Pain Pleasure: Our Primary Motivators

By Jeremy Standiford

Network marketing is all about motivation. Motivation to take action, motivating potential customers and business partners, and also motivating your downline to take action and succeed. If you want to motivate someone, you must first know what already motivates them. Pain and pleasure are our primary motivators, every purpose of every action we take is to either avoid pain or gain pleasure. The greek philosopher Aristotle spoke of this in his Rhetoric:

"We may lay it down that Pleasure is a movement, a movement by which the soul as a whole is consciously brought into its normal state of being; and that Pain is the opposite."[1]

This concept has been around for ages, and understanding this concept is one of the fundamental keys to success in life. Here's a question: why do you brush your teeth? You may have many reasons for brushing your teeth, but ultimately you brush your teeth because helps you gain pleasure, avoid pain, or both. Brushing your teeth is not some basic human need, it's a habit that we've formed over the years. We've learned that not brushing our teeth equals pain, because we may have had a few cavities in the past and had to visit the dentist, and we all know that the dentist equals ultimate pain.

Advertisers use this concept to get us to buy things. One of the ways advertisers do this is to get us to associate something we find pleasurable with their product. Check out this commercial:



I find this commercial funny, because Michael Jackson doesn't even drink Pepsi, yet here he is singing "you're the pepsi generation" to the tune of "Billie Jean". This commercial is incredibly powerful, because it associates Pepsi with something the audience finds pleasurable, that is, Michael Jackson's music. Also, Michael Jackson is giving the audience a new identity (I'll talk about new identities in a later post), telling them that they are the "Pepsi generation". So the audience is experiencing pleasure from hearing the tune of "Billie Jean" while at the same time be exposed to the Pepsi logo at this point they're probably thinking, "Well, if Michael Jackson says it, then it must be true, I better go buy some Pepsi, because I'm part of the 'Pepsi generation'".

The most powerful commercials show the audience how they can avoid pain AND gain pleasure by using this product, check watch this commercial by Discover Card:



It shows all these people in terrible situations, one is getting attacked by an animal and needs rabies shot, one is in a car accident, one couple is in the middle of a hurricane, and guess what? They're not in pain at all, and in fact they're smiling because they have a discover card that pays for everything they need gives them 5% cash back!

When we consider our actions and whether or not to take action, it is often the avoidance of pain that wins rather than the potential pleasure we could gain. The avoidance of pain is much more powerful to the human psyche than gaining pleasure, this is because our brain knows when we accumulate enough pain, we die. A prime example of this is procrastination. You probably have things that you know you should do, for whatever reason, but you put it off, why? Because you associate more pain to taking action than not taking action. But then, have you ever reached the point where it's more painful to not take action? I know when I was in college I would put off doing assignments until the last minute. That's because it was more painful to do the assignment up until the night before the paper was due, then it became incredibly painful to not do the assignment because I would get an F for that assignment and could potentially fail the class.

So what's the whole point of this? Well, people require motivation, that's where leadership comes in, and knowing the pain pleasure principle will help you inspire people to succeed. For instance, the old 90's style of network marketing is extremely painful to most people, that's why 97% of network marketers fail. It's time consuming because once you've exhausted your warm market, you don't have a lot of leverage in the prospecting process. You're reduced to pitching your business to anyone you come across, risking your reputation as a sane member of society in the process. You hear no, time and again and each 'no' is a blow to your self-esteem. Then you go on the internet and post ads everywhere "make money working from home" and all that, but nobody seems to respond, because they've seen it all before.

I've found a much easier way to build my network marketing business and you can use the same tools and techniques I'm using to build my business. It's uses attraction marketing, which is the concept of providing value first, and building a relationship with a potential customer or partner before asking them to do anything. It makes me hunted instead of the hunter. With the techniques myself and my team uses, I can generate hundreds of qualified leads eager to work with me for my business without a lot of investmed time or money.

If you're ready to take your network marketing business to the next level and build a huge downline click here to get started.

1. Aristotle. On Rhetoric Trans. by George A. Kennedy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Four Steps to Achieving Success in Any Endeavor

By Jeremy Standiford

Success is something we all want. We want a successful relationship, we want a successful career, we want to be successful financially, and we want to be healthy and fit. Success means getting what you want. Most people do not know how to be successful in most areas of their life, because they don’t know the formula for being successful. This article outlines the four steps necessary to achieve success in any area of your life by clearly defining what it is you want, remaining focused on the outcome, and taking the necessary action to achieve success. I first heard this formula from my life coach, Anthony Robbins, in his audio series, Get The Edge - The Power to Change Your Life Now, but people have used this formula throughout the ages to achieve the success they desire. It's nothing new, and Tony himself came up with this formula from modeling other successful people, something we'll talk about in step 4.

Step 1 - know what you want. In order to achieve success in anything, you must first know the outcome – what it is you want. It’s amazing how many people will be able to tell you what they don’t want, but don’t have a clue what it is they do want. If you don’t know exactly what you want, then I recommend reading The Law of Attraction, By Michael Losier, not because I necessarily believe in some esoteric force in the universe, but because the book outlines in simple steps how to determine exactly what it is you do want, based on what you don’t want and also offers strategies to stay focused on the outcome - what you want.

In any area of your life, it’s important to know the outcome. When you are doing something for your business, know the result you want from it. Do you want to get more leads for you business? Maybe you want to inspire people in your down line to really step up their efforts and succeed. Whatever it is, make it clear in your mind what it is you are trying to achieve from the action you are taking, so that your every thought and action is directed towards that aim. Keep in mind that the biggest trap that keeps anyone from succeeding is fear. Fear holds us paralyzed; overcoming fear is one of the key to success which brings us to the next step.

Step 2 - Take action and move towards the achievement of your goals. Most people are afraid to take action; they’re afraid of failure and sometimes even afraid of success. It’s sad that the few people who do know what they want sit around and don’t do anything about it because they are afraid of failure. The key to taking action and overcoming your fear is to decide, make a decision right now that you are not going to settle for anything less than what you know you can achieve, hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else would expect of you.

I remember one of the first moments in my life when I really decided I wanted something and took action. It was my freshman year in college, at the age of 18 I was probably 60 lbs overweight. Now that I was on my own, away from my parents, I decided that I was in control of my life and destiny, and I was going to lose weight and get in shape. I had no idea how to do this, I knew next to nothing about nutrition and exercise, but I took action anyway, I started working out on a consistent basis at my university gym and started eating healthier foods and in smaller amounts. I took a few weightlifting classes from my university and I started reading information on the Internet. And guess what happened? I lost all the excess weight and had a great physique. I achieved my goal because I decided what I wanted and took action. There was a lot of fear involved at first, there were a lot of attractive young women working out at the university gym, and there were a lot of guys there that were in way better shape than me. I could have let my feelings of fear stop me from taking action, I could have just consigned myself to a fate of being heavy, but I had made a decision and because I had decided that I was no longer going to accept being overweight, and I persevered to achieve my desire.

So remember, it is very important to decide, if you haven’t yet, decide now that you are going to achieve your dreams. Decide now that you are no longer going to accept anything less than the kind of extraordinary life you know you deserve. Do this, and nothing will stop you from living your dreams.

Step 3 – Notice what you are getting from your actions. You will undoubtedly experience temporary setbacks when taking action toward your goals. When you do experience these setbacks, learn what you can from your mistakes, and then change your approach if necessary.

A lot of people give up after they experience their first failure. They’re afraid of ridicule and “ultimate failure”, that is, they’re afraid because of one tiny setback that they will not achieve their goal. But let me ask you question: if you had a normal, healthy child that was learning to walk, how long would you give that child to learn to walk? How many times would you let that kid fall down before you stopped him and said, “OK, well you gave it a good effort, but I don’t think this is going to happen for you”. No one would ever say that to his or her child, because we all let our kids keep trying and trying until they eventually learn to walk. No wonder everyone can walk! That is the “magic” formula, perseverance.

But more important than perseverance is intelligent perseverance, maybe you need to sharpen your saw when trying to fell a tree or maybe you’re using a sledgehammer and need to change your tools. In network marketing, the traditional sales/recruiting strategy involves calling your warm market and from there, scouting out strangers using strategies like the “three foot rule”. These tools are outdated, and inefficient. I have a self-branded, generic marketing system that you can use to monetize your prospecting efforts and generate an endless supply of leads for your business. We have a huge team of professional networkers, each building their own respective networking businesses and they are willing to help each other succeed in this business through skype chat and our private forum. All of the marketing training is included in the system at no extra cost; we even have training on how to handle prospects when talking on the phone. Interested? Click here and get a 14-day test drive of this system for only $1.

Step 4 – Model success. If you want to be successful in any area of your life, it’s important to find out what already works and start there. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, find others who are already successful in the same area you want success in and do what they are doing. If you want to lose weight, find people who have been overweight, lost the weight, and kept it off and do what they did. By modeling others success, and even improving upon their model, you too can achieve the success you desire.

Same goes for your network marketing business. My company told me the same thing I’m telling you now - don’t reinvent the wheel. But their system did not incorporate the most powerful networking tool in existence – the Internet. I knew there had to be a way to use the power of the Internet to build my business. I bought a lot of e-books, enrolled in online courses. Most of them were lousy but some of them were helpful. Then I had a breakthrough; I met someone who completely changed the way I look at my business. He introduced me to the same system I’m introducing you to now – a generic self-branded funded proposal system that incorporates 11 different income streams and positions you as the expert. The best part is that it really works. Top earners in this industry have been using this system and variations of it to generate an endless supply of prospects and fully fund their prospecting efforts so they have a positive cash flow.

If you want to grow your business, effortlessly, with an endless supply of hungry prospects, eager to buy from you, and benefit from your leadership, then you owe it to yourself to check out my system. For only $1 you can take it for a 14-day test drive, where you can see all the training available, and really get a feel for how the system works, interested? Click here. Success comes to those who decide and take action. If you’re serious about building your business, then make the decision to investigate my system and see for yourself what my team and I have to offer.

I hope this post helps you succeed and achieve the kind of extraordinary life you know you deserve. I am dedicated to helping you others succeed because I know what it’s like to want something more, to want to be better than you already are. I know what it’s like to struggle for these dreams, but I’m telling you know you don’t have to struggle. Follow these steps and you will achieve your dreams with a minimum of effort.

See Also:

Anthony Robbins: The Edge - The Power to Change Your Life Now

The system I'm using to generate 100s of leads daily and explode my business

Did You Grow Up Poor or Disadvantaged? If So, Congratulations!

By Jeremy Standiford

My friend Chris told me the other day that I was the hungriest person he knew. I considered that a huge compliment, because the key to success is hunger. Being dissatisfied with your current situation and wanting something more and better and making the decision to change is all it takes to succeed. That's why being poor or disadvantaged is such a huge asset. As long as you're willing to take action to achieve your desire and educate yourself to achieve your goals, you will be successful. Throughout history, especially in America, people have started with nothing and built huge empires, there are many examples of this, but one of the most amazing is Henry Ford's story.

I grew up not having as much as other kids at my school. I always had enough to eat, but I wore clothes my mom would buy at a garage sale. I remember in the 5th grade the kids would call me "poor boy" because of the clothes I was wearing. That kind of ridicule left a lasting impression on me, it created a hunger for wealth that would never go away. At the age of 12 I started working a paper route to earn extra money. Of course, I spent my money on new clothes, but I did put $50 a month towards my college education. Now that I'm grown up I still have this insatiable desire for wealth, not just because of my desire for material things, but because I know I can use my wealth to help others.

One of my favorite authors, Robert Greene, talks about this in his blog. You can read the whole article here.

"When your environment presses upon you with limitations, you feel it all of the time, and you are called to respond in some way. The tightness makes you hungry for more, to break beyond the limitations. This is what will afflict people who are poor, who start with nothing. And Machiavelli, like myself, is drawn to what he calls New Princes, those who rise to the top from the very bottom. Princes, those born to privilege, find themselves in an environment that is loose, that has few constrictions. Most Princes create nothing worthwhile in this world; they are good at squandering what others have accumulated.

This pressure from the environment does not have to be material poverty. It can be something psychological. You feel unhappy with the world around you and compelled to change something about it or yourself. This dissatisfaction is constant and it focuses your energy."

Greene later goes on to say that there are too many "Old Princes" in America and not enough "New Princes". I've decided that I will be a "New Prince", because that is what America needs right now - someone who knows what it's like to be a little guy, someone who knows what it's like to have nothing, but also knows what it's like to have everything. We have too many George W. Bush's leading us and not enough Bill Clinton's. Not that I'm a huge fan of either president, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

This is why I decided to build a network marketing business. Network marketing gives people the opportunity to start with nothing and build a huge business, with good products and a system already in place. Provided they make the decision and take the necessary action, success if virtually guaranteed. I'm convinced that anyone can succeed in a networking business, the reason why most people fail in network marketing is lack of action, which stems from a lack of desire. People get to comfortable with their lives and will justify not changing something they are dissatisfied with by telling themselves "it's not that bad" or "someday I'll change this". Well the road to "someday" leads to a town of "nowhere" and "nowhere" is not a place you want to see.

Do not fall into this trap, if there's something that you are dissatisfied with, tell yourself that it's horrible, and that you will no longer tolerate this situation. Create that hunger in yourself, that hunger will drive you out of mediocrity and into something extraordinary.

If you're hungry like I am, and want to succeed in your networking business, you need to see how I am generating 100-150 leads every day for my networking business and making money at the same time. To learn more about what I'm doing, click here.

See Also:

Robert Greene's Blog: http://www.powerseductionandwar.com/

My Life and Work - An Autobiography of Henry Ford

The Prince and The Discourses

The self-branded system I use to generate 100-150 leads for my business every day

The Importance of Learning - My Reading List

By Jeremy Standiford

Education is an integral part of living an extraordinary life. I knew this girl in college that once said, "Knowledge is like an STI, you don't really want it at first, but then you feel compelled to share it with everybody." So that's what I'm doing now, without all those pesky STIs. Education is one of the keys to success, but you don't have to go to college to get a top notch education. Some of the best little tidbits of knowledge I've feasted upon have come from books that I've read outside of a formal classroom setting.

Here is a condensed list of the books I've read and found to be quite helpful in my daily life as well as in building my business. All these links to go amazon.com so you can click through and get more info if any of these books excite you.

How to Win Friends & Influence People

This is an excellent book, but as Lavar Burton says, "you don't have to take my word for it." This is the #1 best selling personal development book of all time, and the #2 best selling book of all time next to the bible. I recommend ANYONE read this book.

Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller--Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

This book is very popular in the network marketing community. Hill's assertion in this book is that the road to wealth is primarily mental and starts with a burning desire for wealth. He talks about various principles such as "the mastermind" which is basically the concept of synergy when working with other people in a "spirit of perfect harmony".

The Magic of Thinking Big

The main idea of this book is that the big thinkers are the ones that succeed. This goes along with Napoleon Hill's Concept that the road to wealth starts with a burning desire. In truth, the road to anything starts with a burning desire. This book makes for easy reading and has a lot of fun examples as well as useful tools you can use to help yourself think big and succeed.

The Law of Success In Sixteen Lessons by Napoleon Hill (Complete, Unabridged)

This is a more in depth book, uses some of the same principles as Think and Grow Rich, but is much more detailed. Napoleon Hill considered this book to be his masterpiece and it's as relevant today as it was when it was written.

Breakthrough Rapid Reading

As long as you're reading a ton of books, you might as well learn to read faster so you can get maximum efficiency out of your time. In the first chapter I went from reading about 375 words per minute to over 500 words per minute just by using the first technique. Awesome book, but like any instructional book, you have to actually read it and do what it says to get the benefits.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

I can't say enough good things about this book. Robert Kiyosaki accurately describes the keys to wealth, but uses stories from his real life. He tells his story about growing up observing his "rich dad" and his "poor dad". His rich dad was his friend's dad, and was not that rich in the beginning of the story, but knew the principles of wealth creation such as leverage and the benefits of owning a business. His poor dad was his biological father and was the superintendent of the Hawaii school district. He was constantly living from paycheck to paycheck and never had much free time despite making good money from his job. Kiyosaki's rich dad teaches him about wealth creation and him and his friend do some hilarious things as kids following their dad's advice. It's a great book, and the best part is that it's all true.

Never Be Lied to Again: How to Get the Truth In 5 Minutes Or Less In Any Conversation Or Situation

This is a great book written by a world renowned PhD Psychologist. The tools he teaches are not based on body language, but rather the person's response to your stimulus. Excellent book, and easy to understand and implement.

You Can Read Anyone: Never Be Fooled, Lied To, or Taken Advantage of Again

Same book written by the same author above, very good, but more focused on discerning the real meaning behind people's behaviors. This stuff is used by national intelligence and law enforcement agencies all the time. Definitely worth a read.

How to Sell Network Marketing Without Fear, Anxiety or Losing Your Friends! (Selling from the Soul. Ancient Wisdoms. Modern Practice)

This is a fantastic book that any salesman can use to achieve success. Michael Oliver claims that listening to your customer and discovering their needs without pitching your product first you can create a win win situation. Oliver claims that this technique has been around for centuries, and that the modern approach of "show and close" is not as effective and does not create a win/win situation 100% of the time.

The 48 Laws of Power

This is an excellent book by Robert Greene, who is a sort of modern day Machiavelli.
The great thing about this book is that along with every "law of power" Greene talks about is a historical example of either observance or transgression of the law. Very interesting especially if you're a history buff, but more than interesting, it's very useful in your daily life. Greene has a number of other books out, but this one is the most popular out of all of them and I highly recommend anyone reading it.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

In this book, Malcolm Gladwell gives a number of real life examples of how seemingly insignificant things can make a huge difference. Also, Gladwell thinks differently than most people so it really gives you an interesting perspective on life, but don't think that this book is going to be some boring intellectual dribble, this book is very interesting. I'm convinced Gladwell could write a book entitled "The Grass, It's Green, Watch it Grow" and it would be a fascinating read.

Ok, well that's what I have so far, I've read a lot more books than this, but these are some of the most influential one's that I've read. I'll be updating this post periodically to add more books, so check back regularly and see what's new. I'll also probably have a separate "audio series" posting with some of my favorite and most helpful audio series.

If you're struggling to build your network marketing business, more education will help, but it's no substitute for direct action. If you want to succeed in your network marketing business, check out the system I'm using to generate 100-150 leads per day with a positive cashflow.

An In-depth Look at Some Popular Funded Proposal Systems

By Jeremy Standiford

Now that you know what a funded proposal is, let’s talk about a few of the systems out there. Mike Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring was one of the first. When you go to his site he offers a free 7-day boot camp, and of course, to enter the boot camp you must enter your name and e-mail address. This will subscribe you to Mike’s newsletter, which provides a slow drip of information designed to get your prospect to buy Mike’s book, “Magnetic Sponsoring” for $40. Mike’s newsletter is actually really good, and I recommend subscribing to it by clicking here. On the back end of Magnetic Sponsoring are multi-tiered informational products useful to network marketers. These products range from talking on the phone (black belt recruiting) to driving traffic (traffic formula). These products vary in price, but if you bought every product, it would total over $1000. My system contains the same information, as well as weekly training webinars on cutting edge techniques. You can give it a 14-day test drive right now for only $1.

Next, there’s The Renegade Network Marketer, created by Ann Sieg. This one is more basic than Mike Dillards, it involves offering a free e-book “The 7 Greatest Lies of Network Marketing” and of course, you provide your e-mail address in order to download. When you enter your e-mail address you subscribe to Ann’s list where she talks about various MLM related things and encourages you to buy a copy of her book “The Renegade Network Marketer” for $67. The book is similar to Mike Dillard’s “Magnetic Sponsoring” in fact I was talking on the phone with Jimmy Davis a while back, and he said that Ann Sieg had basically plagiarized Mike Dillard’s book. I’m not saying that it’s true, but that’s what he told me. In the back office of The Renegade Network marketer, there’s some information on how to build your MLM business online, it wasn’t too helpful, but I did get some value from it. That’s one of the reasons I started using my current system, the back office is packed full of useful information and video tutorials that will teach you every thing you need to generate leads for your business with both free and paid methods. It’s easy to get started and there’s an entire support team and community forum to help you if you run into any problems. To take it for a 14-day test drive for only $1 click here.

These systems provide valuable informational products that offer you a commission on each sale, and the contact information of the buyer so you can build your MLM business. The information is good, but I do have a few problems with systems like these.

The first, is that they are not self-branded, that is when you send someone to the their website, you are not anywhere on the site, your prospect does not get to know you in any way through this and as a result will have no idea who you are when you initiate contact. Network marketing is all about building relationships, if there’s no interaction between you and your prospect or if your prospect is not getting to know you better, there is no relationship, and building your business with this method will be more difficult.

The second problem is that if your prospect doesn’t buy right away, but does enter their email address, they will start receiving e-mails from Mike Dillard or Ann Sieg, but not you. Once again, you are not building a relationship with your prospect, and if they do buy the product, they will have no idea who you are when you initiate contact. Most prospects won’t even enter their e-mail address, and even some that do might not even be interested in what you have to offer because they don’t know you. That’s why it’s important to make sure every e-mail you get is on your list and receives e-mails form you. Ask any Internet marketer and they will tell you that the money is in the list. My system is completely self-branded. If a prospect clicks to your site, they will see you on the first page, and when they enter their name and e-mail, they’ll start receiving e-mails from you.

The final problem with these systems is that you can’t get in for less than $40, there’s no test-driving the system to take a sneak peak and see exactly how it works. It’s sort of a “mystery box”, you never know what you’re going to get until you fork over your hard earned cash.

If you are serious about building your MLM business you owe it to yourself to check out my generic, self-branded marketing system. It incorporates 11 different income streams in the system through various affiliate programs. It’s what we call a funded proposal on steroids. When they subscribe to your newsletter, they get e-mails from you, and in case you’re worried about having to constantly write e-mails, all of that is taken care off. We have about 2 months of pre-written ad copy that you can modify and use and modify as you please. It’s all done for you. My system positions you as the leader, because it is branded with you and only you. Click here to visit my website, you will see me on the first page and you will be able to sign up for my newsletter packed with tons of useful information. When you subscribe I’ll show you all the tools, training, marketing strategies, tips, and even confidential ad sources myself and other top earners in this industry use. If you are truly committed to building your network marketing business, you owe it to yourself to visit my site, click here.
See Also:
The self-branded system I'm using that tops all others
Mike Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring
Ann Sieg’s The Renegade Network Marketer
The 7 Greatest Lies of Network Marketing

The Funded Proposal System Explained

by Jeremy Standiford

A funded proposal is a fairly new way of building a network marketing business. With this system, network marketers make money to fund their advertising endeavors and gain new prospects for their network marketing business.

The basic funded proposal system involves selling an informational product to an interested prospect, usually in the form of an e-book or even a hard copy book. Through the sale, you capture your prospect’s contact information and generate revenue that can be used for future marketing efforts.

But the real power of the funded proposal system is that it positions you as a leader. You were able to market a product to your prospect effectively, make a sale, and capture their contact information. When you call this person, you are now coming in at higher value because you’ve done something they don’t know how to do. You will be much more likely to form a business partnership with your prospect than if you had just approached them cold off the street or through some other means on the Internet.

Another added benefit is that if you have the right system, you now have this person on your e-mail list; they’ve bought from you in the past, so they trust you and will are more likely to buy from you in the future. Even if they don’t buy from you, but still enter their e-mail address you are building your list. Building your list is a fundamental concept in Internet marketing, as they say - the money is in the list.

For information on some specific funded proposal systems and how each one works, see my other post - An In-depth Look at Some Popular Funded Proposal Systems

11 Criteria for Choosing an MLM Company

By Jeremy Standiford

In my previous post Legitimate Business or Illegal Pyramid?, I talked about how to tell the difference between a legitimate network marketing company and an illegal pyramid. In this article I will discuss criteria for a company that will offer you the greatest chance for success.

1. Has the company been around for at least 5 years?
If you want the efforts you put in today to pay off for many years in the future, choose a company that has proven that it will be around for the long term. 90% of all network marketing companies fail within the first 2 years of business. There are a lot of start up network marketing companies out there, it may be enticing to get in on the “ground floor” but the truth is, you should be able to do well in any network marketing company no matter when you come in, so pick a company that is in it for the long haul, with a proven track record. If the company has been around for a while, there’s a good chance the company is not an illegal pyramid, and will also not go out of business.

2. Is the company well capitalized?
In other words, does it have the cash that it will need to grow, to maintain a solid infrastructure, to attract talented management, to keep pace with technology? Publicly traded companies are ideal since the SEC requires publicly traded companies to disclose their financial condition in detail every 90 days. Private companies don’t have to disclose this information, so you would be taking a risk by joining a private company.

3. Does the company offer products or services that are unique?
There are countless network marketing companies that are selling some sort of nutrition product. I don’t blame them either, there are 78 million baby boomers, most of them are looking to improve their health and financial freedom. But the truth is, not only are there a plethora of network marketing companies hocking every potion and pill imaginable, there are also countless traditional companies running massive ad campaigns for their product. It’s very difficult to compete with so many “big guns”, so be sure to choose a company that has unique products and services, not found anywhere else, and are also something that is in high demand, or at the very least, the potential to create the demand exists within the market.

4. Is there a genuine need for the product or service?
You've probably heard horror stories about people ending up with a garage full of expensive products - the reason that happens is because the business opportunity makes the overpriced product more attractive. The distributor might think, yeah I’ll pay an extra $20 for this, because in two months I’ll be making an extra $3000. Of course, that’s usually not the case. Your product or service must fill a real need at a fair price, and there should be a large untapped market for it. To sum this up, the product or service must provide high value to the CUSTOMER, making the transaction a win/win situation.

5. Is the product or service trendy or a fad?
You really can’t expect to build a long term business on a product or service that is current fad. When I was in grade school everyone was playing with these things called pogs. You if you’re older or younger than me, you’ve probably never heard of them, but they were extremely popular when I was a kid and now long forgotten. You should avoid a company that is selling some sort of fad; these things fade away, leaving you starting from square one.

6. Can you generate immediate income?
But more importantly, how much immediate income can you generate? If you’re making 15% commission on the sale of a $60 product, that’s $9. Some companies offer advance commissions on sales with the presumption that your new customer will continue to buy the product. So if you’ve made a $60 sale, and you get an advance for the whole year, you’ve just made $108 dollars. I personally prefer this method of compensation, you do risk getting charge backs if you’re customer stops ordering, but it puts more immediate cash in your pocket and motivates you to continue to have a relationship with that customer.

7. Does the marketing system take full advantage of technology?
Not everyone is a sales type, but anybody can plug into a system and tools that do the selling and sorting for you. Most network marketing companies do not offer this type of high tech system. Their “system” consists of making a list of friends and family, calling them, and after you’ve exhausted that list, give tools to anyone and everyone you come across and try and invite them to meetings. This can be a painful process for most people, rejection is something most people are not prepared to deal with. Luckily, there are a number of generic, turn-key systems on the Internet. I believe my system is the best, has all the Internet marketing training you will need, weekly training calls with experts and top earners, a community forum for questions, and uses a funded proposal system to monetize the lead generation process. The best thing about it is that you can take try my system for two weeks for only $1. For more information click here or check out my other post An In-depth Look at Some Popular Funded Proposal Systems or if you don't know what a funded proposal system is, check out my other post The Funded Proposal System Explained

8. Is the person who is introducing you to the opportunity dedicated to your success?
If they are, the company is strong, and the product or service is a winner, (and, of course, you're willing to learn) you will succeed. There's a big difference between a "sponsor" and a "recruiter." A sponsor coaches, motivates and trains and a recruiter just signs people up and in most cases, abandons them.

9. Is there a way to build your business part-time without losing your full time income?
The company must have automated systems that can do the heavy lifting (lead generation and sorting of said leads) for you so that you can use your time efficiently. If you’re interested in a generic, self-branded system for your network marketing business, visit my website.

10. What is the customer to business owner ratio?
This one is especially important when considering nutritional product companies, but also applies to other companies as well. Ideally, you want considerably more customers than business builders. If the company's revenue comes entirely from it's associates, this is a red flag that the product is most likely not that great, and is only attractive because it has a business opportunity attached to it. Stay away from companies like these, there are better companies out there that have loads of happy customers that are perfectly happy not promoting the products.

11. Will you have fun?
Everyone has a need for excitement and fulfillment in life. Your business should be no different. Network marketing is not for everyone, if you don’t think you’ll have fun building a business, or if you really don’t like people, don’t join a business. Along these lines, the product should be something you believe in, not just a way to make money. If you don't believe you're adding value to your customer's lives by selling them your product, you will not be successful or happy in your business.

Now that you have eleven things to look for in a network marketing company, you are fully prepared to go out there, get some information and select a company and team that is right for you.

To check out the system you can use to generate and monetize qualified leads for your business click here

See also:

Rich Dad's the Business School - For People Who Like Helping People

Your First Year in Network Marketing: Overcome Your Fears, Experience Success, and Achieve Your Dreams!

Legitimate Business or Illegal Pyramid?

By Jeremy Standiford

Legitimate Business or Illegal Pyramid?

There are literally hundreds of home based business opportunities available. Many of these companies are network marketing companies, some are good and some are illegal scams or “money games”. Now both legitimate and non-legitimate companies will tell you that you can make a six or seven figure income working from home, but the key is to be well informed enough to tell the difference between a legitimate business and a scam. The following are questions you should ask about any network marketing company you should consider. If the answer to any of these questions is the “wrong” answer then it is most likely an illegal pyramid scheme or at least an inferior company.

1. How will you get paid? The first question you should ask with any company is how you get paid. If you get paid from recruitment (i.e. the associate/franchise fee), and not from actual sales of a product or service then it is an illegal pyramid scheme. Find a different company.

2. Buybacks and Charge backs – Will the company offer to buyback any unsold/unused inventory you might have? Will the company let your customers do the same? Usually if the company does offer this, then the distributor of the product will also get a charge back. While charge backs are not something you may look forward to, a company that has a good return/cancellation policy is most likely legit.

3. What is the company most concerned with? A legitimate network marketing company will be most concerned with establishing a market for its product or service. If the company doesn’t seem to have much interest in distributing product and increasing market share, stay away.

There are other ways to tell if a company is legitimate, but these three are the major qualifiers for a legitimate network marketing company.

Now that you know the difference between a legitimate company and a scam, check out my next article, selecting a network marketing company that will offer you the greatest chance for success.

Suggested Readings:

Rich Dad's the Business School - For People Who Like Helping People

Your First Year in Network Marketing: Overcome Your Fears, Experience Success, and Achieve Your Dreams!