Creating a Winning Strategy for Your Network Marketing Business 39

up a program of regular communication so that her coach could keep tabs on her progress and provide assistance in generating new ideas and dealing with the challenges that came along. Before long, Joan felt that she was moving forward with real purpose and velocity.

Like a recipe with key ingredients, adding the right resource can make the whole dish come alive. It does not have to be anything expensive or fancy; it just has to be right.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Congratulations! You have completed all nine key tasks and are ready to put together a strong, clear strategy for success that allows you to fully leverage the considerable assets at your disposal. As you probably noticed, just going through the nine tasks gives you a well-organized body of material. All that needs to be done now is adapt it to your particular network marketing business.

One last thing: Do not let your time spent with the nine tasks end here; they always remain important, no matter how successful you are or how long you are in business. Come back often for checkups. Generate some new thinking for a tune-up, and always make sure your network marketing business is the best possible reflection of who you are and what you are capable of.

Cliff Walker has over 20 years of experience working in large organizations, including senior management positions. For the past 15 years, Cliff has dedicated himself to improving the performance of individuals and helping them reach their full potential. He has worked in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout Europe.

He discovered network marketing as a result of researching the industry on behalf of a major international company and immediately recognized the potential. Cliff is now recognized as one of the top network marketing professionals in Europe. After less than four years building a serious network marketing business, Cliff’s team numbers more than 70,000 distributors and 350,000 customers, spanning the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

He was instrumental in taking the company he partnered with to over $150 million in sales after just three years in business, generating income in

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excess of $3 million. Cliff is now CEO of Success Systems International, which is committed to providing support, training, and a professional environment that will enable fulfillment of individual goals and long-term success.

Success Systems International is committed to forging new and exciting partnerships to further spread the message of Cliff’s proven principles and methodologies of training, communication, marketing, and success throughout the world. For more information, visit www.cliffwalker.co.uk.

Chapter

5

The Power of a Great System

Mark Stevens

Most people fail in network marketing because they are not given a clear road map, a system, to follow. Without this type of well-defined system, many new independent representatives can quickly become discouraged. They do not experience the success that first enticed them to become involved in our industry and quickly lose passion, excite-

ment, and commitment.

Did you know that, according to industry averages, 8 out of 10 people who sign up with a direct-sales/network marketing company stay less than one year? Most people would agree that they work too hard recruiting to experience that level of loss and frustration. An effective system can be instrumental in addressing two essential areas—first, it will help equip new enrollees to achieve quick and consistent success, and second, it sets the stage for long-term retention. As all network marketers know, the more positive and rewarding the experience, the longer people will remain active in the opportunity.

Statistics show that the new enrollee’s first 90 days are absolutely vital. To really drive home how important these first 90 days are, consider statistics showing that of those 8 out of 10 people who stay less than a year, most companies lose 40 percent to 60 percent of them in the first 90 days. So, doing the right things as an enroller begins when you first introduce the business to your friends. A well-planned, easy-to-follow system creates a partnership between the company and you to help ensure that new enrollees have early, essential success experiences. This system must be simple and duplicable, and never overwhelming. The emphasis should always be that anyone willing to be persistent and consistent can do it if they just follow the clearly defined steps.

It is vital that people realize the power of following a system that includes a fast way to get started. A great example of this power is the McDonald’s franchise chain. Whether you order a Big Mac in New York, Hong Kong, or anywhere in between, you will get the very same taste,

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42 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NETWORK MARKETING

same ingredients, and same packaging. You see, Ray Kroc realized a very important principle in successful business, and that is the power of an easily and consistently followed system. When a new McDonald’s franchise owner opens the doors of a new restaurant, you can be assured that the owner and the employees have been given extensive and specific training on how to successfully operate that franchise. The key to their success is plugging into and following the proven McDonald’s system. The same holds true in network marketing. If new enrollees are left to their own devices, their business is doomed to failure from the very start. However, if those new team members are given a step-by-step, very clear system to follow, they are much more likely to experience success from the very beginning.

Always help people realize that they are starting an actual business. Help them understand that they are not just buying product; they are the CEO of their own national or worldwide business. Build up the integrity of the business they are involved in as well as the network marketing industry, and the vast potential of both their business and this industry. The network marketing industry has created more millionaires than any other industry, including real estate, and has attained a high level of respect as a very viable and legitimate industry. Additionally, this exciting industry offers individuals an opportunity to create very formidable businesses with incomes rivaling or exceeding those of highly paid executives.

There are four initial activities you want a new enrollee to do, and these should be accomplished either with the help of the person who brought the enrollee into the business or by a qualified team leader.

ESTABLISH GOALS

The first thing a new enrollee should do is establish goals—the “why” for building his or her network marketing business. This is an exciting time as people are encouraged to take all the limitations off of their circumstances and to actually begin to consider their real potential. Many times, the process of setting goals and attaching them to dreams and desires can be absolutely explosive. There is a great deal of emotion connected to setting goals, because we all have dreams of glorious accomplishments and we all want to create an impressive legacy. These goals cannot be about just money, although money usually funds a goal. The goal must be a tangible, material accomplishment, such as college funding for a child, support for a ministry or charity, a new home, or the financial freedom of being debt free. The more emotion that is attached to a goal, the stronger the drive is within an individual to accomplish that goal. You become unswervingly committed to achieving the goal.

This is also the time when a new enrollee should be encouraged to plug