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In the competitive environment of the mature MLM industry, a lack of knowledge can cost you your business. How much has it cost you personally for what you know today? Plenty I'm sure. Let me share a true story with you...

I asked the President of a network marketing company, "How is it that you are so successful?" By making knowledgeable decisions," the owner replied. "Where did you get the knowledge?" I asked. "Experience" he snapped. "Where did you get the experience?" I persisted. "Poor decisions!" he stated with authority.

I asked him to estimate how much it cost him to learn how to operate and build his $600 million a year company... he didn't hesitate as he quipped "$600 MIL¬LION and counting"! He said he wished that he could have gone to a Multi-Level Marketing University or worked with a person who had Network Marketing expertise as he was built his operation. He said he was guilty of an over-extended ego, too much pride to delegate responsibility, too frugal to pay for expert advice and just too over-confident that he would succeed.

He said he thought his business experience, in other areas of marketing, would transfer over to the MLM world easily... he says this was his first major mistake. He wished he could have been better prepared with a proper EDUCATION to build his MLM company. He insists that it cost him: 1- many wasted years of his life, 2 - ¬unnecessary mental stress and pressure, 3- losing valued relationships with friends and family, 4- millions of dollars, and 5- much embarrassment as he stumbled forward feeling his way through an industry he thought he could easily conquer.

I've become an MLM statesman from years of asking successful, (also defeated), MLM entrepreneur's powerful questions about their experiences. Like a research scientist I discovered what drove company sales forward and/or what made revenues stagnate or drop? Only careful evaluation of hundreds of MLM company "case-studies" can offer meaningful solutions. There are MLM secrets most people never discover during the life of their Network project. Without knowledge, you will go through the pain, if you're lucky enough to survive.

The majority of MLM owners haven't been able to research the industry before they launched. Most can show you a few distributor kits, refer to the bottles of product on their shelves, motion towards the handful of videos stacked near the VCR and reference a few compensation plans they've looked over in the past 1-3 years... The industry survival-ratio, as well as the way some MLM companies are designed and run is a testament to the lack of pre-planning.

My peers and I have multi-level expertise be¬cause we have dedicated our lives to acquire the knowledge every company owner/administrator needs to know. In today's mature MLM market, in order to beat the failure-rate odds you need to have new knowledge continuously. If the documents you receive help you make one good decision, assist you in gaining one good contact, offer you one great idea, or find you a solution to one major problem... it could be worth millions of dollars reduce your stress-level dramatically. It's amazing that new owners launching network companies are afraid to spend money to educate themselves. Then they (are smart enough to) demand their distributors pay for, and attend training classes.

How would you define a network marketing company as being successful? Well, first it must be said that if the owner is happy, then he/she is a success.

The MLM marketplace defines it another way. History and hundreds of case studies of successful operations indicates that an MLM firm could easily be grossing $5M/month within 3-5 years... and be grossing $10-30M/month within 5-10 years. If a company is still grossing less than $1M/month after years in business, it's doing something wrong... or perhaps its owners prefer operating as smaller MLM operation. Many people like running a small mom/pop business... but these days, "'---'" this can be very dangerous. All companies must keep growing in order to stay in business, otherwise you're a candidate for "raiders" ... and raiding experts are talking to your distributors everyday. If they are successful, your company could lose 20-40% gross income in one quarter alone. In today's mature market, a company could be out of business in 4 to 18 months if it doesn't know how to handle the situation properly.

Whether you're an owner/administrator of a veteran company, or just starting out... in today's competitive market there are many weak areas in MLM operations that must be improved, removed, edited, enhanced or modified in order for your firm to compete in today's MLM world. 1996 was the first huge surge in new MLM company launches. There are 2-3 real MLM operations starting every WEEK! All these companies are competing for a limited pool of entrepreneurs. If you think there an unlimited amount of potential prospects you're wrong. Our industry has stabilized at 7-8 million distributors. Rod Cook estimates that about 45k distributors leave and about 50k enter the industry each month. Leaders of network marketing operations must receive training in the following areas in order to compete and survive. Most MLM operations are weakest in the following areas. Most operations fail to: (1) create a compelling company "STORY"... (2) the company story will never be right unless the company is "DESIGNED" properly...(3) most MLM firms do not have the proper PRODUCT MIX, and/or have products with the wrong mark -up ratio to pay their company plans...( 4)¬ most MLM operations improperly sell money as their # 1 product, they focus too much on the business opportunity...(5) most MLM firms do not focus on PRODUCT and DISTRIBUTOR RESUL TS...( 6) most MLM firms do not know how to handle "RAIDERS"...(7) most do not know how to make win-win "offers" or create deals that will attract and keep MLM leaders, and most never know who to give a deal to, currently most MLM owners get ripped-off in this area when they never understood it's importance to their success...(8) most mature companies loose their leaders, ending in litigation...(9) many company owners think they are invincible, they're not in control of their egos, they do not delegate properly...(10) most companies have poorly named their firm, their products and have poor to average sales aids/ company forms...(11)- most distributor kits are worth¬less and do not work to perform the task they were created to fulfill...(12) most compensation plans are too complicated, and do not pay the right people the right money at the right time...(14)- most companies go International too soon, most firms have to go overseas because they're USA plan isn't working well any¬more...(15) most MLM firms do not use industry vendors often enough or listen to the advice they receive...( 16) most operations fall-out ratio is too high and their activity ratios are too low. Attempts to improve these figures usually work short-term and then hurt the company long-term...(17) most MLM conventions, regional events, conference calls and home office tours do not maximize their potential...(18) communication systems between the company and the distributor and contact with the firm's customers are weak never reaching their true potential...

In summary, wouldn't you agree that education is not just for distributors? MLM companies need to focus on internal executive training, then evaluate themselves and all aspects of company operations... Then make improvements to the points made in 1-18 above. Now you know what has to be done in order to build your company to $600M/year. Good luck in your endeavors.







The MLM Industry has Matured....
Education ISN'T just for Distributors!
by David Klaybor

David provides NetWork marketing consulting. He researches Network Marketing Operations and provides innovative solutions. Klaybor has gained his experience as an airline captain and personal development instructor. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, the NNF A, and Network Associations. Some clients represent companies like: FullerBrush, Rexall, Bodywise, NuSkin, Amway, Shaklee, Herbal-Life, Life Plus, Free Life, Omni, Enrich, Alliance, NSA, Quorum, and hundreds more! David is the designer of the "Power Line Business Planner ", "Marketing Magic" (with contributions by Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters and Stephen Covey), and "Books Don't Work Unless You Do ". 714-450-3123 vmail.

The following article is from the MLM Insider Magazine, April/May 1996 Issue:
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