How to Make a Difference in 4,000 Lives in the Next Twelve Months

A New Approach to an Old Problem...

And here's the problem as I see it.

For decades, the goal of most network marketers has been to sign up as many new recruits as possible.  There are hundreds of "success coaches" out there giving seminars and workshops on how to become the hottest enroller in your company.  And any big bookstore you walk into will have entire shelves of books devoted to the MLM industry, mostly telling you the same thing.

The usual recommended strategy is to recruit like crazy and watch to see which ones of your new distributors actually start working the business.  Then you put all your time and effort into coaching the go-getters.  The rest get left behind in the dust.  Tough break.

You know – the 80/20 rule.  Twenty percent of your team will be responsible for 80% of your sales.  So forget the slackers.

I do agree that anyone starting a network marketing business needs to take responsibility for their own activities and success, and isn't going to get very far if they don't take some initiative. 

However, I think this overall approach to recruiting is contributing to the bad reputation the network marketing industry has been saddled with since it began.

Something like 95% of the people who sign up for network marketing never make it, in large part because their enrollers are so eager to add another notch to their guns (and another pack commission in their pockets) that they don't bother to evaluate whether the new recruit has the resources, attitude, skills, and commitment necessary for success. 

Most of these failed network marketers are now telling their friends and relatives that MLM is a hype and a scam.  That no one ever really succeeds in this business, and that "they're just out to get your money."

Personally, I think dumping 80% of your team in the dirt, along with their hopes and dreams, is highly unethical.  Especially after you pulled out every trick in your recruiting arsenal to get them to join up.  But oops!  I'm being judgmental.

On a more practical level, I also believe that this super-enroller approach is bad for the individual MLMer's own business.  Why?

It all revolves around duplication.  What do you have to do to achieve those high enrollment numbers, and how many people will be able to copy you?

I mean, you've got to memorize scripts, practice roll playing, cultivate a charismatic personality, attend seminars, memorize more scripts, practice even more roll playing, keep organized, keep a positive mental attitude, be constantly recruiting and constantly presenting your plan, and running, running, running -- always charging full-tilt into the face of potential humiliation and rejection.  Whew!  No wonder so few people make it to the top.

Let me contrast that scenario with an approach that a top leader in one of the big network marketing companies has put together.

(I'd like to give you a report at this time on how it's working for her, but she's only been using it for a couple of months so far.  Nonetheless, it just makes a whole lot of sense to me. See if it resonates with you.)

In her system, each business builder commits to two things.  The first commitment is to qualify each month for their company's compensation program by purchasing whatever they're required to buy.

The second commitment is to enroll ONE new distributor each and every month for twelve months – no more, no less.  One new recruit per month gives plenty of time to sift and sort possible candidates to find the ONE individual who wants to generate a good residual income and who will make a similar commitment to the program and stick with it.    

Sounds pretty do-able to me so far.

Making a commitment and being picky about who gets enrolled, in and of themselves, can improve someone's business.  But this system takes it a major step further. 

The new associate, along with the enroller, the enroller's enroller, and the next person above her all form a team who meet by phone each week.  The purpose of the calls is to support, train, and hold one another accountable, making sure each team member finds their one new recruit per month.

The composition of the team will change every month as new members are brought in and the people on the top leave.  (There's a lot more to it than what I've written here, and I'll get deeper into the details later.)

I cannot stress this enough – the structured teamwork aspect is critically important to the success of this program.

Let me summarize so far. The system is extremely duplicatable. It also eliminates the sponsoring of people who aren't likely to make it, and provides ongoing support for all team members.  Sounds okay.

But I bet you're wondering just how successful you can be by signing up only one person per month, even if each person you sponsor is doing the same.

Let's crunch the numbers. Each month, your organization will double because every person in it will find a new team member.  So the first month, there will be two of you – you and your first new recruit. 

The second month, you'll each find another new person, so there will be four people on your team.  The third month those four will find four more and you'll have eight.  The fourth month it'll double again and you'll have sixteen.

Sixteen – big deal!  But get out your calculator and see how many active team members you'll have at the end of twelve months if everyone keeps doing what they've committed to do.  Start with 2 and multiply it by 2, twelve times. The answer might stun you.  (Scroll down to see what it is.)

4,096.

Of course you're going to have a few drop-outs along the way, in spite of all the good teamwork, so the actual number might not be that high. 

Suppose it's only half – 2,000.  Or a quarter – 1,000.  Would you be disappointed in either of those numbers? (Remember, your team will continue to grow.)

Needless to say, I haven't studied the compensation plans of every network marketing company, but I'm pretty sure that anyone with over 1,000 active distributors under them is making some pretty good money.

This brings up another really important benefit of this system – predictability.  If someone follows this strategy, they can actually predict, month by month, how much they'll be making.  That's going to be a huge selling point in your recruitment efforts, because that's usually one of the most common questions prospects ask – How much will I make and how long will it take me?

But one word of caution in this regard:  I know you can do the math and figure out what your company is actually going to pay you when you have an organization the size we're talking about, but if you tell this number to a new person, they'll NEVER believe you.  They'll think you're trying to sell them on a get-rich-quick scam. So I'd advise you to keep your estimates super-conservative and super-believable, at least when you're talking to prospects. (The creator of this system tells people $2,000 - $6,000 per month.)  If it turns out they make a lot more than they expected, they won't complain.

In summary, this system is the exact opposite of the traditional sign-up-anything-that-moves approach.  It's simple and do-able, even for beginners.  It eliminates high drop-out rates and the resulting damage to the industry.  And if done right, it can produce even better results in the long run than the super-enroller strategy.

And here's another really great benefit.  Every one of those people in your organization who continues to follow your lead will get the same results you get.  You could be impacting over 4,000 lives!  Changing the financial prospects of over 4,000 families.

But this is all theoretical at this point since no one's actually done it that long yet.  So… I'm committing to try it for a year, and I invite you to do the same.

If you do choose to do it, send me an email through my Contact page and let me know how it's going.  I'll post people's results.

Best wishes for your success,

Liz