5 Winning Strategies For MLM SuccessCopyright ' 2005 Cutts Group, llc
5 Winning Strategies For MLM Success
1 Find Your Niche
Success Tip #3 - Fail to Plan...Plan to Fail
You need a business plan and I know, I know what you're thinking...
"but I am just a small one person operation, working from my makeshift spare
bedroom/turned quasi office...I don't need a business plan. I am just looking
at starting something to help make ends meet, I don't want to go through all
this trouble. I am not looking for investors or financing from a bank."
I have heard this countless times from people so you aren't alone in your
thinking. A business plan actually helps you put your thoughts on paper and it
serves, when it is done, as a roadmap. I mean you already have a starting point
and you already have an idea as to where you want to end up - business success,
right' Well, the business plan helps by filling in the gaps and helps you plot your
course of action to getting to that business success.
There are some aspects of the business plan that might not be applicable for the
specific business you are involved with and it is ok to leave out. Also, some of the
homework you did in researching your idea will be useful for the plan as well, so
in some aspects you are not re-inventing the wheel here either.
The Business Plan will consist of:
market trends - you need to know if you have a market that will sustain you and
your business for the long haul and where the trends are going. As an example
right now a trend is that people as they get older become more health conscious,
therefore health and nutrition is a trend. Will it be say 5, 7, or even 10 years
down the road' Well that is something that this research will help you gain an
insight to, and from there you can determine just how it will affect your business.
financial planning - depending upon the type of business you are forming, you may
have little to provide in start up capital, however, you also need to determine your
budget. It doesn't matter if you are a part of a little affiliate program, an mlm or
a business you formed from your own ideas, you need to keep track of the finances
and gauge expenditures etc accordingly.
competitive analysis - who is in competition with you and what are they offering'
Can you perhaps better than offer' Knowing who your competitors are and what
they are doing helps you in several ways. It helps determine where you stand in
the market based on price and quality of your product/service. It helps you to
determine how you can better your offer if you need to. It also provides you
with a bit of insight as to their marketing tactics and objectives.
marketing and promotions - how do you plan on getting you word out, what options
are available to you and of course the budget that you have set aside for the
marketing of your business.
It doesn't matter that you are not trying to secure investors or some other form
of financing. Drafting up a business plan keeps you focused on your goals and
gives you the guidance you need along the way. There is a reason that 95% of
business fails...it is because people just jumped into something without first
plotting their roadmap.
Success Tip #4 - The Learning Curve
Ya know, no one knows all there is to know about business so it stands to
reason that you do have quite a learning curve ahead of you. Now you can
take this on with two different mindsets, you could:
1. Get totally pumped about the fact that you are learning some pretty
amazing things and that by the end of the year you will be totally gobbed-
smacked at just how much you have done..."You've come a long way baby!"
2. Fight the fact that you need to learn some stuff and tell yourself there
is no possible way that you can do it. I will tell you right now, with this
kind of attitude you won't get far.
Just keep this in mind, whether you can or can't you are absolutely right.
Yup you are going to make mistakes and probably bad ones, but those
mistakes are valuable lessons to be learned.
In addition to that you also need to keep up with what is happening within your
industry. You need to be the "sponge" and stay up to date with the latest trends
(there's that word again, huh'), advances as they apply to your industry and then
of course through that reading you are becoming much more informed and of
more value to your customers. There is NOTHING worse than losing a customer
to your competitor because they found a new way to do something better for
them and you haven't. Why' Because you didn't read and keep up.
We are in the "information" age, there is a ton of it out there on anything and
everything that you can imagine.
Success Tip #5 - Be Persistent and Consistent
Two words that have much meaning especially when you are trying to start and
maintain a viable business. There are going to be peaks and valleys throughout
your quest for business success. During the highs and the lows you need to hang
in there and don't give up. Stay your course, adjusting where you need to in order
to get over the rough spots and above all else be consistent in what you are doing.
Success Tip #6 - Break Out of The Bubble
Sometimes we are working so hard "in" the business, we neglect working "on" it.
We are the best Accountants, Graphic Designers, Independent Distributors that
we forget that working "on" the business is needed as well. Without working "on"
it then we will soon run out of the working "in" it...make sense'
Break out and find groups to belong to, your local Chamber, some sort of business
association that will allow you the chance to meet with like-minded people like
yourself.
Breaking out of your bubble can also mean taking in a course that relates to your
business in general or perhaps a business related course. Again too you will tend
to find like-minded people with which to talk to.
Success Tip #7 - Find a Coach or a Mentor
A coach or mentor can be quite helpful for you. They can help brainstorm ideas,
share their experiences with the intention of helping you avoid some of the
expensive pitfalls that they experienced. They are also valuable in that they
are on the outside of your business looking in and as such can give you a
different perspective than you can see on your own.
A Coach or Mentor is a valuable asset to your business.
Success does leave clues and to find them all you really need to do is to
find those people who have or are achieving the same results that you want
to achieve and talk with them. Find out from them what their struggles were
and how they overcame them and what it took to get them at the point where
they are now. On top of that ask them if they had to do it all over again what
would they do differently and why. The greatest lessons and insights we can
gain are from those who have experienced it and are willing to share those
experiences with you.
There you go seven tips that will certainly help and guide you in your quest
for success. There are certainly more clues out there, these seven along with
your drive and energy will give you a very good solid foundation to start with.
After that and as you go along your way, just remember to stay open to ideas
and concepts, be a sponge and learn as much as you can about the industry you
are in and of course learn from others.
Good luck with your quest!!
About the Author
Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home
office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Hey...are you a do-it
yourself marketer' Are you struggling a little' Need just a
little help''' Can you imagine how far your business could
grow with a Marketing Coach in your pocket''' Take a no
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