5 Stages of Truly Successful Networking

Even though networking is hard to do, it’s potential as a business remains attractive to people who want to start up a good business with little start up capital.

We usually hear about the ‘extraordinary’ earnings of some people in network marketing. I previously thought it was all hype until I joined Royale last September 2007. When I joined, the biggest weekly check earned was just around P100,000 (in one week). Now, the record check is P390,000 for 1 week’s earnings held by Ariel De Leon.

These earnings may seem insane for most people, myself included ( I admit, these figures are still way, way above my “psychological wallet “) but I quickly found out among those used to networking that these are actually normal and expected.

I have no questions why network marketing can pay so big. The mechanism of removing middlemen from distribution generates big profits for a networking company (as much as 70% of the prices of goods go to middlemen such as supermarkets etc.). The profits are then distributed instead to the consumer-members.

But to learn about the income in networking is one thing. Trying to earn the big income from network marketing is another story. In the months that I have been doing this business, I did nothing but observe the top earners. At first I could see some obvious traits that separate them from most people but I suspected there was a deeper secret to doing this business. Based on inputs from the Phoenix leaders and other successful networkers, I now know there is. Here is what I have learned so far:

Stage 1 – Before You Join

Choose a good company – one where you can be comfortable endorsing the product because after all, you’ll be sponsoring friends and most of those who will join do so because they trust you.

Know who runs the show – I learned that a lot of network marketing companies fold because the owners and founders themselves are not used to earning millions. Some go corrupt while others just melt from the challenge. Make sure the owner knows how to do business.

Know the Uplines – Uplines are your guide. If the top earners in your company are no longer accessible, you might as well forget it. One reason I joined Royale was the attitude of the Phoenix leaders, particularly Doc Butch. Now, 5 months in, he treats my new downlines like old friends and it’s a great plus to have someone of that calibre mentor you and your team.

Stage 2 – Just after Joining

Decide – Most people get burned in this business because they skip this first step which for me is the most important of all. In Paolo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, someone said to Santiago, a boy searching for a lost treasure that ‘if you really want it, the universe will conspire to help you”. There is something about being 100% decided to do networking, it helps you through the toughest part which is unfortunately the first part.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” - Amelia Earhart

Know What to Expect – If you were a boxer in a 12-round match and your coach told you that your opponent will land jabs from the 1^st to the 9^th round and that you would get hurt but won’t be knocked out and that if you are still standing you’ll land some big blows from the 10^th to the 12^th and will win the match, will you follow the fight plan and still fight?

The nature of network marketing follows time compounding in which the longer you stay in, the better it gets (assuming you ARE pouring effort building your network). You usually don’t feel the effects of good income until around 6 months of doing the business. But when you start earning substantially, the income increases pretty fast. You just have to ride the challenge of the first few months and keep punching.

Build Your Foundation – When starting, it is advisable not to do anything yet. The first step should be to learn how to do the business – TRAIN. Some view it as a waste of time but leaders view it as a building your foundation. Training does not have to be formal. It could be as simple as meeting your upline often (1x/wk) and letting him or her guide you what to do.

Build your presentation materials. Attend good presentations all the time. Absorb everything first because you will need every ounce of information you get to build your people network.

Dedicate Your Effort – This business really needs mental toughness and perseverance. I discovered a secret that keeps me going: It helps if you dedicate the effort for someone or something that will move you to action no matter what the circumstances are. I carry a picture of my son always and when I feel down, I simply look at it and remember that I dedicate this effort to him, it works like a charm every time.

Stage 3 – Planting Your Seeds

Make Inviting a Habit – At this stage, think like a balut vendor. Balut vendors don’t just focus on one street or worse focus on one house! They go around the neighbourhood inviting people to buy balut. If one of your friends doesn’t want to listen to you, don’t force it, go to the next friend.

I have learned to always keep a brochure or pamphlet with me wherever I go. I’m always ready to invite whenever an opportunity arises. Sow your seeds all the time. I have had people whom I invited months ago join just recently. It turns out, some people take a long time to think and decide about doing something so just be patient and invite, invite, invite. Make it a habit.

“Keep on sowing your seeds, for you never know which will grow – perhaps all will” – Albert Einstein

Learn How to Present – Although invitation is the first step, networking is a business of presentation. Presenting the business is the single most important skill you need to really experience the potential of this business.

If you are a carpenter, you need a hammer. In networking, you need your clearbook. Some may think it is ‘baduy’ but I wonder how baduy earning 50T per week is. I’d rather be baduy and be financially free than ‘may dating pero walang datung’. Presenting is so much easier if you believe in what you are doing. This is why the first 2 stages of deciding, committing and building your foundation is so important.

You Will Be Rejected – This is the one guarantee you can count on. If network marketing has a tagline it should be: Do You Want to Earn a Million per Week? Then Get Ready to Be Rejected!!!! If you do not experience getting rejected doing this business, then you are doing something wrong. Prepare for it, expect it but don’t store it.Throw rejection away! For me this used to be the hardest part, I just couldn’t shake it off that easily. Getting insulted in the middle of a presentation is no joke. Now, when I get rejected or when people make me feel bad about this business, I just shake it off and pray. My decision to see this through is greater than any rejection thrown at me. Rejection simply means you can still improve. Remember, when you are rejected, just shake it off, vitamins lang yan.

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” - Bo Bennett

At this stage, do not expect a check.

Stage 4 – Nurturing Stage

Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow – Every time you sponsor someone, slow down. Being an upline is a big responsibility. You have to make sure your new downline knows what to do. Focus on each new member first and make sure they make the proper first steps. I have learned to sit down with each new downline and understand their goals and make them understand what they are going to be facing. Make them understand the real nature of the business, not just the rewards but also the challenges. Some guys can sponsor hundreds of direct referrals, earn big and then later on get confused why the big income does not come. Teaching downlines know how to do the business may be slow at first but this system pays dividends in the long run.

Increase Your Knowledge – When you become the upline, you become the source of energy, motivation and knowledge. This is where your long trainings come in handy. Read books on leadership, motivation, business and product knowledge. Ask your uplines if you don’t know.

Follow the 80-20 Rule – Look for downlines who are interested in the business and show commitment. Spend 80% of your time with these downlines. From a business and management perspective, you gain more by developing your performers. At this stage, your potential leaders will already start to emerge. Spend 20% of your time on the other downlines because you’ll never know when they will start to move.

Own the Business – One common pitfall I saw was the over reliance of people on their uplines. They let their uplines present and caddy them all the time. The top earners and fast rising stars are usually independent and treat their uplines like partners. These guys go their own way and treat the business like it’s their own business. Uplines are a great help especially if they are accessible but the absence of uplines shouldn’t be a reason for you to not do the business. Only you can be accountable for your success.

Look for Leaders – Leaders are one of a kind. These are the type of people who do not need any help yet perform greatly, show commitment and are always hungry for more. Leaders don’t emerge right away. According to the uplines, in the Royale Cavite group, it took six months for the first true leaders to really emerge. In a binary system, you only need 1 leader per side to really grow your network. One sign that you may have a leader is that your downline does not consult you but moves on his or her own doing the business. Don’t leave it at that, show your support.

[Here is the catch: It takes one to know one. Which means in order to have a great network, you need to have at least one leader per side of a binary. In order to find the leaders, you have to know what leaders are. In order to know what leaders are, you have to be one yourself.]

At this stage, expect small checks.

Stage 5 – Harvesting

At this stage you should have a pretty substantial network (at least 60 downlines). Here is what you should be doing to grow the network:

Develop Your Leaders – Meet them often. Learn to motivate them. The real leaders will probably surpass you in skills and it’s ok, let them grow. Most of your time should be spent chatting with them. But since actions speak louder than words, you need to be a good example.

Remember the FOLLOW UPLINE rule. Your downlines follow whatever positive habit you do and will magnify whatever negative habits you do.

But even if your upline is such a bad example, try not to follow that upline. Instead, follow your upline’s upline until you see someone you can emulate.

Enhance Your Skills – By now you should be able to present to a big crowd of 50 or more people. You should be the master of the MAM (Meeting After Meeting )and of Closing. You should radiate the confidence because more and more people will be looking up to you and following what you do.

Learn to Motivate – In the Phoenix Group, the leaders who know how to motivate best are also the top earners. You have now become the lighthouse of your group and there is no shying away from the limelight anymore. You cannot earn P100T per week while staying unknown and incognito. At this stage, the spotlight is on you, you might as well learn to shine.

At this stage, expect big checks that will continue to increase.

I really, really hope I helped in making you understand what network marketing really is. They call this the GET RICH SURE not the get rich quick business. I also hope that the Royale Business Club can help in making network marketing respectable again. It’s so sad to see a lot of our kababayans suffer financially when there is a very rewarding business they could do here.

Til next time!

The One Thing that Makes Networking a Powerful Business

If you are looking to be financially free in a short amount of time you should definitely consider network marketing as a business. It’s because of one reason only: LEVERAGE.

No other business can compare to Network Marketing’s use of the Law of Leverage.

Before proceeding, let me explain what leverage is. Rane Panaligan, in his book Law of Leverage says:

“The word leverage came from the French word ‘levier’ which simply means to raise or elevate; to lessen the burden...to give a minimum input that achieves maximum results; to multiply time, effort and money...or the ability to gain more with less effort.”

A simple example of the use of leverage would be a door knob. You exert almost no effort turning door knobs because the knob is designed to multiply the force you exert in turning so that the mechanism opens without effort. Another example is the tire wrench. Have you ever seen bus drivers replace flat tires on their buses? They use very long poles to turn the bolts because if they use a simple wrench, they would not be able to maximize their force. Even if they don’t know it, they have just used leverage.

Simply stated, leverage makes life easier because it multiplies your effort.

You can use the law of leverage in personal finance as well. In fact, whatever you do be it employment or business, you can use it to your advantage.

Leverage in Employment – Leverage exists not only in business, it also exists in employment. People who have staff doing some of their work for them (we call them bosses) use their staff’s time to produce more. The staff can also employ leverage through the use of technology (cellphones, computers, equipment) to do part of the work for them. But the use of leverage in employment is limited.

For example: Most people who have no staff work 8 hours per day. It would be very hard to increase this to 12 productive hours per day. And the highest that person can go is 24 hours of work per day.

Leverage in Business – Most businesses can add to the 24 productive hours through the leverage provided by the owner’s employees. The more employees the business has, the more productive hours are generated.

For example, a businessman employs 4 employees working 8 hours per day. He can now count a total of 32 (8 hours x 4 people) productive hours towards his business and has now surpassed the limit of 24 hours he can spend if he did it all by himself. Robert Kiyosaki calls this the leverage of OPT or Other People’s Time.

Leverage in Networking – When it comes to the use of leverage, there is no other business that optimizes the law better than the business of network marketing.

For example:

If you spend 8 hours doing network marketing and you have no downlines, you get 8 productive hours.

[YOU = 8 HOURS]

If you have 2 downlines doing 4 hours per day, you get an additional 8 hours of productive work that benefits you and you raise the total productive hours of your network to 16.

[YOU (8 hours) + 2 downlines (4 hours each) = 16 HOURS]

If your downlines have 2 downlines each working 4 hours per day, you have now 4 more people X 4 hours resulting to another 16 productive hours. You now have a total of 32 productive hours and you have already surpassed the maximum limit of 24 hours you can use if you are simply doing a business all by yourself.

[YOU( 8 hours) + 2 downlines (4 hours each) + 4 downlines’ downlines (4 hours each) = 32 HOURS]

Now imagine having a network of 100 people spending only 1 hour per day doing the networking business. That’s 100 productive hours per day which directly benefits the network marketer businessman.

What happens if your network reaches 1000 people doing 1 hour of productive business per day?

On top of this, networking has a built-in mechanism that eventually turn it into a beast of a business if you are serious about it: The Network Grows Exponentially.

I thought I understood the power of the Law of Leverage when I read Rich Dad Poor Dad (by Robert Kiyosaki) but I never saw it in the light of network marketing. I now understood why some people earned millions doing this business.

Also, comparing network marketing with my traditional business, I saw that in my traditional business only one guy can use the law of leverage – me, because I own the business. In network marketing, everyone has the opportunity to use leverage if they just choose to. It is not an employer – employee relationship. It’s more like a business partnership. But here, instead of having just a couple of business partners, you can have hundreds, even thousands of business partners.

For those without enough capital to start a business, I can recommend only 1 thing: Start your own network marketing business with a reputable company. People always say “Sipag at Tiyaga lang Yan”. Kalokohan. My uncle is a farmer and he possesses all the sipag at tiyaga a man can have but he never seem to find the financial freedom he deserves. There is a missing ingredient to sipag at tiyaga.

It’s Sipag + Tiyaga + Strategy. And one strategy that is sure to work with Sipag at Tiyaga is employing the Law of Leverage. Parang kare-kare at bagoong yan, they go together.

My wife and now own 2 businesses. Our laundry business, has now a total of 150 productive hours per day after a span of 5 years of operations. Our network marketing business in Royale now has about 50 productive hours per day after 5 months. Both businesses took a lot of hard work to put up. And both businesses are very rewarding. But I must admit that the network marketing business has some characteristics that make it unique and exciting, thanks to the leverage.

One of the top earners in Royale said he has around 3000 people in his network. If those people just worked 1 hour per day, that would give him 3000 productive hours per day. That is like accomplishing in one day what an 8-hour per day person accomplishes in 1 year!

Network Marketing is a great business. And it is one of a kind when it comes to using the LAW OF LEVERAGE. If you have the right company to build a network for and if you know the right approach to building your network, it could become financially satisfying after a couple of years. Knowing this and setting my goal in accelerating my financial freedom, I think I can now accept being called a networker.

Next Blog: How to Really Succeed in Networking.

I Hate Network Marketing

I used to hate network marketing.

I remember a lady going to our apartment asking if she could explain her networking business concept to my staff. I gave her permission but I stayed in the bedroom the whole time because I knew her real target was me and my wife.

Network marketing carries a negative connotation to it. And for good reason too. Most network marketing companies often hype up their motivational spills just to entice members to continue doing the business. It often ends up catastrophically because the business concept that is being hyped is at best questionable. I did some research into this type of business and here are some objections I usually hear:

1. The business concept involves selling some exotic product with exotic qualities. The main drawback of which is after a while, you begin to wonder what you are selling in the first place. In my research of networking companies, I recently attended a company selling some sort of green liquid which reportedly came from plants and was manufactured in Malaysia. It supposedly cures a lot of illnesses but I could not see any BFAD accreditation on its markings. As the guests tried the drink, I begin to wonder how in the world are you supposed to sell stuff like this? I don’t think I can. Mas maganda pa mag-aral na lang ng magik, kikita pa ako.

2. The hype is stronger than the product. At another seminar I attended, I found out that you have to shell out approximately P1,200 for a membership ID and a catalog. Wow, that is some expensive ID! But the members were going crazy about the compensation plan because trainors were hyping the product with technical terms (I heard polysaccharide being mentioned - di ba asukal lang yun?). I found out that a lot of members shelled out P10T-90T to buy products they could not sell outside. Tsk.

3. The focus is on the compensation, not the product. One networker came to our shop one day and pretended to ask about Royale. I found out his real intention was to sell me how much better the compensation plan his company has compared to Royale and proceeded to show me dollar signs everywhere. I told him politely that there is so much more than money in the networking business. There should be integrity too, but I don’t think he got my point. His company is now closed.

This and other horror stories are so rampant that people tend to bundle up all networking companies together and throw them in the fires of hell. I used to think that way too.

But 5 months ago, I was exposed to another type of network marketing by a businessman who was also into networking. Among his businesses: owns dental clinics, a tilapia fish pond, a canteen, an auto detailing and distributes Republic Cement. And naturally my first question was:

Bakit? Bakit ka pa nagnenetwork, nasisiraan ka na ba ng bait?

I got so curious, I researched. And the more I found out about the good parts of this business, the more I wanted to learn about it.

At naging networker na nga rin po ako.

Yup, even it meant going against the tide.

It was terrible! The prejudice against this type of business if overwhelming that people who are not prepared to do it awakes to a shock every time they try to do it.

I am often asked, why? Why did I do network marketing when I knew what I was going into? Why not just stay content with my other business and have my peace? “Akala ko allergic ka dyan??”

Well, simple lang at maganda ang sagot. Promise.

But I am out of time so I will write it in my next blog soon! Stay tuned!

The Art of Presenting

Presenting is the lifeblood of any word of mouth marketing business. As those that are already ‘veterans’ in this business say: YOU ARE NOT IN BUSINESS UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW TO PRESENT.

That is easier said than done. Because according to statistics, the fear of public speech ranks second only to the fear of death.

There are ways to prepare for public presentations. The first step is to go 1 on 1. 1 on 1 talks are easier to manage because it is not that structured. And you can change your style according to who you are talking to. There are concrete ways to being effective in 1 on 1 presentations.

1. Don’t start right away – Take time to know the person you are talking to. What is his background? What are his priorities? What is his opinion about entrepreneurship? The more you know about the person, the more you can relate the presentation to his experiences. Spend time to chit chat because this is sometimes your one and only chance to do your research and increase your chance that can relate to what you are talking about. Of course, if you are talking to your best friend, then I assume you know the ins and outs of his outlook and attitude and you can fire away faster.

2. Sell a Solution – The real objective of your talk is not to sell a product or a company. Your one and only objective is to SELL A SOLUTION. This is why it is so important to have small talk before you begin the actual business presentation so that you will be able to identify problems. Be careful not to sell a solution which is not needed. I remember talking to a loading dealer encouraging her to add on to her income through franchises. But because I did not do my research, it was too late to find out she was one of the few who are content with what they earn. Needless to say, I did not close the deal. Remember, people do not buy things, they buy solutions to their problems.

3. Be Excited! – In college, I used to really get bored with my Physics classes. Physics was one of my favourite subjects but I could not bear to listen to a boring lecture for 1 hour, my mind was flying after 5 minutes. No matter how structured and arranged the presentation is, if your audience does not sense any excitement, you will lose their interest. In fact, based on my own experience, people are more interested in listening if you are excited and enthusiastic about your talk.

4. Pick the right time and place – Do not present at your guest’s office or home. Do not present during lunch break. There are too many distractions (kids, telephones, co-workers) for it to be effective. Do not present during reunions, parties, gimmicks and outings. As for big groups, do not present in general assemblies where there are other topics because your topic will be forgotten.

Choose a neutral place like a coffee shop and make your guest sit facing a wall if possible to avoid distractions. If presenting to a group make sure that the group understands that it will be a talk about business so they will know what to expect.

5. Look Successful – People are always judging others by the way they look. Use this to your advantage by dressing 1 level higher than the person you are talking to. No T-shirts and shorts please! If the person you are talking to will be wearing a polo, wear a long sleeved polo and tie if possible.

6. Use visual aids – Since presenting is your business then visual aids are your tools. Imagine if a person told you a business concept without any visuals. Or imagine describing the Red Ninja cart without pictures. It would be very, very hard.

7. Watch out for positive feedback – Based on my experience, people always begin with crossed arms, a sign that they have a closed or doubting mind. I just keep on presenting until I see some positive signs like uncrossing of the arms, raising questions or going nearer my presentation materials. You have to watch out when this happens because it means you said something that interested them. When you figure out what caught their attention, it is a likely sign that you have found the solution you should sell.

8. Make the presentation personal – People want to know who they are talking to. If you are talking to a complete stranger, you should share your personal stories. This helps them understand you more. The more they know you, they more they’ll trust you. Stories have a way of getting people to relax. If you can tell jokes, it’s much, much more effective. But if you can’t it’s better to just stick to stories. J

9. Practice, practice, practice – Your first presentation won’t be very good, this I can promise. But it is in this 1^st presentation where you will learn 90% of your mistakes. If you correct those, your second one will be so much better. Keep on going until you hit your 5^th presentation. By this time, you will have developed your own style. By the time you get to your 10^th presentation, it will be as easy. 1 on 1’s will practice you for small group presentations. Small group presentations will prepare you for large group presentations.

I’m hoping that these tips will help you do this business and other businesses you might be starting. If you really are nervous, try to start with someone close to you, just to get the 1^st one out of your system. I assure you, things will get better as you go.

Why You Should Consider Network Marketing as a Business - Part1

Quick, tell me what comes to mind if I say this word: NETWORKING.

If I have been asked 6 months ago, I would have replied: SCAM! PYRAMIDING! FLY BY NIGHT! But if you asked me today, I would reply differently.

I no longer can trace why such a black eye exists for networking. But I suspect it’s largely because 1. It has been abused by illegal companies using MLM-like compensation plans for illegal purposes (e.g. Franc Swiss) and 2. People tried it, didn’t succeed, licked their wounds and added to the horror stories.

When I heard about Royale last May 07, I just raised my eyebrows, decided it was a scam and forgot about it.

5 months and a lot of text messages from Ellen (my sponsor) later, I was ‘forced’ to attend Doc Butch’s business presentation and 3 days later, I was a member.

It didn’t happen that fast. Before I became a member I noticed a few things:

1.Ellen seemed to be on fire. I see her on the bus going to Quezon City after her shift, she literally gets no sleep. But she seems to be always excited. Either she was on drugs or something else was going on. When I talk to her, I had the certainty she is going to succeed in whatever she was into. I seldom meet people as driven as her and I am always intrigued when I do.

2.Doc Butch is already wealthy. Not from networking but from his other businesses. I could not think of any reason why he would subject himself to the humiliation of being a networker.

3.The income they were generating was pretty impressive, even from a business standpoint. I thought if they could do it part time, why not me? I needed a challenge.

From the time I became a member, I researched about this business. And the more I know about it, the more I appreciate it. Here are a few things I have unearthed I would like to share to you.

HOW CREDIBLE IS NETWORK MARKETING?

For this part, I would like to quote Josiah Go verbatim. Josiah Go is a well known entrepreneur coach and teaches marketing in both La Salle and Ateneo De Manila Universities. He has written many marketing books. In one book titled Build, Grow and Sustain Your NETWORK MARKETING Distributor Business (picture at the top), he wrote specifically about Network Marketing.

“Let me start with some schools that have been teaching network marketing – University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Houston in the United States. In Asia, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) would regularly include it as one of their topics in their 2-week Marketing Strategy Course but the first known university in Asia that offered network marketing is located in the Philippines – the Ateneo de Manila University. They opened network marketing as a full semester 3-unit course in June 1999.” P.30

Wow. A full semester just for network marketing? That simply means, there is a lot more to learn about this business. And if AIM is teaching it, it tells us a lot about the credibility of using network marketing as a marketing strategy.

But why do network marketing at all?

Network marketing is a form of advertising. Instead of using the radio, TV or print, companies rely on word of mouth. They rely on people to spread the buzz about a product or company. Instead of spending on radio, TV or print advertising, they use the money to compensate people who do the advertising for them. Word of mouth advertising is no slouch either.

In Neilsen’s survey titled: Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool released October 2007, word of mouth trumps all other form of advertising. To quote:

“New York October 1, 2007- Despite an ever-expanding array of advertising platforms and sources, consumers around the world still place their highest levels of trust in other consumers, according to a recent global Nielsen Internet survey.

Conducted twice-a-year among 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East, Nielsen most recently surveyed consumers on their attitudes toward thirteen types of advertising - from conventional newspaper and television ads to branded web sites and consumer-generated content.

"Advertisers around the world are able to reach consumers across an increasingly diverse range of media platforms," said David McCallum, the global managing director for Nielsen's Customized Research Services. "Even so, the recommendation of someone else remains the most trusted sources of information when consumers decide which products and services to buy...” source: http://www.nielsen.com/media/2007/pr_071001.html

NETWORK MARKETING VS PYRAMIDING

Because of the similarities of compensation plans used by legal network marketing companies and illegal pyramiding companies, it is no surprise people mistake one for the other. The illegal companies were quite good in blurring the boundaries between them and the legal companies. Some can even get SEC registrations!

There are multiple compensation schemes developed by network marketing companies. When Forever Living first became a hit, we were introduced to Stairstep Plans. Companies like GoldQuest introduced and popularized the Binary plan which was much more simple to understand. And there lies the rub.

Because of the popularity and simplicity of the Binary plan (Left, Right; Group A, Group B, etc.), most pyramiding companies also used it as their marketing plan of choice.

How do we distinguish pyramids from legal companies? There are hard and fast rules but there are some points you can check. Pyramiding companies usually:

1. Have no products. They just have some form of ‘membership’ or investment fee but you get nothing in return. Some pyramids do have products, but they are sold way, way above the price they sell outside. An example of this scam was the Prepaid Cards being sold at an absurd P12,000++ !
2. They promise BIG RETURNS WITHOUT ANY FORM OF WORK. You just sit back and let them do the work for you which is pretty tempting for most guys. Aside from big returns, they also promise FAST Returns on Investments.

People do make big money in legitimate network marketing businesses. But they do it through hard, consistent work selling the products and building their network of distributors.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER WITH NETWORK MARKETING?

In business, you usually have 2 major components: Your Money and Your Sweat. Your sweat equity is the effort you pour into the business for it to succeed. I remember our first months in the laundry business. My wife and I did everything from washing, ironing, folding and packing to deliveries! I understood the importance of sweat equity back then. We poured our hearts out without taking anything back as salaries yet.

Some companies can succeed with minimal sweat equity and lots of money. Some businesses can grow big with little cash but lots of sweat equity and network marketing is one of them.

Robert Kiyosaki, in his book: Business School for People Who Like Helping other People (picture also at the top of this blog) lists the advantages of Network Marketing as a business:
1. It is a democratic business. Anyone from any and all walks of life CAN succeed in this business. No credentials needed.
2. It offers real life business education by requiring the distributor to learn street smart selling techniques (as opposed to learning in the classroom) before the person can succeed.
3. It is a business that pulls people up, not push people down. In networking, you can’t succeed if you do not help people understand the business.
4. Network Marketing uses the power of networks, just like any big business (internet, banks, gas stations etc.). Your success ultimately depends on how big you can grow your people network.

And a lot more values which separates it from most traditional businesses in its character.

Knowing these facts helped me understand this business more. And the more I understood, the more I appreciated it.

I hope this blog helped you understand some of the most common misunderstood aspects of this business. Since this is a business option in Royale, I’m hoping to write a multi-part blog to help you learn some of the techniques top networkers use in their success.

Till next time!