How Recruiting is Killing your MLM biz-op

August 10, 2008

The problem with most biz-op deals is that the real money to be made is in recruiting others to join the deal rather than on building a customer base. Again, understanding how insidious this problem can be comes back to understanding your comp plan as a business building blueprint AND as your strongest allies in building your biz-op. If your company offers “big bucks” for recruiting, then people are simply going to do what every great detective does in all those old movies; “follow the money.”

I’m an “old school” networker who has watched more people fizzle out than I care to recount and the problem often has its roots in the comp plan. What happens is that you, or your new distributor, “gets” someone to join the deal as a new distributor. Then they promptly abandon their new recruit to go find another recruit. Why? Because the big payday is often in recruitment. This would be like a traditional business hiring an unskilled employee, celebrating, and then going and finding another employee, and another, and another, etc. When put like that it sounds crazy, yet in MLM we are paid to do just that.

My advice, Don’t Be Stupid! Like I have said for years, “Just Because Something Works in MLM, Doesn’t Mean You Want To Do It.” You are going to spend your Time, Treasure & Talent building your biz-op. Don’t throw your 3Ts into the street. Sometimes you have to ignore the fast BIG money, to make the LONG small money. If your comp plan has a solid back end concentrate 80%+ of your efforts on that, or you will forever be playing the endless recruitment, no residual income game.

Old School says; “Get someone into your deal. Then love on them and support them until they either make it (and then you love on them even more) or until it is painfully obvious that they are not going to do anything in your biz-op.” The old line that many MLM pros quote about you spending too much time with the wrong people is only partially true. Understand that in our industry 99% of us who join MLM have zero experience with the last “M.”

You are not recruiting someone to make you money. You are not even recruiting an employee. You are recruiting a business partner. Treat them as such or don’t recruit them. If you want to make money off them, fine, I suggest you be clear about it and make them a retail customer. If your comp plan doesn’t reward you more for that activity you are, IMHO, working for a Ponzi scam. For example, one of my favorite comp plans offers an intro pack to a prospect for $99. If it is offered at Retail, the distributor pockets roughly $25. If it is offered as a beginning pack with recruitment, the distributor doesn’t earn any fast start money.

Brilliant!  This plan still incentivizes massive reaching out with a 25% commission like most fast start plans offer yet it isn’t about endless distributor recruitment. It is about finding real world customers. Let me put it another way. Everything hits “market saturation” at some point. For example; imagine if you went to your local used car lot to buy a car and the salesperson made more money getting you to become a used car salesperson than they did selling you a car. Question One, How many used car sales people can your town handle? And Question Two, Do you like the ones you already have now?

The lesson is this: If you are on a recruiting rampage you are chasing the scheme dream, if you are building a real business you are more interested in keeping the customers and distributors you have already “gotten” secured.

Have a groovy day

How to make a Phone “Tickle System” (Part 1)

August 8, 2008

Welcome To the Tickle System

To get started you will need to go shopping @ an office store

Shopping List

Product Image
This is your
“Tickler Box”

Globe-Weis� Index Card Trays


Made of heavy-duty fiberboard. Portable records storage units have a filing capacity for 1,000 index cards. Adjustable follower assembly that holds materials upright. Label holder with a pull and blank inserts. Contains 90% post-consumer recycled material.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units
154823 $13.45 $8.49 each

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Used to glue
Tickle Card to
& to make notes

Oxford� Recycled Index Cards


Use the leading brand of index cards for speeches, notes and more. The cards are all recycled with a minimum of 10% postconsumer fibers.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units:
424895 $6.64 $2.59 pack

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Used to make 60 day “Running Tickler”

Oxford� Index Card Files
Daily (numbered 1-31)
* Buy two sets of these


Heavyweight pressboard offers rigidity and strength. Printed self-tabs. 25-pt., blue. Contains minimum 25% postconsumer waste.

Item number: List Price Our Price: Units:
208975 $5.16 $3.19 set

Product Image
Used to make 60 day “Running Tickler”

Oxford� Index Card Files
Monthly


Heavyweight pressboard offers rigidity and strength. Printed self-tabs. 25-pt., blue. Contains minimum 25% postconsumer waste.

Item number: List Price Our Price Units
208918 $3.55 $2.09 set

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Used to track Major Milestones in Tickler Flow

Avery� 3/4″ Round Color-Coding Removable Labels


Self-adhesive removable labels provide a flexible system for identifying paperwork and objects. Packaged in durable, re-usable clamshell packs. Use color as information for document control, routing, filing, scheduling, map highlighting, price marking, inventory control, etc.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units:
191304 $8.21 $4.99 box

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Used to stick Tickler Cards to 3×5 Index Note Cards

Avery� Glue Stic


Permanent Glue Stic for paper, cardboard, photos and fabric. Acid-free and photo-safe make it great for crafts. Smooth and easy to apply. Washes out of clothing. Large caps won�t pose a choke hazard � safe for young children. The disappearing glue stic rubs on purple, then dries clear to let you see where you’re gluing. Non-toxic. ACMI certified (conforms to ASTM D 4236).

Item number: List Price: Our Price Units:
910232 $2.45 $1.19 each

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Used to Cut Things

Fiskars� Deskworks� Economy-Priced Scissors, 8″ Straight, Blue Handles, Pack Of 2


Lightweight eight-inch stainless steel scissors with edge-ground blades and blue handles. Handles are left or right-handed. Excellent general purpose scissors.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units:
$8.20 $3.99 2-pack

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Used to make “Quick Reference” presentation binder

Wilson Jones� Clearview Slimview Poly Ring Binders


Glossy, clear overlay on covers and spine. Prevents toner transfer. Allows printed or personalized materials to be placed in front and spine pockets. Flexible and lightweight, perfect for presentations on the go. Smudge-resistant finish stays clean. One inside pocket. Sheet size 8 1/2″ x 11″.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units:
433678 $5.99 $3.69 each

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Used to load pages into your Quick Reference presentation binder

Avery� Heavyweight Vinyl Top Loading Sheet Protectors


Keep your important documents looking good with these reinforced, top-loading sheet protectors. Perfect for protecting presentations, frequently used lists, and archiving awards or other important papers. 50 Per Box.

Item number: List Price: Our Price: Units:
108324 $20.07 $14.99 box

These pictures and prices are from the Office Depot web site www.OfficeDepot.com.   You can also find good deals at any of the other office supplies superstores like www.OfficeMax.com or www.Staples.com.  The shopping list above totals just about $50 which will get you free delivery if you order your supplies online from any of these office supply stores.

If you don’t have pens, paper add them to your list <grin>

I shop Office Depot because I can place my order online and it comes to my house.  If you  shop Office Depot online simply use the Item Numbers to locate the products on the Office Depot Website.  As you get to each page simply click on the “Add To Cart” button to fill up your order.  If you are shopping at a different online store use the manufacturer # to help you locate the different items.  Anyway you should be able to get yourself set up to efficiently track and service your prospects and customers for about $50.

Most MLM companies are totally focused on “getting” people to join.  While it is true that we too are in the beginning stages of building our own sales force, it is even more important that we have a “fool proof” system in place for dealing with our prospects, retail customers, preferred customers, and Marketing Executives.  The system I am about to describe is not only simple to learn and use, it is also extremely “low tech”.  What is true about building an organization of part time “paid volunteer” sales people is that the vast majority of your part time sales people already have a job.  It is also true that their job already gets their best 8-10 hours out of the day and in the remaining hours your “volunteer” sales people have to run the rest of their lives, visit with their family, unwind from their day, and, Oh Yeah, build a sustainable part time business.

If your part time sales person has to think about what to do to build their business when they get home from work, chances are really high that they will end up doing nothing.  The truth about this business is that it is actually very easy to do, however, it is even easier “not to do”.  This card file tickler system removes the thinking from the process and reduces the often daunting business building  chore down to a simple set of tasks that can be accomplished in 30 minutes to an hour a day

You Also Need To Download these Files:

Tickle Cards

Tickle Calendar

When You Are Ready To Put It All Together Go HERE