Answer to yesterday’s FACEBOOK RIDDLE

Yesterday I posted this question on Facebook and I asked for feedback.  It was quite interesting to read the comments and opinions that you all posted. 

Here is the question: If you can answer this correctly, you can learn how to make the BIG $$$ in network marketing: What’s the most important factor in MLM success? IS IT: Company? Product? Compensation plan? System? Timing (how old is company)? or The Team you’re on? Let me know what you think. I will be posting the answer on my blog tomorrow. (HINT: You can only pick ONE THING that will make or break you) 

Now the key to this question is in the last sentence, the HINT.  You can only pick ONE THING.  Many people answered with one answer, many insisted on saying that all of the factors have to be in place; or some people picked their top 2 or 3 factors. 

Here is my own take on it.  Please keep in mind that this is my personal feeling, based on almost 8 years experience in the industry.  I am not a super-star.  I am an ordinary woman, with an extraordinary vision and drive.  I had moderate success in my first company (I was with them for 14 months, and topped out at 12K per month).  My second company (where I stayed 5 years), I topped out at 30K per month.  Good earnings, but nothing compared to what is possible in the industry…….however, I do think that my track record is “good enough” to give me an insider’s perspective on what it takes to succeed in the network marketing industry.

And here is the conclusion I have come to.  While the company, the product, the timing, the compensation plan and the system are all important factors, the ONE THING that trumps them all is the TEAM you are on.  Let me explain how I have come to that conclusion: and again, I would and do welcome your comments and questions. 

Here is my thinking and my experience. If it were the company, then if you were in a good company, you would make money.  Is that true?  Does everyone in a good company prosper?  The answer is NO, of course not.  What about comp plan?  Does a good comp plan mean you  will make money? No.  What about product? Does everyone make money with a good product? No, they do not.  Is it the system?  If you have a good system, you have a better chance to make money than without one; that is for sure!  But does a good system guarantee success?  If that were true, then a franchise business would never fail……..yet, we see Subways and Quiznos and Dominos and others who have locations that go out of business all the time.  Are you in a network marketing company now?  Does it have a good system?  Are you making the money you want to make?

I will concede that system is probably the most important of the “secondary factors”; more important than company, product or compensation plan.  With a good system, people can make money even with a mediocre product, a “so-so” compensation plan and a company that is only “fair”…………would they make more if all the factors are in place? YES!  But a system can cover a multitude of errors, and is an important factor. 

What about timing?  Well, interestingly enough, this is important but NOT crucial.  Many, if not most, of all NEW “prelaunch” companies perish in the first few years, if not months.  On the other hand, if a company is 10, 20 or 30 years old…..Yes, people still can make money there but I bet it is a LOT tougher.  In fact, I know it is.  My ideal scenerio here would be something 2-5 years old: a company with a track record but still plenty of opportunity.

Having said that, I still maintain that the TEAM you are on is the ONE KEY.  With good upline support, and a leader who KNOWS what he or she is doing (and who really cares about people and their success), it is possible to create a synergy and an energy that you simply cannot get from any of the other factors alone.  Here is my case in point:  On my own, creating my own team, I was able to get to 12K per month.  I had a TEAM under me, but I didn’t have a TEAM above me that was teaching me, inspiring me, and cheering me on.  If you think about it, every success in the world was created by more than one person working together.  Good leaders know how to grow other good leaders, and as they do so…..the synergy of TEAM WORK is created.  When I look for people who I want to work with, people to bring onto my team….I look for those who know how to be TEAM players. 

Network marketing is a TEAM sport.  You have to be able to trust, communicate with, work with and celebrate with those below you on your team…and with those above you. 

My husband Jack and I are actively looking for people who “get” this.  We have been baby-sitters for too much of our network marketing career.  We want to work with others who will do their part, be coachable, and who have both the integrity and the work ethic to make it happen. As we move forward into our next adventure in network marketing, we have decided to take our game to a whole new level.  We are going to hit the $100K per month mark in personal earnings, and we will have hundreds and thousands of people on our team earning 2k per month, 5k per month, 10k per month, 20k per month and even 30, 40, and 50k per month and more.  TEAM WORK is what makes it happen.