The biggest challenge for most any MLM home based business has nothing to do with selling its products. The chief hurdle a MLM home based business usually faces involves building a successful downline. Just how do you find recruits who are genuinely interested in becoming part of your MLM home based business sales team?

Well, before you rush out and start trying to generate leads for your MLM home based business, you need to have a plan. It isn't enough to tell people about your MLM home based business and its products and expect them to sign up. You need to know as much as you possibly can about your MLM distributor, the products, and the compensation plan so that you can answer any questions a MLM lead may have.

The more you know and the more comfortable with it you are, the easier it is to make people want to become part of your MLM home based business. Not knowing the answers to their questions or giving vague answers is more likely to make any MLM leads you do generate mistrustful of you and your MLM home based business. And be sure to have a follow-up plan for what you'll do after you've generated some leads and started making contacts because it generally takes several contacts before people take action of any kind, whether buying a product or signing up for a MLM home based business opportunity.

Once you know your MLM home based business inside and out, you're ready to start generating those MLM leads. One of the first places to look, of course, is to your friends and personal acquaintances. Make a list of everyone you know. You'll likely be surprised by how long that list is, and the people you know are a good place to start looking for MLM recruits. A lot of the time, even if your friends and acquaintances aren't interested in a MLM business themselves, they can give you names of people they know who will be interested in your MLM home based business opportunity. And if they don't volunteer any names, don't hesitate to ask them, politely of course, for names of people you can contact.

Another thing you should do to generate MLM leads for your home based business is start collecting. Business cards. Email addresses. Phone numbers. You never know who may or may not be interested in an MLM home based business of their own-and you won't know unless you contact them and ask. Again, the person you contact may not be interested in a MLM home based business himself, but more often than not, the person will know someone else who is. Cold-calling isn't necessarily easy when you first start doing it, but as you gain experience, you'll get more comfortable and confident, and that confidence will ultimately pay off. Just be prepared to hear no and don't take it personally.

MLM trade journals are another good place to generate leads for your home based business. These journals are read by people who are already interested in MLMs which makes them a "warm" market. Including a press release with your ad will greatly improve the number of inquiries you get. And make your ad for your MLM home based business as different from the other ads as possible. This is important so that your home based business MLM ad doesn't get lost in a sea of others.

Buying MLM leads is one of the most popular wayw to generate leads for your MLM home based business. Many companies have email lists and phone number lists for people who have expressed their interest in getting information on MLM opportunities. Often you can even buy MLM leads who want to be involved with your particular type of MLM home based business opportunity. This makes purchasing leads a great option for most MLM home based businesses.

When buying MLM leads for your MLM home based business opportunity, you want to be sure you're getting them from a reputable company. You don't want to buy an out-of-date MLM leads list or one that's been sold over and over. So do some research on the list selling company before you buy. Also, be sure to check any phone numbers you buy in the Do Not Call Registry. Doing this is your responsibility, not the company's you buy the list from, so you need to be sure to check them before you call. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

Charles Fuchs http://www.charlesfuchs.com

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Copyright ? 2006, Charles Fuchs, President of Vision Management Enterprise Inc., is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Work at Home and Home Based Business.