As a Sr. Manager with Send Out Cards, Luann Savage shares her insights regarding the multi-level marketing (MLM) business model. In this interview, she discusses some of the basic information you should know and consider when joining an MLM.
Jeannine: Hello, and welcome to today’s broadcast. Our guest is Luann Savage, a senior manager with SendOutCards, a network marketing online greeting card company. Welcome to the show, Luann.
Luann: Thank you, Jeannine. It’s great to be with you. I appreciate this.
Jeannine: Oh, of course. So today we’re going to explore the business world of multi-level marketing. Over the years, Luann’s involvement within this business structure has provided her with some great insights. So Luann, let’s start off with what all entrepreneurs want to know when going into business? How do you make money in the multi-level marketing business?
Luann: Oh, well if they’re determined to create something big, and they take it seriously, and do it correctly and continue to do it correctly over and over again, there’s no ceiling to what is possible. You need a business with a system in place to follow, and be willing to put in the time. You need to find a MLM that feels like the right match for you.
It’s like finding the right spouse. Because in a sense, you’ll be married to it. There are basically two ways to make money within a MLM business. It’s selling the products or services and by recruiting other people into the business who will also be selling those products or services, and also recruiting other people to do the same.
You sell the products and you use the products, and you become an expert on the products. You gather product stories. You hopefully have a product story of your own, of why you got started. Then you aren’t selling. You are simply sharing. Because you have faith in the products you sell, you believe in the company you represent, you search out others who want what you want.
Jeannine: Okay. So then the basic way then—let me reiterate. To make money in a multi-level marketing business you need to—it is the product or service that you’re selling that you get some sort of a percentage off of that, as well as creating the downline, which is recruiting people into your business, so you’ll make money off of when people come in as well as you’ll make money off of the people who you’ve brought in who are using the product or service, or selling the product or services as well as anybody that they bring in. Correct?
Luann: Correct, yes.
Jeannine: Okay. So now that we’ve taken care of that, we know how we’re going to make money inside a multi-level marketing business, what do you find the common problem that most people encounter once they’ve made the decision to invest into a multi-level marketing company
Luann: Well, right from the starting line, you’ve got to be sure there will be support from your upline. Make sure your sponsor really understands the business and the compensation plan, and is a strong believer in the product, and know if they will be there to help you work through issues? Without support, people lose interest and quit. One bad experience will taint them to all MLMs.
Another problem would be if their focus is only on one aspect of the business. With some, it was the product that drew them. It may have done wonders for them, or they saw how it impacted someone they know. They believe that others can benefit from using the product. Yes, a passion for the product is a plus. However, are you your own best customer?
Another problem might be if their goal is simply to build a large downline, but they don’t have that real interest in the product. They don’t have personal stories to share. They hope that others coming into their business will have the convincing stories. However, in their enthusiasm, they don’t properly vet the people they recruit.
Then because those people were oversold, they don’t work the business because it wasn’t a good fit for them. It has to be the right match for you. I really love health and nutrition, but my passion isn’t to sell it. I love to read about it and learn of it, and attend certain meetings for my own knowledge, but I don’t want to depend on what I know to sell herbal supplements.
So as much as I care about it, it wouldn’t be a good fit for me. Some just think they can start a MLM and perhaps try it for a year, but you must know ahead that it will take years and perseverance. With any of these, people can lose confidence in an MLM.
Jeannine: Right. Cool. So now that we’ve covered how you can make money and some of the problems that someone can encounter once they decide to join an MLM, how would you advise someone, if they’ve done a little bit of research and they’re ready to jump in with a particular multi-level marketing company, how would you advise them to avoid some of the problems that you just discussed?
Luann: Well, you’ve got to know the person who signed you up or sponsored you. I’ve had people tell me they wish they would have signed up under me because they don’t even know the person who signed them up. They never heard from them again, or that person is not in the business anymore. And you need to know the products and the benefits of using the products or services.
