Company and Company leadership would be next for me. After that Compensation plan what’s my investment and what’s the pay out. Last would be sponsor or upline because I know from personal experience you can have the best sponsor in the business and that in no way insures you success! Appreciating you, Billy Mitchell http://www.rhindol.com
Next, I would want to know what the pay out was for CUSTOMERS because that needs to be clear. Next, I want to know if there’s a RETAIL site where a customer can go to order easily without recruiting distractions. Potential customers need this also to read more info on products as they want it. Having a special separate retail site shows me that the company is Customer oriented/driven and knows what is important. THEN,I want to check out the company and its leadership to see what their track record is. It’s a big plus when I see a successful woman at the top or sharing the top spot. I will check and see what the policies and procedures are all about. (thanks Roxie and MFF Team) In fact, I am contemplating joining a company at this moment based on these important issues. Thanks for all you do for us Kim. I miss being in the NMC. Mary
Having built up monthly sales of $250,000 US with a company with some of the FINEST products in the world… and then watch the company slash the payout 80% and watching that company destroy my and most other distributors’s income and put me into debtor’s nightmare – I would say the COMPANY is the most important.
Company management, experience, and Distributor friendly track record in MLM – so the people in the home office know the blood, sweat and tears distributors give to build a successful organization.
Most naive and new distributors are swayed by a great product – not understanding the piracy and outright greed found in way too many comp plans.
Too many instances to even begin to list. But do yourself a BIG favor. Subscribe to the message boards are the DRA – Distributor Rights Association – which represents we the little people, the average distributors in MLM. http://www.mlm-dra.org/
And read the garbage going down in the industry by the Big Boys at http://MLMWatchdog.com
Unless, of course, you want to get suckered in by a good dog and pony show.
And google the name of some company followed by the word SCAM – and read what is the underbelly of a product BEFORE you get sucked into “Wow what a great product” vortex.
By the way, Ann Sieg, who is posted google ads all over the internet bashing EVERY MLM company has NEVER built an organization, and using her ads to recruit for her company. I would call this bait and switch. And RUN the other direction.
Comp plans are written to funnel as much income as possible to the company, owners and stockholders – not to the distributors.
Notwithstanding all the hype, song and dance, and “kindness” stories that appear on the company websites.
Does a company’s president have a private jet, big fancy expensive office (paid for by YOU with skimpy commission payouts of 5%, 4%, 3%, and 2% and LOTS of breakage – the carrot that makes you believe you will get certain bonuses when in realty the hoops you have to jump through are way too above the reach of 97.5% of distributors).
Is the company buying up lots of real estate? Sold out their stock to go public so they are beholden to stockholders interests, and not you the hard-working and hopeful and wishful distributor?
These things are not good for we the distributors. On the contrary, they are big red flags that the company’s priorities are making the principals rich, while giving the distributors a song and dance, warm and fuzzy story, while helping themselves to most of the money.
Oh, well, don’t believe me. Just stay warm and fuzzy with a great product. Just don’t expect to make too much $$$.
One comp plan we dissected this morning has the average distributor shelling out $115/month for 800 #’s, web sites, autoships, credit card processing in order to make $2.00 each month.
Do you see anything wrong with this picture? Where is all the money going?
HINT: If you want to make MONEY, start your own MLM company – LAUNCH it as they say – and sell all kinds of useless and expensive add-ons to the naive – but hopeful – reps.
More than one company even charges their reps to send them their checks – IF they don’t find an excuse from the Policies and Procedures to terminate them just in case they start to make too much money.
This is NOT a business. It is a big game of some type. But hey, The PRODUCTS are cool.
Pat Crosby Founding Member, Distributor Rights Association
PS: Do NOT. Repeat, DO NOT email me to join your company. I have learned to smell a rotten comp plan with cheap payouts from galaxies away. No matter WHAT the PR fluff on the website says (usually about saving the world, the environment, healing people, doing random acts of kindness — all the current “spiritual” buzz — etc, etc. ) I am VERY happy with a company that pays me 40% commission across the board – with no cheap breakage tricks.
Company, company and company first – that includes the owner/founder and key personnel. MLM is about people – but ultimately we’re dealing with people at the company end, too! They can make or break the product, the compensation plan, everything. Without credible people and a sound corporate track record I would not touch any product or plan, however “best” they might be.
10 years in the industry and I never had any real criteria on sorting out fact from fiction… How do you know if what anyone is saying is true? I made many emotional decisions and finally a business decision(and surprise, surprise….I’m making money and so are many of my partners!Finally!) And while I wouldn’t trade 10 my year learning curve(gift is in the journey!), I wouldn’t have minded learning it sooner!
Here are 10 of the questions I asked last time around to find my LAST company vs. my NEXT company!
1. How long has the company been in business?(start ups..red flag for me-no more pioneering anything for anyone) 2. Is the company debt free? 3. Is management dedicated to service and profit or just profit? 4. Are the products ‘copy cats’? 5. Do the products appeal to the mass market..or just a niche?(been there, done that one..no more niches!) 6. What is the reorder ratio? Want to create lasting residual? Residual is a lot of people doing a little bit consistently, right? VERY IMPORTANT to learn this fact! 7. What’s the upfront investment…and can you get it back? 8. What’s the pricing policy? Would the products sell if you put them in a store? 9. BREAKAWAYS? RUN RUN RUN AWAY 10. What’s the risk?
Company and Company leadership would be next for me.
After that Compensation plan what’s my investment and what’s the pay out.
Last would be sponsor or upline because I know from personal experience you can have the best sponsor in the business and that in no way insures you success!
Appreciating you,
Billy Mitchell
http://www.rhindol.com
Product first, then company would be next.
Mariangie Gonzalez
Next, I would want to know what the pay out was for CUSTOMERS because that needs to be clear.
Next, I want to know if there’s a RETAIL site where a customer can go to order easily without recruiting distractions. Potential customers need this also to read more info on products as they want it.
Having a special separate retail site shows me that the company is Customer oriented/driven and knows what is important.
THEN,I want to check out the company and its leadership to see what their track record is.
It’s a big plus when I see a successful woman at the top or sharing the top spot.
I will check and see what the policies and procedures are all about. (thanks Roxie and MFF Team)
In fact, I am contemplating joining a company at this moment based on these important issues.
Thanks for all you do for us Kim.
I miss being in the NMC.
Mary
Having built up monthly sales of $250,000 US with a company with some of the FINEST products in the world… and then watch the company slash the payout 80% and watching that company destroy my and most other distributors’s income and put me into debtor’s nightmare – I would say the COMPANY is the most important.
Company management, experience, and Distributor friendly track record in MLM – so the people in the home office know the blood, sweat and tears distributors give to build a successful organization.
Most naive and new distributors are swayed by a great product – not understanding the piracy and outright greed found in way too many comp plans.
Too many instances to even begin to list. But do yourself a BIG favor. Subscribe to the message boards are the DRA – Distributor Rights Association – which represents we the little people, the average distributors in MLM.
http://www.mlm-dra.org/
And read the garbage going down in the industry by the Big Boys at http://MLMWatchdog.com
Unless, of course, you want to get suckered in by a good dog and pony show.
And google the name of some company followed by the word SCAM – and read what is the underbelly of a product BEFORE you get sucked into “Wow what a great product” vortex.
By the way, Ann Sieg, who is posted google ads all over the internet bashing EVERY MLM company has NEVER built an organization, and using her ads to recruit for her company. I would call this bait and switch. And RUN the other direction.
Comp plans are written to funnel as much income as possible to the company, owners and stockholders – not to the distributors.
Notwithstanding all the hype, song and dance, and “kindness” stories that appear on the company websites.
Does a company’s president have a private jet, big fancy expensive office (paid for by YOU with skimpy commission payouts of 5%, 4%, 3%, and 2% and LOTS of breakage – the carrot that makes you believe you will get certain bonuses when in realty the hoops you have to jump through are way too above the reach of 97.5% of distributors).
Is the company buying up lots of real estate? Sold out their stock to go public so they are beholden to stockholders interests, and not you the hard-working and hopeful and wishful distributor?
These things are not good for we the distributors. On the contrary, they are big red flags that the company’s priorities are making the principals rich, while giving the distributors a song and dance, warm and fuzzy story, while helping themselves to most of the money.
Oh, well, don’t believe me. Just stay warm and fuzzy with a great product. Just don’t expect to make too much $$$.
One comp plan we dissected this morning has the average distributor shelling out $115/month for 800 #’s, web sites, autoships, credit card processing in order to make $2.00 each month.
Do you see anything wrong with this picture? Where is all the money going?
HINT: If you want to make MONEY, start your own MLM company – LAUNCH it as they say – and sell all kinds of useless and expensive add-ons to the naive – but hopeful – reps.
More than one company even charges their reps to send them their checks – IF they don’t find an excuse from the Policies and Procedures to terminate them just in case they start to make too much money.
This is NOT a business. It is a big game of some type. But hey, The PRODUCTS are cool.
Pat Crosby
Founding Member, Distributor Rights Association
http://NetworkWithPat.blogspot.com
PS: Do NOT. Repeat, DO NOT email me to join your company. I have learned to smell a rotten comp plan with cheap payouts from galaxies away. No matter WHAT the PR fluff on the website says (usually about saving the world, the environment, healing people, doing random acts of kindness — all the current “spiritual” buzz — etc, etc. ) I am VERY happy with a company that pays me 40% commission across the board – with no cheap breakage tricks.
Company, company and company first – that includes the owner/founder and key personnel. MLM is about people – but ultimately we’re dealing with people at the company end, too! They can make or break the product, the compensation plan, everything. Without credible people and a sound corporate track record I would not touch any product or plan, however “best” they might be.
10 years in the industry and I never had any real criteria on sorting out fact from fiction…
How do you know if what anyone is saying is true? I made many emotional decisions and finally a business decision(and surprise, surprise….I’m making money and so are many of my partners!Finally!) And while I wouldn’t trade 10 my year learning curve(gift is in the journey!), I wouldn’t have minded learning it sooner!
Here are 10 of the questions I asked last time around to find my LAST company vs. my NEXT company!
1. How long has the company been in business?(start ups..red flag for me-no more pioneering anything for anyone)
2. Is the company debt free?
3. Is management dedicated to service and profit or just profit?
4. Are the products ‘copy cats’?
5. Do the products appeal to the mass market..or just a niche?(been there, done that one..no more niches!)
6. What is the reorder ratio? Want to create lasting residual? Residual is a lot of people doing a little bit consistently, right? VERY IMPORTANT to learn this fact!
7. What’s the upfront investment…and can you get it back?
8. What’s the pricing policy? Would the products sell if you put them in a store?
9. BREAKAWAYS? RUN RUN RUN AWAY
10. What’s the risk?