The concept of "marketing" is scary enough in itself - Why do we need "multi-level marketing" as well? What is it anyway, and do I need it for my business to be successful? Multi-level marketing, often called "MLM" or even "network marketing" is a business model that involves not only you, but your upline (those above you in the system), and your downline (those below you in the system). Many people are intimidated by the multi-level system, thinking it is just a "pyramid scheme" where only those at the top reap the benefits. However, if you put money into an MLM business and you are actually getting something of value out of it, such as an education, resources, or tools that far exceed what you put into it - and when everyone in the matrix has the opportunity to benefit, not just those at the top - then it is not a so-called "pyramid scheme", it is a legitimate MLM business. Once this is understood, MLM is not so difficult a process.

In MLM, you want people on your team, or in your downline. In order to do this you have to communicate with other people and get into the game of prospecting. Prospecting involves talking to people face-to-face, on the phone, and/or in emails about your business. You want to get people interested, and actively involved in what you are doing. You can find new people to talk to anywhere, but it is a good idea to start with the people you know, or your "warm market", just because they know who you are, they trust you already, and they are a good audience to practice on without feeling stupid! After you hit your warm market, you also want to ask them if they know anyone who might be interested in your business. Finally, you can hit the "cold market", or those people you and your warm market don't know at all. When first starting out, it's easy to get excited about every prospect you talk to. Soon enough though, you realize that you have to weed out certain prospects who really aren't serious about your business, and focus your energy on those who are. It's important to keep a conversation rolling with your serious prospects. You can do this by contacting them by phone, email, or in person on a regular basis, finding out if they are interested in being on your team, and encouraging them to ask questions or find out more.

Once you've found some good prospects, and you've contacted them a few times about your business opportunity, you have to make sure you are prepared to answer their questions. They are going to want to know about your business, your product or service, your history, the organization's history, and about the compensation plan. If you are speaking to them on the phone, you can write notes about possible questions, have a printout of frequently asked questions that they may ask, and have the compensation plan in front of you. The more you do it the more confident you will become, and notes may not be necessary. If you are meeting face-to-face, you can hand out brochures or DVDs on the business and let that do the explaining. You may think telling them all you can about the business is the way to go, but you should try to keep it as simple as possible so that the prospect feels that they can easily duplicate the process.

Your prospects have now had a chance to look things over, and now it is up to you to follow-up with the prospects. You can call them and ask if they have any questions or concerns and find out if they are really interested. You can let them know what the benefits of joining are, and what the next step will be. It's important to ask, "Are you in, or are you out?" Again, this allows you to focus your time and energy on only those who will help you. It is these prospects that are likely to become successful anyway.