"As a leading MLM Consultant, MLM Speaker and MLM Trainer I address tens of thousands each year about the powerful and awesome realities of MLM. Providing quality MLM solutions has become my passion. As the CEO of a leading MLM software company I've designed the best self replicating website software and lead capture pages, full corporate MLM software solutions and graphical downline reports available. We also offer domestic & international debit card and global mlm payroll solutions." - Mel
So, what is the best compensation plan in the world? Well, let's look at all the factors. This issue is often the subject of much debate and conjecture, typically filled with trite cliche phrases like, "building deep is where the profit is" or "going wide is the key to a stable business."
Is it really just that simple? Could I end my soap-box right here before it starts by leaving in your minds just these two simple phrases? Oh, how I wish. This decades old scuffle won't end that easily, won't end with this article and this topic wouldn't be much of a topic at all to blog (read: rant) about if it really was that simple... now, would it?
No, this is not a simple topic. Many might tell you it's simple by stating phrases like, "The binary is the best comp plan in the world," or "I will only build in a matrix," or "The first thing I look for in a company is to see if they have an Australian plan."
Before we can "wash our hands" of these comments we have to first clearly understand:
The evolution of MLM compensation plans
Elements of the various MLM plans
What elements (bonuses/structures) encourage which kind of human behavior
How different MLM plans might function within different - demographics (old/young, male/female, liberal/conservative, etc) - product pricing (company cost & retail/wholesale pricing) - consumption behaviours
How goals are critical in choosing the best compensation plan
So, over the next several months I will be elaborating on each of these areas more in depth. It's a common question of those who spend an above average amount of time in MLM, "What is the best compensation plan?" New companies ask me this question all the time, as an MLM consultant and MLM Software provider. In fact, I probably have the "Comp Plan Conversation" 2 or 3 times each day.
To start, I want you to begin thinking about MLM compensation plans as vehicles, something that will carry you from one point to the next. If you will visualize your starting point and your desired destination, along with the various terrains that you will cross during your journey, I believe you'll start to see compensation plans in a far different light than you do today.
What kind of vehicle do you drive? Truck, SUV, Motorcycle, Sudan, or a more Sporty Car? How do you get to work? Jet, Trolley, Ferry, or Bus? What kind of vehicle do you use at work? ATV, Delivery Truck, or Utility Truck? What other kinds of vehicles have their purpose? Helicopter, boat, jet ski, snow mobile, or heavy loader? All of these have some very similar fundamental ideas built into their construction, and no one can really make a solid case that each of those vehicles aren't serving a solid and valuable purpose.
So, I've tipped my hand here and given away the whole premise haven't I? Well, perhaps. I'm not sure any quality article on MLM compensation plans should start off with a singular compensation plan bias and an agenda to convince others about that plans superiority. I have witnessed very experienced and credible MLM experts (in their own rights) beat this issue to death, never once changing the mind of the other. Ultimately, each plan has it's place.
Every individual will have a personal affinity toward a specific plan type that's based on their individual passions concerning a product/service type, training style, and their own personal market place. For the course of these articles I want you to put those biases away, I want you to stand back from your passions just enough to get a good view of the other plans and how they work. You might find that there are far more similarities in some plans than you thought.
So, over the next few months I'll discuss how the Matrix or Unilevel, Binary or Australian plan (1-up/2-up/x-up), or even how a hybrid compensation plan (a mixture of several different plans) fits into the world of MLM compensation plans. I'll also discuss how the various bonus structures work into the whole equation: coded bonuses, infinity & generational bonuses, matching bonuses, CAB's (customer acquisition bonuses), pool bonuses, car/vacation/mortgage bonuses, and simple title bonuses.... and do cyclers or straight-lines have their place too?
As a top MLM consultant and leading MLM Software provider I get asked all the time to evaluate businesses for their legitimacy. Part but not all of a companies legitimacy is how well they meet the legal criteria and avoid anti-pyramid/ponzi and anti-fraud laws. The other parts blend into corporate strategies, capitalization, marketing/branding, product, etc. which I've written and spoken on numerous times before.
However, I want to give some real solid guidelines that can be followed to:
A- As an MLM Company: Help bring your existing/start-up MLM into better compliance or B- As an MLM Participant: Aid you in selecting an opportunity
First some basic information... the 4 major agencies/groups involved in governing and enforcing US laws (administrative, legislative, or judicial laws) for direct sales / MLM are:
- State Attorney General, predominately concerned about the safety of the citizens of a particular state and enforcing state pyramid/ponzi laws
- Federal Trade Commission, predominantly concerned about fair trade/commerce practices and policing federal pyramid/ponzi laws
- Food & Drug Administration, predominantly concerned drug/nutritional/food products and claims that are made about these products
- Securities and Exchange Commission, predominantly concerned with investment issues and claims of "returns on investment".
Predominantly governmental agencies and officials want to ensure that the public at large are "getting what they pay for" and are "safe from fraud/misrepresentation". They want to see that when we as US citizens spend our money on a product/service that the product/service is safe, that we pay a fair price, and receive a reasonable product/service for the price paid.
Below I've listed 6 starting, fundamental and important KEY items of concern that must be considered. This group of items could also be a high level litmus test on legality.
Concern #1- Someone pays to JOIN a business/program/plan, doesn’t receive a product/service in return, and IF a commission is paid, then you have cause for concern.
A company can only pay commission when a product/service is sold. Commission can only be paid on the sale of product/service to an END-USER. A company cannot pay commission on membership fees (IE. No head hunting fees).
Issues: What activity generates commission? Is it the sale of product or some other activity, like recruiting others? Pyramid and Ponzi schemes, chain letters, "pay it forward" programs, gifting programs will typically get stopped at the door on this issue. If any kind of "gift" or commission is earned/paid for "enlisting", "recruiting", or "selling" someone on JOINING the program/business/opportunity then this is an issue that needs to be looked at. A commission can be earned/paid on a product or service that was sold, period.
The Cycler Issue: Product must not only be delivered upon cycle. The money spent to join a cycler is what is used to pay commission, if a product is not purchased and delivered at the time of payment, this becomes an issue. If "what someone pays for" can’t be delivered or received until recruiting is preformed (as in many cyclers), then this becomes an issue.
The first question: Is commission paid on a product/service and NOT on a membership/participation fee?
If Yes, see the next question...
Concern #2- A product/service has no commercial value or is unreasonably priced or if people are asked to buy an unreasonable amount (front end loading)... and IF a commission is paid, then you have cause for concern.
Products/Services must have a reasonable value in comparison to the price paid and people cannot be asked to purchase an unreasonable amount of that product/service in conjunction with commission being paid. Obviously if there are no "strings-attached", like a commission plan, then if someone buys a product/service way over priced, or some huge quantity... that’s their business. This isn’t the case when a commission plan is attached to that sale.
Issues: A company can’t just decide to sell the "unique" dirt from their back yard for $X amount and create a business around it. What value does it have? eBooks are gray areas: what value do they have? Is what is charged reasonable? How many eBooks will 1 person use? How many ‘positions’ in a binary or cycler or re-entry is reasonable? Subscriptions pose an issue if it’s for a one time product like "access to a group of eBooks". Who needs $10,000 worth of website malls? And are those malls really worth $10,000? Why?
A good benchmark to hold next to any product/service is: are similar products sold by another company that is not doing a business opportunity? If so, what is the price they charge? If not, why?
Ask yourself this question: would I buy this product if I was not doing the business? If not, why buy it now? Compulsory purchase of product to participate in the business is an issue (see #5 below).
The second question: Is the product reasonably priced, have value, and sold in reasonable quantity?
If Yes, see the next question...
Concern #3- The product/service is only of value to someone doing the business, if so, you have cause for concern.
A product/service must have value to someone NOT in the business.
Issues: Training, business cards, leads, starter kits, promotional CD’s, websites, downline reporting, etc. are all "items" that are typically only of interest to someone doing the business. If I am a training company selling training that helps anyone in any company, or a business card company selling business cards to anyone in any company, or a leads company selling leads to anyone in any company... then these items become commissionable. BUT, if you are a nutritional company and offer business cards to your business members to help them promote their business... you CAN NOT pay commission on the cards. Websites are the same way... no commission can be paid on any tool used to promote your business.
The third question: Does this product/service have value to an end-user/customer who is not participating in the business?
If Yes, see the next question...
Concern #4- When purchasing a product/service as a customer IF that customer is automatically put in the business, then you have cause for concern.
A product/service MUST be sold separately to end-users from the process of joining the business. This cuts 2 ways: a) someone not doing the business must be able to buy your product/ service without being put into the business and b) someone joining the business cannot be forced to buy a product (see #5 below). It may not cost anything to get into the business, but a position in the business needs to be an optional secondary opt-in process after someone buys the product.
Issues: Businesses where everyone in the business is a customer and every customer is in the business presents a problem. A company should be customer focused. A legit business is one where the sale of product, not the recruitment of new business participants is the primary focus. It is important to distinguish between end-users/customers and business participants.
The fourth question: Can a customer/end-user buy a product and not be in the business?
If Yes, see the next question...
Concern #5- Someone is required to purchase a product in order to participate in the business, if so, you have cause for concern.
Participation in a business must not be conditional on the personal purchase of product. In a business opportunity personal consumption may not be a requisite for participating in the business. However, once someone is participating in the business a purchase may be required to advance through the "ranks".
Issues: To sell a Porches’ why would you need to personally buy one? You don’t. Many may say, which I do agree with, that the use of a product enhances ones understanding of the value of that product. We often hear in this industry, "be a product of the product." However, while the use of a product/service may enhance our understanding of it, provide a deeper value and thus increase our passion and ability to share it with others, access to the business opportunity cannot be predicated on personal consumption.
The fifth question: Can a business participant join an opportunity without purchasing product?
If Yes, see the next question...
Concern #6- During introduction to the business or product/service IF income claims or product/service claims are made, you have cause for concern.
Hype is deadly. Making claims of any type that cannot be proven scientifically or empirically to be applicable universally to some guaranteed degree can present massive legal challenges. Fraud and misrepresentation are major pitfalls of many who would hype their business and product/service in its promotion.
Issues: A clearly stated phrase of excitement and love or adoration for a company or something is not an issue. But to cross the line with statements of how a product/service impacted your life or how you earned $X amount pushes the envelope which might and often does result in a legal issue of fraud or misrepresentation. This is a difficult area for most to clearly grasp, but it’s one that gets more distributors in trouble than any other area.
The sixth question: Is the product/service or business opportunity explained without making claims?
If Yes, you’ve likely found a company/opportunity/plan that will remain free of legal challenges.
Every company should have retained and worked with a qualified MLM attorney and MLM consultant to put in place all solid business strategies, rules, and policies that are in line with the laws of the country and states that business will be conducted in.
You should also ensure that the MLM Software company works closely with your MLM Consultant and Attorney to put in place the needed distinctions and tracking required by law and by good business strategy.
Disclaimer:The materials available through this site are for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. The transmission of any information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney/client relationship. Internet subscribers and on-line readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.
Oh how I wish I could take credit for what you are about to read. It's a message I've been talking about for years. Creating a story to share your products is extremely critical in today's "hyper cynical" consumer world. Our customers and business prospects are more educated, have been exposed to our basic message multiple times, and will not fall for the same yesteryear ploys.
While the following article is not addressed specifically to the MLM channel, the ideas and concepts massively apply.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Advertising's Most Important Word By Jerry Bader (c) 2007
If you had to guess the single most important word in advertising what would it be: free, special, discount, sale, new, improved, bígger, better?
So many words have lost their meaning or been corrupted by misuse or abuse that it is not an obvious choice. The words luxury, exclusive, and world class have been rendered meaningless after being applied to everything from eight hundred square foot condos to restaurants that serve microwave frozen dinners. We can't even rely on light, diet, or low carb to actually describe what's inside a package.
What advertisers have done is create a hyper cynical marketplace (Ed. Note: I have been saying this for years, I love the vindication.), where the audience for whatever you sell has lost faith in what is being said. The Web with its emphasis on content gives advertisers a chance to redeem themselves and to deliver meaningful information to its audience.
All Content Is Advertising, All Advertising Isn't Some may cringe at the thought, but in the final analysis all content is a form of advertising. Content is rarely if ever neutral, even if it doesn't overtly promote a product or service; content always has a point to make, or an idea, concept, or position to advance. If content doesn't provide some perspective, some meaningful knowledge, then does it really qualify as content? The same can be said for advertising, if it doesn't explain, enlighten or engage, it is just noise.
What Is Advertising's Most Important Word? My vote goes to the simple innocuous word "like": a nondescript word that carries with it all the conceptualization power you need to create a business identity, to form a brand personality, and to position your product or service in the mind of your audience. A previous article of mine "A Website Without Video Is Like..." uses the power of metaphor to illustrate how this little four-letter word can crystallize an idea in the mind of an audience.
Metaphor + Analogy + Stories: The Adman's Best Friends A metaphor explains complex concepts and hard to comprehend processes by comparing them to common everyday knowledge. We use metaphors everyday without even realizing we're doing it. We 'race' to the office. We work like 'dogs." And we all know, it's a 'jungle' out there. Metaphors are critical to the way we communicate with each other and to the success of our marketing communication and advertising.
Metaphors can be extended into analogies, and analogies into stories, and stories into campaigns; and campaigns developed in this manner have a higher probability of achieving the elusive status of meaningful content that embeds your message in your audience's collective consciousness. There is no better way to overcome a client's objection than to put that objection into perspective with an appropriate allegorical story.
(Ed. Note: It's been said years before I arrived on the scene of MLM as a consultant, "Facts tell, stories sell." This was typically in reference to testimonials. However, as our consumer base has evolved over the years being inundated with miracle stories of healing, huge savings on this or that service, and untold wealth just 30 days away, it becomes increasingly important to package your message in a 'credible' story through metaphor and analogy.)
Overcoming Objections: How Long Is Too Long? We've all heard the constant bellyaching from impatient Web users about how long they have to wait for everything on the Web. Every time I hear this from somebody, I am reminded of the story (perhaps apocryphal) of the early introduction of the Polaroid Land camera.
Before the days of one-hour photo shops, digital photography, and immediate video feedback, people had to wait up to a week for their pictures to be developed by the local pharmacy or camera shop. When Polaroid came out with a camera that delivered a finished photograph in sixty seconds, people were amazed; the era of ínstant gratification had begun.
So the story goes, a group of adventurers traveled deep into the Brazilian Rainforest to learn about the indigenous people. When they came across a tribe who hadn't seen outsiders before, they befriended them and took pictures of them with the Polaroid cameras they brought along. The natives loved the pictures since they hadn't seen anything like this before, but they did have one complaint, 'why did it take so long for the pictures to develop?'
The problem is not technology; the problem is one of perception. Like the natives who perceived the sixty second developing of photographs to be slow, so to do many Web-users perceive the Internet to be slow when in fact it is an incredible technological achievement where anyone with a computer and Internet connection can access information from all over the world in seconds or, heaven forbid, minutes.
The Better The Story, The Better The Communication The solution to the problem is better communication, making yourself and your message instantly understood. People who are truly interested in what you have to say will wait for your Web page or video to load. What gets them frustrated is when they wait, and instead of getting a meaningful message, they get a bunch of nonsense that is irrelevant, self-congratulatory or completely incomprehensible.
A video or audio message on your website is more easily grasped than a page full of densely written text or cryptic bulleted points. But you will loose your audience quickly no matter what the form of your message if it's confusing, muddled, overly complex, or buried in b-school platitudes and industry jargon.
You need your message to be understandable, engaging, and memorable and one of the best ways to convey that message is to compare it to something your audience can relate to. It's like teaching your kids a life lesson by reading them one of Aesop's Fables.
Finding Your Metaphor Some people have a knack for expressing things in a way that an audience will instantly grasp and more importantly remember. For those of us in the communication, marketing, advertising, and creative development businesses it is a necessary skill learned over the years. But for those in the day-to-day grind of business's nitty-gritty it is rarely an ability that ever gets developed.
Creating a Web video campaign that your audience is going to watch, remember, and pass on to colleagues requires a commitment of time and funds, and you want to make sure it communicates your message effectively. Rather than using your traditional approach concentrating on features and facts, try something different; try developing a campaign based on a metaphor that delivers your brand's personality and emotional value-add.
Where to begin? You need to set yourself free from the concrete, and concentrate on the conceptual. If this seems like a difficult thing to wrap your head around, then start with baby steps.
Concentrate On The Conceptual Any effective marketing campaign whether it's a series of Web videos, direct emails, magazine display ads, banner ads, outdoor billboards, television and radio spots, or any combination there of, will only work if it focuses on a single message.
At the heart of all advertising is the promise you commit to delivering to your clients. No matter how clever or memorable your marketing, if you fail to deliver on that promise, you will fail.
Learn a lesson from the politicians. The general publics' opinion of politicians is about on a par with having a prostate exam. Politicians can't help themselves, they promise the electorate what the electorate wants to hear, and then fail to deliver on promises that can't be kept. Consequently, people become cynical and distrust everything politicians say.
Failure to deliver on your promise to be the cheapest, the best, or the guy with the most features, is like a politician promising no new taxes. Read my lips! Those kinds of promises are a prescription for marketing disaster.
Taking the conceptual approach requires a certain degree of confidence and an understanding that you are going to have to give something up to get something in return. If you present your identity as the Timex of widgets, inexpensive and ubiquitous; then you are giving up the audience looking for the Rolex of widgets, expensive and exclusive.
Audience Resonance: It's All About Striking A Nerve
One of the most memorable commercials ever to appear on television was the 1985 introduction of the Apple Macintosh computer. The anti-big brother message said nothing of bits or bytes, or anything else computer related, but it did establish Apple's character and personality with its allegorical message, a message that is still valid today.
If your marketing message lacks this kind of power and personality; if your advertising is getting lost, or drowned-out by the competition, try finding a metaphor that instantly tells your audience who you are and why they should care.
About The Author Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio and Web-video. Visit www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads. Contact at info (at) mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246.
(Ed. Note: Jerry, I love it! It's exactly what my audiance needs to hear and know about. The same old tired lines have brought the smallest of affiliate marketers to the largest of successful MLM companies strife and pain. Your message... OUR message... should be heard loud and clear. It takes more than a good product and a website to get your message out!)
So, I was part of a discussion recently about gratitude and they/we were talking about all the same old types of things: Why should we be grateful, why is gratitude important... you know the drill.
So, I was sitting there listening to the discussion and I was just about asleep from boredom. As I often do to keep myself awake I piped up and shared my thoughts on the topic. Here are the 4 main thoughts I shared:
#1- Personally, I recognize God as the giver of all things. You might see it as karma, yin/yang, circle of life, the universe, or the laws of physics (how energy works). To me it is God and God is/controls all of these things. There is balance in all things... I didn't say life was "fair" in a subjective, limited perception kind of way... but, life IS ALWAYS fair in an objective, balanced, higher purpose kind of way.
So, as good things or bad things happen it's important to be grateful for what we have and the experiences we have.
#2- It could be worse! I recall my grandpa when I was a child putting a fine point on this issue, which was hard for his 8 year old grandson to understand back then. As children often do I was in a hurry to get places, fell down and skinned my knee in the process. Grandpa Walker glanced over at me with his wicked smile and said, "Want me to step on your toe so your knee will feel better?" Obviously not the most loving of statements a grandfather might say to his grandchild, however, there was no doubt that grandpa loved me. He just had a special way of showing it. Upon his passing the phrase, "Diamond in the rough" was etched on his marker.
What a lesson this great man was trying to teach his grandson. His world growing up was the Great Depression, hard times, and real bad lives for many. It took thick skin to keep ones chin up and he was passing on a lesson that I value deeply. I am in no small part who I am today because of him.
When we think life is rough, we need to really look at what we have and realize that we always have things to be grateful for, even if what we are grateful for is that things aren't any worse than they are.
#3- If you don't appreciate what you have, why should you be given anything more? This is where God and karma come into play. You've likely heard the concepts of Living Abundantly, Laws of Attraction, Power of Positive thinking, etc. You may have heard about "The Secret." Well, the very nexus of this whole concept is that without gratitude, without a grateful heart, without appreciation for what we have - we won't be 'given' anything more than we already have.
Wallowing in self-pity is the best way to stay right where you are. Celebrating our Abundant lives is the best way to find our dreams, hopes, desires becoming reality.
#4- As I see it... this life is a path to self-improvement. The only way to improve who we are is to work on those areas we find hard: Self-control, financial management, optimism... etc. How does a diamond become the hardest and most valuable gem? Not by just slinking along as a pile of sludge for eons and boom one day it automatically transforms into a beautify diamond. Nope... it is only through intense pressure and heat that a nasty black crumbly carbon material is transformed into something so awesome and precious.
...
I know we all have our ups and downs and our challenges... but, if we face unafraid the pressure and heat of the moment we will come through the other side a far better person. Face your fire with determination to conquer and over come! When you walk through the other side you may be blistered from head to foot... but don't you dare complain... put a smile on and be glad that my grandpa didn't step on your toe!
My Challenge To You: Wake every morning and say, "BRING IT ON, BABY! BRING IT ON!"
Call it what you want, but the key to a happy and full life is to create a sense of contentment and appreciation for those things you have and the lessons you have learned, while keeping in mind during the toughest of times that the point isn't the pain or difficulty but the strength gained and the strength you'll ultimately be able to share with others.
If I did nothing else but put our clients in touch with who I consider to be the absolute BEST MLM Legal team and Law firm available today, I would be satisfied that I did our duty to better my clients chances of survival!
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is such a true statement for today's start up companies. Be sure you protect yourself! Work closely with an experienced MLM Attorney.
On most occasions a new start-up company will start-out looking for an MLM software to track their sales organization. I get the chance to slow them down and encourage them to get good mlm legal counsel. The legal environment of the United States, Canada, and the World is changing, adapting, and evolving. New mlm legal rulings and mlm precedent, mlm legislative law and FTC/SEC (or respective agencies/ministries) adapt to the changes in commerce, the economy, public opinion, etc. Without a quality Attorney or Legal Council you're flying blind.
The Legal Firms and MLM Attorneys we work with help HUNDREDS of start-up MLM companies each year.
Let me help you pick the right Legal Team that will fit your needs!
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Most companies will need some type of custom solution (Enterprise), but a few will be able to use our mlm software "out-of-the-box" (Start-up or Pro). We believe you should get exactly what you need (not too much or too little) for a fair price. Transparent, no-hidden-cost, no-games pricing you can understand! Get more details at www.Envex.com. (Be sure to request a feature comparison chart.)
"Mel has been a valuable business partner for MyVoipFon, LLC. We chose to work with Mel and YourSolutions.Net after reviewing more than 20 other MLM Software providers, and we haven't been disappointed with our decision. Mel is an expert at what he does. He has delivered a great product, great service and has gone above and beyond what he had to do to help us be successful. Highly recommended!"
Rob Mouritsen Co-Founder / President of MyVoipFon, LLC
Mel Atwood is one of the foremost MLM Consultants in the industry today. Since 1997, it has been his crusade to bring humanity & reality into the world of MLM, Network Marketing, Referral Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Party Plans, Direct Sales and Viral Marketing.
Contact us for a FREE 30-minute session with our resident MLM Expert and Consultant, Mel Atwood.
'Introduction to MLM' Workshop: Understanding the "In’s and Out's" of MLM is essential to properly implement a business model that makes sense in this niche channel. Every week Mel does several intense introductory sessions on MLM. Every start-up or existing company needs to experience this personal, face-to-face, 6 hour discussion; "Understanding M. L. M. " / " M. L. M. in a Nutshell". Join Mel for a full-day Intro to MLM. He spends time discussing every aspect of this industry. Bring your whole team!
What you can expect to face: growth ups and downs
Choosing a compensation plan: who, what, when, why
Emerging technologies: leveraging technology
Understanding the history of this industry and where we are today
Legal points to be mindful of and why you need an MLM Attorney
Important tools and services: support tools for your sales force
Merchant accounts "Dos and Don'ts"- why all the fuss?
Paying commissions: Debit Cards or Checks?
What they will not tell you!
And other critical information you need to know!
"Mel redefines the word 'expert'. His knowledge in the field of MLM and his pursuit in the perfection of an MLM software system make him the best professional I've worked with. He was very perceptive to our needs. Mel asks a lot from his team and delivers more than just a product or a service: he delivers what the client needs. It presented absolutely no challenge for Mel and his team that we were a Romania company. He helped us to get a better understanding of what we wanted, sharing with us from his vast experience! Mel once said to me: "I'm doing this to make a client happy and to also make a profit. Yet, if the first is not there at the end of the project, the second one does not matter." He helped us to get a better understanding of what we wanted, sharing with us from his vast experience. I'm glad I was offered the chance to work with him and his team. I hope to have the same opportunity in the future."
Gabriel Constantinescu Sales Supervisor at Aviva Romania
Business Plan Evaluation
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"Mel provided an exceptional Web site for our company as we were starting up. He was responsive, quick, and had excellent recommendations for us to generate more traffic."
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If you would like an outline of what is covered we will gladly send you one, just ask! To schedule one of these exceptional one-on-one sessions with Mel, call today! Call: 800-613-5434
Stools come in all shapes and sizes, just like the people who use them. How we use a stool varies greatly. Some of us use them to stand on, some of us use them to sit on or rest our feet on, some of us use a stool as a place to relax, or any number of things.
In talking to clients about the pieces of a solid MLM, the stool analogy comes up often. I'm sure you've heard someone say that just like any solid stool every MLM needs 4 solid legs to be successful. Which is true, but obviously an over simplification.
As an MLM Consultant, it's such an important topic that it's often a major area of discussion with my clients. Previously, I mention the importance of these legs (The True Secret - MLM is not a "Field of Dreams"), and the the often missed but critically important need for the cross bars that hold the legs of any stool together (Questions, Questions, Questions).
Legs and cross bars form the foundation for what will ultimately support our weight. However, a stool without a top serves no real purpose.
Just like a stool without a seat... an MLM company with all 4 legs (product, company, comp plan, training/marketing system) and cross bars (compassion, understanding, honesty, love) will serve little purpose without a solid story...
A good story is the seat of your stool. A good story is absolutely critical.
Early on a new member of your company is likely to hear the saying, "facts tell, and stories sell." And... it really wont sink in for them because those same people who are saying to them "facts tell, and stories sell" will start spewing out facts!
In any random nutritional company a new team member might hear:
"Read what these doctors said about our products main ingredient."
"Did you listen to that scientific audio about the product?"
All the while these new members are being encouraged to learn words like proanthocyandin, xanthons, flavonoid/bioflavonoid, or antioxidant.
Each company has their own language and every industry has their own words and "phraseology" that they use, usually to make themselves "sound" unique.
In a technology company you might hear words like: peer to peer, B2B, Client side, Server side, and on and on.
Very early in my career I joined Melaleuca as a distributor. One of the most interesting things about Melaleuca is how they see themselves in the market. They claim not to be MLM. "Consumer Direct Marketing" is the name they give for the marketing method they use. In their marketing material they list a lot of reasons why they aren't MLM... ultimately to dispel any stigma about the "Pyramid" mind set many have had over the years surrounding MLM. BTW, at it's core roots, Melaleuca IS MLM (multi-level marketing). It may ALSO be "Consumer Direct Marketing," but that is another topic all together.
My point is that simplicity over complexity is important. Far too often companies create new phrases and some times complex ideas to "help distinguish them" from their competing MLM companies, or to "help them stand out" in the minds of those who encounter them. Often to sound impressive or to gain credibility marketers will get into the "BIG WORD SYNDROME" and use phrases that will go over the average persons head. However, complexity, facts and terminology often do more damage than good as new team members and prospects can easily become overwhelmed by the seemingly limitless amounts of information that can be hurled their direction.
The sad thing is that these same people who say that facts don't sell, send their new prospects or team members DVD's to watch, books to read, magazines, CD's, and websites about the product, the money, and the company all of which are filled full of FACTS!
At what point does a new team member throw their hands up in the air and say "TMI"... the new vernacular for "To Much Information!"
Early on in my career in MLM, all this was so counter intuitive for me. I started selling 'stuff' door to door at an age many would not believe. Basically, I've been selling something all my life. But, in the early years of my MLM experience I got to a point where I stopped listening to all the facts people were spitting out. I started doing what I knew worked... and that was talking to people on their level with things they could relate to... using stories, analogies, and keeping it simple.
I learned very young that facts were never something that really mattered... benefits of the product struck a nerve more. How something could make a persons life easier, save them money, give them energy, make them happy, etc. Features are worthless unless they offer understandable benefits. It's the benefits that have always been of value... and stories are the very best way to share benefits.
Your MLM company could have the best product (leg 1), the best company (leg 2), the best comp plan (leg 3), and the best training and marketing (leg 4) along with the needed compassion, understanding, integrity/honesty, and love... and all with the best intentions...
YET, without a solid place to rest your rump... without a solid place for members of your opportunity to rest their efforts, without a simple and powerful story for members to share... you have absolutely nothing.
So, how do you create a story? Well, that's the trick... what message, what benefits, what value can you share that will grab someones attention, stop them long enough for you to share your thoughts, and convey the heart of your offering in such a way that those who have stopped to listen can relate to it, even desire the benefits, and see that indeed the benefits you share in your story are possible for them to attain.
Passion alone is not a story...
Uniqueness alone is not a story...
Financial success alone is not a story...
Duplication of success alone is not a story...
Combine these things in a simple and powerful way and you have a story. You need to find those things that really stand out and make your company different. Maybe it's your product or comp plan or rewards or the marketing or system... what really matters most is your story... does your story sound different? Or does it sound like every other opportunity?
To digress slightly: people don't go to work at their JOB for the money. I know, you're saying to you self... what does this have to do with this topic... just keep reading. What motivates people? Why do people go to work?
They work not for some figure in their bank account... they work for the home, the car, the boat, the cloths, the life style for their families... they work for the things that the money will buy... not for the money itself. MONEY is not a benefit... people don't really care about the money. It's about not having to worry... it's about being able to go out to eat if you want to on whim... it's about spending time with family without worry... it's about the "things" that they want to make their lives comfortable.
A good story talks to people in ways that allows them to see themselves having and attaining these things. If you have signed up for my Free training Thesystem101.com you have learned about F.O.R.M... family, occupation, recreation, and money. Each of these 'areas' are important to people generally... but if you listen real close... it's not the JOB but the freedom, it's not family but the time to spend with family, it's not recreation itself... but the freedom to do the things we want when we want... and money is simply the means for reach freedom in the minds of most people.
When you tell your story... talk about 'earning enough to make your house payment every month', or 'earning enough to pay your car payment', or 'taking a vacation'... relate the money you would normally talk about... to their lives. Make the story about them... and find their "why" (what makes them tick). Rambling on about all your facts will never touch the lives of those you're sharing your facts with... until you start telling a story that is relevant to their life.
Crafting your companies story is as important as choosing the right product to sell or the comp plan that creates the exact human behavior you're looking for (sponsor 2 or 3 and have those 2 or 3 do the same, for example).
IMPORTANT: The story is the start of a new members experience... it is the first thing they will hear or see as a prospect and it is what they will try to emulate. When they start the business they will try to copy the pattern you used to enroll them. If you sent them a complex DVD full of facts... they will send all their prospects the same complex DVD full of facts. If you walk them through a simple process with an understandable story... they will try to emulate this same simple process.
The efforts of thousands and the success OR failure of untold thousands more will rest on the story you craft. Duplicate a horrible story full of complexity, facts, and 'unique' (read contrived) terminology... and you will duplicate failure.
Duplicate a simple and unique story that your target market can easily relate to and understand... and you will duplicate success.
In recent conversations with consulting clients (mostly perspective mlm software clients) it's interesting to note that many feel MLM is like the movie "Field of Dreams" expressing sentiment similar to, "If you build it they will come."
Far too many companies look at MLM as a method of taking their product to market thinking it's a fast and cheap method of reaching thousands of people who will consume and then tell others about their product.
Others look at it in a more sinister way. MLM for them becomes a format to abuse the unknowing, the newbie, and the inexperienced. While this taints public perception on MLM, these companies are the huge minority. There are good, great, and even excellent companies that use MLM to move their product to market while empowering those individual members of their business opportunity.
I'm not a lawyer, but I will state that not all businesses classified as "legal" are all good, nor all those classified as "illegal" all bad. It's been stated, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I have seen many good hearted and good intended companies struggle to meet the minimum definitions of "legal", while others whose sole motives are purely that of greed are able to properly jump through the hoops of the legal guides without issue.
MLM can be much more than a method of distribution, in the right hands it can become a powerful tool of empowerment that can lift those members/distributors who participate. Unfortunately those who would abuse MLM can twist it into a powerful tool of devastation.
The True Secret to developing a successful company is not even a secret at all. It's right in front of everyone who is headed down the path toward developing a company using MLM as a method of marketing. The secret is the people, those who participate in an opportunity to share a product they love.
[Digression: Of course there are those who are able to sell Ice to Eskimos, so to speak, and need not love the product. That's not the norm. Most in the masses will tell you, I don't like to sell, or I can't sell. But that's not exactly true. Everyone is selling something.
"I can't recall how many times I have heard the phrase 'I am not a sales person' or 'I can't sell' or 'I don't want to sell anything'. Each of these phrases was said by someone SEARCHING, even DESPERATELY SEARCHING for a way to make money online or just make money period. "
"The bottom-line: SELLING is the only way to make money. If you are not selling something (Trading Dollars for a Product/Service), then you are not EVER... NEVER EVER... Going to earn any $$$. "
The seeming paradox is revealed by realizing that most people don't see "Sharing" something they love with someone they love as "Selling." We do it all the time; with movies we like, a great restaurant, a home builder that did a good job, etc. etc. We just tell others what we think and why.
The difference in the mind of the masses is the motivation. If it seems we are motivated by money to tell you we like something, and we think that you think the reason we are telling you is because of that money... Then that's selling (in our minds). But, if we're motivated by a Higher Calling of passion for the product... It changes how we fell about "Selling"... (in our minds) it becomes "Sharing".
Please think of a business, any business, or anyone who has earned/made any money at all, at any time. Was that money earned/made with out the sale of a product, concept, idea or service?
The answer is an EMPHATIC... NO! Ill drop this point for another time...If you think of one email me: mel@melatwood.com]
Back on topic: As a consultant I was in a typical conversation with a client years ago, a conversation that I've had over an over with many a start up MLM company. They were asking me how to guarantee they would be successful. Without contradicting myself, I clarified that while I could offer no ultimate formula that would guarantee their success, I would share the Truest of all Secrets... The KEY INGREDIENT for real success. The 4 letter word I gave to him as the key, simply went in one ear and out the other... Or perhaps right over his head. I realized then why traditional business people have difficulty with the concepts in MLM. Unfortunately this key word is typically left out of traditional business altogether. It's rarely discussed as a viable business concept, even seen perhaps as "hokey".
However, this word is the driving force for success in MLM as the concept (while touted by many, but not really practiced at heart) of duplication is critical. Duplication requires more than a company driving for numbers. It required creating a base relationship. In my article '3 Steps to Victory in any Home Business', I wrote, "Helping others accomplish the same level of success you have is what pushes you and your income to the next level. Often forgot but ever important is that your groups success directly impacts your success. Help them reach their goals. Help them be successful and you too will obtain your own Success."
While that was written with members/distributors as the audience, it has great application for companies. The 4 letter key word I shared with my client is critical in this process. Many 'top' builders, trainers, and consultants in the MLM community preach a concept of number, numbers, and more numbers. They use tactics that teach people to build a home by "Throwing mud on the walls. What sticks, sticks! What doesn't... who cares? Move on." This mentality of looking at the numbers rather than the faces of individuals is a pitfall many MLM companies get into as they try to reach the projections in their Business Plans.
Several years ago I created a website called www.H-I-C-K.com based on a motivational speech I gave at a clients national convention several months before. I risked sounding like a loon back then... and I will risk it once again. HICK is about simplicity of life. It is about removing the complications of dishonesty, lying, deceit, discrimination, disloyalty, disenfranchisement, etc, etc. As a continuation of the thought, making life simple through honesty, integrity, charity, and kindness, it has occurred to me that many companies wondering What went wrong? or What happened? When faced with their failing company they have only to look at how much they actually cared about their members/distributors. The lack of caring is actually more hurtful and destructive than all out hate. While many might feel that apathy is simple, in MLM it is FAR more complicated.
Most companies don't start their new MLM business set on taking advantage of others; they simply are not focused on others. So, many with apathy proceed forward unaware that they are providing a tool that will generate hope and excitement, that will inspire and motivate, and that will invigorate the dreams and aspirations of people who desire to simply better themselves, their lives, and the lives of others. Apathy by a company to
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"Mel redefines the word 'expert'. His knowledge in the field of MLM and his pursuit in the perfection of an MLM software system make him the best professional I've worked with. He was very perceptive to our needs. Mel asks a lot from his team and delivers more than just a product or a service: he delivers what the client needs. It presented absolutely no challenge for Mel and his team that we were a Romania company. He helped us to get a better understanding of what we wanted, sharing with us from his vast experience!
Stools come in all shapes and sizes, just like the people who use them. How we use a stool varies greatly. Some of us use them to stand on, some of us use them to sit on or rest our feet on, some of us use a stool as a place to relax, or any number of things.
Legs and cross bars form the foundation for what will ultimately support our weight. However, a stool without a top serves no real purpose. 
In any random nutritional company a new team member might hear: 
My point is that simplicity over complexity is important. Far too often companies create new phrases and some times complex ideas to "help distinguish them" from their competing MLM companies, or to "help them stand out" in the minds of those who encounter them. Often to sound impressive or to gain credibility marketers will get into the "BIG WORD SYNDROME" and use phrases that will go over the average persons head. However, complexity, facts and terminology often do more damage than good as new team members and prospects can easily become overwhelmed by the seemingly limitless amounts of information that can be hurled their direction.
Early on in my career in MLM, all this was so counter intuitive for me. I started selling 'stuff' door to door at an age many would not believe. Basically, I've been selling something all my life. But, in the early years of my MLM experience I got to a point where I stopped listening to all the facts people were spitting out. I started doing what I knew worked... and that was talking to people on their level with things they could relate to... using stories, analogies, and keeping it simple.
Your MLM company could have the best product (leg 1), the best company (leg 2), the best comp plan (leg 3), and the best training and marketing (leg 4) along with the needed compassion, understanding, integrity/honesty, and love... and all with the best intentions... 
Passion alone is not a story... 
To digress slightly: people don't go to work at their JOB for the money. I know, you're saying to you self... what does this have to do with this topic... just keep reading. What motivates people? Why do people go to work? 
A good story talks to people in ways that allows them to see themselves having and attaining these things. If you have signed up for my Free training 
When you tell your story... talk about 'earning enough to make your house payment every month', or 'earning enough to pay your car payment', or 'taking a vacation'... relate the money you would normally talk about... to their lives. Make the story about them... and find their "why" (what makes them tick). Rambling on about all your facts will never touch the lives of those you're sharing your facts with... until you start telling a story that is relevant to their life.