The Team (Upline, Sidelines, even the Company Staff)
Joining the right team is also crucial in MLM. No man is an island in this world. Uplines will always be there to help but the attitude to be adopted is that I am in business for myself but not by myself. Since I am in business for myself, I am the master of my fate, I create my own luck, and I am the author of my own book – it all boils down to ME. Having an upline to help you is considered a BONUS. If you were to run a traditional business, would you expect other people to open shop for you and close the shop for you? Same goes in MLM.
Like wise, you have to be a good, responsible upline as well. No one has succeeded in any industry without learning and MLM is no different. It is the upline;s responsibility to guide, train, teach and motivate the downline. New people in MLM without guidance are like sheep wandering into a wild forest – what are their chances of survival?
It is no wonder 95% of Network Marketers fail to break even. The upline must lead them, empower them but must never spoon feed them. Uplines must not be abused. If you give a man a fish, he will feed himself for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will feed himself for life!
Sidelines or Crosslines are people not in your line of sponsorship. Why should I bother with sidelines? They are all somebody’s downline. Somewhere „up‟ the line they are probably in one of your upline’s group. Many companies now encourage sideline team support. Because you will always have more sidelines than uplines and downlines, it is crucial that side lines help one another. One upline has limited time and resources, but if sidelines work as a team, you leverage on more people.
Developing a good relationship with the company staff is also necessary for success. Imagine if you are holding a team meeting and you need them to arrange or prepare the rooms for you. Getting shipment on time for your products? Check with the staff. If you have a good relationship with the owners of the company, it is also a great advantage for moving in the same direction together. This is even more so for pioneers with a new company, the first batch of distributors and the owners of the company must work closely together to bring the company to success.
The Trend of the Time
One last aspect to consider about a company is the state of it’s current market trend. Many people at one time or another has heard about aggressive marketing and campaigns on certain companies based on the need for their product and how hot the opportunity is at the moment.
They could be in the pioneer stage, marketing the latest health products to a growing or maturing market (for example, aging baby boomers). Some could be in a mature stage after surviving in the market over 10 years. The comparison of the new, smoking hot companies over the mature, or aging counterparts have its pros and cons. New companies are not vulnerable to saturation.
Collaboration with new companies put you in positions of power where you can negotiate with the management team on the direction of the company or even enhance the marketing plan. People who has heard of those new companies may jump on the opportunity and it is generally easier to create a large group in a short time.
This does not mean you should not join older companies. Older companies are more stable and has survived the times. They have run a time tested system which has helped many people to succeed. International companies are even more reliable as they have
the manpower to tap the international market. Think of McDonalds. They have been around for so many decades yet people are still profiting from them today because they all follow a system.