Network marketing is a business model in which participants identify a company and promote its products and services for commission and other incentives with the ultimate goal of creating a stream of residual income system. It is a concept of free enterprise, which allows participants to build their individual network of marketers and earn as much as they can based on their performance.

Network marketing allows individual marketers or distributors to earn on their own efforts and that of their partners or team members.

To be successful in network marketing the emphasis should not be on products and services being promoted but on the business opportunity that the scheme affords its participants.

Many people join the scheme thinking it is a ‘get rich quick’ program that they can use to solve immediate financial needs. If that is the only reason you are in network marketing you may have to look at some other opportunities, as network marketing is for those who will be patient enough to see a business grow from the scratch.

Network marketing is not for the lazy folks but for those who are ready to put in the required hard work. And it is imperative to state here that if you put in the hard work you will surely reap the reward. Never sign up into a network marketing scheme when you are not prepared to put in the effort.

It does not matter what the promoters promised in the process of prospecting you, they will not help you to do the business when you eventually join. They can help you with trainings and materials supports but it will be rare for anyone to help you promote your own organization in the company.

In network marketing you are your own boss and your business is with you wherever you reside. With the use of the internet your business become global and borderless as you can do business with people anywhere there is internet around the world without you resident in those countries.

This post is all about how to be successful in network marketing in 6 steps.

1. Choose a company to join

There are many network marketing companies out there with fantastic products and services plus good compensation plans. The onus is on you to conduct the necessary search to identify a good company to work with. The following tips will help:

Firstly, the company must have physical address/location. It must be duly registered by necessary agencies of government. There should be a place where participants can go when in need of certain information or settlement apart from the websites.

Secondly, there must be products or services that the company is promoting. Ensure that the products and services are relevant and affordable. Also the products must be easy to use and understand. There should be no ambiguity in the deployment of the products. Products or services that require lots of explanation and conviction should be avoided.

Note that any scheme that reward based on recruitment and not on product or services sold is a ponzi scheme and should be discarded.

Thirdly, there must be compensation plan. That is what you are working for. It is the reason why you are in it! The compensation plan must be simple and achievable. Do not fall for unrealistic compensation plan. Avoid complicated plan that is not easily duplicated among team members. A good compensation plan is the one that is easily duplicated among team members notwithstanding their literacy level.

2. Be a customer of the company

That is one area many are failing in network marketing. Before you introduce a product to your friend and loved ones you must have had a feel of it. You must know what the product is all about. You must be willing to invest your personal cash if you want others to invest theirs.

Being a customer of the company makes you proud and confident about their product and business opportunity. There would be no sense of guilt when talking about the product since you have also bought for personal use.

3. Learn how the business works

This is a core requirement in network marketing. The more you learn the farther you will go in the business. Learn from the company through brochures, catalogues, CDs, fliers and special training and conferences.

Learn from those ahead of you in the company and business. There advice and counsel can go a long way in realizing your goals.

4. Create an online presence

Network marketing is often refers to as borderless business. In reality that will not be unless you have an online presence. The internet affords you the opportunity to interact with people from different parts of the world with little or no stress.

Some companies allow their distributors to create their own business websites to promote their businesses to the world. Take advantage of social sites and forums like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Nairaland, Warrior’s forum to promote your business with prospective customers. The opportunities online are unlimited!

5. Refer others

This is what you always do. When you see a good restaurant for example you talk about it and so recommend it to friends and family. This is what network marketing is all about. You refer friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to the company to do the same thing you did.

You are not just marketing a product or service but you are helping people around you to benefit from a company’s product or service and its business opportunity.

The number to refer at first is based on the company’s compensation plan.

6. Duplicate again and again

An effective financial system is one that can be easily duplicated. The success of network marketers lies in their ability to duplicate the process again and again. It is not different from when in 9 to 5 job, you work month after months doing the same job in order to earn salary.

The same way, in network marketing, you keep repeating the process day after days in order to earn commissions, bonuses and other incentives. The faster you complete the process the better.

MLM, Split Second Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Online Marketing, it’s all the same – just Network Marketing. More and more people are becoming interested in Multilevel Marketing “Make Life Meaningful”, MLM in short. Even though Network Marketing has existed since the beginning of time, most people are still unsure of what it actually is and how it works. There have also been many rotten apples that have tainted MLM’s existence with negative outlook and gave Network Marketing a bad name. As people tend to remember negative experiences rather than positive. You may have gone to the same restaurant 100 times, but if the food or service was awful once… what did you do? Probably remembered ‘that’ particular instance over the hundred great times that you’ve been there. With schools all over the world from Harvard to Oxford teaching Multilevel Marketing/Network Marketing; it’s a no brainer that MLM is one of the best ways to build residual income.

Studies by the Direct Selling Association (DSA) indicate that:

Direct selling accounts for annual sales of more than $190 billion world-wide.
The US contributes nearly $53 billion.
19 million Americans derive independent contractor income from direct selling.
One in every 10 households has someone involved in network marketing or direct sales.
What is Multilevel Marketing and how does it work? MLM works because people prefer to use products listed by a friend or an acquaintance. It works because the products offered are good and cost fair value. It works because people feel satisfied with the product and indicate to acquaintances who are satisfied with the product and so forth on a scale of exponential growth.

Anyone can be a network marketer, but usually dedicated individuals and entrepreneurs that know they can make money with alternative income, also known as residual income tend to be involved in MLM. We normally sign up for an MLM company that consists of working to promote the products and the opportunity offered. With the main advantage of being able to start without initial investment that a normal business would accommodate. Taking into an account of high cost needed to start any company.

“If I lost everything and had to start again, I would find myself a great network marketing company and get to work!” – Donald Trump
Who should avoid MLM?

Disbelievers in MLM. Anyone thinking about earning money easily without having to work.

What are advantages of MLM?

Possibility of unlimited gains. Without an expensive initial investment. Ability to work on your own time.

What are the disadvantages of MLM?

Moderate level of rejection by those who do not know. Not only by them, but mainly by those who “think they know.” This rejection is created by millions of people who promise unlimited earnings without any work. People who use MLM companies with particular forms of pyramids just to get more people registered without worrying about the quality of products or showing guidance when sponsoring. All this nonsense turns people off from serious chances of success.