Network Marketing Survival blog post 2

 2) The Unilevel

The Unilevel is a simple “Number of levels” that the company will pay you, and usually 

there is no promotion or rank. You make money by getting a certain override off of the 

volume, and usually there is a requirement of volume to qualify for a check.

The advantage here is you don‟t have work your butt off during certain seasons to fight 

for that rank. You can sponsor as many people as you can and your income comes from 

a large volume of people in your organization. For example, you can personally sponsor 

5 people, and these 5 will look for 5. after 4 generations you will have 5 to the power of 4 

in your organization (780 people) and the calculation of your sales volume will give you a 

straight forward income.

The disadvantage however, is there is no incentive for developing many different groups 

(called legs). In spite of conditions in a plan imposed by the company (that you have to 

sponsor a minimum number of legs) some unilevel people tend to let the „strong‟ 

downlines do all the work as in wait for their downlines to sponsor MORE people than 

themselves, which is a poor reflection of leadership.

In the Unilevel, there is no demotion (the only demotion is leaving the company) and 

maintenance plays a key part in the long term income.The Binary

The Binary is an interesting design for a Comp Plan. It usually has 2 “legs” that you can

have “Business centers” in, and you have a volume requirement to get paid on each leg.

There is what is called “balancing”. in the Binary…you must balance the volume from

each both A and B group to make sure you maximize your commissions. In the

illustration above, the A group is the strong leg (or the giant leg) while the B group is

called the weak leg (or the profit leg). A has more people than B (assume they all

produce the same volume per person). B needs to find 2 more people in order for U to

„balance‟ hence maximizing U’s income.

The main advantage of this plan is spill over. Allow me to illustrate

U sponsors 2 friends. In a binary, the company limits each distributor to have a

MAXIMUM of 2 people. A and B were previously recruited by U. U needs to „balance‟ his

group by helping B find 2 people. But let us assume that B is not actively building the

business at the moment, so what does U do? He finds and sponsors 2 people HIMSELF and places both of them under B and they become B1 and B2. This is called 

SPILLOVER.

The advantage of spill over is that when everyone works as a team, the tree will fill very 

fast as all uplines and downlines work together to balance each other‟s networks. It is 

also immune to the problems in unilevel or stairstep plans with downlines being too deep 

in the organization. A binary can be balance depending on which side the downline is in 

and not how deep.

The disadvantage however, is that this plan is particularly attractive to lazy people who 

don‟t do any work and expect free handouts from their uplines. Imagine what will happen 

if everyone waits for their upline to place people under them? It doesn‟t develop 

strength.

4) The Breakaway

This plan has been said to have become somewhat unpopular in the industry, as you 

could lose the business you build, once it gets to a certain level of success, and it 

“breaks away” to no longer be a part of what you get paid on. It usually appears in 

stairstep. Lets use the example above in the stairstep illustration.

If I am a Champion and my downline builds his organization faster than me, and qualifies 

as an Emperor before me, 2 things might happen.

Depending on the company‟s pay structure, I will not be eligible to receive overriding 

commissions from my downline Emperor’s group. Hence the „breakaway‟ his bonuses 

will be „passed up‟ to MY upline Emperor or Grand Emperor. In some cases, the 

ENTIRE group breaks away and join MY upline so even if I do qualify as an Emperor

later on, I will not receive bonuses from his group! Selfish people might even involve in 

SABOTAGE as in trying to slow down his downline from breaking away or overtaking 

him.

Today, more and more companies are acknowledging the breakaway problem and will 

start awarding leadership development bonuses (such as a fixed bonus percentage over 

that entire group even those they have broken away). This system has still worked out 

well in the past though, because it gets people working harder to prevent the breakaway 

from happening.

In MLM (just like in life), companies reward PEOPLE who work hard to build their 

groups. If a downline works harder than his upline, he should get paid more – hence it is 

more fair to them. So in this case if an upline doesn‟t work hard enough, he shouldn‟t 

blame the company if the downline breaks away 5) The Matrix

The matrix or sometimes called a FORCED MATRIX is like a pre-order tree. A computer

driven plan puts into your group by computer, and they go in the next available slot.

Usually this plan is combined with some form of a Binary (sometimes 3 by 9 or 5 by 25

matrix depending on the maximum „width‟ allowed), and it does work well if there are a

lot of people that are recruited and WORKING TOGETHER TO FILL THE MATRIX.

When you recruit someone, the computer searches down for the next open slot, and

positions them there. There are some plans that allow you to override the commission of

those that you personally sponsor even though they are not positioned directly under

you within the tree.

How the computer works is like this:

D sponsors a new friend. That new friend doesn‟t get slotted under D but rather fills the

last position which is the dotted line under C. Once they fill up to a certain level, the

distributor gets paid a lump sum.

Once again, the advantages here is that every single distributor in the tree all work

together to fill the matrix and the duplication result is fantastic! Imagine if everyone finds

2 and everyone does the same thing, the matrix will be filled very fast. This means that

even if you don‟t look for ANYONE to join the company, you will get paid when the tree

reaches a certain level.

The biggest and most obvious disadvantage is everybody waiting for everyone to fill the

tree thinking that they will get their money waiting for others to fill it. This kind of thinking

is EXTREMELY WRONG and will ruin the company. Furthermore, unless there is a cut

off system in the marketing plan, (for example, after the sixth level the person at the

highest position will have to reinvest again at the bottom of the tree), the guy who „came

first‟ will get all the commissions and not do anything. By placing a cut off point,

everyone who reinvests again will fill the tree faster as the deeper you go down the tree,

the more people are needed to fill each level. 6) The Australian Two Up

This is a marketing plan that is very unique. Basically, the two people you recruit are

„given‟ to your upline sponsor and the rest of the recruits are yours. Here is an

illustration:

Assume that each person you recruit, you are eligible to earn $100. U sponsors Q1, Q2,

A and B. You earn ONLY on A and B but not on Q1 and Q2 as those sales go to your

UPLINE SPONSOR. Q1 and Q2 are your qualifying sales. Basically by finding Q1 and

Q2, you have basically qualified to earn from A and B and subsequently C, D, E and as

many as you would like.

Similarly,

A recruits A1, A2 and Z. The sales of A1 and A2 goes up to U and the sales of Z goes

up to A. As long as U keeps Q1 and Q2 going, he is eligible to earn as wide as he wants

and as deep as he wants! (A1 and A2 is now part of U‟s group. This will multiply by 2

each time it goes deeper enabling him to earn income up to Infinity levels!)The biggest disadvantage of this plan is that sometimes people are selfish and will only

leave U with „weak‟ distributors (for example, Q1 and Q2 are slow learners) while

capitalizing on the stronger ones in A and B (leaving the strong ones for themselves).

Some might even purchase dummy accounts (known as „cats and dogs‟ or „potatoes‟)

This leaves their upline with non-moving legs and creates a hollow organization. Some

companies deal with this problem by giving bonuses or special overriding mechanisms

where you get special bonuses for building them, or even removing the „qualified‟ status

should Q1 or Q2 drops out.

7) The Hybrid

A hybrid is a combination of any of the above features. An example would be a Forced

Matrix with Unilevel benefits (ensuring that those who actually WORK to fill the tree gets

paid more), or an Australian Two Up with Stairstep advancement (to offset the

disadvantages of distributors being too deep in an organization)

Many companies that are combining the advantages of many plans to help distributors

maximize their income.

REALITY CHECK: Regardless of how good any plan may sound, NONE OF THESE

PLANS WILL MAKE YOU MONEY IF YOU DON’T SPONSOR ANYONE AND

DEVELOP THEM.

Only YOU can make the plan work for without you, the plan is dead.

DO NOT get too complicated about Compensation plans. Keep it simple while explaining

to your prospects and make sure you understand that you CAN MAKE MONEY with it if

you work your plan.

The 3 General Areas to make money in any MLM plan.

1) The First area is Retail Profit.

You must show the prospect that they can earn a retail profit with your products

and services. The margin can be anything from 10% to 50%.

2) The Second Area is Team Overrides.

This is where, just like a Real Estate broker, or Insurance agency, you get to

develop your own sales team. „Sales Managers‟ get paid a certain % of override

off of them, just like the Real Estate and Insurance Agents do. Your goal is to

help your people do the same thing. People don‟t understand that you have to help people or help your team in order to succeed. If they achieve success first,

then only you will succeed.

3) The Third Area is Leadership Bonuses.

This is where you help develop Successful leaders in your group, and you get an

additional bonus or override form your group. You get rewarded by helping

others develop their leadership potential. Once your leaders are in place, your

MLM business will go on autopilot.

The Team (Upline, Sidelines, even the Company Staff)

Joining the right team is also crucial in MLM. No man is an island in this world. Uplines

will always be there to help but the attitude to be adopted is that I am in business for

myself but not by myself. Since I am in business for myself, I am the master of my

fate, I create my own luck, and I am the author of my own book – it all boils down to ME.

Having an upline to help you is considered a BONUS. If you were to run a traditional

business, would you expect other people to open shop for you and close the shop for

you? Same goes in MLM.

Like wise, you have to be a good, responsible upline as well. No one has succeeded in

any industry without learning and MLM is no different. It is the upline‟s responsibility to

guide, train, teach and motivate the downline. New people in MLM without guidance are

like sheep wandering into a wild forest – what are their chances of survival? It is no

wonder 95% of Network Marketers fail to break even. The upline must lead them,

empower them but must never spoon feed them. Uplines must not be abused. If you

give a man a fish, he will feed himself for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will feed

himself for life!

Sidelines or Crosslines are people not in your line of sponsorship. Why should I bother

with sidelines? They are all somebody‟s downline. Somewhere „up‟ the line they are

probably in one of your upline‟s group. Many companies now encourage sideline team

support. Because you will always have more sidelines than uplines and downlines, it is

crucial that side lines help one another. One upline has limited time and resources, but if

sidelines work as a team, you leverage on more people.

Developing a good relationship with the company staff is also necessary for success.

Imagine if you are holding a team meeting and you need them to arrange or prepare the

rooms for you. Getting shipment on time for your products? Check with the staff. If you

have a good relationship with the owners of the company, it is also a great advantage for

moving in the same direction together. This is even more so for pioneers with a new

company, the first batch of distributors and the owners of the company must work

closely together to bring the company to success.

The Trend of the Time

One last aspect to consider about a company is the state of it‟s current market trend.

Many people at one time or another has heard about aggressive marketing and

campaigns on certain companies based on the need for their product and how hot the

opportunity is at the moment.

They could be in the pioneer stage, marketing the latest health products to a growing or

maturing market (for example, aging baby boomers). Some could be in a mature stage

after surviving in the market over 10 years.

The comparison of the new, smoking hot companies over the mature, or aging

counterparts have its pros and cons. New companies are not vulnerable to saturation.

Collaboration with new companies put you in positions of power where you can

negotiate with the management team on the direction of the company or even enhance

the marketing plan. People who has heard of those new companies may jump on the

opportunity and it is generally easier to create a large group in a short time.

This does not mean you should not join older companies. Older companies are more

stable and has survived the times. They have run a time tested system which has helped

many people to succeed. International companies are even more reliable as they have

the manpower to tap the international market. Think of McDonalds. They have been

around for so many decades yet people are still profiting from them today because they

all follow a system.

There is No Such Thing as a Perfect MLM

In spite of all there is discussed above, certain companies may claim they are the best.

Different companies market different products and they all claim to be the best in their

line. Each claim to be selling the best skin care, nutrition, aromatherapy, insurance

programs, investment opportunities or even online digital products.

Let‟s face it. There is no such thing as a perfect MLM, just there is no such thing as a

perfect church or perfect government. MLM companies are just like normal companies in

the sense that there will always be management problems, staff problems, cash flow

problems, shipment difficulties and product faults.

Take the skin care industry for example. There are many skin care products that have

long histories, extensive research, powerful testimonials, and so on. But no matter how

good the skin care is, they will not benefit EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THE PLANET.

We are all different. Some has drier skin. Some are more sensitive. You can‟t prescribe

a drug that will cure everything for everyone.

Likewise with teams. Certain teams are more suitable for younger crowds with all the

excitement and the hoo-hah going on. Others are for a more mature crowd.

All this I am highlighting will lead to my next point in the next chapter which is: 

An MLM That Would Suit YOU

Understanding this principle could save your MLM life. Many people label everyone who

joins more than one MLM company a „junkie‟. It is true that there are junkies that goes

around recruiting their friends when he tries COMPANY A, dies a natural death after a

while and joins COMPANY B. He starts talking to the same friends how good

COMPANY B is and always talk bad about COMPANY A. Then he quits COMPANY B

after running into some struggles and joins COMPANY C, does the same thing

promoting C while talking bad about A and B and goes on and on.

No. I am not teaching you to be a junkie.

I have explained in the previous chapters that even the „best company‟ in the world

would not be suitable for everyone. I may LOVE supplements for my health and buy it

from the „best health supplement opportunity in the world‟ but my passion is being on the

Internet! Don‟t get me wrong, the supplement company would have a FANTASTIC

TEAM, a SOLID COMPANY BACKGROUND, and even an UNBELIEVABLE

COMPANSATION PLAN. But I prefer to sell digital products. I don‟t care if I don‟t get to

meet or socialize as many people in person on my Internet MLM, I don‟t even care if I

don‟t operate at an office! I am making money at my Internet MLM.

I think we get the picture now…

Here is another scenario. What do you do when you are already in one MLM and a good

friend approaches you for another? Do you refuse? Remember, you must not treat your

MLM business like a RELIGION. I don‟t refuse because I will always find benefits in

every MLM company that I join. I may like the products there. I can SHARE these

products (for example, supplements) to friends who do not believe in buying on the

Internet! No single company will cover the ENTIRE market so we have to be realistic. I

may even join that company so I can build relationships with them and get them to try

my own MLM products too! If I don‟t keep an eye out for other opportunities, I don‟t feel

that I am a good business man. But you must FOCUS on one business, some may say.

Yes, I focus on one, but I also open the door to many other potential customers too.

Always be open to new opportunities and cross sell! That‟s where you put the „network‟

in network marketing. But don‟t make the mistake of joining every opportunity just to get

people because it costs you time and money and only join different MLMs if you see a

tangible benefit.If you don‟t make it in your first MLM, don‟t despair! People make mistakes and they

(hopefully) grow wiser the next time they choose again. This is what I hope for all who

read this book because you must never give up when you fail the first time. Most people

don‟t make it in their first MLM but they might succeed in the second or third.

Being Aware of the Risks

In any business dealings there are always risks – Same in life. Drive out the door today

and there are always risks of accidents. How to minimize your risks also depends on

your own judgment.

Before joining a company, you must always remember in MLM that if you want to make

serious money, you must be prepared to be in for the long haul. There are people who

tell themselves, if I can make $500 to $1,000 part time/on the side, I would be happy.

They do not set their goals high and what happens? They give only part time or half

hearted effort which often doesn‟t even help them make the $500 that they wanted in the

first place!

Others think to themselves, that if they can find that ONE opportunity, I‟ll be one of their

first and look for 2-5 downlines, which will do the rest of the work (network building) then

I will be set for life. MLM requires HARD WORK. MLM is a business that appreciates in

value OVER TIME. Which would you rather earn?

$10,000 a day every month?

OR

$0.01 doubling every day per month?

Ten thousand a day would seem like a lot of money on the first day compared with

getting one cent on the first day? Most would choose the first option, but consider.

$10,000 * 30 days is $300,000. If 31 days, then it would be $310,000

1 cent doubling every day would product a whopping $5,368,709.12!!!

If we add one more day the total will be over 10 million!!!

Don‟t despair if you don‟t make substantial money over the first 6 months. Those are

your TRAINING months. Remember again, NO ONE SUCCEEDS IN THE MLM

INDUSTRY WITHOUT LEARNING AND HANDS ON EXPERIENCE.

Learn to pace yourself. Rome is not built in a day. But do it at a proper pace where you

know your financial limitations. Ask yourself:

(1) Can you afford the joining fees?(2) Are you prepared for the obvious overheads like petrol, food and training

materials?

(3) If you don‟t make money in the first six months, can you survive?

(4) Are you prepared to cut down on your luxuries so you can work out your

business?

(5) Are you prepared to LEARN?

Getting Started Off The Right Foot

Once you have answered all the questions in the previous chapter, you begin your

journey.

Attend trainings repeatedly and listen to your upline. If your upline is not qualified, the

keep going upline until you find someone who can coach you or mentor you.

Once you have downlines under you, you must be prepared to be a leader and duplicate

what your upline has taught you. DUPLICATION is the key to building a long term

business because your downlines are able to do the same thing you are doing. Many

successful leaders in MLM are fantastic speakers on the stage and powerful trainers in

the field and even write books on how to succeed. One of the biggest mistakes a new

distributor usually makes are buying a ton of books thinking they will be well equipped to

go „out there‟ and create a sponsoring explosion. You may try to imitate your leader, talk

like them, look confident or even walk like them. But the tricky part is duplicating the

charisma or having the same influence. Even after reading all the books on self￾improvement, the tactics might not work because you don‟t have the same charm as the

author!

I am not saying don‟t read books or buy books. Factual information or education is

usually more helpful in making a good decision. I have compiled a reading list at the end

of this book that will give good facts. But trying to become like another person and using

his or her „techniques‟ will often lead to disappointment with the book itself! They

become disillusioned and go on to buy another „key to success in MLM‟ book and the

vicious cycle repeats itself again. Eventually they become disillusioned with books and

they will stop reading all together.

KEY POINT TO REMEMBER:

LEADERS ARE NOT BORN, THEY ARE DEVELOPED OVER TIME. THOSE

WHO SUCCEED IN MLM WILL HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE OF LEARNING

AND GROWING. THOSE WHO SUCCEED QUICKLY IN MLM HAS ALREADY

PAID THE PRICE OR WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND DOWNLINES WHO

HAD ALREADY PAID THE PRICE.

ARE YOU PREPARED TO PAY THE PRICE?

In a Nutshell

MLM is not an easy road to walk on and there will be many obstacles along the way.

That is why choosing the RIGHT company is of utmost importance as the journey of a

thousand miles begin with the first step so I hope everyone reading this will take the first

step in the RIGHT direction.

Regardless of success or failure, MLM is a journey worth traveling on because of the

things you will learn along the way. It is priceless.