What is MLM and network marketing?





								So is the quality of your sponsor an important thing? What should they do or not do. How do you select a good one? Does it even matter if the company is good? These are all questions you’d like answers to according to my postbag! Well, for non-networkers, let’s clarify who your sponsor is. She or he is the person who recruits you into a network marketing company. One dictionary definition of ‘sponsor’ is a godparent which is pretty accurate in networking terms. They should NOT be, nor should you consider them to be, a sales manager, a boss or a nuisance! Whether your sponsor is important to your success is a much debated question. I always advise people to carefully choose a good company, rather than a good sponsor. If you pick the wrong programme that doesn’t pay , whose products are hard to sell, or which gets shut down. It doesn’t matter if the person who recruited you is Superman, St Francis of Assisi and the tooth fairy rolled into one -- you’re probably not going to do very well. Many of you have asked; what should you expect from your sponsor, how will you know if they’ll be a good one. Well be very clear on this - your sponsor will NOT build your business for you. That’s not their job, it’s yours! The ones that say they will are lying, naive or terminally misguided, I’d avoid them at all costs. My list of desirable qualities would be headed by honest when appropriate, followed by quick to praise you, rather than blowing their own trumpet and invisible when not needed. If that sounds strange to you, well honesty is a two edged sword. Somerset Maugham said “I always try to tell as much of the truth as my listeners can handle”. Many sponsors could learn a lot from that. I heard a story the other day about a man who’d told one of his group that her carefully thought out idea for increasing sales was a bag of cp. Although upset, she went ahead with it anyway. It was a great success -- now they’re not speaking! Your sponsor can be a mentor, a business advisor who’ll help you find your feet in a new arena while allowing you to learn from your own experience, so that your confidence grows. Some sponsors can be monstrous. I once had one who seemed to think he was in my downline and expected me to help him to run his business, but never lifted a finger to improve mine! A good sponsor will help you intensively in the early days and later they’ll provide cover for you while you’re on holiday. Good sponsorship is a fine line. We often need someone with a wider perspective on our business but once your business is up and running and you’ve got the hang of things. You don’t necessarily want your sponsor on the phone chatting twice a week for the sake of it or demanding you attend this meeting, or that training because they think you should. HOWEVER you do want one that can guide you with a proven success system that the company uses. If you’re a novice networker joining your first company, then your sponsor and your upline are important. Don’t forget your ‘upline’. These are the people above your sponsor who also earn a bonus from the company on your results. This is important, because often a poor sponsor can be outweighed, by a some helpful and experienced people in their upline. In most companies there will be at least 3 people actively prepared to help you. Ask about them if you’re unsure about your potential sponsor. My 5 key questions to ask a potential sponsor:** 1: How much product did you retail last month? 2: How many people do you sponsor monthly? 3: What were you earning after 3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 months (pick your own time period) in your current network? 4: Can you prove it in writing? Anne Robinson will be proud of you! (Note to our overseas readers, Anne is a campaigning consumer journalist and TV personality in the UK. She works with the BBC) If you like the answers then ask --- 5: Do you feel confident to teach me to do the same? If you’re not happy with the answers, but the company looks good, and the person seems nice, ask the same questions about their upline and ask if they will work with you to teach you. An important note about sponsors is that I would not let the fact that your potential sponsor may be new put you off joining them. We did not become top earners overnight. Everyone has to start somewhere. Simply ask those questions of your sponsor’s upline. This article was originally published in the UK in September 1998 under the title ‘Mentor or Monster’ ©1997 ESG






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