How To Design The Ultimate MLM Business Plan

No matter the type of business you pursue, the first step is always to develop a plan. As the old saying goes, “those who fail to plan--plan to fail.” So I ask you: Do you have a plan for your MLM business? If the answer is no, then I encourage you to create one, especially if you’re looking to increase your profitability.

For starters, when I say business plan I don’t mean some elaborate or official looking document that’s meant to impress your prospects or upline. I’m merely referring to the development of a simple plan that details your unique and specific strategy for mastering the two key elements of any successful MLM business. Namely, marketing and training.

Let’s start with marketing. There are actually quite a few skill sets and tactics associated with marketing, but the main one will always be prospecting or recruiting. This is because the power of network marketing lies in the leverage it creates by allowing individuals to profit from the efforts of large groups.

Therefore the marketing portion of your MLM business plan must include a multitude of strategies for attracting a perpetual list of prospects interested in starting some kind of home based business. Now I won’t go into detail here about the many different ways there are to do this, except to say that you should be sure to incorporate both online and offline marketing strategies as opposed to just one or the other.

Of course, your marketing plan should also include at least a few strategies to market and promote your company’s products, especially if they are currently in high demand. This is an often overlooked aspect of network marketing, as many focus all their efforts on finding new recruits. If this describes you, then you might try marketing your company’s products by themselves. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that the commissions from these sales could eventually end up funding most, if not all of your various marketing campaigns.

Now let’s examine the second key element of a successful MLM business plan: training. Realize that training in an MLM business is always two fold. First, there’s your personal training which is obviously designed to expand your own knowledge base and skill set when it comes to network marketing. Personal training is of course important, but more important still is the training you provide to your downline for purposes of duplication.

Now a good MLM company will always provide start-up training for new reps, but you shouldn’t expect this to be enough to cause the majority of your distributors to stick around long enough to succeed. Meaning, you’ll be far more successful, and by successful, I mean profitable if you pass along your own personal insights, methods and strategies to all those you and your downline recruit.

Duplication training can take many forms e.g. conference calls, ebooks, newsletters, etc., and it should be somewhat automated so that new recruits can’t help but to be immediately exposed to it. I can’t stress the importance of this enough. Attrition is a very common issue in MLM and the best way to reduce it is through consistent, thorough training.

In summary, having a solid plan can by itself be the difference between failure and success in both life and in business. Specifically, it’s important in any endeavor to get clear on both what the critical elements to success are, as well as how to best approach them for maximum results. If you design a business plan that clearly establishes these two things, then not only will your business grow faster, it will also grow more easily.