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Your First Year In Network Marketing
Mark Yarnell MLM Book Sale !
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Maximize Your
Profit
In Network Marketing and MLM
Compensation
Pay Plans
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<>Sections: Those Who
Fail to
Plan, Plan to Fail | >Terminology and
Jargon | M<>isconceptions | ><>Basic
Plan Mechanics | >
<>Point Value to Cash
Calculation | ><>Payout
Transparency ><>| Buy Back
Policy | ><>Breakaway | >
<>Infinity Bonuses
and Blocking | >
<>Conclusions | ><>Recommended Special Bonus >
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Those Who Fail
to Plan, Plan to Fail
Welcome to Show
Me The Plan – Part 1! This book is the first part of an
exciting 2 part series.
Why have I
written this book? If you are familiar with the network marketing
industry, you will have no surprise why the majority of new
distributors or networkers spend a lot of time in network
marketing training because they simply don’t
understand how the compensation or marketing plan in their company
works!
Every year,
network
marketing companies and
teams spend thousands on marketing plan training because
many people simply find marketing plans today too confusing or people
just don’t take network marketing serious enough to be well
equipped.
Isn’t
this alarming? Consider this:
-
Would you be
in a profession if you don’t know your career path?
-
Would you work
in a job if you don’t know how much you are getting paid?
-
Would you give
away money for free?
We all know the
answers to these questions, BUT, in network marketing, proper
understanding of the marketing plan (not only yours but others in the
industry) will not only save you lots of time, but will also
determine the rest of your network marketing career! This is
even more so for people who plan to start their own network marketing
company offline or online.
When I first
started out with my network marketing career, I was so clueless about
my company’s plan that it was almost laughable. When my
prospects ask me how much do I get paid at this level, I would call
my upline in front of the prospect and ask him the questions. Towards
the end of the prospecting session, I think I must have called my
upline at least 4 times! (Thankfully the prospect signed up)
I have also seen
people lose thousands of dollars because of wrong placement of the
downline causing massive residual income to be wasted due to poor
planning and lack of understanding. You
don’t need to be a mathematical genius to understand plans, just
simple calculation and mechanics to master.
After
you are done with this book, you will learn how to:
Now,
let’s get ready to dissect the plan!
Terminology and
Jargon You Can’t Live Without
If you expect to
start a successful network marketing company or build a very large
network, you
had better get
familiarized with the terminology or jargon!
Builder
A builder is a
distributor who is actively looking for downlines. A builder is not
the same as a customer who only consumes the products or recommends
them to friends.
Upline
You are in their
organization. An upline usually earns commission from your group
volume. You may have several uplines possibly up to 10-20 levels in
depth. Normally, an upline is responsible for your success. An upline
may not necessarily be an upline leader/mentor.
Upline
Leader/Mentor
This is an upline
that you actively seek counseling from on how to build your business.
They are here to guide you and are here to mentor you and make sure
you succeed in the business.
Sponsor
You are directly
under him or her. Normally they are the one who introduced you to the
company.
Downline
They are in your
organization. Depending on the nature of the plan, your commission
from their group usually is smaller the deeper they are in the
organization. Sometimes, your downline’s downline could be many
levels deep in your organization so you might not even know him
personally.
Sideline/Crossline
These people are
not in your organization and neither are you in theirs. Basically
there are no monetary relationship between your group and the
sideline’s group. However, depending on the culture promoted in the
company, they are either perceived as the worst competitors, or
valuable allies. Take note also, that somewhere along the line, they
are also in your upline’s group, so helping your sideline means
helping your upline and his group.
Front Line
These are
downlines that are personally sponsored by you or are directly under
you. You must be directly responsible for their success because you
are the one who introduced them to this business. Furthermore, the
development of your frontline will determine the success and failure
of an entire downline group.
Leg
A leg is a
downline group in your network starting from the person you
personally sponsored. He and all the downlines under him are
considered one of your legs. A distributor usually develops many legs
simultaneously.
Width
The number of
people you can personally sponsor. Matrixes and Binaries usually
limit the maximum width. Normally a strong downline is one that
builds and develops a very large width.
Depth
Depth refers to
the level of your downline’s downline. A person who has build depth
usually has a secure organization.
Override
An override means
you are paid a certain percentage over your downline’s group.
Normally an override is calculated on your frontline only.
Profit Sharing
Pool
Profit sharing is
a bonus that is paid out to achievers who have reached certain
conditions in the marketing plan. A pool is a collection of sales
volume from distributors all over the company regardless of whether
the sales volume comes from your sideline.
Maintenance
A mandatory
(sometimes optional depending on certain criteria) sales volume a
distributor must achieve. Often maintenance is done to override your
downline, become eligible for profit sharing, or maintain a certain
rank or even the distributorship. Normally this is enforced because
the company needs to make money as well.
Total Payout
This means that a
percentage of a product sold by the company that is set aside for
distributors and retail sales only. The company only keeps the
remainder.
Clearing
Out Common Misconceptions
Let’s clear up
some common misconceptions regarding compensation plans both for the
distributor and the company.
The
compensation plan is not important; all I need to do is recruit
people
A good plan
will make or break a company. Survivability among distributors is one
of the main causes of attrition. Would
you be as excited as when you first started if you are not making
money?
Factors like
payout, maintenance and even the joining fee are crucial. If a
company has quite a high maintenance and their distributors are not
making money, they will drop out even faster.
I will only be
a serious builder once I find the best compensation plan
There are
people who do not work hard enough in their business, that they blame
the plan for their failure.
They blame the
plan, the management, or even call them a scam. If you decide to
leave a company for a better plan, make sure you leave strictly
based on business reasons and not to justify your failure!
I must explain
the entire plan to the prospect so that he understands
If you explain
the plan to a new person, chances are he will get very confused and
he might not sign up.
Keep
the plan simple and explain in terms of benefits instead of features.
If you are
starting your own network marketing company, outlining the benefits
and writing in terms of potential earnings is more advisable because
most people want don’t want to think too much.
If I want to
start my own network marketing company, all I need is a good plan
only.
Ultimately, the
success of a network marketing company depends on many factors. The
most important factor is who is managing the company. Even a company
that is making the most money will still fall apart if it is not
backed by a solid management team.
Other factors
also include having a viable product. A good product ensures
repeat sales and cash flow for both the company and the distributors.
The plan should be designed to complement and synergize with all the
other elements. At any time, each element should not be designed at
the expense of the other.
If the company
has a high payout to the distributors, everyone will join the company
If everyone in
the company is enjoying extremely high commissions, you must observe
the product more carefully. If a product’s mark-up is too high, it
may be good for the distributors in the short term, but in the long
run, high retail mark-up will hurt the consumers and devalue the
product.
A product must
rely on good repeat sales and reasonable mark-up at the retail level
or else the company will not survive long. Most companies simply grab
any product and give it a crazy mark-up so that it attracts many
builders without any thought of its long term survivability.
Recognizing Basic Plan Mechanics
Now that we are
very clear how important it is to learn about marketing plans, let us
seek to understand more about its basic mechanics. This will be
covered over a course of a few books.
Over the next few
pages, I will outline the basic plan mechanics and outline its
benefits based on the following topics:
-
What downline
building strategies are the best?
-
How well does
it synergizes with the product?
-
If I start a
company with this feature, what are the strengths and weaknesses?
Point Value to
Cash Calculation
Point value, or
PV in most network marketing usually relates to a monetary value that
translates into how much money you will get after purchasing a
product from the company. An illustration would look like this:
SCENARIO 1
Let’s say, a
product costs $100 and each dollar spent on the product gives you 1
PV:
I get paid on 100
PV for purchasing $100 worth of products and if I am eligible for 10%
override, I earn $10
Hence the
dollar to PV ratio is $1:1 PV – a
dollar to dollar equal comparison
SCENARIO 2
Sometimes, the
same price of a product will only give you 0.5 PV for each $1 spent.
I get paid on
50PV for purchasing $100 in this scenario. If I am eligible for 10%
override, I earn only $5
Hence the
dollar to PV ratio now is $2:1 PV – you
don’t get as much as 1:1 because
you have to spend more to earn more points
SCENARIO 3
Certain companies
might give away promotions for products and offer $1:1.1 PV so
if you buy
$100, you get paid on
$110 value. At 10%, I earn $11 – more
commission from
the company
on the product for less spent buying it,
Downline
Building Strategies
If I need to
generate large volume for my group this month, I would ask my
downlines to focus more on selling or moving products that give a
higher point value. That way, everyone
spends less but earns more.
Product
Synergy
Products on
promotions usually give a higher PV ratio. Other products that are
outsourced (acquired from outside companies) usually give either a
smaller PV or the same PV but a smaller business volume because they
have to pay to the outsourced company as well. These
products pay the distributor less but give more variety on the
business catalogue.
Starting a New
Company
Giving a high
dollar to PV ratio usually encourages the distributors since they get
paid more for the same effort. If I were to focus on moving high
ticket items (like water filters, air treatment systems or expensive
cookware) I would offer a higher PV incentive to distributors to move
these items and go for the big bucks.
Payout
Transparency
A company’s
marketing plan must be as transparent as possible and written in a
simple way that can be understood by veteran and newbies alike.
Payout transparency refers to the portion of money that is paid back
to the distributors listed in detail.
Here is an
example:
The company keeps
35% of the
product. That
means 65% is
paid out to
the distributors
In this case, the
company actually
declares the
payout in the official
marketing plan.
If
the percentages are not written
Out
clearly, then you will not
know
where the money goes to.
Downline
Building Strategies
A transparent
payout is useful to motivate your downline especially new prospects
who are evaluating the company. By teaching your downline to
understand what all these percentages mean, you can effectively close
more sales.
Product
Synergy
This is very
important for the product because too high a mark-up of the product
means it will be very hard for retail customers (people who are not
members of the company) to afford the product. In Multi-level
Marketing, you have to pay to many level of distributors so if a
product can sell without being people joining the company, then there
is strong demand for the product.
Starting a New
Company
Calculate the
payout before hand and most of all; decide the total mark-up. Be
careful especially in Binary Plans (which will be covered in
the next book) because you don’t want to overpay
your distributors or else your company will go into bankruptcy.
Buy Back Policy
A buy back policy
is a clause in the company’s terms and conditions where it protects
its distributors in case they quit their business and want their
money back. Normally this applies more to offline companies.
A very strong
company usually has money back guarantees for their products even
after the product has been used halfway or if the product is totally
used up. This kind of satisfaction guarantee normally compels the
company to absorb the risk because there will always be lots of
quitters in network marketing or people who want to rip the company
off trying the product for free.
In most
countries, they offer either a 10 day cooling off period, or a 6
months to one year period where they will refund 90% to 100% of the
products (whether used or unused depending on the company) due to the
laws of the country or by the Federal Trade Commission.
Downline
Building Strategies
A buy back policy
forces the upline to be at his best because the moment a downline
exercises a buy back policy, he might lose future potential income or
even has his commission recalled or deducted. This is quite normal as
in network marketing, the upline must go all out for the downline and
make sure they succeed. A good way to prevent buy backs is to train
the downline to be good product users so that even if they quit in
the business, they will always remain loyal customers.
Product
Synergy
In network
marketing (or direct selling), testimonial of a product is critical
as it is the driving force of the industry. Citing a money back
guarantee gives prospect the confidence to try the product.
Starting a New
Company
If you decide to
include a money back guarantee in your new company, you must be very
careful as you are absorbing the costs for any type of refunds. It is
no point to keep a customers money anyway no matter how much you try
to stop them from getting back as complaints to the consumer
associations or even BAD word-of-mouth can destroy your reputation.
In the end of the day, you must make sure your product is superb or
else people will accuse your company for being a Ponzi or Pyramid
Scheme.
Breakaway
Breakaway is a
feature found in most Unilevel or Stairstep plans where a downline
reaches a target faster than his upline.
Here is an
example:
SPONSOR 9%
override
DOWNLINE 12%
override
A B C
Let’s in this
company, you need to recruit three downlines in order to advance from
having a 9% commission to 12% commission. The SPONSOR has to recruit
3 downlines then only he goes to 12% but his downline achieves this
criterion before him.
This is a very
common scenario on network marketing because you can’t possibly as
a downline to slow down (it is HIS business after all) and different
people put in different amount of effort.
Depending on the
company plan, a breakaway in this case means that the upline will no
longer be eligible to receive commissions from the downline group
forever. The commission that is due to the UPLINE will go to HIS
UPLINE (the one even higher up) who has achieved the rank higher than
all those under him. In some cases, the downline will even bypass his
sponsor and his entire group will join his new upline
(see diagram)
UPLINE
SPONSOR
DOWNLINE
C
B
A
Downline
Building Strategies
It is very
important to understand that the upline and the downline are all part
of a team and as a team you have to work together. At the same time
as helping the downline, the upline must work his own share as well.
In some cases, depending on the relationship within the team, the
downline may opt to ‘wait’ for his upline so all can achieve the
goal together without leaving anyone behind.
Proper team
planning and relationship building is very important to prevent
factors like sabotage (the upline deliberately ‘slowing
down’ the downline to prevent breakaway).
Product
Synergy
In spite of the
disadvantages of breakaway, it is very important for the upline to
put in a lot of hard work. For example, if an upline sees his
downline growing very fast, he will work harder to generate more
product sales so he will be eligible for bonuses and also ‘catch
up’ with his downline.
Starting a New
Company
Breakaway has his
advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it rewards
distributors for hard work. Whoever recruits more or moves more
products gets more rewards. This is very important for the company as
you don’t want to pay out unnecessary commission to free-loaders.
The disadvantage as the company, you must strike a balance between to
fairly reward all parties. This is tricky and requires planning.
Infinity
Bonuses & Blocking
A company may pay
an achiever up to infinity levels of commission once he has built a
solid organization.
Normally this
reward system is useful for people who step up to the challenge to be
leaders and are willing to work depth in his organization. Infinity
bonuses also reward those leaders who help their downlines no matter
how deep below they are within the organization.
Observe the
diagram below:
Overrides 3% STAR AMBASSADOR
Up to Infinity Levels
Downline Group
Paid up to
Infinity
Levels
Deep
As you can see,
the star ambassador is like a leader who is servicing his entire
downline group and there fore, he deserves to be paid 3% from
everyone in the group.
When a downline
reaches a level that is similar or higher than the upline (in this
example, let us call him a STAR AMBASSADOR), the upline usually only
receives infinity level overrides up to the downline that is also a
Star Ambassador. This feature is known as BLOCKING.
Observe the next
diagram:
STAR AMBASSADOR
Downline Group
Overrides 3% up to
Infinity Levels until
The Next Star Ambassador
Blocked
At the
Next
Star
Ambassador
No more 3%
Commission
From This
Level Onwards
Note: There are
more bonuses to be awarded to the upline for nurturing a strong
downline. Normally in the form of bonuses or eligibility for higher
ranking.
Downline
Building Strategies
Identify the
strongest ones in your downline group and train them to become
leaders so you will be able to leverage on them. In other words, that
downline will keep on building the group long after you have stopped
being directly involved with them. Although you may not draw infinity
bonuses from their group, the company usually will give you a
leadership bonus on the downline leader’s group. Usually the
leadership bonus is smaller than the override or retail bonus, but it
is like getting a smaller slice of a much, much larger pie.
Product
Synergy
Infinity bonuses
can be really powerful and generate massive residual income if done
right. If you were to train all your downlines in your group to be
loyal product users, and you were to get 3% from all the volume, you
will earn something like this:
3%
* 1000 downlines (each buying $500 every month) = $15,000 monthly!!!
Starting a New
Company
If I were to
start a new company and give out infinity bonuses, you have to be
very precise on the blocking system especially when you are using a
binary plan (because of overpaying).
This is a topic
that is very plan specific which I will not discuss here but will be
explained in a later book.
The
rule of thumb to remember is this:
Reward
leadership and do not cater to free loaders!
Conclusions
There you go! You
have just run through the basics of Show me the Plan: Part 1!
A quick recap of
what you have just learnt:
-
Why marketing
plan training is very important
-
By mastering
it, save you time and money on training and lost sales
-
Learning all
the important terminology
-
Discovered the
truth regarding marketing plan misconceptions
-
Strategize how
to build your downline with the information
-
Know the
importance of Point Value to Cash Calculation, Payout
-
Transparency,
Buy Back Policy, Breakaway, Infinity Bonuses and Blocking
ALL this is just
the icing on a delicious cake. In the next chapter, you will learn
-
Manipulating
marketing plan mechanics to climb the ladder of success faster
-
Mastering the
pitfalls of demotion
-
Maximizing
your profits with stocks that can be used to sponsor new downlines
-
How to use maintenance
to your advantage regardless of which company you are a part of
-
Lots more
diagrams and illustrations on exciting new topics!
Read
part 2 now to find out how you can take one more step towards network
marketing success!
SEE
YOU AT THE TOP!
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