There are typically two primary reasons why people fail in a network or affilliate marketing business.



The first is that network marketing is a business of marketing, training and business ownership. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the industry have not been trained on how to market, how to train or how to become successsful business owners.

The second prime reason for the high failure rate is the lack of a proven, successful and duplicatable business system.

Not a great many people have a natural ability to sell an opportunity on the phone or face to face to a complete stranger - it takes a huge amount of skill and experience. The phone skills and closing techniques necessary using a traditional network marketing approach are certainly not duplicatable, and not something that your downline can just copy for instant success.

Network Marketers need a duplicatable business system and the knowledge to work that system on a daily basis.

Let's take a look at McDonald's. They are a Billion Dollar franchise. The most successful and duplicated business model in the world. And one that happens to be run by a largely unskilled workforce. How can this be so?

The answer can be found in the system that makes up the foundation of the franchise. Do you ever feel like you bought a business in a box, but that a few parts might be missing? You know... The pieces that actually turn your actions into "production".

Well, if you feel like that, it's because you're right. Ray Kroc, the franchise master of McDonald's was a genius in more ways than one.

MLM & affiliate marketing has been compared to a McDonald's franchise in many ways, on many occasions. If you haven't come across these comparisons before, I'm sure you can quickly think of a few on your own. Here is what you may not have realized about Ray, McDonald's, and your business...Ray's primary mission was to sell McDonald's franchises to franchise buyers ...which then sell the burgers to the customers. More franchises = more burgers sold.

Our job as networkers is no different. We sell our franchise opportunity to others, and collectively market the product to the end consumer.

The key to McDonald's success with both franchise owners and customers, was their duplicatable system.

Ray knew his food couldn't compare to the quality of other franchises. He also knew that potential franchise buyers didn't give a hoot about McDonald's or their burgers. What they did want, was to make money.

So Ray sold them EXACTLY what they wanted, which wasn't a restaurant, but a machine that acquired customers, and turned them into cash.

He didn't sell them the food, he sold them a system.

In fact the system was so fine-tuned, that you could take a team of unskilled, inexperienced high school kids, and have them run the show.

All they did was train each other on how to flip the switches, that ran the machine, which did the majority of the work behind the scenes.

Franchise owners started buying and setting these machines up by the thousands, turned them on, and got the end result.

So, as a network marketer, selling a business franchise, what are you selling to your potential buyers?

Unfortunately, you are probably trying to sell them on your company and your product. (A "mine-is-better-than -yours-burger-with all the trimmings").

You have a ton of websites and material about your company's history, their record breaking growth, their debt-free finances, the ORAC value of your product, the Physician's Desk Reference number, the user testimonials... etc etc.

People get rich in this world by solving other people's problems, and when you sell someone your opportunity, you are not solving a problem, you are giving them a BIGGER ONE!!!

Product and comp plans don't make you successful. Systems do.

These machines (ads and marketing) should be doing the work for you. All you need to do is push the 'Go Button' and become buddies (customer service, cashiers) with the folks who come through the system. Not because you are unskilled or lazy, but because a system is duplicatable and you are not.

Your job is not to sell, but to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, because THAT is the glue that binds this industry.

A system that is not backed up and glued together by a heart, by people, by relationships, is a ticking time-bomb.

Show them and sell them a system for attaining the results they want, be a mentor, friend, and a coach, and they couldn't care less about ORAC values, price points, and competition.

Don't sell people on the business. Sell them on you, your team and your system first (because these are the ONLY things that will bring results), and THEN sell them on your company...(Or should I say allow them to sell themselves on your company).

Solve their problem with your system and with your leadership.

Do these two things, and you will be successful.

Copyright 2006 Rick Williams