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Evaluating Affiliate & Multi-Level Opportunities
Utilizing multi-level marketing you may earn income directly through your own efforts or indirectly through the efforts of someone you introduced to the business. On the Internet, affiliate programs are the most common form of multi-level marketing. September through December is the traditional time for new MLM startup activity. This year there will be more than 13,000 multi-level startups. Next year at this time less than 200 will still be in business.Focus On The Product The most important consideration is the PRODUCT - not the OPPORTUNITY. If the product is no good there is NO opportunity. If the product or service is doubtful, or if it's not priced to sell, you are doomed before you start. Don't fall victim to someone's recruiting scam. Affiliate programs are more often successful because they tend to focus on sales rather than recruiting. Free business opportunities are everywhere. If the prime focus of the sales letter is recruiting others and/or they want you to invest money to take advantage of the opportunity, I usually walk. If you earn a commission check, the bulk of your commissions will normally be from your own retail sales NOT from the sales of others. It's really simple when you think about it, if you can't sell the product or service others will have the same problem. If you CAN sell you can teach others to do what you already DID. How Many Levels The fewer income levels the larger commissions you will earn. More commission levels result in less direct commission you'll earn on your personal sales, it follows then that your focus will tend to shift into recruiting rather than to selling which is exactly what your recruits will do. Remember, someone has to actually sell something to produce commissions. Affiliate programs normally focus on two levels, your direct sales and the sales of others you bring into the business. Over eighty percent of your income will come from your direct sales NOT from the sales of your downline. Twenty percent of all affiliates make eighty percent of sales; and 80% of your downline will sell nothing. The third level of any downline will contain less than five percent producers. This means that recruiting is normally a waste of time. I have been in business 10 years; I have been sucked in by some of the best schemes. I know a lot of people and can build a pretty solid downline if I put my heart into it. Over ninety percent of my affiliate income comes from my own direct sales. Over the years, I have yet to earn ANYTHING from below the second level. Bleeding Edge Products Just because an idea is new or different doesn't mean it will fly in the marketplace. New ideas are common, but people that can make a salable product from a completely new idea are rare indeed. There is a huge difference between the leading edge and the bleeding edge. Products on the leading edge are based on a sound foundation of proven technology. This is the season for new product launches. Most fail with good intentions, and the highest failure rate are on bleeding edge products or services. Virtual companies like those selling telecommunication services are high risk. Many of these companies make their money selling membership fees; they start out strong and soon disappear. Web services can also be high risk; a single spammer can sometimes put a perfectly good company out of business. In short, any product or service that isn't established has a HUGE disadvantage when starting out. Bleeding edge companies are chronically under funded. When they go out of business you have little to no chance of getting any of your investment back. Too Good To Be True Often it's what you are NOT told or the question you DIDN'T ask that kills your opportunity. Scammers always cheat you by not telling you something critical to your success. It's better to do your research upfront. If things don't add up, ask more questions. Many multi-level schemes appear to pay out as much or more than they take in, this should be a clue that something is wrong. In reality, most businesses that fail are not crooked, they are just new or not well planned or well funded. If you can't get clear answers to ALL your questions in a timely manner rethink the opportunity. Poor support may indicate future problems tracking and paying you your commissions. The first test I perform is to see if I can get a person from accounting on the phone. No matter how good things sound every recruit will be required to put in as much or more effort into the business as you do. Don't fall victim to the theory that you just sell to six people, they sell to six more and so on - this approach simply doesn't work in the real world.Purchase The Product Yourself This would appear to be self evident, but most people don't invest in the products they attempt to sell to others. If you are considering taking a chance with your time and energy marketing a product or service, you should be willing to buy it and try it first. If you are not satisfied you can usually return the product losing nothing, and so can your customers. If you wouldn't buy the product or service how could you expect others to act differently? Owning a product helps enable you to answer questions and write honest convincing testimonials and sales copy.Good Business Opportunities Focus on the product FIRST not the opportunity; if the product is sound evaluate the commission structure. Make sure you are selling a real product or service not just recruiting sales people for some company that only exists virtually. Most good business opportunities shouldn't cost you anything just for the opportunity. If you have to pay something upfront, make sure you get good value from your investment. If a product or service is worth selling, it's worth buying first. Look for products with higher direct commissions and focus your efforts on retail product sales NOT recruiting others. Marketing costs money and takes time. If it requires a lot of sales to make a little money it's likely to cost you more to market than you will earn in commissions - pass. Good choices are proven, high quality, high value, products and services already in demand in niche markets.
ROBERT SMITH helps thousands successfully market their Internet based home business. You'll find tons of free marketing tools & resources on his Internet Marketing web site at: http://www.smithfam.com/. eBook2004 Internet Marketing CD
http://www.ebook2004.com/special/cd.htmlYou can reach him by phone at: (541) 689-1847 PSTand by email at. Contact Robert Smith
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