Choosing A Method Of Advertising For Your Business
By Sue Parker

Without dwelling too much on the negative, it is a known fact that at least 95% of people who start a network marketing business will fail. There are several reasons for this. Some enter into network marketing believing it is an easy route to riches. Network marketing may be a simple concept, but easy? No! Too many people join a company because their sponsor told them it was so easy a baboon could do it blindfolded with one arm behind it's back. In my book, if something is easy to do, it's also easy not to do. Starting and maintaining your network marketing business requires time, effort and discipline. Quite simply, some people are not cut out to do network marketing. If you're looking for an easy, lazy way to build a business then maybe networking isn't for you. And if you think that you are going to succeed without further investment into your business, think again. The initial outlay is precisely that! An ongoing investment into both your business and yourself is required - something I am aware some novice networkers are horrified to hear when they thought they could succeed on a $200 start only.

So, what about those people who join a company under no illusion that it won't be easy and set their goals and ongoing monthly investment budget - those who appreciate you "don't get 'owt for nowt" as they say in my neck of the woods (Yorkshire, UK)! Sure, there are plenty of people who have the work ethic required to be successful in mlm, who still don't succeed. I know of many, myself included in the past, including those who have joined me in business, who have worked hard on themselves and their businesses, used up their budget, only to fall away when they couldn't duplicate themselves and grow a business. Why did these people fail? It certainly wasn't through lack of effort.

The truth is you don't have to fail at network marketing. Failure is not inevitable. It is within your control to buck the trend and succeed.

How do you do this? Stop listening to your upline , unless they are in tune with the principles of attraction marketing and teach you how to grow your business by branding YOU, INC. If you have been sponsored into mlm and have been taught to write a warm list, contact everyone on that list, hold home meetings or attend meetings in hotels, buy leads and cold call them etc. then it is time to stop listening to your sponsor. You are being set up to fail. Sure, these methods have worked for a few in the past, but the majority will lose their shirts doing this and turn their backs on network marketing for good. I've seen many good people go because they couldn't make their businesses work. And yes, I have been guilty of giving this advice in years gone by, but since my eyes were opened to teaching people how to succeed in network marketing instead of how to fail, the only way forward is to brand yourself as the expert and attract people into your business. And by "attract people", I don't mean sit back and wait for it to happen! There is still effort and discipline involved in growing a business in this way.

I must point out though, it is not that easy to just stop listening to your upline. But for the sake of your business and your bank balance, you must. I know how incredibly difficult it can be to do this. You may feel a sense of loyalty to the person that brought you into the company you joined, but if they are teaching you the old, worn out traditional way of networking they are setting you up to fail. It's not necessarily their fault. After all they're only following what their sponsor taught them, and they may be ignorant of this "new way" you have discovered. If they're not prepared to listen to you, you have to be strong and go it alone. You don't have to worry about this prospect, there are plenty of people around who can assist you with this way forward. This is your business, not theirs, and it is up to you how you move it forward. You pay your bills, they don't! Be grateful that your sponsor introduced you to a wonderful opportunity, but you don't have to do everything they say if there is a 95% chance of you failing.

Your success depends on you. Even if you are a novice networker you can become the expert - and quickly too. Find yourself a system (systems work, people fail!) and plug yourself in to success.

About The Author
Sue Parker has had a full-time career in mlm since 2002. To find out more about how you can achieve success with Sue, irrespective of the company to which you are affiliated, please visit www.SecretsoftheMLMMaster.net. This article first appeared on Sue's blog, MLM Attraction Marketing Formula.