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Here's a condensed list of the most popular network marketing companies that have been either been in business or started a business over the last several decades. Some companies are a year old, others are 50 years old. With all of the choices, you'd think aspiring network marketers would spend more time evaluating a network marketing company before joining. Most new distributors simply throw a dart to choose their destiny. Well, if you're going to throw a dart, here's a GREAT dart board! Keep in mind that MANY of these companies are out of business already, so you might have to throw a few more times.
Infinity International Health & Beauty
Infinity2
InnerLight Inc.
Innerlight International
Inspire
Integris Global, LP
Intelligent Nutrients
International Consumer Opportunity Network (ICON)
Int'l Heritage
International Teamworks Inc.
Investors Int'l
IONYX International
Iron Curtain Labs
Isagenix
Jafra Cosmetics International, Inc.
JangleFish
Japan Life
Jet Set Life Technologies Inc
Jeunique International, Inc.
Jewelry at Home
Jewels By Park Lane
JewelWay
Joielle LLC
Journey Telecom
Joy Enterprises
JS HomeStyle, LLC
Jurak Corporation World Wide
Just Add Guests
Juvio
K*I*D*S Shield
Kadima Inc.
Kaire
Karemore
Kingsway
Kirby
Kitchen Fair (Regal Ware, Inc.)
Knutek
Labrada Nutrition Systems Inc
Lady Remington Fashion Jewelry
Ladybug Garden Parties, Inc.
Lametco
Lametco Int.
L'aprina
Latasia & Company
Latin Wave Network C.A.
L'Bri Pure N' Natural
Le Gourmet Gift Baskets Inc.
Le Natural Int'l
Le Nautrel
Leaders Club
Legacy for Life, LLC
Lexxus International
Liberty
Life Education And Prosperity Inc
Life Extension
Life Force International
Life Prints
Life Source
Lifelink
LifeNet Inc.
LifePlus International
LifeScience
Lifestyles 2000
Lifestyles International
LifeTek
Lifetime Solutions
LifeTrends
Lifetronix
Links Worldwide Inc.
Liquid Life
Locality.com
Localnet
Longevity Network, Ltd.
LR International
Lunesse
Luxelle International Inc.
Magic Learning Systems
MagNet
Magnus Enterprises, Inc.
Mannatech, Inc.
Market America, Inc.
Market To Sucess
Mary Kay, Inc.
Matol Botanical International
Mava D. Enterprises LLC
MAXXIS Group, Inc.
Mayberry
MegaNet $
Melaleuca Inc.
Metabolife International
Metrin Life USA, Inc.
Millionaire Makers
MILLIONAIRES GROUP
Momentum Worldwide
Money Maker's Monthly
MoneyMatters
Morganics
Morinda, Inc
MPAD Technology Group, Inc.
Multi-Pure
Muscle Dynamics Fitness Network, Inc.
Musical Magnets
My Tax Man, Inc.
My.WS
Nanci Corporation
NATAL
National Companies, Inc.
National Safety Associates, Inc. (NSA)
Nationwide
Natural Body Lines Inc
Natural Connections
Natural EFX
Natural World
Natural You
NaturaLab
Nature's Sunshine
Nature's Aromatherapy
Nature's Bodycare
Nature's Gold
Nature's of Scandinavia
Nature's Own
Nature's Sunshine Products
Nebullis Network
NEFX
Nest Family
Nettincome.net Limited
NetVision International Inc
Networker2000.com
NeuroGenesis , Inc
New Image International, Inc.
New Resolution
New Vision Int. Inc.
Neways International Inc.
Nexwork
Nexx
Nikken International, Inc.
Noevir USA, Inc.
Northern Lights at Home
Nouveau Cosmeceuticals
NOVAGENIX
Nove Chrome
NRG
NTC
Nu Care International
Nu Creations
NU CREATIONS, INC
Nu -Botanic
Nubotanic Int.
Nu -Botanical
Nu -Concepts in Travel
NuEworld
Nugenix
NuLife
Nu -med USA, Inc.
Nu -Med, Inc.
NuSkin International, Inc.
Nutrition For Life
NutraQuest
NutriCare
Nutri-Metics
Nutrimetics North America
Nutrition 4 Life
Nutrition for Life
Nutrition For Life International, Inc.
Nutritional Now Inc
Oasis Wellness Network
Oceans
Omnitrition International
One Life
OneSource
Open Invitation From House of Lloyd
Optimal Telecom
Oragen International
Orbitalk
Orenda International
Organics Made Easy
Oriflame U.S.A.
Original Solutions Inc
Oro Club
Outback Secrets
Oxyfresh Worldwide, Inc.
OZMOZIZ
P.M. International
Pampered Chef
Pangea
Panver Corporation
Paradigm
Paramount Technologies
Partners Across America
Partners for Wealth
PartyLite Gifts, Inc.
Passion Parties By Amy
Performance Plus Nutritionals
Pet Lovers
Petra Fashions, Inc.
Pharmanex (Division of Nu Skin Enterprises)
PHD Products
Pinnacle Plus
Pioneerbizz.com
Plexus
Pola U.S.A., Inc.
Polar
Popular Club, Inc.
Portfolio
PortOmega
Premier Designs, Inc.
Premier Health Link
Premier Plus Inc
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
PrimeQuest
Primerica
Primerica Financial Services
Princess House, Inc.
ProJoba International
Pro-Ma Systems
Promise Net Inc
PRONET INC
Prosperity Unlimited
ProStep
PS I Love You
Quality Health Products
Qual -Life
Qual -Life Systems
Quantum Leap
Quest For Life, Inc.
Quest Group International
Quest IV Health
Quixtar (Amway)
Quorum Global
Quorum International Ltd
R.J. Morgan
Rachael
RDAY, Inc.
Regal Ware, Inc.
Reliv International, Inc.
Rena Ware International, Inc.
Renaissance
Retire Quickly Corporation
Re-Vita
Rexair , Inc.
Rexall
R-Garden
Rosemarie Collections
Royal BodyCare, Inc.
Saladmaster , Inc. (Regal Ware, Inc.)
Scent-Sations
SciMedica
Scriptures
Seaborne, LLC
Seasilver USA, Inc.
Secure America
Secure Independence
SeneGence International
Shaklee Corporation
Shape Your Future
Shaperite
Share the Wealth
Silpada Designs
Simply CD
Simtex
SkyBiz.com
SKYCOM Telecom.
Soaring Eagle
Soteria Corporation
Southern Heritage, Inc.
Southern Living At HOME
Spectrum
Sportnuts
Sportron International, Inc.
Spring Wellness, Inc.
Springboard
Staff of Life
Stampin ' Up!
Stanley Home Products
Starfire International
Starlight
Startouch
Startronics
Sterling Health
Streamline
STS
Sunnet
Sunrider International
SupraLife International
Symmetry Corporation
Syncom
Synergy Worldwide
Tahitian Noni International
Talisman Marketing Inc
TARRAH Cosmetics, Inc.
Taste of Gourmet
Tastefully Simple, Inc.
TCN
Team-Up
TEL3 NeTel
Texas D'Lites
The Art of Better Living Inc
The Body Shop At Home
The Breakfast Club
The Claudia Jean Collection
The Comforts of Home By Wicker Plus
The DHS Club
The Fuller Brush Company
The Gillette Company
The Golf Club
The Good Nature Company
The Homemaker's Idea Company
The Kirby Company
The Longaberger Company
The Masters Miracle
The Pampered Chef, Ltd.
The People's Network
The Regal Gourmet (A Div. of Regal Ware, Inc.)
The Southwestern Company
The West Bend Company
The Winners Circle
Theta Technologies
Tianshi Health Products, Inc.
Tomorrow's Treasures
Tomorrow's Treasures/Memory Bank
TopLine /DWG International
Total Link
Totally Tropical Interiors, Ltd.
TOYS/GAMES
TPN
TradeNet
Traffic Oasis
Transform America
TravelMax
Trek Alliance, Inc.
TrendMark International
Trilogy International (formerly Healthy Pet Net)
TriLokin International, Inc.
Tristar Enterprises, LLC
Trivita Way International
TSI
Tupperware Corporation
Turning Point
U.S. Safety & Engineering Corporation
UCC Total Home
Ultra Corp
Unicity Network, Inc.
Unique Opportunities Inc
Unique Solutions
United Health Programs of America Inc
United Plan
United Sovereigns
Universal Consumer Services Inc
Upland
US Health Advisors
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.
Usborne Books at Home
Vantel Pearls in the Oyster
VAXA
Vigorlife
Vision For Life International
Vita Craft Corporation
VitaCorp International
Vitalife2000
Vitality Labs
Viva America
Viva International
Viva Life Science, Inc.
Viviane Woodard
VM Direct
Vorwerk USA Company, LP
Voyager
Wardson International
Warm Spirit, Inc.
WATCO
Watkins Incorporated
Wealth International Network
Weekenders USA, Inc.
Wellness
Wellness Associates
Wellness Premium Plus
Wicker Plus, Ltd.
World Book, Inc.
World Class Network
World Connect
World Financial Group WFG-
Worldnet International Inc
WorldQuest International Inc
Worldwide InterNet Marketing
WorldxChange Corporation
XanGo Corporation
Young Living Essential Oils
Youngevity , Inc.
Your True Colors
YourTravelBiz
Youthflow Corporation
Yves Rocher Direct Selling
Yves Rocher Direct Selling
Zenith
Have I made my point?Now you might be able to understand the process my research team and I went through to scrutinize these programs. By the time you finish studying and applying the concepts outlined in this book, you'll be able to narrow down this list to a few dozen top programs.
Questions every
aspiring network marketing
professional
is dying to answer:
Industry:
Which product or service industry is the most profitable?
Should I select a product company or a service company?
Should I go with a NEW idea or go with something tried and true?
Which industries are absolutely not viable or high risk in the 2004-2006?
What role do trends play in selecting a product industry?
Should I choose a baby boomer industry, or does it not matter?
Timing:
During which phase of growth should I join a company?
During which phase of growth do most MLM's go out of business?
During which phase of growth would it be best to retire?
Should I get involved with a ground floor opportunity?
Is there such a thing as market saturation?
Distributor Compensation:
Which distributor compensation plan is the best?
Is the stairstep breakaway plan a bad plan?
Is the binary plan being investigated by regulators?
Is the matrix plan a legitimate compensation plan?
What is a hybrid compensation plan?
Can a plan pay out too little or too much?
Company & Management Team:
How can I tell if a company's management team has high integrity?
Is it important for the company to be debt free, financially sound, and solidly capitalized?
Is it important for the company to own its own products and facilities?
Is it an advantage to be involved with a publicly traded company or a private company?
How can I find out if the management team is experienced, competent, committed?
Other Important Questions:
Which of the 200 scrutinized network marketing companies ranked among the top twenty?
How can I find the time to study and compare all of these companies?
Where can I find an objective source of information on each of these programs?
How can I find out if one of these financial opportunities is a scam?
Which company is right for me?
XanGo, Seasilver, Tongan Limu, Tahitian/Hawaiian Noni, Energy Elixors, Vaccuums, Financial Services, Home Accessories, Gourmet Food, Web Hosting, Toys & Games, Cookware, Custom Knives, Crafts, Skintastic, Double X, Chocamaca, Consumer Benefits & Memberships, Jewelry, Free Coral Calcium, Calorad, BiosLife, Pyruvate, Pycnogenol, Ambrotose, MSM, Soy Products, Soygenol, Melatonin, DHEA, Blue-Green Algae, Parasite Cleansers, Manapol, Tahitian Noni, Juice Plus, Colloidal Minerals (Dead Doctors), Laundry Globes/Disks, Water Filters, Air Filters, Home/Car Security Devices, Car Waxes, Oil Additives, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Pre-Paid Calling Cards, Travel, Business Leads, Stop Smoking, Subscriptions, Debt Elimination, Wealth Building, etc.
You're just a few chapters away from the TRUTH!
Have you been asking yourself the questions in this survey? If not, go back and ask each question and really ponder them. Read every subheading and bullet point. Can you honestly answer these questions right now without doing any additional research?
Don't worry, we know how busy you are and that you have many important responsibilities, so we've done the research for you. ALL of the answers to these questions are buried right here in this book. Time to start digging!
Table of Contents
How to Select a Network Marketing Company
Why I Wrote This Book
Last Hope for Success in Network Marketing Letter ii
Criteria for Selecting a Company v
Study #1: Selecting the Best Product Industry
Study #2: Choosing the Best Time to Start Your Business
Study #3: Selecting the Best Compensation Plan
Study #4: Scrutinizing a Management Team
Study #5: Choosing the Best Product or Service
Study #6: Evaluating Technological Competence
Test #1: Product Industry
Test #2: Timing
Test #3: Compensation Plan
Test #4: Management Team and Company
Test #5: Best Product or Service
Test #6: Technology
Totals: Calculating Overall Score and Grade
Review List of Top 50 Companies in Network Marketing
I've selected my company What do I do now?
What To Do Next
INTRODUCTION 1:
Why I Wrote This Book
Creating this book was no easy task. It took years of study, careful thought, and application. Obviously I would not have accepted this challenge if I didn't have some compelling reasons to finish this book. I actually had three reasons.
1. First, I was tired of reading and listening to so called MLM industry insiders review programs and ideas on internet network marketing with a strong bias, without doing careful research, or without have any background in network marketing. I'm committed to do more digging than the other researchers while still reading everything the others have to say. Some of the more prominent and universally respected online MLM consultants in the industry are quoted in this book.
2. Second, I feel that too many people are selecting an online internet network marketing company without doing enough of their own research. Most people simply don't have the time or the resources to effectively evaluate and compare many programs. So they accept and follow the advice of an inexperienced friend of family member, or they follow the first charismatic MLM leader they meet. I decided to do most of the research myself and then provide an objective resource for my readers so they wont have to spend months, or even years, selecting a company.
3. And finally, I have a passion for helping people succeed in network marketing. This book allows me to share the information that I have gathered over the past decade with others who have the potential to be great in network marketing, but are having a tough time hooking up with a good company. By following the principles and criteria outlined in this book, I have been able to make excellent, informed choices that have truly paid off for me. Every time I've FAILED to apply these principles (and believe it or not, sometimes I HAVE failed to follow my own advice) I've failed to select a good program. Now it is your turn to do your due diligence. Find out if my strategy for selecting a company makes sense to you. If it does, my hope is you will apply the information you read in this book and use this criteria to select a TOP company that you can build and benefit from for years to come.
I have spent thousands of hours researching all aspects of network marketing. I try to review every article, book, tape, video, and seminar in order to gain a better understanding of network marketing. I have interviewed hundreds of people. Much of the information included in this book is my educated opinion, backed up by documentation on how I reached these conclusions.
Do The Experts Agree?
To support my opinions, I have also included quotes from articles written by some of network marketing's top consultants, authors, speakers, and trainers. Please note that although many of network marketing's most respected authorities are in agreement on many of my opinions, these individuals may not necessarily agree with all of my opinions. You'll also find it interesting to not that although most of the experts quoted in my book would agree with most if not all of my points, they generally have all chosen different companies to represent. But nearly ALL of these top MLM authorities have selected companies that would survive my scrutiny.
No Scrutiny System Is Perfect
It's important to note that almost every top leader in network marketing has been with more than one company. In most cases, they have been with several different programs. Why? Because no matter how good you get at selecting network marketing companies, as an independent distributors there is still a limit to what you can control. You can do all the research you want an although this improves your chances immensely, there is still no guarantees that your company wont make a fatal move OR become the target of an ignorant, over-zealous industry regulator.
How can you, as an independent distributor, have any kind of CONTROL over the direction, and the actions of your parent company? How can you have TOTAL control? For a NEW perspective on this very topic, be sure to read, The NEW Network Marketing which I wrote with my friend Brett Rademacher. You can find it at my website at www.dcfalter.com.
However, I will say this if I could invest my money in the network marketing companies I have chosen as winners over the last 7 years like I invest in stocks, Id be the Warren Buffet of MLM!
Feel Free to Disagree!
Readers of this book are absolutely entitled to, and even encouraged to, disagree with me. But I must warn you a significant portion of the beliefs I have formed over the last ten years have been scrutinized against MLM's most recent findings. My opinions regarding many issues have been modified as recently as the date of this books last revision. If you are readying a two year old copy, it may be out of date already. I'm constantly in the process of updating this information in order to reflect current research and new findings. If you disagree with me, I will simply ask you to check the source of your information first. Be careful that the information you are receiving is not twenty-year-old information that has been recycled through an old school MLM guru. In network marketing, there are only two kinds of distributors the quick and the dead. If you want to avoid becoming the latter, you must learn to evolve with this rapidly changing industry.
Taking into consideration the title of this book, and based on the fact that you are still reading it, I'm assuming that you do not have any hang-ups with network marketing, or at least not serious ones. If you do have a problem with MLM, please put this book down right now, contact the person who sent it to you, and request a different book. The person who recommended this book to you obviously did not ask enough questions to figure out what information was the most appropriate for you. There are many powerful tools on the market that will help you gain an instant appreciation for network marketing. However, this book is not designed to convince you that MLM is the greatest opportunity on earth. It is designed for those who are already able to see past the prejudice surrounding network marketing and realize the potential of this form of business. Are we on the same page? Good! Let's continue.
If you have never been involved in network marketing previously, this book will assist you in discovering what to look for in a top network marketing program. If you have been involved in network marketing in the past, you may find the following information revolutionary. It will help you overcome the obstacles that have kept you from experiencing success in network marketing. If you are currently involved in network marketing and you are happy with your current program, simply use this book to scrutinize your current venture to see if there is room for improvement or if it is time for a change.
Why are you reading this book?
Everyone may be reading this book for different reasons. The question is why are YOU reading?
1. You may have been dabbling in network marketing and are now ready to take action.
2. You may already be involved with a company and you are curious to see how yours stacks up.
3. You have never been involved with network marketing and you are in the process of evaluating companies in order to select one.
4. You have given this industry your heart and soul and you have fallen on your face, maybe more than once. You want to know how to avoid the pitfalls and select a company that is going to last.
No matter your reason for acquiring this book, you've come to the right place at the right time. All of your experiences in network marketing or in business to this point, good or bad, have been preparing you for what I'm about to share with you. What you're about to read may change the way you think about network marketing forever!
Before you become a 12th degree diamond executive JEDI Master, you need to pick the right vehicle for the right reasons. The key to selecting the right company in network marketing is doing your due diligence. This is a popular phrase that has caught on in the last decade as people have started to realize that not all network marketing companies are created equal. People are beginning to understand that the smart way to select the best business venture is to thoroughly scrutinize a company before getting involved.
Right now you may be thinking, But I've already tried and failed at network marketing! You may feel like I did several years ago that you are doomed to failure in MLM. Believe me, I have been there, done that, and bought the T-Shirt. I know what it feels like to refer friends to a company that ends up going out of business. I have walked on eggshells with my friends, family and especially my spouse. I know what it feels like to be alone in a business with no upline support. I know what it feels like to pump hundreds, even thousands of dollars into a business that doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
I'm going to invite you to do something very different. I'm going to invite you to give network marketing one last try. However, this time, before you choose a company, I want you to first understand the principles behind selecting the best company. After all, this isn't a roulette wheel...this is your financial future! Don't throw a dart to select your company. Learn how to choose a company and an upline support team based on the facts. Do you realize there have been thousands of new MLM start-ups in the last five years? However, over 90% of all MLM companies fail in their first 24 months. Would you like to learn how to avoid the 90% club?
There are so many voices out there, it is hard to know who to trust. As FBI Agent Fox Mulder of the X-Files says, Trust No One. Now does Agent Mulder mean don't listen to your family and friends, don't listen to your own father or your own child? No. He means question authority! Don't just take information at face value. Don't believe something because it is in print. Learn to verify, quantify, and validate information. Stop listening to hype and learn to do your own research. Once you have all of the facts, study them out in your own mind, meditate on it, pray about it, and then trust the answers that come to you. You're the only person who doesn't have a hidden agenda and you're intelligent enough to find and research the facts, call on divine help, and then make a business decision.
Now if you're anything like I am, you're probably wondering what resources are available for you to do research on network marketing. That's where our study comes in. I decided that if I wanted to refer people whole-heartedly to a network marketing opportunity, I had to know it was truly the very best! I knew I had to take the time to do the research so that my new prospects wouldn't have to. I have conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of the network marketing industry in order to determine which criteria are important in scrutinizing and selecting a network marketing company. Over 200 top network marketing programs were included in this study. My objective was to narrow the field to the top 50, the top 10, and then to select one.
Wow, what a project! At the completion of this study, I selected the #1 opportunity in network marketing and I'm now building a strong international business with this company. My work is done. Now it is time for you to do your due diligence. If you are truly committed to learning the principles for selecting the best company in network marketing, please follow the directions below. Following your review, please get in touch with the person who referred you to this book and share your questions or comments.
Enjoy the study,
Daren C. Falter
www.dcfalter.com
HOW TO SELECT A NETWORK MARKETING COMPANY
The Criteria For Selecting A Company
Rather than simply running through the criteria we used for selecting the best company in network marketing, I decided to walk you step-by-step through the evaluation process. It is valuable for network marketers to understand the importance of each criterion. You can use this system to rate any network marketing or direct sales business venture. Listed below are the six main criteria we will review in this book. While reviewing these criteria, ask yourself the following questions associated with each criterion:
1. Product Industry: Which product or service am I going to represent and why?
2. Timing: During which phase of growth should I join a company?
3. Compensation Plan: Which of the six widely used pay plans is the best?
4. Company/Management: How do I evaluate a company and its management team?
5. Product Integrity: What makes a product line the best?
6. Technology: Speed, Efficiency, Duplication, Systems, do they have it?
This book will explain in detail the above five criteria for selecting a company. After each study, I included a simple test or rating system for scoring each company. Select any network marketing opportunity and scrutinize this company using the following criteria and rating system. Based on Millennium Research Internationals evaluations and test results, I have prepared a list of the top companies in network marketing for the years 1999-2000, listed in order of preference.
The Study
Using the criteria mentioned previously,
I designed a comprehensive study involving facts, figures, and commentary.
Not only have I tried to include my own observations and opinions, but I've
tried to quote several top network marketing authorities to lend credibility
to my comments and conclusions. I've also included the sources of my research.
I hope the information in this section is helpful and informative.
Study #1: Selecting The Best Product
Industry
In my analysis of over 200 programs, I was able to determine which product industries within network marketing are the most viable now and which industries will be the most viable during the next 20 years. First, I will list the industries I studied in alphabetical order. Then, I will run through the criteria used to select the most viable product industry.
Current MLM Industries (alphabetical order):
Automobile and Auto Care Products
Books, Reports, Newsletters, Publications
Buying Clubs and Catalog Shopping
Clothing, Fashions, and Lingerie
Computer Hardware and Software
Electronics and Appliances
Financial and Debt Elimination Programs
Grocery and Coupon Programs
Home and Personal Security Products
Household Products
Information Services
Internet Services (hosting, dial-up, marketing)
Jewelry, Gold, Silver, and Collectibles
Lead Generation Programs
Legal Services
Nutritional Supplements and Health Products
Personal Care Products (Skin Care/Hair Care/Body Care)
Telecommunications Services
Travel and Vacation Programs
Satellites, Hardware and Service
Water and Air Filters
WOW, there isn't much the network marketing and direct sales industries don't carry! Time to start eliminating some of these product categories so we can select the best industry in network marketing.
In reviewing the above industries, I soon realized that out of the 200 plus companies I scrutinized, a vast majority (over 90%) were marketing one of only four different industries for their primary product line. The most popular and viable industries market the following products or services:
Industry Primary Line Secondary & Tertiary Line
1. Nutritional Supplements 71% 11%
2. Personal Care/Skin Care 14% 69%
3. Household Products 6% 27%
4. Telecommunications 5% 21%
5. Other 4% NA
In this illustration, we see that most of the companies on the market sell nutritional supplements, followed by personal care products, and finally, household products and telecommunications. However, as a second or third marketing focus, most companies offered personal care items, followed by household products and then telecommunications.
For convenience, we will abbreviate services and non-tangible product companies as NTPCs and tangible product companies will be TPCs.
There is on going debate about whether or not it is wise to market non-tangible products through network marketing. Few NTPCs have withstood the test of time. Simply compare the number of product based multi-levels to service based programs and you will discover for yourself the overwhelming demand for tangible products and the limited demand for services and intangibles. Building a business exclusively with telecommunications, financial, travel, or any other service is like walking up a down escalator. It is possible...but much more difficult. Why are service MLMs so difficult to operate? It has to do with profit margins, streamlining and duplication. Let's explore each.
Streamlining Product Sales NTPC's vs. TPC's
Let's start with some definitions. Tangible products are products you can see, touch, taste or essentially hold in your hand (nutritional supplements, skin care products, pet rocks). Intangible products are products you can't see (insurance, long distance, savings bonds, legal services). With intangibles, information is passed person to person from the service provider to the client through face-to-face contact. You can't drop ship knowledge, experience, or wisdom. You can't drop ship a service either. It generally has to be performed by someone. Non-tangibles can only be delivered by the person with the information - the technician or officer.
For example, if you are a financial agent selling mutual funds through network marketing, you can only market that intangible product through person to person contact. The same goes with selling telecommunications. Marketing long distance requires some degree of technical expertise and you usually have to be there to sell it. When this kind of face to face meeting is required to market a service, your customer base is greatly limited.
Products, on the other hand, have universal marketability. You don't need a doctorate degree or any kind of special training or certification to drop ship a product directly from the manufacturer to the customer. Customers with very little product information and no training can actually call the company themselves and order products or information about the products directly over the phone.
Now in analyzing the distributorship side of the coin, there is a fair amount of training associated with just learning how to market NTPC's. The training required in becoming an effective distributor of the service takes time and energy and can greatly disrupt the duplication process. For example, let's say you are marketing financial services. In order to become a distributor of financial services (life insurance, mutual funds, etc.) you must go through training and certification. This takes time, energy, and in many cases money. This factor alone can greatly limit the number of distributors you can recruit. These requirements discourage duplication.
Due to the fact that tangibles can be seen and felt, these products always do better in the network marketing arena. People are more impulsive about purchasing something they can see or touch. Tangibles generally have better profit margins. Most importantly, tangible products are more suited for duplication. No special technical knowledge is required to hand a bottle of nutritional supplements to someone and say, try this. No special skills are required to hook up a water filter to someone's faucet. The products sell themselves.
Profitability in NTPC's will change in the future, but it hasn't yet. Most NTPC's are characterized by quick growth for 2-3 years before they go out of business or experience a major dip in sales. Your first step in choosing the most profitable network marketing program is to eliminate NTPC's from your list of considerations...for now.
I don't want to frustrate anyone who is associated with a service MLM professionally. If you chose a service because it is the love of your life, then enjoy your career to the fullest and don't let anyone tell you to take another path. However, if you chose a service program because you thought it was the most profitable choice, I challenge you to study this book and think about these concepts. Remember, the first step in creating a duplicable and profitable system is to find a product that appeals to the masses...not in niche marketing or selling to specific market segments. The second step is to create a system for marketing the products that is easy to duplicate. Ask yourself, does everyone have a need for the product, and can everyone do the distributorship? If you answered yes to both questions, you're on the right track.
Criteria for Selecting the Product Best Industry
Now that we have established that tangible products are the most profitable and stable, let's look at some additional criteria for selecting the best tangible product industry. When looking for a hot product industry, many distributors feel that any legitimate product will do, as long as it is in high demand. However, in today's competitive MLM market, in order for your company to stay on top you must have more than just a high demand product. Through years of documented research, the top network marketing authorities in the industry have come to an agreement on the following characteristics when choosing a high demand product or service. These characteristics can be found repetitively in network marketing educational books, trade journals, and newsletters. Experts agree that the product or service must have the following characteristics.
1. Traditional: The product or service can not be too uncommon. It must be similar to other products on the market. The product or service must have a good track record in the marketplace. Traditional products have mass appeal over a substantial period of time.
2. Unique: Although traditional, the product or service must have a unique twist - something that the competition doesn't have or can't get. A special formulator, an exclusive ingredient, a twist in the formulation, or creative processing can make a product unique. A service, on the other hand, must offer something the competition does not. Services are more difficult to customize. The product or service must also be exclusive to one company only. It can not be purchased in stores or through other suppliers.
3. Consumable: The product or service must be regularly used up and replaced on a monthly basis (at least). This is one of the most important criteria on the list! Without monthly consumption, it is much more difficult to establish residual income. Distributors are constantly looking for new customers.
4. Emotional: The product or service must induce a positive mental or physical change. Products that help people look and feel better can create an emotional bond between the customer and a specific name-brand product.
5. Valuable: The product or service must be worth the price ... and maybe more! Prices must not be set too high or too low for the perceived value of the product. Also, healthy profit margins are essential in order to finance the company and give incentives to distributors.
6. Timely: The product or service must be in high demand RIGHT NOW. The products must appeal to the masses, especially the baby boomer generation. The baby boomer group consists of 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964. They are the largest buying force in the history of North America and are accustomed to getting what they ask for.
7. Stable: The product or service must me in high demand LATER. Take a look twenty years into the future. Will the product or service still be in high demand? If the answer is yes, you have a winner. If demand on the product increases with time, that's even better.
Take a specific product industry and put it to the test. For example, let's say you were interested in marketing electronic burglar alarm systems for the home. How does this product check out with the seven criteria?
Is it traditional? Sure, home security devices have been sold for years through direct sales.
Is it unique? It may or may not be unique, depending upon the features.
Is it consumable? No. Buy one and you don't need another for a LONG time. It is extremely difficult to build a residual customer base with this type of non-consumable.
Is it emotional? Personal and family security is a very emotional charged topic.
Is the product valuable? That depends on the price. It is hard to put a price on your personal safety and the lives of your family. However, high-ticket items usually do not do as well as lower priced consumable products.
Is it timely? Absolutely! Baby boomers are more concerned about personal security than ever before.
Is it stable? Should be. Although the product would have to continue to evolve, demand should only increase as the baby boomers get older. Not a bad industry to diversify into as the baby boomers mature.
Now lets take another example and put it to the test. Let's say you decided that you wanted to market business or residential long distance service.
Is it traditional? Sure. Since the deregulation of telecommunications, long distance has been one of the most popular direct sales services on the market.
Is it unique? No. Although every plan has different features, when you pick up the phone to call on any of the thousands of services available, you should get the same result: a long distance call. A few very creative traditional telecom companies have tried to incorporate some unique calling planslike Free Sundays. But these promotions are easily copied.
Is it consumable? Yes. Everyone uses long distance every month. Utilities are the ultimate consumable.
Is it emotional? No. One might argue that talking to their favorite Aunt Betsy in Maine is a very emotional experience. However, your emotional attachment is to Aunt Betsy, not to AT&T, MCI, or Sprint (unless Aunt Betsy works for one of these companies). Most consumers are more concerned about other features, like saving money on those frequent calls to relatives. They are not concerned about which brand they use.
Is the product valuable? Most telecom programs offer very competitive rates, which means it is an excellent value. However, profit margins are poor so distributors need to make up their lack of commission payout by producing massive calling volume. Since most people rarely change their calling volume from month to month, more volume is produced by finding more customers.
Is it timely? Certainly. Even though deregulation occurred over a decade ago, timing for telecom is still good. Many telecom companies have diversified into other technology services for additional profits. Several have even considered offering other utilities such as electric power.
Is it stable? The long distance market is in a constant state of change based upon increasing competition and new technology. No one can be certain about the future of long distance service. Especially with cellular calling plans getting as low as ten cents per minute. We have also seen the introduction of flat rate long distance plans coming through cutting edge Internet technology. Could you image having unlimited long distance for $60 per month? This would make our long distance plans obsolete.
Now lets consider one more product industry. The personal care industry is one of the most popular and viable network marketing industries on the market. It's easy to see why when you put this industry to the test. Personal care product traditionally include skin, hair, and body care products. You know potions and lotions!!
Is it traditional? Very! As a matter of fact, personal care products are one of the most traditional product lines on the market.
Is it unique? With so many herbal extracts, fragrances, exotic, natural ingredients now available, it is very easy to customize personal care products. And its even more difficult to copies these complex formulas.
Is it consumable? Personal care products received a medium consumability rating. Sure, these are products that are used up and replaced. However, most skin care products, for example, are usually replaced every 2-4 months rather then every 2-4 weeks. This makes a huge difference when it is multiplied by hundreds of thousands of consumers.
Is it emotional? Absolutely. Some of the better personal care products can not only help people to feel younger and can even enhance their appearance in some cases. What can be more emotional that looking and feeling younger?
Is the product valuable? Most traditional non-MLM cosmetic lines spend more on the lids of the skin care containers than they do on the actually contents of the product. Network marketing personal care manufacturers can provide a superior quality product based on their ability to reinvest a respectable percentage of the profits back into product development since there is no need to spend this money on advertising. Worth the price and maybe more??? You bet!!
Is it timely? The baby boomers will spend ANY price to look and feel younger. Statistics show that even the male baby boomers are beginning to purchase more and more top quality personal care products every year.
Is it stable? As these baby boomers move through the age wave, they will continue to demand these high quality, anti-aging products. This trend is expected to last for the next 30 years or more.
Now you may be able to understand why it is important to put every product industry to the test before investing your time, energy, and money. You need to be able to predict whether or not a product industry has good potential or bad. Make sure you put ALL viable industries to the BIG SEVEN test including these: Financial Services, Internet Services, Household Products, Nutritional Supplements, etc. You might want to put your industry of choice to the test before making a final decision. The more frequently you can answer yes to the following questions, the better chances you have for success with a given industry. The number one rated industry got a big fat YES in every single category.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to decide what product or service to promote is to choose this product or service based for the wrong reasons. For this reason, I would like to take you through the following exercise which will allow you to discover these right and wrong reasons for yourself.
Now pretend that you are selecting a product industry today by answering the following questions as if your financial future depended on it. Be sure to choose well, because if you make the wrong choice, your chances for success in network marketing will be virtually eliminated. By the way, there is only one correct choice.
A. Marketing products and services that are high tech.
B. Marketing products and services that are luxurious.
C. Marketing products and services that interest me.
D. Marketing products and services that benefit me.
E. Marketing products and services that benefit as many people as possible.
F. All of the above.
If you chose letter E on your own, you're on the right track. I've heard motivational speaker and millionaire Zig Ziglar say, If you help enough people get what they want, you'll get what you want. It may be fun and exciting to work with choices A-D but there just isn't any profit in marketing products that do not appeal to the masses. Now don't get me wrong, if you have some or all of the factors in the A-D list working for you, its just that much better for you. However, when choosing a product or service, keep the following cautions in mind.
While in the business evaluation process, most people tend to choose a product or service for all of the wrong reasons. Here is some advice on avoiding some of the most common mistakes that people make.
Don't choose to market stereos, computers, or other gadgets because you want to market products that are high tech. You should only consider marketing high tech products if you have done the research and know it is extremely profitable. Emotional and personal reasons for selecting a product or service to market are for people who aren't concerned about profit. Millions of people have expensive hobbies.
For example, I know of a man who had a little boy. He enjoyed nothing better than to build elaborate electronic models and devices with his sonespecially model trains. He saw an opportunity to get involved in network marketing, which would not only afford him the extra money to purchase the expensive materials for building the tracks, but it would give him the time freedom he so desperately need to spend more time at home. After investigating many opportunities, the man narrowed his choices to two programs. By good fortune, one of these programs happened to be a electronics company. They had everything from home and car alarms to home entertainment systems to electronic toy cars, boats, and of coarse trains!! It might seem that the choice would be a no brainer. However, the man decided to choose the other company. This company manufactured and distributed nutritional supplements and personal care products (pills, potions, and lotions). Although his personal interests revolved around the electronics company, he saw more market potential in the second company.
The result? After five years of diligent effort, the man is now semi-retired with a residual income of over $50,000 per month. He now has one of the largest collections of electronic toys and gadgets of anyone in town but more importantly, he has the time freedom to enjoy time building the most elaborate electric train track you have ever seen. As for the electronics company? They went to over 800,000 distributors in five years and the declared bankruptcy.
Don't sacrifice profit to market products that are luxurious. After all, which company is the larger, more successful company, Coca-Cola or BMW? Which product costs more? Would it be more profitable to market lots of inexpensive consumables or a few high-ticket, non-consumable luxury items?
I just met a woman who recently ended a fairly successful career as a real estate agent to the rich and famous. Her days consisted of showing million dollar homes to people who drove around in Limousines. Quit glamorousright? Well, not really. She just quit her job and is now in the process of reading and earlier version of this book in an attempt to learn the steps to selecting the right network marketing company. This high ticket, high commission, high pressure lifestyle was finally catching up with her. Just like J. Paul Getty, she would now rather have one percent of a hundred people's efforts rather than one hundred percent of her own. Or better yet, ten percent on ten thousand!! Someone once said, if you server the classes, you'll live with the massesbut if you serve the masses, you'll live with the classes.
Don't limit your profit potential by marketing products that interest only you and a few others. I have a personal interest in bagpipes but I don't know too many others who are in the market for one. Find out what most people are in the market for and market that.
Although it is important to have a firm testimony of your product or service, don't choose to market a product or service simply because you experienced personal benefit from it. Just because you had a beneficial experience doesn't mean others will. Likewise, just because you don't have personal benefits from a specific product or service doesn't mean others wont have benefits. In my career I have run into countless individuals who have chosen their networking vehicle based on the pursuit of their own personal interests without giving a thought to what the masses want and need, and they end up failing miserably.
I met a woman several years ago who really got me thinking about others needs over my own. She was a top distributor in a nutritional network marketing program and she proudly pointed out one day that she was earning a high six figure income by promoting an effective nutritional supplement that she herself did not personally use on a daily basis. You see, this woman was about five and a half feed tall and weighed about 110 pounds. She had to shop young miss sizes in some of her clothes. If she got any slimmer, she would be able to walk through doors without opening them. The product that took her to fame and fortune was an herbal weight management product. Almost everyone she introduced to the product was having results. However, she could not afford to lose any more weight so she stayed away from the stuff. The result? Over 10,000 distributors in her downline in three years and she still does not take the product regularly. It is important not to get hung up on what works for you. Find out how many others it will work on: that's the real test.
Don't make your decision to market a product or service in the heat of the moment at some hyped up rally. Let your emotions calm down to the point where you can use logic and reason to make your ultimate decision. Timing and trends can change over the years. But if a product or service is truly a winner, do you think you will miss out on some big profits if you don't jump in immediately. Many MLM promoters would like to make you think so. Now don't get me wrong. I'm always game for taking someone up on a really good offer. However, the demand on a specific product or service should be safe for weeks, months, and even years after the circus has left town. Don't let anyone make you feel that if you don't sign up right this minute, you'll miss out on everything. Make sure you have the right company, system, upline, and personal commitment before you sign your life away.
Remember that this is marketing, not sales. You'll want to offer products that people want and need; not what you think would be fun and interesting to sell.
How do you know what the market is demanding today? Ask the bait shop clerkand then take his advice! Here's a short story to illustrate my point.
Once upon a time there was a man fishing out on a lake. While sitting in his rowboat, the man was eating potato chips and casting his line in the water. He was having an OK day. After all, he just started fishing and he already had a few bites. After finishing his second large bag of potato chips, the man remarks to himself, self, you know something, I just love potato chips. I wonder how them fishies would like these things? I can't imagine that they would prefer them slimy worms over these tasty potato chips. So he substituted the night crawlers for a few ruffled chips and cast his line in the lake. After several hours went by with not so much as a nibble, the man decided to hoist anchor and paddle on over to the local bait shop for some advice from the local expert. The bait shop clerk referred the man to a jar of fluorescent colored jar with the words Power Bait on the label. The man had been reading about this new fangled stuff for months in his fishing magazines but hadn't tried it. The shop clerk assured him that it was the most effective bait he'd ever used. So the man took the shop owners advice and bought the Power Bait. The man immediately rowed back out to the middle of the lake, got his hook ready, and proceeded to open the new bait. That's when the smell hit him. This stuff is disgusting, he remarked. I can't imagine what any living creature would want with this stuff, he said. However, he decided that it was getting late he had nothing to lose. So he cast his line in the water and to his surprise, within 5 minutes he had caught 2 fish! That day, the man caught his limit faster than he'd ever done so in his life. The man was glad he consulted the expert. He was able to discard his own limited reasoning and take the advice of the expert. He wondered why he hadn't asked for advice sooner.
I'm sure you can draw your own analogies from this story. However, for the sake of those who are still catching up the local shop owner represents the many network marketing experts whose advice I have learned from and referenced for this book. These experts have been figuratively working the bait shop for a long time. They know what the fish are biting on and what they aren't. These experts are pointing us to the most profitable trends in network marketing. The Power Bait represents viable network marketing products and services. The worms and the chips represent low demand product industries. The man represents a new distributor and the fish represents your new customers and distributors. The fish are tired of being fed potato chips. How long will it take you and I to forsake our own reasoning, take the advice of the experts, and get some Power Bait? The fish are waiting!
The nutritional supplements industry is saturated. There is so much competition on the market now and new companies are springing up all the time. Wont this kill the demand for nutritional supplements?
Nothing could be further from the truth. After in-depth research into product industries, I found the nutritional supplements industry to not only be alive and well within network marketing, but outside of the industry it is also thriving. Anything dealing with health, nutrition, weight management, and prevention is on the rise. It is the opinion of many top network marketing professionals that there still are not enough top nutritional companies on the market to take advantage of this phenomenal growth.
No one is interested in potions and lotions.
No one except the baby boomers, 76 millions Americas with an obsession with staying young and money to spend on products and services that will help the do just that. Most of the anti-pills, potions and lotions ballyhoo is the result of aggressive attacks from companies that don't promote consumer goods like telecommunications programs.
My buy friends are NOT going to be interested in skin care and body wash.
Actually, the consumption of personal care products by men is one of the fastest growing trends in the world. With thousands of baby boomer men turning 50 every day, it may not surprise you to be standing in line at the supermarket and see men purchasing exotic lotions, expensive shampoo, hair treatment, and even skin care products.
People don't care which detergent or toilet paper they use. Household consumables are a matter of price, not brand.
Consumers are getting more and more particular about household brands based upon an increase in awareness. The information superhighway is not only giving people access to more knowledge and information, but it is helping the consumer to make informed decisions. For the first time ever we are considering the ethical or environmental implications of how we spend our money. I know of thousands of individuals and families who are purchasing detergents which are two to three times more expensive than average based on the fact they these detergents do not harm the environment. Or maybe they understand that their money is going to a corporation that supports their favorite cause or even political belief. Another reason for shopping brands over price is based upon what trend expert Faith Popcorn calls Small Indulgences. As financial pressures press down on consumers, they are compelled to indulge in smaller, less expensive luxuries (expensive sheets, soft toilet paper, high quality ice cream, etc.) since they are forced to abandon the greater luxuries (cars, homes, vacations). These trends, driven by the baby boomers, are forcing manufactures to again consider quality along with affordability.
Profit margins in telecommunication companies are so low that all telecom companies are doomed to fail.
It is true, price wars in telecommunications have driven the profit margins in telecom so low that the company barely has enough money left to pay employees and distributors. Couple this with the dramatic increase in cellular and Internet long distance telephone technology and you have an industry with an shaky future. However, the smart telecom companies are creating a large network of consumers and distributors with the low long distance rates and then they are introducing other products and services through the network. This diversification can make or break any technology company. The fact remains that companies relying solely on long distance or pre-paid calling cards for their revenues are in trouble. The smart companies will continue to diversify into industries that are profitable AND provide more long term stability.
Network marketer interested in long term residual income would not be caught dead marketing a non-consumable product line.
Surprisingly, many non-consumable have withstood the test of time. Products like water and air filters, non-consumable car care products, electronics, home entertainment products, and others continue to supplement the consumables market. The word supplement however is the operative word. Companies that try to build a dynasty on consumables alone usually end in disaster. Through the history of network marketing, no non-consumable product company has ever been able to keep from diversifying in to a high demand consumable in order to stay viable. In some cases, the non-consumable nature of the product acted as a catalyst to drive company sales and growth for a few years until the company could afford to diversify into a solid base of consumables. But don't think for a moment that non-consumables do not have a place in network marketing. They are an excellent compliment to consumable product base.
So many companies are marketing me too products. A better strategy is to offer something that has never been offered before. Something really unique!
Top motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins, says if you want to have successful results, find out what successful people are doing and MODEL their behavior. Why do we have me too products? Because we too want to make a profit. Certainly every product line needs to be unique. And granted, some product lines are so me too that they don't have any unique qualities whatsoever. But if you want a 99% chance of failure, try marketing a totally unique product line that has never been successfully marketed through MLM. Believe me, most of these companies end up losing. Look at all of the programs who have tried marketing satellite dishes, jewelry, travel programs, and groceries coupons. Although people try to blame these failures on other factors (like compensation plan), I assure you that product industry is the relevant issue.
The Internet is the wave of the future. If you want to make some BIG money, you must be involved with the Internet.
Yes, the Internet is exciting. It has been called a new frontier, the wave of the future, the most important communication tool to come along since the telephone. All of these may be true, but it is important to remember the comments made in Fact #7. Just because industries are new and exciting does not mean they are a guaranteed successful vehicle for your distributorship. Most of the companies that try to launch a major Internet operation without all of the facts and figures end up as road kill on the information superhighway. The best way to increase your chances of success on the Internet is to model the success of other companies. This is a good time to hide in a tree and watch what other companies are doing to success and fail. The best use of the Internet right now is to take an existing profitable business or industry online to increase profits and to reduce operating expenses.
Wholesale buying clubs are a powerful way to develop a large international marketing business while at the same time enjoying the benefits of wholesale prices on thousands of consumer products.
Wholesale buying clubs are a fantastic way to save money. However, MLM's version of the wholesale buying club is not exactly wholesale. You can save as a consumer by skipping the middle man retailers and going directly to the wholesale warehouse, but generally there is not enough profit margin left to run a true wholesale buying club. What you get instead is simply a buying club. Here are some definitions of the Wholesale Buying Club vs. a Buying Club.
Wholesale Buying Club: A group of consumers who band together to form a large purchasing organization to take advantage of volume discount prices. These clubs are exclusive to those who officially become members. Typically, wholesale buying club members will pay a monthly or annual fee for the exclusive right to purchase at factory direct, wholesale prices. Shopping can be done through stores but with network marketing it is usually done through catalogs and 800 numbers.
Buying Club: A group of consumers who band together to form a purchasing organization. The organizations offers the same items one would find in the retail and wholesale store at similar prices. The organization retains the profits that would otherwise have been savings to the consumer. These profits fund the organization.
Most buying clubs are designed as fund raising organizations for churches or other non-profit organizations. You may buy a ticket to an upcoming country western concert and some of the proceeds go to the local fire department. Your church or school might sell chocolates that you could find at the store for about the same price or less. However, the church or school retains a percentage of the profits. Also, buying clubs are common among profit producing organizations such as direct sales or network marketing companies. A company offers items in a catalog that you can find for about the same price in the stores. The company passes a percentage of its profits to independent distributors who are actively promoting the products and program.
Amway is a Wholesale Buying Club.
Amway is a Buying Club, not a Wholesale Buying Club.
When Amway was founded, well over three decades ago, they offered a variety of household cleaning and maintenance products. These were high quality products sold at reasonable prices - a good deal. As the company grew, Amway began diversifying. They brought on personal care products, nutritionals, more household products, and eventually grew into the worlds largest network marketing company.
During the last 10-15 years, Amway has taken a new direction. Amway decided to become a product broker in addition to marketing their own products. A broker is essentially a middle man who regulates the buying and selling of existing name brand products and services. For example, 20 years ago you could only buy products exclusively produced by Amway through Amway distributors. These products included Amway soap, Amway cleaners, Amway air fresheners, etc. Amway now offers a large variety of non-exclusive products through its existing network of distributors (Sony stereos, Ford trucks, Coca-Cola, MCI Long Distance). But to what advantage does Amway offer these products? If the same product can be purchased from another source for less or from a local vendor for the same price, there would be no reason for the customer to purchase the product from Amway or any other buying club.
You must ask yourself, is this company a wholesale buying club or is it just a buying club. Amway offers nearly every product imaginable through catalogs and the company claims to be a wholesale buying club when in actuality, Amway is a classic example of a buying club. Are you saving money? Sometimes yes, most of the time, no. Remember that you are still paying the middleman. The middleman has simply become several levels of distributors and the company itself. In other words, when you purchase a Sony TV from Amway, you will typically pay more for that TV than you will at today's popular retail and wholesale stores. Why? Because when Amway purchases that TV from the wholesale warehouse, they take their cut. Then they place more mark-ups on the TV to pay out several generations of commissions to distributors. Since Sony is the manufacturer, they take a large cut, leaving very little room for discount pricing. Even distributors usually pay more for the product with the rationalization that they are buying from their own store and they are supporting the cause of Amway. This distributor loyalty to the cause of Amway is largely what keeps Amway viable. People are in it for the cause, not the discount.
A true Wholesale Buying Club would be the PERFECT MLM vehicle since you have ALL industries under one roof.
As a Buying Club distributor, I can make money representing name brand products like Ford, Sony, and MCI.
Industry insider, Chuck Huckaby, recently commented on buying clubs which he refers to as catalog sales companies. Mr. Huckaby says, How about catalog sales? The theory is great. You give someone the equivalent of the old Sears catalog. Whatever they buy, you and your downline get a percentage! There's just one glitchmany high ticket items are just like the long distance phone servicesthey have low commission rates compared to a bottle of vitamins. Why do retail stores sell them then? Because the profit is high enough to make it worth their while. In MLM, the problem with marketing, say, exercise equipment, is the lower commission paid to the downline, lower profit to the company, and the fact that such sales distract customers from buying core' products. Some companies get around this by giving the catalog sales no credit towards monthly volume requirements. Some simply have nothing people want (at least at those prices). They're going to Office Depot for that copier and investing the difference.
Network Marketing Today,
Chuck Huckaby, January 1998
Key Trends for Evaluating an MLM Opportunity
Will Your MLM Survive The Age Of Competition?
Another great way to do marketing research is to make a list of the best and the worst real life cases and learn from their successes and mistakes. In network marketing you can make a list of the top 20 most successful companies and find out which primary products or services they are marketing. Then make a list of the top 20 active (not retired) income earners in network marketing and find out in which industries they are earning their millions. Consider these industries. Do the same for the bad example. Take the last 20 companies that went out of business based on lack of sales and find out which primary industry they represented. Avoid these industries. The information necessary to conduct this type of investigation can me found in MLM books and trade journals like the ones listed at the end of this book.
Based on a review of the above criteria, here is a list of industries ranked in order of profitability, stability, and long-term growth potential. Your results may vary based on your own personal experiences and research. Make sure you have the facts to back up your decision to go with one industry over the others.
THE A LIST - The Top Network Marketing Product Industries of 1999-2000
Nutritional Supplements and Health Products
Personal Care Products (Skin Care, Hair Care, Body Care)
Household Products (if products are very unique and environmentally friendly)
THE B LIST - Other Popular, Less Profitable/Stable Industries
Telecommunications (residential & commercial long distance, pre-paid cards)
Computer Hardware and Software*
Internet Access and Services (hosting, dial-up, marketing)*
Books, Reports, Newsletters, Publications
Water and Air Filters
Buying Clubs and Catalog Shopping
Lead Generation Programs
Legal Services
Financial and Debt Elimination Programs
*(Up and coming industries, huge growth potential, not yet proven)
THE C LIST - Alternative MLM Industries with Limited Exposure and Appeal
Travel and Vacation Programs
Jewelry, Gold, Silver, and Collectibles
Satellites, Hardware and Service
Automobile and Auto Care Products
Home and Personal Security Products
Electronics and Appliances
Grocery and Coupon Programs
Information Services
Clothing, Fashions, and Lingerie
When the infamous outlaw XX was asked, Why do you rob banks? He answered without hesitation, because that's where the money is. Your answer, when asked why did you select THAT product industry should be the same as XX. Of course, the comparison only applies on the surface. After all, unlike XX, your in this for the long term benefits of ongoing, month to month, year to year residual income. Not the short term thrill and flash in the pan profits of stealing people's money and then speeding away on your horse, dodging a spray of bullets. That's why selecting the right product industry is so important for real success and long term prosperity.
Given the length and detail associated with this chapter, it is obvious that I feel that selecting the right product industry is absolutely critical. As this chapter draws to a conclusion, some of you may be wondering, when is he going to tell us which industry he chose as the BEST product or service industry in network marketing? Well, if you remember my comments in the first article in this series, you know why you're not going to get my recommendations. Although I will recommend certain industries over others, I'm not going to do your thinking for you.
You've Been Given the Precious Gift of Intelligence: Use It.
Here are some steps that will help you make the right choice for you. First, approach the information in an objective, rational manner. Second, do your own due diligence or research the research. And third, with the right information and enough time to review it, make your own intelligent business decision. After all, you're the only one who doesn't have a hidden agenda.
Now you have the information on how to scrutinize and select a product or service industry. The most important question to consider here is not what do I think, but what do YOU think?
List up front
Study #2: When is the BEST TIME to select a company?
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
William Shakespeare 15641616
Julius Cζsar - Act IV. Scene III.
'>Someone once said, timing is everything. I'm here to prove that statement correct. First, allow me to share a personal story with you that will illustrate the importance of waiting for the right timing to join any top company.
Catchin' The Big Kahuna
Several years ago, my wife Sandy and I won a vacation through our network marketing company to the island of Maui, in Hawaii. On our shuttle ride to the hotel we made friends with Tom and Nancy, a very pleasant couple from Colorado on their way to the same leadership conference. After a few days of company activities and site seeing, we got together the our new friends, Tom and I decided we wanted to do some MANLY activities so we left the girls to their shopping and the other things that girls do, and we grabbed our sunblock and towels and headed for the beach to participate enjoy a few hours of body boarding in the warm, turbulent surf near our hotel on Maui's west coast.
While checking out our body boards, a hotel representative informed us that we would be swimming today at our own risk as the waves had increased overnight to 10-12 foot swells. WHERE DO WE SIGN? we shouted with elation as we scurried out into the surf and literally exhausted ourselves playing in God's natural water park. These were some BIG waves!! Not enough to kill us (we thought) but definitely enough to cause permanent damage! BRING IT ON! rang our battle cry.
After about 20 minutes of frolicking, we finally got the hang of it. You see, if we waited for the PERFECT WAVE, and hit that wave at the PERFECT TIME with the right technique, the wave would lift us off our feet, launch us toward the beach, and thrust us forward and downward in a series of three powerful cascading rushes of water, much like a wet and wild roller coaster ride. Then the wave would push us up the shore and park us gently at the top of the beach where we would relax in the sand for a moment, enjoying the nice warm sun and warm white sand. Then we'd suddenly hop up, run back out into the surf, and start the process all over again.
Missing the Wave
That, of course, was a description of the ideal experience. You see, it didn't always work out that way.
Sometimes things would not go scheduled to plans. Sometimes we picked the wrong wave to catch, and then, even if we timed it perfectly, our time and efforts really didn't amount to much. Sometimes we would actually miss the perfect wave. If we caught a great wave too late, we simply missed out on the thrill ride and were forced to watch as fellow boarders pulled away from us to enjoy the rollercoaster ride.
But the worst case was picking the RIGHT wave TOO EARLY. My first experience of catching the big Kahuna too early started off pleasant enough. First, I simply felt my feet pull out from under me and I enjoyed the sense of weightlessness. Of course, I could tell I was no longer simply facing up since I could feel myself rolling with the wave and the sun's rays kept passing by over and over again, as if I were tumbling head over heals. Then it happened, that RUDE awakening of being first SMASHED head first into the beach somewhere between the ear and the shoulder, and then having the powerful momentum of the wave drive me further into the sand, rolling me sideways up the beach. I gasped for my first new breath of new air only to get a mouthful of salt water.
As my world came slowly to a halt, I found myself laying parallel to the shore, about 20 feet up the beach from the surf, thinking to myself that was fun, I wonder if there's a chiropractor in the house. I started to get my bearings and decided to try to see if I could move my extremities. I wanted to see if Id need to be in a wheel chair for the rest of my life, or just for today. Just then the second wave smashed into me with enough force to roll me a few feet further up the beach. But then, something really unexpected happened. I got caught in the under tow of that wave and it rolled me back down into the surf only to be thrashed by the THIRD wave which rolled me up and then back down and then wave FOUR I was like a surf yo-yo. I was actually laughing out loud at this point because there was nothing else to do, all the while taking in more seawater with every chuckle I must have looked totally ridiculous. I finally managed to crawl on all fours up the beach far enough away from the under tow that I could rest and thank the Lord for his tender mercy in sparing my life yet again.
Will We Ever Learn?
Now I don't want you to think me unwise, but no more than 3 minutes had passed before I was back in the surf on my board waiting for the next perfect wave. We spent hours out there, risking paralysis, sun burn, shark attack, hey, its just part of the game and other than the new friends we met while in Hawaii, this was the highlight of my trip. After a while, Tom and I actually got really good at catching the right waves almost every time, and we even learned how to avoid the beatings. I can't wait to go back and play some more. Sure we finished the day with some bumps and bruises, but all we remembered and talked about later were those perfect rides.
I LIVE for catching the wave! To me, its not about the money, its not about the recognition, its not about the lifestyle, it simply about the RIDE!! Who wants to ride in a bumper car when you can ride the ROLLERCOASTER! And I don't mean just any rollercoaster, I'm talking about the BIG ONE! The one you always see in the ads on TV. The one that looks like it touches the clouds. If you're going to take the ride, it might as well be an adventure!
In the 1980s, the commercial real estate market was booming. Financial experts were often asked, what is the most important factor in developing exponential profit in real estate? Their answer was so often quoted that it still rings familiar to most people today. Back then, experts agreed that the key to success in real estate was location, location, location. Acquire a high traffic, convenient, and functional site and you can't lose. Today, as we enter the 21st century, financial expert are realizing trends have changed. Real estate is no longer the opportunity it was in the 1980s. Network marketing is being called the real estate of the 21st century. However, since network marketers typically work from home and rarely pump money into commercial properties and other unnecessary business overhead, location is no longer a factor. Network marketers can build their business anywhere in the world with a phone, fax, and computer. Therefore, the key to exponential profits in network marketing is no location, but timing, timing, timing!
Although timing could not be better for network marketing as an industry, every network marketing company in existence has its own time line, or its own WAVE. In other words, although it may be an excellent time to associate yourself with the network marketing industry, it may or may not be a good time to join a company particular company. So if timing is so critical, when is the best time to get involved? Should you join a company immediately after it launches, or should you wait. If you wait, how long should you wait? How late is too late? I will attempt to answer these questions in this article.
Let's hear what SUCCESS Magazine has to say about timing in network marketing by referring to an article that appeared in the June 1993 issue. This article written by Richard Poe, author of Wave 3- The New Era in Network Marketing, was entitled "The Curve of Prosperity." Mr. Poe interviews Charles King, a Harvard Business School Ph.D. and professor of business and marketing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In the article, Dr. King diagrams the growth stages of successful network marketing companies. According to Dr. King, a company goes through several major growth phases as it matures into a stable, long term opportunity. The first growth stage is known as the formulation stage. This is the start-up phase when companies are most vulnerable and over 90% go out of business within 12-24 months. The second phase of growth is referred to as the concentration phase. During concentration, the company is getting its ducks in a row and working out the bugs. Similar to the formulation phase, the concentration phase is still considered a start-up phase and it is a risky time to get involved. Most network marketing experts refer to a company's start-up phase as the pioneering phase.
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Burke Hedges, famous network marketing author and trainer, comments about the pioneering phase in his best selling book, Who Stole The American Dream (pp 130-131). Hedges says, You could call the foundation phase the pioneering years. The business is just getting started and the general public doesn't understand what you're doing because it's new and unproven. The pioneering years are tough. Lots of rejectionlots of ups and downs while the foundation is being laid. These are the high risk years. It's like the pioneers who settled the West. Because they were the first ones to open up the frontier, they had the first shot at the best land. But they were also the ones who got the arrows in their backs!
As we mentioned before, start-up companies are very risky. Most MLM experts agree that the risk to reward ratio is still too large to consider getting involved during this phase. Generally, avoid start-ups, says Corey Augenstein, editor of MLM Insider and NetWork Marketing Today magazine. Why pay for someone else's learning curve? (Wave Three, The New Era in Network Marketing, p. 49, paragraph 1). On the up side, getting involved in the pioneering phase can be very profitable if the company is able to overcome the 98% potential failure rate and go on to become a top company. Being a founding distributor has its merits if that company can survive attrition.
If and when a company reaches around $50 million in annual sales, the company experiences a phenomenon known as critical mass. The $50 million figure should not be taken too seriously since a large part of the reason that experts agreed on this figure was due to a huge marketing push by one top MLM company back in the late eighties and early nineties. However, critical mass is a real phenomenon and it will occur either slightly before or slightly after this mark. This critical mass marks the beginning of the company's momentum growth phase. During this momentum growth, if the foundation work has been good, a company can go from obscurity to becoming a household word within 4-10 years (see graph).
Burke Hedges shares this analogy of critical mass in Who Stole The American Dream (pages 131-132). Hedges says, It's like someone pushes a cultural button, and voila' everybody wants what you've got. critical mass means the products have gained popular acceptance, and they become market driven. When critical mass hits, growth goes into overdriveand sales begin to explode!
The last stage of a company's growth is the stability or maturity phase. This is a great time to have a large downline but a tough time to build one. The company is so well known, distributors must be more skilled at handing objections and many prospects will have already been approached several times. Growth in the stability phase is significant, but slower. However, based on recent studies, it is clear that many companies have learned how to maintain healthy growth during the stability phase.
One way companies have managed to stay viable in the stability phase is by continuing to diversify the product line, introducing new marketing programs, and by developing educational clinics, seminars, and trainings that focus on the product or service offered by that company. Sometimes companies will go through second, third, and fourth momentum cycles as a result of this type of innovative marketing. Also, entering new international markets every year can keep a company profitable for decades. When a mature company expands into a new country, this creates a true ground floor opportunity without the risk associated with start-up programs.
Experts agree that selecting a company in any start-up phase is extremely risky. Although there are some terrific rewards associated with being one of the founding distributors in a network marketing company, the risks seem to outweigh the rewards. The same exciting growth can be experienced by selecting a company in the momentum phase, but at this point the risk is significantly reduced. As network marketing continues to evolve, distributors will realize that getting in early will become less and less important. An entrepreneur's primary concern will be selecting a company that has long term stability, not short term flash-in-the-pan profits.
Selecting a company in the stability phase is a much more inviting option than it once was as we enter the 21st century. More companies and distributors understand the principles of dynamic marketing and can generally maintain healthy growth for decades. Once a company has been established in a country for 20 years or more, it may be more difficult to recruit new distributors in that country based on everyone's familiarity with the program. If you choose the right program, building during the stability phase can be effective but there is still no better time to build a network marketing business than during the hyper-growth momentum phase.
Please remember the only timing factors I have discussed in this chapter relate to timing in selecting a company during a specific growth phase. I also briefly mentioned industry timing and indicated that the MLM industry is currently entering the momentum phase. Another important consideration includes the timing of the product industry with which you are associated. This topic was thoroughly covered in the previous chapter and should not be overlooked. Is your product industry on an upswing? Is the industry you are marketing in its momentum phase? How about timing in your own life? You may be convinced that network marketing is your destiny. However, if timing in you life is wrong, you may be setting yourself up for a struggle that has nothing to do with the viability of the MLM industry or the company you choose. There are many timing issues to thing about. Consider them all before making your ultimate choice.
Study #3: Selecting The Best Compensation Plan
Compensation Plans, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
When I began investigating various networking opportunities, I found more hype associated with the company's marketing plans than with any other criterion, including product hype - and we all know how out of hand that can get. The purpose of study #3 is to share with you the pros and cons of network marketing compensation plans. Now you may not agree with everything I have to day in this study, but I assure you that my comments and conclusions are based on diligent research and facts.
Which Compensation Plan is THE BEST?
The six most commonly used pay plans in the network marketing industry are the Breakaway, the Unilevel, the Matrix, the Two-Up, the Binary, and various Hybrid or Combination plans. Your job here is to review the following plans and choose the one you feel is the best. But remember, when someone is introducing their pay plan to you, they will say ANYTHING to make their plan look better regardless of whether or not they have compared their pay plan to other plans before joining their company. Picking the right compensation plan can make the difference between success and failure in network marketing. Its important to look past the hype and the rumors and concentrate on the facts. I decided to look at all of the plans on the market and then choose the best compensation plan. Here's your opportunity to do the same.
THE MATRIX
The "Matrix" marketing plan or "Forced Matrix" is everything its name implies. You start with a prearranged numerical matrix similar to an organizational chart for a large corporation. Most compensation plans are designed to allow you to sponsor unlimited numbers of distributors on your first level. With the matrix plan, you can only sponsor a certain number of people on your front line. Also, your front line distributors can only sponsor that same designated number of distributors on their front line. Distributors cannot sponsor outside the matrix and there is a limit to depth. For example, in a 2 x 9 matrix, you sponsor 2 on your first level, 4 on your second level, 8 on your third, 16 on your fourth, 32 on your fifth, and 64 on your sixth, 128 on your seventh, 256 on your eighth, and 512 on the ninth level (or last level). In most matrix plans, distributors do not earn anything past the last pay level in the plan. This plan usually pays monthly with commission checks being mailed around the 20th of the month after they are earned. The matrix sometimes incorporates "fast start" bonuses. This plan is used by about 10% of the companies that I reviewed in my study of 200 programs.
Common Matrix Configurations include the:
2 wide x 12 deep
3 wide x 9 deep
4 wide x 7 deep
5 wide x 7 deep
7 wide x 2 deep
In theory, distributors can receive SPILLOVER which means they can have distributors who are sponsored by their upline fall into their downline. This benefits both the sponsor and the respective downline. Because of this spillover theory, the matrix plan looks great on paper and can be exciting to present to prospects. In addition, since width is limited, the matrix plan typically pays to deeper levels than the traditional breakaway plans and it is easier to learn and teach to others. Matrix plans tend to be suited to buying clubs, service companies, and subscription sales companies that have defined monthly costs for the product or service.
In a matrix plan, distributors typically know how many active distributors they will have to recruit in order to make x amount of monthly income. It is also easier to predict income potential on each level with the matrix. For example, a particular matrix plan may claim to pay $5.00 per person, per level. If you add up all of the possible positions that can be filled in the matrix, you will know exactly how much you can make. For example, in a 2 x 12 matrix there are exactly 8,190 positions that can be filled. If each positions is worth $5.00 commission to the distributor, the plan can pay a maximum potential of $40,950 per month.
Now lets look at the bad aspects of the MATRIX
On paper, marketing plans can look glorious. However, upon reviewing matrix plans in great detail, I discovered that most matrix organizations will pay on about 15-20% of their potential at the most. At this point, almost all of the new sponsoring activity occurs beyond the distributor's pay levels. Even though his/her organization is growing by leaps and bounds, the distributor receives no compensation.
The Forced Matrix is a concept that seemed to answer the above problem. In a forced matrix, each position on every level must be filled before distributors spill down to the next level. Theoretically, this would allow the distributor to eventually fill every position in the matrix. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the forced matrix plan, the distributor is left to sponsor most of the individuals by him/herself. The forced matrix is one of the only plans that rewards the lazy distributor if they sign up under a dedicated distributor. Since all of the downline positions must be filled, the lazy distributor can essentially sit back and watch his or her downline fill up. If the distributors can succeed without doing anything...they won't do anything. As resentment and animosity build in the downline, the organization eventually breaks down and everyone ends up losing.
If you establish a successful business and fill up much of your matrix, you will inevitably sponsor a HOT distributor on your 14th, 15th, even 20th level or beyond. In the matrix, you can miss out on commissions that should be yours, but aren't since this hot distributor is beyond your payout levels.
People who promote matrix plans will always try to lure you in with the enticement of spillover. They'll tell you, If you get in now, you will have hundreds of people spilling into your downline people you were not responsible for prospecting or recruiting. However, the only time spillover will actually occur is when a dud signs up under a superstar distributor, remains active, but doesn't recruit any distributors. The dud gets all the spillover while the superstar distributor who works hard is only rewarded for his/her own efforts. Don't be fooled by the spillover myth. With limitations on payout levels, it is mathematically impossible to create spillover for more than 1% of the entire distributor force. As mentioned above, the person who gets the spillover will most likely do nothing with the business since he/she is being rewarded either way.
In some non-forced matrix plans, the payout levels are radically different from level to level. For example, a matrix plan might have a heavy payout level (like 30-40%) on the third level but a 5% payout level on every other level. Distributors might stack other distributors on the first and second level in order to get to this large third level payout sooner than it would naturally occur. This pushes volume and downline past the heavy payout levels and beyond the last payout levels so quickly that potential compensation is jeopardized. Matrix programs with level limitations that encourage any form of stacking should be avoided.
MATRIX: OVERALL EVALUATION
The matrix plan can be a good plan for certain types of products and services. As a whole, it has not been accepted as a mainstream plan and is commonly utilized by smaller service and support MLMs like Sales Lead Generation programs and Fax-On-Demand Services. Also, matrix plans are often being utilized for a new breed of MLM programs called affiliate programs that can be found frequently on the Internet. For affiliate program, shallow matrix plans (2-3 levels deep) seem to be very appropriate since these plans are considered by the way programs and not major MLM opportunities.
There are a few matrix plans that have a better track record than the traditional matrix plans. These newer plans including the 4x7 matrix and the 5x7 matrix. These matrix plans and others like it behave more like a unilevel compensation plan because of adequate width and depth. If you are considering a matrix compensation plan for your main MLM program, make sure the compensation structure has a width of 4-8 people and a depth of at least 7 levels.
Currently the most widely utilized plan in MLM, the Stairstep Breakaway plan offers the new distributor many options and carries with it some distinctive characteristics. The breakaway plan pays monthly and is characterized by high quotas and high commissions. The breakaway has been called the full-timers plan. In a breakaway, sales volume is accumulated through the end of the month and checks arrive in the distributor's mailbox around the 3rd week of the following month. The breakaway plan makes up over 50% of the companies I researched.
STAIRSTEP BREAKAWAY: THE GOOD
Unlike the matrix, the stairstep breakaway plan allows distributors to sponsor an unlimited number of people on their front line. This fosters a sense of unlimited, quick growth potential. When you first sign up as a distributor you will go through a process called a stairstep. As you and your new distributors purchase product volume, you systematically progress to higher and higher commission levels. If you are doing a significant amount of retailing and are sponsoring people who retail the product, you have a chance to make good money in the stairstep right from the start.
When you get to the top of the stairstep, you can't progress any further on your own. Your incentive is to promote those below to your same level. As the distributors below you progress up the stairstep, those distributors will progressively make more commissions from their group product volume and you make less until you're making a typical 3-8%, 5% being the most common. Once these distributors promote to your level, they go through a process known as breaking away where they become independent from you, their sponsor. You can still earn commissions on your breakaways, but in order to earn significant commissions you must have a significant number of breakaway distributors on your first level. The more first generation breakaways you have, the deeper your payout.
Here's the sticky part! In order to earn a percentage on your breakaway's group volume (GV), you must fulfill a Group Volume Requirement or GVR (a fancy name for a group quota). This quota is made up of the product volume that you personally purchase and all of the product volume that your distributors purchase. However, once an individual in your downline breaks away from your organization, his or her entire downline volume no longer helps you qualify for your group volume quota. If you do not fulfill this quota each and every month with your non-breakaway legs, you don't get a check on your breakaway legs (which incidentally makes up most of your income at higher levels). Some companies have even greater penalties associated with not making the numbers, like losing all or your breakaway legs to your upline! GVRs range anywhere from $300 per month to over $7,500 per month depending on the company. Studies have shown that companies with group volume requirements of $500-$1,500 or more per month can develop a significant attrition problem (or distributor fall-out). Companies with volume requirements of $2,000-$5,000 or more per month encourage front-end loading, stock piling or garage qualification, and other unethical and unnecessary practices.
Robert Allen, the well known financial advisor, real estate guru, and now network marketing master trainer, recently commented on the breakaway process in a recent training meeting. He said watching your distributor breakaway is a mixed blessing. You are excited for their success but at the same time you are disappointed since the compensation plan instantly penalizes you. It's kind of like watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new Rolls Royce, stated Mr. Allen.
Imagine the number of distributors who join a program expecting to gradually build a tremendous group of thousands of distributors, only to be beaten and discouraged by constantly missing their qualifications for their pay check. Rod Nichols, author of Successful Network Marketing for the 21st Century, said of his experience with the breakaway plan, I know dozens of people who have gone deeply into debt buying products they don't need, just to fulfill their group volume requirements to get a commission check. This is one reason you find people who have garages full of products. In the industry, we call this garage qualified.' The end of the month arrives and you are $600 short on your group volume requirement. You call around to all your active distributors begging them to place an order, but they've already placed their end of the month orders. So, you break the credit card out and place the order yourself another $600 worth of products you don't need. In some breakaway plans, missing your group volume requirement means missing a check that month and having your volume flow upline to the next leader. In other plans it can mean losing your position and possibly your downline leaders. This is why people pay the big price each month to meet the group volume requirements.
Because of these characteristics, the breakaway plan has become known as the sponsor monster plan. Distributors must constantly bring on new distributors or risk losing their downline. Salesmanship and an aggressive sponsoring and duplication strategy are essential in a breakaway. Using the shotgun approach to recruiting in a breakaway is considered unethical by many network marketing authorities. In other words, many would not be as opposed to this plan if the recruiters using the breakaway plan were more selective in who they approached. Distributors using the breakaway plan should be up-front by letting potential distributors know what to expect in this type of plan. This plan is not for the part-timer, and it is not for anyone with a meek or mild personality. It is designed for the affluent, the highly connected, the extremely ambitious, the charismatics, and the sponsor monsters. These folks can make a bundle!
STAIRSTEP BREAKAWAY: OVERALL EVALUATION
The Stairstep Breakaway is still the most widely used plan in network marketing, although recent studies show the unilevel and binary plans are gaining rapidly. The breakaway is a full-timers plan designed for well-connected charismatics and also the heavy recruiters. For this type of person the breakaway can be the most lucrative plan in network marketing. Many of the traditional breakaway com