Grimlok

I got two words for you...

NETWORK MARKETING

Find a system that works and duplicate it. Do what Rich people do. I would suggest reading RICH DAD POOR DAD by Robert Kyosaki... Also look into anything Jim Rohn has written/recorded.

There are a lot of companies out there...

Here's an article that outlines the evaluation process...


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How To Evaluate Any Network Marketing Opportunity
Sandy Botkin CPA. Esq.
Copyright 2001, all rights reserved

J. Paul Getty once said he'd rather have 1% of 100 people's efforts than
100% of his own. This philosophy fits the multitude of new entrepreneurial
network marketers-those people who have found themselves looking for either
part-time or full-time work, caught in the crossfire of today's corporate
penchant for downsizing. Why work for someone else who can lay you off on a
whim? Work for yourself, get others to work with you, and earn more than you
even dreamed of is the network marketer's theme song.

Walk into a hotel lobby, restaurant, or friend's living room almost any
evening of the week, and you will find anywhere from 5 to 100 people
listening attentively to enthusiastic speakers explain the benefits of
becoming a distributor or representative for the products and services of
Amway, Colgate-Palmolive, Free Life, Gillette, Mannatech, NuSkin, New
Vision, or KAIRE International, among others-all companies that are part of
the new wave of network marketing-friends selling to friends. These
companies are joining over 1,500 companies today that have already found
network marketing to be one of the most effective ways to get their products
distributed quickly.

Because of job insecurity or loss caused by corporate downsizing, many
people are looking for part time opportunities that will help them develop
useful skills and earn extra income. They want these opportunities without
large liabilities or large capital investments. Network marketing is seen as
a way of meeting these needs. The Home Based Business Journal reported in
its May 1996 issue that home based businesses average an 85% success rate
and a less than $1,000 investment. While non-homes based business average an
11% success rate and a $22,000 investment. With virtually no overhead, no
employees, and no law suit worries, costs are low. Most network marketing
businesses validate these high success rate-low investment possibilities.

Consequently, don't be surprised when the engineer next door or the
corporate manager from across the street calls, offering you a chance to
earn some money in your free time. A few days later, you find yourself on
your way to your first meeting. You do it as a favor to your friend, and
you're skeptical, of course, but you're also a bit curious. After all, you
saw some homeopathic supplement in your doctor's waiting room last week and
were shocked to find out he was a network marketer. What's the deal?

In the meeting, you look around, are slightly uncomfortable. You've dressed
casually and find yourself in a sea of suits. The man on your left is an
accountant, the woman on your right a journalist. You begin to dismantle
your stereotype of who does network marketing. You find out that, for the
most part, the people around you are already making good salaries in
full-time jobs, however few feel secure, and they are looking for a safety
net.

You listen to the sales presentation, done by one of the company's top
producers; you're promised the possibility of earning a significant
six-figure income if you are persistent. Moreover, you learn about the
tremendous tax benefits available to small businesses. Your skepticism
begins to diminish as you wonder if network marketing isn't something you
should consider. After all, you hear, more new millionaires are coming of
network marketing today than any other sales field.

This is point in the evening when you need to stop and breathe deeply.
Before you decide to get caught up in the enthusiasm, which will be
contagious, and buy in immediately, take this advice: Let the enthusiasm
cool off. Then begin the process of deciding which company to join by
finding the answers to the following 10 questions:

How stable is the company? Two ways to judge a company's stability are:
first, get a credit report from Dunn and Bradstreet. Second, find out how
long the company has been using network marketing. Most companies never
survive two years. Therefore, at least two years in the business is a good
yardstick in judging a company's stability.


Does the company stand behind the promises it makes about its products? This
question is important to ask product companies. Call the company and ask
these questions:
Does the company validate their products' claims, e.g., does a health food
product have clinical trials done by independent laboratories?
What is the company's refund policy if the customer is not satisfied? How
quickly do they refund the money?
What is the company's buy-back policy on inventory purchased by
distributors? Most companies promise to buy back inventory not more than a
year old. But sometimes this policy is illusory because of the complex
administrative hoops the distributor must jump through and because there is
no limit on when the refundable money must be paid back to the distributor.
Finally, buy the product and try it. Do you like it?

Does the company want you primarily to (1) sell products/services, (2)
recruit people, or (3) both? Most companies want you to recruit people to
distribute who in turn will recruit people to distribute who in turn will
recruit people to distribute. But if the company is only recruiting people
and no one is selling the product/service, you may want to look carefully at
the company. Will the distributors use enough product to keep the company
afloat?

Further, you may just want to market a product and not manage a whole sales
force of downline (the people you get to sign up under you) distributors. If
so, find a company that will let you do that. Your commission should be
enough to let you make money retailing the product or service without having
any downline. This means that the commission paid on retailing should be
about the same as the commission paid on recruiting new distributors.
Nevertheless, it's useful to remember that most of those who earn top money
in network marketing are the people who are able to get others to overcome
the stigma of network marketing - to recruit, train, and finally support
people (called their "downline") who are able to get others to recruit,
train & support people, etc., etc.

Will the products sell? Before you buy too much inventory - a good guideline
is don't buy more than you can sell or use in a month - do some comparative
shopping to find out answers to these questions:

Is the price of the products reasonable? Can customers find just as good a
product on the market for less? Usually network marketing companies offer
products which are only available through them and which are claimed to be
(and may be) better than those offered elsewhere.
If the products are not unique, are they priced competitively?
Are the products so desirable that people will continue using them and
recommending them even if they stop being distributors? This is an important
question, since most companies have a high attrition rate among
distributors.
Will the products sell even if not marketed through network marketing.
Does the company really have momentum? Every company will claim that the
time to join is now because of the "S" curve, a curve that marks rapid
growth times. Momentum is important because growth magnifies efforts. If you
join during a growth period caused by either the age of the company, or by
introducing a new product, or by getting a new patent, this growth can
attract new distributors and more sales. If the company or product is
growing at 3% a year, your business growth will mirror the 3%; but if the
company or product is growing at 30% a year, then your business growth
should also mirror that percent.

What kind of sponsor support is offered? We can't overstate the importance
of this answer. Not all sponsors are created equal The person who takes you
to the meeting becomes your sponsor if you sign up under him or her. You are
locked into that person for a long time. To avoid this, don't sign up
immediately. You can wait, shop around, and find a sponsor who is known to
provide strong support to his people. It is not polite for a sponsor to
accept you at a meeting if you have been brought there by another sponsor.
You will need to get the person's card and call them after the meeting. Be
careful even if you are signing up only to buy the products at wholesale.
You may want to become an active distributor later, and you will be locked
into the person you are buying from. To find the right sponsor:

Attend several meetings in your area.
Introduce yourself to numerous successful sponsors.
Evaluate their reputations. Ask them what they do for their people and how
long they have been doing it.
Some sponsors are like robots, signing up everyone but supporting none;
others, more responsible, do mass advertising or marketing and pass warm
leads along to their downline. One of the major benefits of a network
marketing company is that you are in business for yourself, not by yourself:
to realize this benefit, you must sign up under the right person.

What kind of training and support do they offer? The statement that "The
product sells itself" is rarely true. All companies promise training; few
deliver the consistent quality that makes training effective. Evaluate the
training and the support materials. Look for:

Role playing practice
Good scripts
Ways sponsors help you to get new leads
A variety of quality training tapes
Find out about switching to another sponsor if your sponsor leaves the
company or doesn't do training follow-up.

How good are the marketing materials? All companies have marketing
materials. Some are better than others. The better the materials, the easier
it will be to acquire customers and distributors. They should have
multi-colored, glossy, up-scale brochures which contain two elements. First,
the brochures should stress benefits offered to the customer, explaining why
the products/services are right for the buyer. Second, they should convince
the customer through concrete evidence that the company is stable, offers
low risk to distributors, and has a history of good management. It is,
therefore, important to have some third party creditability such as double
blind studies or newspaper articles extolling the virtues of the company.

What is the compensation plan offered? After investigating the quality of
the products or services offered by a company, one of the most important
considerations is the company's compensation plan. Comparing compensation
plans from one company to another is difficult. Companies use a myriad of
formulas. One way to simplify the process is to ask:

How difficult is it to make it to the top? Do you need 5 good lines (active
distributors under you) or will 2 lines do?
What do you get by acquiring customers vs. acquiring distributors?
Customers, not distributors should be the focus of the company. Thus the
compensation plan for selling product/services should be at least as
generous as that of bringing in new distributors.
Does the company offer non-cash rewards? Are the numbers doable and
realistic?

Are you pushed to buy a lot of inventory up front to make a higher
commission rate? It's better to try a small amount of product first, see how
you like it, see if other people are interested in buying it before
investing in large inventory.

If you are not satisfied with the compensation plan, you or the people you
recruit will not stay long with the company. Even if you stay, you may lose
people you have invested time and money in to other companies.

What is the customer retention rate? When a company pays 50% of its revenue
for commissions, if the customer retention rate on a product is 5%, your net
long-term commission is only 2.5%. But, when the company pays only 10%
payout, if the customer retention rate is 80%, your long-term commission
rate is 8%. The customer retention rate is critical. To investigate the
retention rate, you can:

Ask the company if its figures on customer retention rate are available.
Test the product/services to see if you would use it regularly.
Ask the company for names of satisfied customers.
Ask for the names and phone numbers of two or three non-repeat customers.
Ask if you can call to find why they didn't continue to use the product or
service.
Find out what the competition is offering in the same category and compare
the prices. Your product doesn't have to be the lowest for what it offers,
if it offers some value that is not offered elsewhere. It also should be
marketed well.
What other miscellaneous benefits does the company provide?

Some companies provide distributors with the equivalent of the franchises
without a franchise fee. They not only provide marketing materials but also
management information, tax information and even an accounting system. Find
out what in contained in both the distributor or upgrade kits. Many times
the upgrade package may be the much better deal even though it is more
exclusive.

You can't promote and sell what you aren't convinced is the best. If the
answers you get to these questions enable you to find and then believe
completely in the product or service and its company, you may be among those
who find network marketing to be very lucrative.
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Feel Free to PM if you have any questions.

__________________
Your future looks very very grim!