Designing your Dream MLM Team

Multilevel marketing, or MLM, relies very heavily on the team of people you are working with. MLM by its very nature is dependent on quality relationships between a group, and as a manager of others it falls to you to build and maintain a powerful and effective group of retailers in order to maximize everyone’s profits.

Good Team Players
A good team player is many things including responsible, open to suggestion and flexible. Of course you don’t want a team consisting of those easily led, so a team player must also be able to pull his own weight and help motivate those around him.

When looking to recruit teammates, look first as personality. Is the person offensive to you or would he be offensive to others? Do you enjoy being around the individual? Working with a group has just as much to do with overall personality as it does with work ethic and abilities.

If you find yourself comfortable around a potential team member, take a look at his work background and ethics. MLM is the kind of business that works best for self-starters and those with dedication and initiative. Traditionally good employees might not make the best MLM team members as they might not have the go-to to get the job done without prodding. You don’t want to be constantly offering suggestions and pulling someone along who prefers to be given a menial task rather than finding his own way.

Your MLM team should consist of mature, dedicated individuals who aren’t afraid to work a little harder than everyone else in exchange for the kind of financial rewards that work will bring.


Motivating Your Team
Once the team is assembled, it will be your task as the manager or leader to keep everyone focused and moving forward. MLM relies heavily on bringing in new accounts and representatives, just as any sales format does, so you must keep your team fired up and working hard.

To motivate your team, you should focus on the positive goal rather than potential failure. Everyone responds better to reward than punishment. Avoid statements such as, “If we don’t make our quote this month, we’ll lose money.” Instead bring excitement to the group but relay the same message, “We’re getting close to our goal. As soon as we reach it, we’ll be looking at a huge profit!” Don’t lie, but always focus on the positive.

A strong leader always leads by example. MLM businesses often develop into passive revenue streams, but a good leader doesn’t allow his own efforts to diminish simply because his income has increased. While goals are terrific and should be set together as a team, they do not represent an ending. New goals should constantly be set, and avoid making a goal “maintaining.” It is far harder to get excited about maintaining a level than it is to fire up the team to make it to the next level.

The nature of a MLM business means that many are working to sell similar or the same products. As the leader, you should make every effort to unite your team and share strategies and incentives rather than allowing the team to compete with each other. If possible, gather together for casual activities to develop personal relationships. Discuss things other than work so that the team feels united.

You are the leader and you set the standard for your team. Be excited about the business. Share your ideas and enthusiasm with others and always look forward. Listen to what the others have to say and be fair when making decisions, but always remain the motivating force and guiding light. They look to you and your efforts will not be in vain.

Watch out for MLM business opportunities

Any MLM business opportunity worth considering will either have a track record that you can investigate and evaluate or it will have a clear statement of the plan, the potential, and the up-front costs.

Before investing any time or money in a specific MLM business opportunity, there are some questions you should consider first.

How long has the business opportunity been in business? Before investing time and money in marketing an MLM business opportunity, it is important to determine how long it has been operating.

If it is a new concept that has not been proven in the marketplace, you have no assurance that it will even work.

Does the company have a fixed address and phone number? This may seem obvious to you, but the fact is, thousands of companies operate with nothing more than a website and an email address.

Many of them are here today and gone tomorrow. Make sure the business you intend to deal with has a fixed address, physical location, and established phone number.

Does the MLM business opportunity have some successful members you can talk to? Most business opportunities will show you testimonials. But these are often untrustworthy.

They could even be completely fabricated. Ask the owner of the business for names of real people you can talk to. Call them on the telephone and ask them to share their experiences with the program.

This will not only provide you with valuable first-hand information about the program, but it will give you a list of advisors who might be willing to help you along the way.

How much initial investment is required? In many cases a proven MLM business opportunity with a successful track record will involve some kind of initial investment.

You should not assume that a business opportunity that is free to join is a better investment. Usually a free-to-join business will involve other costs such as marketing and advertising fees. Just keep in mind that nobody gives away “opportunities” for free.

What you have to determine is whether a specific MLM business opportunity has a successful track record, is managed by honest people and offers you a realistic chance of actually making some money.These are the things you must weigh against the entry costs.

What is the realistic income potential of the business? Have a careful look at the numbers and projections provided by the business opportunity. Then talk with actual members who are using the program to determine if they have been able to turn those numbers into reality.

Are there extra fees such as yearly or monthly subscription fees, shipping costs, or minimum purchase requirements? Make sure to get a detailed list of all the fees involved in operating the new business. These things may not seem significant now, but they can easily eat into your profits later.

How much control of your new business will you have? Be clear on who owns the business, and who controls the way it is developed and marketed. You may want to diversify your product offerings in order to avoid being at the mercy of a "head office.

The MLM business opportunity should require low initial investment and have high profit potential both in the short term and in the long term. It should allow you to build a profitable business of your own that will be a source of income far into the future.

Unsuccessful in your MLM business?

The MLM business can easily double or triple your cash. Provided that you do not fall first in either one of the common mistakes done by error-prone MLM business producers and distributors.

1. Avoid MLM business groups that offer commission-based compensation among distributors. There is a big possibility that it is an illegal pyramid.

The act of alluring people or business finders to enter an MLM business group has been an ordinary day-to-day street transaction among business-minded people. There are those people who will explain first the benefits that you can get from their group.

But the reality is that they will just reverse what they had said. Believe me, it may not always be the case but beware still. The only assurance you got here is your having a job. But your assurance of getting paid evenly or squarely is diminishing. You can be paid still, but until when?

2. Avoid MLM business groups that oblige the new distributors to buy expensive products or any materials that the group offers. This might be another sign of potential danger.

It always pays to be nice. But some nice people are sometimes not at all nice. It is not always the case.

The truth behind is that there are pyramid groups that force their newly entered distributors to purchase the expensive products or materials. Fake pyramid groups always have at the back of their minds the amount they could get. Sometimes it turns to be something from nothing.

Take this friendly advice; find ways to quit that group.

3. Do not heed what the pyramid promoter is promising that you can have more money through continued help in recruiting more distributors.

This is another clear sign of your being a victim of illegal MLM business. The bottom line here is work with just compensation. They might just be using you for their personal interest.

4. Some distributors do not give enough time or attention to their MLM business.

This is important. Some people are joining the group half-heartedly. But take note, it will count days or months to build an elevating career in MLM.

5. Some MLM operators take the business reluctantly as if its status will not able to decline in time.

Each member of the MLM business group must work hand-in-hand to sustain the set objectives of the group. This practice is not just recommended. It is a must to follow. But doing the otherwise will lead the path towards business failure.

6. Not realizing why you are operating the MLM business.

You may realize suddenly that you do not have a definite target or objective in your business. It might be a reality that some are born as invalid plan setter.

Early from the birth of your MLM business, you should have already realized the reasons why you are driving the business. Recovery from money problems of the business is not like counting 1, 2 and 3. Setting your business objectives is the keyword.

7. Have a well-established commitment to work and duty.

There is no better time to start moving than now. Product distributors must attend to their respective assignments. One cannot make the MLM business grows by just merely looking at it.

Be committed to you work. Have time to pinpoint your MLM business weaknesses so you can catch-up for any committed mistakes.

No two people are alike in the MLM business

But there are some shared personality traits that are common to those who have started and operated in MLM already.

One of the most common personalities inherent among MLM business people is their entrepreneurial spirit.

What are some of these traits that make up an MLM entrepreneur?

Self-starter.

Self-starters are the type of people who do not just sit around thinking about something over and over again. Yet no action is taken to get things done. They decide on what needs to be done and simply do it.

Take this example. You are in need of your own MLM website but income limits you from just hiring a web design company to make that site. As a self-starter, you would go to work about gathering all the information pertinent to web design and development.

Then you would develop and design your site. In the end you would have a website that you have developed yourself.

One vital trait of a self-starter it to know their strengths and weaknesses and be able to accept them.
Self-motivated.

The self-motivated MLM individual has a lot of motivation and drive. Because each person is a unique being, one person's motivations may be different from everyone else's.

For example, your motivation for starting your MLM business could be to earn $500 or $1,000 per month or $10,000 or $20,000 per month. Or it could be that you want to home school your kids, and that requires earning an income working from home.

Your level of motivation to a large measure will be dependent up on your purpose and level of commitment. It depends on how big your dream is.

Creative.

The creative individual has a lot of great ideas. They are usually able to come up with good ideas and problem solving solutions. Many of their ideas are often the results of listening and observing other business that is related to MLM.

They focus on finding solutions, rather than dwelling on the challenges.

For example, if you have a limited advertising budget, you would get to work finding all the available free advertising avenues instead to thinking over and over how limited your budget is.

Your creativity would result in expanding your MLM advertising program. You would also have the knowledge from research. Thus, resolving the problem and creating an additional income.

Self-disciplined.

The self-disciplined individual is one who does not need someone standing over. Or having someone tells them what, how and when to do. They do not need anyone telling to get something done. They are able to determine what needs to be done, then set aside time to do it.

An MLM business may fail, many do first time around. But the self-disciplined individual does not accept that they are a failure. They simply learn from the mistakes and use them as a tool to attain success.

As an entrepreneur in MLM you should be able to adapt. You will find yourself playing different roles such as: marketer, promoter, public relations, motivator, sponsor, Webmaster...and so forth. You are not afraid of chance and are opened and flexible to them.

Successful businesses are not built over night but over time. As a MLM entrepreneur you are willing to go the extra mile, put forth the time and effort needed to build a successful business organization.