MLM By The Numbers
by Greg Arnold

Many network marketers are dismayed with the numbers aspect of running a successful networking business. Since it is a people business, some think it is somehow cold and impersonal to think of their business in those terms. While I feel you would be far less successful as a network marketer by concentrating only on that part of your business, I also believe you are reducing your effectiveness if you don't understand and take advantage of it.

The first thing to understand is, no matter how hard you try to help them, not everyone you sponsor will be successful. I know that is hard to believe but, sadly, it's true! However, what you must be aware of is, everyone on your team is important to your business. They all must be treated as VIP's with absolutely no exceptions, because about 85% of all network  marketing products are consumed by the networking distributors themselves. As we have discussed in the past, every distributor is an outlet for the products and every distributor is a consumer of the products. Most are much better consumers than outlets!

If you make it a personal and team goal to make ALL your team members feel good about themselves and their products, your volume of business will increase in direct proportion to how well you accomplish that team goal. Always be a sponsor first and retailer second, but never conduct a sponsoring interview without demonstrating some, or all, of your product line. You can never go too far to help someone feel good about himself or his product line.

Secondly, one out of every 100 people on your team is a potential superstar, if treated right. All these superstars have four things in common. They all work very hard at their business, they all are very teachable and coachable, and they all make good things happen because they have a tremendous will to win or they always believe there is a way to win. In addition to the will to win, they have something only superstars have. Superstars have the will to work hard to prepare to win. Without the tremendous will to prepare, you will not have all the weapons needed if you must snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and then only luck will save you. Do you really want to leave those critical, make it or break it, moments in the hands of lady luck?

One out of every 30 to 40 recruits is a good, solid leader. These people are hard-workers, they are teachable and they have the will to win. While these people are a valuable asset to your team, do not mistake them for superstars. They need the aid of a local superstar to perform at their peak.

Three or four out of 25 are good followers and great assets to your team. They are teachable and they work hard sometimes. Like everybody, they want to win but it is not always a priority. You can count on them to do almost anything you ask of them, but they rarely take the ball and run with it and they are generally product-oriented.

And, 20 out of 25 will either forget they joined your team 10 minutes after they sign-up or be good consumers, depending on how you treat them. Again, the secret to making them good consumers is always treat them like the VIP's they are, and always give them a product demonstration during the sponsoring presentation. If you don't have a product per se, find a way to demonstrate your service. These people will lack in one or more of the essential things they need to win big. They will not be teachable or, they will not work hard and long enough or, they will not have the will to win or a combination of these things. Remember to always help them feel good about themselves and their products.

Depending on your point of view, the above numbers could be alarming or the best news you've ever heard in your network marketing career. The fact is they aren't good or bad. It's just important to understand and use them to your advantage.

Thirdly, many people will have false notions about what networking is. Many will believe it is only a marketing technique or tool used to move products or services from the supplier to the consumer. Others believe it is a social club or religion to be attended weekly with little concern about profit. Both are somewhat correct. While it is important to remember it is a business and, like all businesses, it requires knowledge, skills and work to be successful doing it. It is also important to remember that it is a way of life. Something vibrant and alive. Like any living, breathing thing, it requires love and nourishment, and that requires an investment on your part.

You must be willing to consistently put in the time and effort required to make these numbers work for you and you must do it in a loving, caring manner. That is proof positive that networking is for real. There's work involved! Networking is the only place where you can have 3 to 5 years business growth every month. In order to take full advantage of the numbers of the business, you must make a complete commitment to working your business and making your business work for you. You have to immerse yourself in it and become obsessed with it.

You must learn and practice the principle of compressing activity and collapsing time frames. Take your goals for the next year and compress the activity needed to accomplish those goals into the next month. Take your goals for this month and compress the necessary activity into this week. Take this week's goals and perform the needed activity over the next 24 hours! If you were planning on sponsoring 12 people this year, go out and sponsor them this month. There is magic in doing this.

Imagine for a moment that it takes exactly one hour to cut the grass in your lawn. Let's say you want it cut every week. Here are two ways you could do it. One is to cut ten minutes' worth, everyday. The other is, of course, to do the whole thing in one day each week. Both ways get the job done but, as you can imagine, not with the same results.

In the case of sponsoring twelve people in a month verses in a year, one will create momentum and excitement and potentially a business explosion. The other will create some activity, some excitement and some momentum, but only in little inconsistent spurts and you will have little or nothing to show for your efforts at the end of the year.

If you spread out a small amount of gun powder over a large area and ignite it, you will get a fizzle. It makes a good show and can be impressive but nothing really happens! If you take that same small amount of gun powder and compress it into a tight small space before you ignite it, you will get an explosion. The same principle applies to your business activity. If you spread it out over a large time frame you may give a good show but you will only fizzle and probably move on to the next "hot" networking opportunity before you've gotten warmed up with the last one.

If you compress your activity into a collapsed time frame, you may be providing the spark to touch off the next truly "hot" networking opportunity for thousands, even tens of thousands of people searching for a way to make their dreams come true. In the process, your dreams will come true also!