Won’t any reputable mlm suffice?
Does it really need to be the best?
Well, to put it frankly, yes it does.
If you’re signing up for an opportunity to change your life, you absolutely need to find the best mlm out there.
A wise man (Jim Collins) once said, “Good is the enemy of great”.
Not all companies are created equal.
Not all products are created equal.
Not all leadership is created equal.
Not all compensation plans are created equal…
I could go on and on here, but I think you get the point.
You don’t want to do the work and 5 years from now look over at XYZ company with better products, better culture, and (dare I say) a better compensation plan….
only to realize you would be making 10x the income for the same amount of work if you had started with them.
If you’ve built a 5-6 figures a month business, it’s difficult to walk away and start over- I don’t care who you are.
Key Indicators of Successful MLM Companies
The following list outlines the key components of the best mlm companies in the market today.
In the words of Tony Robbins, “success leaves clues”.
When you’re picking a network marketing company to join, here are the things you should be looking for.
1) Seasoned Leadership at Corporate Level
This is where you start. The mlm leadership team and executive board must be experienced.
Actually, they need to be experienced AND previously successful.
This short video by Orrin Woodward outlines why leadership is so important.
In addition to all this, the greatest predictor of the future is to look at the past.
Your CEO, director, owner, etc. must have some experience managing the monumental and phenomenal growth that can occur in this type of organization.
They should also have experience driving and maintaining the type of growth you want to see.
You may be thinking… too fast?
How is that possible and how could it be bad.
Well, when you’re talking about exponential growth, f it’s too fast for the leadership team to keep up with, then it’s too fast.
If that happens, product will stop shipping on time, compensation checks will get missed, and a variety of other issues will crop up.
Basically, if your supply chain or compensation payouts get overloaded, you’ve got problems.
The world know this but we don’t usually think about it when we’re thinking about joining what we feel is the best mlm we can find.
Look at what has happened in our world lately with the Coronavirus and COVID19.
With the exception of Sweden, the world has shut down and went in lockdown mode.
The reason is because leaders understand exponential growth and they were concerned that the virus would break our health care system. That would break other things.
Whether you agree with the COVID19 coronavirus lockdowns or not, you should be able to see the similarities and understand what would happen if the supply chain in your mlm company stopped or even slowed.
How many customers or distributors would stick around if it was as hard to get your product as it is in my city to get toilet paper right now?
If your leadership can’t handle the growth, your team will start to leave and fall apart.
You do NOT want to lose all your hard work simply because you chose to go into business with people who can’t keep up or choose not to.
So how fast is too fast?
If you pick the right leadership, there is no such thing as too fast!
The leadership team will expand into new territories strategically and make sure they can keep pace with growth.
It wasn’t the biggest factor, I’ll get into that later.
But it ranked pretty high up on the decision ladder.
It was definitely a deal breaker.
If leadership isn’t in place, I’m not gambling my time and money to build a business.
The company we chose has the best mlm executive leadership team in the industry.
The founder has started two other major MLM companies and taken them both to 1 billion dollars (one in record time).
They can keep pace with whatever growth our team throws their way.
Period.
Trust me, that can be a very important factor.
2) High Quality Products
This seems like it would go without saying, but I’ve been approached by a lot of people who hitched themselves to companies with some pathetic and sad products.
Don’t get me wrong, most of the reputable companies out there have incredible products.
Everything about the products including the packaging and the product itself should scream quality.
Good marketing and branding requires money.
That usually means a higher price point.
It’s not something to fear.
In fact, many branding experts suggest being the highest price in your category and letting everyone else fight for the scraps.
I’m not suggesting that the best network marketing company must have the highest priced items, but I am suggesting that they aren’t competing for the lowest price.
No scraping the bottom of the barrel allowed.
Different types of people shop at different places.
You want to attract high quality people to your organization, so you need high quality products.
You’re simply won’t be able to attract the right people if the products are sub-par.
3) Experienced and Active Upline
Before you read this section, keep in mind that an upline can help you succeed, but it’s nottheir job.
It’s your job.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get started.
The first time I was in network marketing, I was enrolled by my brother on a team by myself.
It wasn’t long before he quit and I was orphaned and forced to build a business all alone.
An island unto myself.
No overflow from my upline.
No growth below me unless I put them there (or my team did).
No answers to my questions.
Luckily, as I started building a team, an upline mentor above my brother noticed and reached out to me.
He helped me learn, grow, and build my organization by giving me support, encouragement, and solid advice.
But it was 100% my team with no overflow volume.
I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world because it forced me to really learn what it takes to build the most profitable and best mlm business I could from scratch.
If I had to do it all over again though, I would opt join with somebody I shared a leg with who was all in.
Not just kinda in and not just “in” because they were excited.
I would look for signs of commitment.
I would join with somebody who I knew would be around evenif I quit the next day (not that I would).
That’s the type of sponsor you want to be with.
Somebody who would like you to do it, but they’re going to do it with or without you regardless.
The biggest reason I recommend this route is because if you join a company with the right compensation plan (which I’ll discuss in the next section), it can make a huge difference to your profitability, speed of growth, and team dynamics.
4) Lucrative Compensation and Rewards
I’ll probably ruffle a few feather here and that’s not my intention, so just hear me out.
Compensation plans have come a long way in the mlm industry.
When you start talking about the best mlm compensation plan, people get riled up as if you’re talking about politics or religion.
It’s not my intention but we need to discuss it.
Do your own research, this is just here to get you started.
There are basically four types of compensation plans in this industry.
The most powerful one for the amateur as well as the seasoned network marketing professional is the binary compensation model.
When we found our current company we made sure it had a binary compensation plan.
In a binary, you are only building 2 legs (or teams).
You get paid based on the volume in the lesser leg, that’s why sharing a leg with an active upline sponsor is so valuable.
Sharing a leg increases the chances that one leg will grow at a faster speed (a good thing).
As people above you place team members, they have to do it in your shared leg and everyone in that leg gets credit for the volume.
This effectively allows you to spend more time recruiting and building your other leg, known as your money leg because that’s the one you’re paid a percentage on.
It’s much harder to create and maintain momentum in your lesser leg if you have to go back and forth (I know from experience).
The reason it’s good for amateurs is because binaries pay volume on infinite depth.
That means you don’t have to worry about a superstar joining 100 levels down and you never benefiting.
It means even if it takes you 5 years of building a team before a superstar shows up, you’ll still get the benefit.
You could have a superstar join 1,000 levels down and you’d still get credit for any volume they produce, even if somebody else enrolls them.
This makes it easier for an amateur to get profitable and stay profitable.
Binaries are ideal for superstars and rainmakers as well because you also get paid on width.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes misunderstood by those familiar with other compensation models.
You can still build wide, it’s just baked into the binary model.
Let’s suppose you’re a beast and you enroll 500 people in your binary.
You don’t just get volume credit, you also get overrides and bonuses based on the activity of your personal recruits.
The difference between this and other mlm compensation models is that all your personal recruits are one one of your 2 binary legs.
So they share volume in perpetuity (as Mr. Wonderful would say) and they are a team.
This helps create momentum faster as well because they’re all working together and genuinely excited if somebody is going crazy underneath them.
I know this is all a bit technical but knowing the details helps with decision making.
Don’t make a decision based on hype.
Personal recruits (how wide you go) is usually connected to moving through ranks.
The more people you help succeed, the larger your bonuses will be.
In fact, in my experience, it doesn’t take long for the bonuses on your personal recruits to overshadow your basic commissions based on straight volume.
The company we ultimately went with has a max volume payout of around $28,000 per week.
Any unused volume rolls over to help create a healthy base pay that you can count on.
Keep in mind, that is only 1 of many ways to earn income.
It’s the first way and not the biggest.
Don’t be scared that volume maxes out at $28,000 a week.
The other bonuses don’t max out at all.
They’re based on your personal recruits (width) and their personal recruits for multiple levels deep.
Once you understand a binary, you realize it has all the benefits of other plans, but with the added bonus that you only need to build two teams.
Building 3, 4, or 5 teams is harder and completely unnecessary.
I believe it’s also easier for a binary parent company to calculate and project numbers, which means they can offer better rewards to the distributors in the forms of bonuses, trips, cars, etc.
Here’s an example:
I know a gal in a different company with a different compensation structure.
She is able to earn an $8,000 bonus if she reaches the top rank which from what I can tell, would require her to build a team just as large as the one she would need to be the top rank in our company.
In our binary, mid-rank bonuses are $100,000 and go up from there.
Distributors who achieve the very top rank, get a $1,000,000 bonus.
That’s right, one million dollars and anybody who hits it has already been paid the mid-tier rank bonuses (100K, 200K, 400k, 600k, etc.)
It’s the same exact job at both companies- bring in reps and customers, build a team, and move product.
These aren’t pie in the sky bonuses either that nobody will earn.
In my last company (with the same corporate leadership), I watched somebody earn the million dollar bonus and a Lamborghini on the same day for hitting a top rank.
The company we’re in now is relatively new, so nobody has had time to hit those bonuses yet, but they will.
As you’re considering an mlm, just make sure you do all your research and pick the best mlm with the best compensation plan.
Unfortunately, most people enter this industry because they let their emotions get stroked by an incredible story of success.
Nobody tells you that all the mlm companies are riddled with success stories.
Just remember, the activity it takes to build a poorly structured mlm business, is the same activity and energy it takes to build one with a great compensation plan.
So make sure you’re putting your energy into one with generous and lucrative rewards.
5) The Right Timing
Oh, I know…
Get in the ground floor!
Make sure you’re in the pre-launch phase!
etc, etc, & etcetera.
Hogwash! (to put it in my daddy’s words)
Haven’t you ever seen shark tank?
In the words of Daymond John, “Pioneers get slaughtered, settlers prosper”.
There have been sooo many companies that people put their money into that don’t exist any longer.
There’s something to be said for a company that’s established and positioned for longevity.
That being said, if you find a newer company that you believe with all your heart with stand the test of time…
It is beneficial to join early with somebody you can share a leg with.
You want to be involved before it’s a household name and before people have preconceived notions about it.
But you don’t want to join something that might fall apart just because it’s new.
This is NOT because the people who get in early make all the money, because that’s not true.
Everyone always thinks that so let me break it down.
The people who do the mostwork, make the mostmoney.
It’s just that typically, those who have been successfully building an organization with a company the longest, have the largest teams and largest paychecks.
They don’t make more money because they got in early, they make more money because they’ve been successfullyworking at it longer.
It’s a very important distinction to understand.
There are plenty of people who get in early and make no money (because they do NO WORK).
The reason I suggest getting in early is because at some point there’ll be early stage momentum in the organization that you can capitalize on if you’ve been working.
That doesn’t make it easy, just easier.
You’ll still have to do the work, but excitement and momentum will help propel you to the next level.
While we’re discussing timing, let’s talk about the overall timing of the marketplace.
Changes in public perception and advancing technology makes this the best time in history to build a network marketing business.
Eric Worre explains it better than I can:
I would steer clear of companies led by leaders with no experience.
But if the leadership is spot on and they’ve done it before, you know you’re in a relatively safe space and can build a team without the fear of losing it.
You don’t want to get into bed with somebody who has an exit strategy from the beginning and which you know nothing about.
That strategy could include selling the company to the first venture capitalist who sees dollar signs.
Old enough to be established and have the back office, product shipping, and compensation systems in place, but young enough to still be in front of the momentum curve.
They’ve also got a CEO who has built huge before and wants this to be a legacy company.
The company is also completely debt free.
This means it will be around for a long time, hopefully forever.
I don’t use Mary Kay or Avon, but knowing what I know now, if I could have joined and started building their business the first few years after they opened, I would have figured out a way to get involved and I’d be driving a pink Cadillac right now (hey… free is free).
6) Progressive Thinking
The world is changing.
The company and upline leadership you choose to partner with should have a progressive mindset, especially when it comes to the internet.
They shouldn’t discourage you from using the internet and technology.
I’ve never run into this problem, but I’ve met people who have left companies because of it.
If you’re with a company who doesn’t want you to use the internet, social media, YouTube, or any other online platform for building a business and generating mlm leads… then you’re absolutely in the wrong company.
Run! Choose a different one.
Even if they eventually come around, they’ll be other issues as the world continues to change.
If they’re not embracing technology and social media when you read this, they will never be in front of the curve because they will never acknowledge change fast enough for it to manifest in the company.
It’s a mindset problem of the leadership running the company.
7) Long Term Vision & Cause
Most companies have a cause they promote and stand behind.
Maybe it’s feeding the hungry, housing the poor, taking care of widows and orphans, building schools in 3rd world countries, etc…
Whatever their cause, it should be something you can stand behind as well.
If they don’t have a cause or rarely talk about it, you may want to question their core values.
If it’s just about making money, I would keep looking and keep searching.
Vision refers to what their long term goals are.
Do you think they want to be a large company that makes a positive impact in the world and on this industry?
Or, are they happy churning through distributors and lining their pockets with as much profit as possible?
Being connected with a visionary leader and positive cause are a necessity for long term success in any mlm.
It’s one thing that separates the mediocre mlm’s from the best mlm companies.
8) Spiritual and Emotional Congruence
This one has nothing to do with compensation, products, or people.
Okay, I guess it kinda has to do with people, at least the core values of people.
For a company to be the best mlm for you, there has to be spiritual and emotional congruence.
If there isn’t, you’ll never be “all in”, because you’ll have hesitation and in-congruence holding you back.
You’ll never reach the income levels and ranks you have the potential to reach.
Which, by the way, means you’ll not be able to impact the world and the causes you’re passionate about as much as you could if you were with a company that was more congruent with who you are and what you believe.
So what exactly do I mean by all this?…
Spiritual and Emotional Congruence?
I mean that you share the same core beliefs as the leadership of the company, your upline, and the overall culture of the organization.
Culture matters. It really does.
If your company is dog eat dog, cross recruiting, drama, and all other sorts of nonsense, you’ll hold yourself back.
You may not even know why you’re holding back, just that something doesn’t feel right.
That’s called intuition.
You may never figure out what’s not congruent, but if that feeling persists and you stick around, you’ll be delaying your chances of epic success.
If you’re in that position right now, I’m sorry to say, it’s time to look for another team.
To be fair and as I’ve stated earlier, the world has changed.
So really, you can train yourself for free using the internet.
But it’s always good to have a company system or upline that you can plug your new distributors into.
The fact is, top earners WILL earn.
They’ll figure out a way to make it happen with orwithout a system.
But, do you want to do all the training’s yourself and spend your time teaching the same thing over and over?
Hopefully, you answered with a resounding “no”.
The whole purpose of leverage is to be able to point to a system for training, so you don’t have to do it all.
You don’t want to be the go-to person for answers.
I know it’s nice in the beginning.
It feeds the ego. I get it.
I’ve been there.
But leadership isn’t about being the person with all the answers. It’s about growing other leaders.
Eventually, your team will get to a size that makes it impossible for you to keep up and your growth will come to a halt.
It might even start to erode if you don’t have a system in place.
Be sure your company has a system in place to help distributors get started.
If it incorporates the latest technology and social media platforms (as ours does), it’s a bonus.
10) Positive Relationships and Community
Does the mlm company culture promote positive relationships and a strong community?
Believe it or not, the thing some people like most about the business model is not the income, but the relationships and the sense of community.
More than the money? Yes
More than the rewards? Yes
More than the recognition? Yes
More than the challenge? Yes
I know it’s unfathomable for those of us who like to Get ‘R Done… but it’s true.
Relationships and culture are a powerful part of mlm and you shouldn’t overlook them.
If the company puts no emphasis on relationships and the leaders don’t stick around before or after presentations to encourage new people who are just getting started… then they may NOT BE the best mlm to join.
11) Will You Have Fun?
You would think this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway.
Are you gonna have fun?
Does the company culture and environment lead you (and others) to believe it will be fun?
Everyone wants to have fun, especially the time before they are profitable.
I like to tell people I sponsor that if they’re not having fun, they’re doing it wrong.
They’re taking themselves and their business too seriously.
I mean, this is a highly leveraged and lucrative opportunity; it’s cheap to get started.
It should be fun, loads of fun.
If it’s not fun or if the bigger you build it, the less fun you’re having, then it defeats the purpose.
I don’t want to have less fun the more I make.
I want to have more fun.
That’s one reason I build mostly from home and definitely why I’m in a binary.
I refuse to juggle more than two teams.
I built a traditional mlm business the old fashioned way.
I drove hours for home meetings, drove to different states to support people, and sacrificed time with my family.
In the end, I made money… but at what cost?
Now that the world has changed, it’s not necessary to do all those things.
To be quite frank, it wasn’t necessary most of the time when I did it before because I wasn’t usually supporting my leaders… I was trying to make leaders out of people.
If this covid19 coronavirus worldwide pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that more can be done at home in front of your computer than you think.
Use advances in technology to help support your team from where you are.
It makes sense from a business and financial perspective.
Jim Rohn said the world responds to deserve, notto need.
If you have a leader that deserves a visit (not needs one) and the volume generated from their effort covers the cost- then it might make financial and business sense to schedule something with their team.
But only if it is warranted from a business perspective and only if they earned it.
Often, a serious builder who wants a visit will ask you and you can tell them exactly what it would take for them to earn a visit.
That’s how you build leaders.
HINT: A visit is not warranted if you hope by physically going to them they will become motivated and growth will occur.
It’s only warranted after they’ve produced or started to produce.
It’s how the rest of the business sector does business and it should be how you do business as well.
How to Pick the Best MLM Company to Join (Conclusion)
That about covers it. Your guide to picking the best mlm business in the industry.
As long as you pick one with these key indicators of success you’ll be fine.
If you’re currently looking for an mlm that has all of the elements above and are looking to be sponsored by a serious team, we’re currently taking applications for enrollment!