There are those in the Network Marketing industry who would have you believe that their way is the only way for a booming business to be built.

Others will say 'Here, here's your business, now just out there and get cracking!'

Most sponsors fall somewhere in between in terms of support (IF they have any real business knowledge to share in the first place). The reality is that no matter what they're saying out loud, it's what they're actually doing day to day to build their business which is the example that you will measure your own abilities against.

This is something that we often forget about when choosing how to build our own businesses ? it's easy to look upline and see the glitches and inconsistencies. It's not so easy to be deliberately dublicatable ourselves.

NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL SOMETHING MOVES

Let's take a look at what the sales of any given company look like. These are what keep the cash flow going year in and year out after all.

I'm not one to 'crunch the numbers' exactly, but I think we can agree that any product driven company is made up of lots of little sales that add up to the larger whole. This is the basis of Capitalism too, no?

Consumer spending is what makes the world go round in my neck of the woods. How about yours?

BLURRED LINES = UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS

In Network Marketing , the line between distributor and customer can often become very blurred. Some companies do this more intentionally than others with the systems that they model or sometimes the model comes from an upline sponsor.

Either way, the message can become one that will attract mostly 'business builders' and leave would be happy customers with a bad taste in their mouth.

IS THIS THE RIGHT CAR?

Okay, so you've been presented with a 'system' that is 'proven' to make the sale to a certain type of person ? generally the 'business builder'. Now, granted ? adding builders to your business is probably the fastest track to a big check, but is it a lasting check? What about the real world truth that it's customers who drive the market place?

REFERRAL MARKETING IS FOR BUILDING CUSTOMERS

What's the reason for selling things via referral marketing?

Well, from the company's perspective, they have a volunteer sales force.

From the distributor's perspective, the goal is to create a distribution network of goods and/or services that builds towards a recurring passive income stream. And if you're approaching this from a perspective of service, you'll want that to be a true 'possibility' for those you sponsor as distributors as well.

Promoting a Network Marketing company from a position that attracts mostly builders and leaves customers out of the loop does not set-up future downline members with access to the widest possible pool of revenue for long-term sustainable growth.

At some point, the 'builder pool' will grow thin. How often do we hear of one downline being robbed for another's start-up?

Happens all too often for my taste.

FINDING A HAPPY MEDIUM

All the blocks that are involved in the building of this kind of distribution system have to be deeply considered. A one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn't work for everyone who can build a sizeable business and even if it did, it won't build the kind of business that has it's roots in consumer spending.

Yet how many upline sponsors that have 'systems' in place have more than one way of presentation?

Sadly very few.

Most are looking for people to 'sell the dream' with product taking second fiddle ? no wonder this industry has such a crummy reputation! Somewhere along the way, the customer and doing business with an eye towards their wants and needs FIRST has been all but lost.

SHOULD YOU RE-INVENT THE WHEEL?

It might seem like the obvious thing to do would be to create your own ways of doing things and move on, to go the lone ranger route. If you're built like that and can create a system and action plan that will work for more than just the 'sales personalities' you'll come across, well more power to you.

The only problem with that is that nobody does this business alone. No one can be an organization of one. That just isn't how it works.

Network marketing is about team effort, the strength of collective knowledge and universal support. If you haven't got that in place, you need to look further upline for it, create it for yourself or find yourself a better organization to hitch your wagon to. But always with an eye towards duplication.

Organizations built of people who need to be sold will always need to be sold. Businesses built of business builders alone will crumble and fall at the next whisper of the grass being greener elsewhere.

If you haven't got the right systems in place that support customer acquisition as a primary purpose, get them. You need them.

Build your business as if you were the customer. Don't re-invent the wheel, just find the right car to drive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrea Goodsaid was first attracted to the NWM industry in 1996. Since 1997, she has been unravelling the mysteries of marketing & relationship building online. Visit her blog and see what's new http://AndreaGoodsaid.com