you can get your prospect’s agreement to meet – either by phone or in person.  

Your goal is to generate leads and then show them the plan, either by phone or in person. When it comes to marketing and advertising, you aren’t trying to sell the business on the first contact. Instead, you are trying to sell the appointment. Generate a lead, set an appointment, and then share the complete presentation. Remember to sell the sizzle, and then let the sizzle sell the steak.

# 23: I measure success by how many relationships I’ve made each month.  

Your goal every month is to meet new people and build new friendships. Make it a goal to meet minimum two new people each day.

# 24: The internet can automate your lead gathering, generate product sales and help you train distributors faster. But it can also tempt you into sacrificing relationship building for speed and numbers.  

The internet won’t solve all of your problems. It is simply a business tool. Even if you can get leads and sponsor people online, you still need to connect with them, if you want to retain them in the business. You still need to pick up the phone and give them a call, or meet face to face if possible.

# 25: Getting people to call you is pull energy: it’s typically less costly. People seek out experts for answers and tend to treat them with respect.  

Ultimately, you want to be the hunted rather than the hunter. Learn how to get people to contact you first. Personally, I only sponsor people who ask me to sponsor them. I don’t get rejected and I don’t pitch anyone. That’s what you want to happen in your business. I do that by using attraction marketing and paid advertising.

# 26: If you can’t build rapport with every lead, new people will leave just as fast as they arrive and your ad dollars will have been wasted.  

Once you find a new customer or distributor, you want to build a relationship with them. If you don’t connect with them, they will drop out fast. Once again, this is a relationship business.

# 27: Don’t invest money in paid advertising unless you are prepared to run a campaign long enough to generate measurable responses – at least 8 to 9 times over a year.  

You can’t do a one time ad and expect big results. People need to see your ad several times before they will respond to it. Be consistent with your ads. Do them once a day, once a week or once a month for at least a year, before you determine if it works or not.

# 28: Sending a personal letter by mail is one of the quickest promotions to put together and among the fastest ways to get a response.  

Direct mail is still very effective. People love to check their mail every day. People usually read their mail before they throw it away. Sending a personal note is a great way to grow your business and stay in touch with your customers and team members.

# 29: Ads that offer something for free will get more response than ads that try to sell.  

Use a two-step selling process whenever possible. Never pitch your business opportunity or products in an ad. Instead, give away something for free to generate a lead, and then use the follow-up process to sell what you have. For example, give away a free report, and let your free report introduce people to your products or business.

# 30: The faster you help people experience a result, the easier it will be for them to commit.

Help your people earn a check their first month in the business. Help them sponsor a couple of people their first month or find a few customers. If you can do that, you give them something to lose. And there’s a good chance they will stick around longer.

# 31: In network marketing the only customer you have to worry about convincing is you.  

You have to sell yourself on the business, your company, the product line and industry. If you don’t believe in your products enough to use them yourself, no one else will buy them from you (and rightfully so). Once you are sold, people will see your conviction and hear it in your voice when they talk with you.

# 32: Studies reveal that confidence is the most important factor in the buying decision.

People want to do business with people and businesses they know, like and trust. You must act confident. Believe in yourself, your company, your product line, and the industry.

# 33: People are increasingly skeptical or advertising claims and obvious sales pitches.

No one likes to be sold, but people like to buy. I like to sell by educating people rather than pitching people. Before you offer a solution, make sure you identify a need.

# 34: Most prospects will not do what you choose for them to do unless you tell them to do it. You have to lead people through the sales process.  

Most people have a hard time making a decision on their own. You simply need to help them make a decision. If they want to order, don’t leave it up to them to go home and do it on their own. They won’t. While you are with them, do a three-way call to the company and place their order with them.

# 35: By retaining just five percent more customers, you can increase your compensation from 25 to 125 percent.  

You’re going to lose some customers no matter what you do. Your goal is to retain as many customers as you can. As you can see, increasing your retention just a little bit can have a huge impact on your bottom line.

# 36: Customers stop buying not because they are unhappy, but simply because they feel unappreciated and ignored.  

This one is a huge tip if you get it. Make your customers feel like gold. Send them thank you cards. Give them a call. Send them a gift every year. Stay in touch and send a monthly newsletter every month. Show them, not just tell them, that you appreciate their business.

# 37: Schedule five follow ups to different people a day, five days a week.

Set aside 20 to 30-minutes every day to follow-up with people. Give people a call, send an email, or drop a note in the mail. Use a variety of different methods to follow-up. It’s time and money well spent.

# 38: Face-to-face interactions account for 73 percent of sales.  

The more face-to-face time you can get with your customers and team, the better you will do in the business. People like to do business with people they know, like and trust. It’s hard to build good relationships online. Nothing beats looking someone in the eyeballs.

# 39: 81 percent of all sales happen after the fifth contact!

This is very valuable advice. Most network marketers only follow-up with their prospects once, if that. Yet, most sales come after the fifth contact. It’s true, the fortune is in the follow-up.

# 40: The failure rate for most businesses is 50 to 80 percent in the first year.  

Failure in network marketing should come as no surprise. Most new businesses fail. Most people don’t have the proper mind-set or skill-set it takes to succeed in business. You can do some things to limit the amount of failure, but no matter what you do, most people on your team will still do nothing and quit.

# 41: People in your group will follow your lead, but only if they like you. If you would have duplication in your organization become lovable.  

Work on your people skills. Treat others with respect. Follow the Golden Rule at all times and people will want to follow your lead. Be the team captain who inspires others by your actions rather than the dictator who cracks the whip and tells everyone what to do.

# 42: Shoving everyone in the same direction, as if they were all cast from the same mold, is a sure recipe for attrition. Offer more choices and people will stay involved longer, which means bigger checks for them and for you.

Everyone on your team is different. As a sponsor, you need to be creative and have different ways to build your business. Find out what each person on your team is comfortable doing and help them develop their own game-plan.

# 43: Be a sponsor who collaborates, not competes. 

Help your team, don’t compete against them. Share ideas with upline, downline and cross-line. Don’t hoard information. Be a team player. If you feel like competing, compete against yourself.

# 44: People like people who help them.

This is a people business. Work on your people skills. Become likeable. Show a genuine interest in others. Take the focus off yourself and show your prospect that you care about their wants, needs and desires. If you can help people get what they want, you will naturally get what you want.

# 45: Identify those in your upline who are actively building and get on their team.  

Work with the people in your upline who are successful and willing to help you. Find someone who has achieved the level of success you desire and follow their lead. Humble yourself and do what they teach you. Do not be a lone wolf.  Surround yourself with people who are also serious about their business.

# 46: Read every book written on network marketing knowing that even one single insight can make a profound impact in your compensation. 

Become a student of your profession. Learn everything you can about network marketing. Read a book a week. Subscribe to different network marketing publications. Attend events and enroll in automobile university.

# 47: Learn how much on average it costs you to acquire a new customer or distributor.

All smart business owners know how much they pay to acquire a new customer. You need to know how much you spend in advertising and time to find a new distributor or customer. Once you calculate this number you should look for ways to reduce your cost per acquisition.

# 48: Network marketing is not a fast track to wealth.

MLM is not a get rich quick type of business. I can’t think of any legal business that is get rich quick. It takes time, money, and lots of hard work to succeed in your own business. You have to be persistent for YEARS to build a large team.

# 49: The people who do not achieve their dreams in network marketing are the ones who quit because they do not choose to embrace the necessary commitment.   

Success in any business endeavor requires a lasting commitment, normally at least five to ten years. Ultimately, you have to formulate a game-plan, do the work and persevere. Nothing worth accomplishing is fast, free or easy.

# 50: Many network marketers linger too long in planning mode.  

Thinking about your business will not grow your business. It’s your efforts that matter most. The only money producing activities are prospecting, inviting, showing the plan, following up, training your team, and getting customers. Until you get off your butt and put in the work nothing will happen.

Final Thoughts

In summary, Guerrilla Multi-Level Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson, James Dillehay and Marcella Vonn Harting is the # 1 MLM Book of all time, as I see it.

It is a must read for EVERY network marketer, whether they are brand new or already successful in the business. It’s also a great training manual to give to all of your new team members, so they know how to create their own success plan. Overall, I give it a 10 of 10.

What are your thoughts about the # 1 MLM Book of all time? Do you like this book? What is your favorite quote mentioned above? What book do you believe is the # 1 MLM Book of all time and why? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.

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