Working Multiple MLM's

Through my 34 years of network marketing, I've had many people approach me with the idea of working multiple MLM's. Some were asking if I thought it was possible and some were just trying to get me in their deal, even though I had told them I was committed to mine. I've heard all the so called rationale for working

multiple companies - multiple income streams, spreading the risk (not putting all your eggs in one basket), diversifying your offerings, using one to promote another, etc and while that all sounds good, the reality is that

I have never been able to work simultaneous MLM's and I have not met anyone else who has successfully done so either.

Now, I have worked a company until it was solid, retired and then built another, so that I had multiple streams of residual income, but I was not building both at the same time.

Here are my concerns about trying to build two or more businesses simultaneously:

• Loyalty - when you enroll with a company and commit to an upline, you are saying that you are going to devote your time and energy to building a business with that company. If you have a good upline, they are going to commit to your training and on-going support. If you're working multiple businesses, then you are splitting your loyalty and that doesn't seem quite fair to either the company or the upline.

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• Time - we all have 24 hours in a day and most of that is taken by work, eating, and sleeping. For most people, if they can squeak out 10 hours a week for a business, they're doing well. So, if they are then splitting that time between 2 or more businesses, there just isn't enough time to build a successful business.
• Confusion - when you are working more than one network marketing business, how do you decide who to put in which company. What if you find a really tremendous prospect, which company do you put her in? This causes confusion and confusion causes procrastination and paralysis. Plus, imagine how it looks to your upline, downline and prospects. You begin to look like the street peddler who has a coat full of watches and other knick knacks.

As you can tell, I'm not real high on working multiple MLM's, however there are a few exceptions. A few companies out there offer products or services that will help you build your primary MLM business. An example would be Magnetic Sponsoring, which offers a great funded business proposal, enabling you to prospect for your primary business and get paid to do it.

Another one is Send Out Cards, which I've used for some time now to send cards to my downline members and prospects. It's a very convenient and less expensive way to send a personal message to someone through the mail. Plus it enables me to remember people's birthdays and anniversaries and send out a card, which is always a great relationship builder.

These are either affiliate or MLM programs, but I don't work any of them as a business. I only use them to assist in building my primary business. Perhaps you are better than me and can successfully build multiple, simultaneous MLM's, but my encouragement is not to try.

It's difficult enough to build one big MLM business, much less two or more. I highly recommend that you find the very best company and then focus all your attention there for at least 5 years. www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 2

Build it to the point where you have several layers of committed leadership and a nice weekly or monthly residual income. Then, if you want, you can pursue another venture and build another stream of income.

Many top income earners build one company up to a solid six-figure income and then retire. They continue purchasing products to maintain active status and enjoy the passive income. This gives them the money and time freedom to pursue other ventures, such as residential and commercial real estate investing. Some will come back a few years later and build another MLM business and stream of residual income, but make sure you check the policies and procedures for any company you are considering, to make sure they allow you to be in more than one MLM.

The first step is to build a big business, so instead of dabbling in several MLM's, focus on one and build it big. The rest will fall into place.

Rod Nichols has been involved in the network marketing industry since 1979, as a company founder/owner, distributor, consultant, trainer, coach, and author. His books Successful Network Marketing for the 21st Century and Would You Like to Dig In My Goldmine? were industry best sellers for several years and his latest books, The Twelve Power Secrets for Network Marketing Success and The Ideal Business are quickly becoming must reads for anyone serious about success in network marketing. Rod is also the co-founder of www.The2percentplan.com/plus He has trained tens of thousands of people and is known as a “nuts and bolts” trainer. Rod is available to speak at conventions, conferences, or any other event requiring a dynamic outside speaker. More information about Rod, his fees, and other great network marketing resources are available on his website at www.RodNichols.com or you can e-mail him at Rod@RodNichols.com

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