Most people know what network marketing, direct sales, or multilevel marketing is which usually involves one of your friends buying and selling Tupperware, cutlery, makeup, or some beverage product while telling you that you can be a part of the company and make a fortune, or a image of a high-pressure salesperson at a motel seminar trying to convince you how easily you can become a millionaire if you can get your friends and everyone they know to buy and sell some product with him.

But this is not really what’s involved in network marketing. It isn’t a hobby or a get-rich-scheme but it’s an opportunity for you to earn money running your own part- or full-time business.

What does it take to succeed in this industry?

Choose wisely. There are 6 factors you should be looking for when selecting an opportunity.

• 1:  Stability How old is the company?
• 2: Excellent Products or Services that consumers will use and need more of.
• 3: Pay Plan –how  fair and generous overall is the distribution? You need to know exactly how you’ll get paid–or not get paid. There’s two important points on this to remember: first what’s the percentage out of each sales dollar you will get paid back each month, and how fair is the distribution of these percentages between old and new members?
• 4: Integrity of the company and the management. You should investigate the experience of the CEO and the experience they have in the network marketing industry, what is their background. Are they successful in other companies in the industry? What kind of reputation do they have one of honesty?
• 5: Momentum and timing It’s crucial to get in at the beginning before everyone else hears Look at where the company is, are they progressive, growing and innovative.
• 6: Support and training. You may have chosen a great company with excellent management, with momentum and stability having products that make a difference, also a pay plan that’s fair and generous. But if you don’t have the proper support and training it will be very difficult to succeed. Most companies will have some sort training system that they use but automated systems always need a personal trainer in order to succeed

Practice what they teach It’s very important to listen and learn from mentors. The way this industry is structured, the leaders in any company you’re involved with realize the need to help you succeed, so they’re willing to teach you the system. Remember whatever they did to become successful, you can copy. But you have to be willing to listen and be taught and follow those systems.

The leaders.  can be called various things, but the general term is the “UPLINE,” meaning the people above you. How supportive are they? Do they call you? Do they help you put a plan in place? Are they as committed to your success as they are to their own? You should be able to relate to[the people in your upline and be able to call them at any time with questions like “I need some help.” How much support there is from the people above you in the company is very important.

Take the lead with your downline. There’s a term in the network marketing industry called “orphans”–when somebody is brought in and then the person who brought them in is just so busy bringing in other people that they don’t spend the time to teach and train the new person. You should be prepared to spend at least 30 days helping a new person come into the industry–training them, supporting them and holding their hand until they feel confident to be able to go off on their own. You really need to ask yourself, are you willing to do that? Are you able to do that? This is really about long-term relationship building. It’s not about just bringing people into the business and just moving forward. It’s about working with these people and helping them to develop relationships.

The Internet. People are utilizing the internet  as their main marketing tool. You can set up your site with auto responders so when you capture leads, the auto responder can follow up with that person. One of the greatest keys to success in this industry is follow-up. Many people will have someone call them or they’ll call them, but then they don’t follow up with it. Automation on the internet has allowed a much more consistent method of following up.

The only drawback is spam. A word of caution “don’t do it” when utilizing the internet as a marketing tool, spamming  can give a very bad reputation not only for you you but also to the company you’re working with.

Taking care of finances. This is a business, and just like if you were running a franchise or a storefront, you should have an accountant. You have all the same textbased write-offs that you have with running any business, so it’s very important to keep precise records prior to getting involved, and before you start making money from it ask yourself. How is that going to affect your tax write-offs? What are your deductions?

It’s important to have a support team around you. I’d suggest seeking out lawyers who deal in network marketing, ones that are versed in all the laws and how that affects your business.. There are also accountants who specialize in dealing with home-based businesses specifically in the direct-selling industry.

Don’t quit your day job. Never leave your full-time position unless you’re absolutely certain that the income that’s coming in with this company is going to be there. Make sure you’ve been with the company long enough to know it’s a stable company, that your income will be greater than the income you’re earning from your job before quitting or at least equal to it.