If you want to succeed in network marketing you have to treat it like a real business. One of the best ways to do that is to track your key metrics in your network marketing business every single month, just like real businesses do.
Study any successful business and you will quickly discover that they track EVERYTHING to include cost per lead, cost per sale, income, expenses, assets, liabilities, etc. Without keeping a pulse on their business’s numbers, they wouldn’t know what is working and what isn’t working.
You should track the key metrics in your network marketing business every month, no matter what. You need a simple Excel Spreadsheet that you can update once a month (preferably on the 1st) and study trends, look for strengths and identify areas to improve upon. At a minimum, here is what you should track each month.
- New Leads – How many new leads did you generate this month?
- Total Leads – How many total leads do you have in your pipeline to become either a customer or distributor?
- Appointments Set – How many appointments did you set to show business presentations?
- Presentations Shown – How many business presentations did you do with prospects this month to share your business opportunity and product line?
- Cost Per Lead – How much did you pay to generate a lead? Simply take your marketing dollars spent and divide it by the number of new leads.
- New Personally Sponsored Distributors – How many people did you personally sponsor this month as distributors?
- New Personally Enrolled Customers – How many new retail customers did you enroll this month?
- Personal Volume – What was your personal volume to include your personal retail sales?
- Total Number of Distributors on Auto-Ship – How many distributors in your group are on auto-ship (or placed an order this month)?
- Average Order Size – What is the average order size on your team?
- Number of Distributors Attending Company Events – How many distributors in your group attended a company event this month or purchased tickets to go to the next company event?
- Leaders in Organization – How many leaders are in your organization (people actively sponsoring others, ordering the products for personal use, getting customers and attending events)? This is your most important metric to track.
- Total Distributors in Your Organization – How many total distributors are in your team?
- Active Distributors – How many active distributors are there (people ordering the products this month)? Also, what percentage of all of your distributors are active?
- Group Volume – What is your total group volume?
- Rank Advancement – What is your current rank and how close are you to your next rank advancement?
- Bonus Check – What was your bonus check for the month?
- Expenses – You need to know your total business expenses for the month.
- Profit/Loss – Did you make a profit or loss in your business? If so, how much?
This list is just a bare bones minimum. Feel free to add any other category to your spreadsheet that you can think of. I suggest all network marketers do a monthly profit and loss statement AND a key metrics statement. Update the spreadsheets once a month and spend 30 to 60 minutes evaluating the data to see what is and what isn’t working.
I’d bet that 998 out of every 1,000 distributors don’t do this. And that’s a big mistake. It’s really important and it only takes a few minutes to do. Without keeping a close eye on your network marketing business and tracking these different categories each month, you won’t know how you are doing. As a result, you won’t be in business very long!
Work smart. Know your numbers. Identify areas to improve and focus on getting a little bit better every single month.
In addition, this is a great lesson to teach your new team members.
What are your thoughts? Do you track the numbers in your network marketing business each month? If so, what key metrics do you keep a close eye on? Leave a comment and let us know. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
What a good basic checklist here to help us keep up with how our businesses are progressing. All of these aspects should be monitored regularly so that we can have a good grasp on how our business is growing. And in the instance we discover it is not growing, we can then identify the problem areas and make modifications in order to get back on the right track.
I know some people who “wing it” so to speak when it comes to their business and things just seem so unorganized and out of control. I keep detailed records regarding contacts, finances, and group members so that I have a clear and traceable path to see what is going on at all times.
Thanks for the comment. You definitely want to track your key metrics.
In any business, for success, metrics are consistently measured. Numbers can tell a business owner what is working and what is not.
Many do not understand that their MLM is their own business. It only makes good sense to measure each and every metric with that business.
By knowing how many leads it takes to generate a sponsorship, you will know what goals you need to set for leads per month, per week, and even per day.
You will know if the system you are using to generate leads is costing you too much. This will give you a basis to change or overhaul your system. It may show you that you are doing well, but no matter how well you are doing, you can always do better. Metrics can help you do better.
Now, the main point…Do not let metrics overtake you to where that is all you are doing. You still need to follow up on leads, make appointments, and the leg work. Some people get so involved in numbers they forget about the basics.
The bottom line is that you have to keep the finger on the pulse of your organization at all times. Roll up your sleeves and do the work, but make sure you do the “strategic” work of your business, too.
It seems to me Chuck that there would be some kind of good program out there in which you could just enter the data and it would do all the math for you. Do you know of such a program? Even if there is cost involved, I would see it as a great investment, allowing you to be freed up to do the many other things that your MLM business requires. Just a thought. What do you think?
I don’t know of any such program. I just use an Excel Spreadsheet.