10 Reasons Why People Fail at Network Marketing

It seems like a reasonable enough task. Just start a homebased business and success will come your way. Unfortunately 95% of all homebased businesses fail in their first year. In fact many people don’t make it past their first 3 months in a network marketing or MLM businesses. Yet, many people go on to become successful and make much more money than they would have in a traditional business.

Here are 10 reason why people fail in network marketing or MLM businesses:

1. Don’t have a good marketing plan – Many people fail at homebased businesses because they fail to do their planning. To be successful in your own business, you must take the time to create a sound marketing plan. For more information visit my blog post entitled: Formulating a Marketing Plan for your At Home Business.





2. Don’t treat your homebased business as a real business – As a Senior Regional Sales Director at AmeriPlan, I have come across many people who want to do the business but only treat it as a hobby. Remember that this is a real business. Treat it like one.





3. Don’t invest the necessary time and money to make the business work – There is no successful business that did not take a lot of hard work and an investment of money to make it work. I have seen too many of my business builders not spend sufficient time and not even make a minimal investment in some advertising or leads. Advertising does work, and you must drive traffic to your business whether it is a storefront, party plan, or internet based business.





4. Don’t stay in it for the long run – Every business takes time to build. There is definitely a learning curve involved. Your business skills will get better over time. Also, it takes time to build traffic. People have to learn about your business. Imagine if you shut down your store or quit your MLM business just before you found a really great salesperson or business builder.





5. Don’t focus on the product or service – Remember that your main responsibility is to sell the product or service. Building a team is great and can lead to substantial income as you grow your team. However, building a team takes time, and the money you make selling the product or service can create income for you while you wait for your team to build.





6. Don’t follow up with your clients and prospects – To quote a familiar saying: “The fortune is in the follow up.” Every good advertising executive knows that it takes a number of exposures to your ad before a client or customer will buy. For effective follow up techniques, see my blog post: The Importance of Good Follow Up Techniques with Prospective Clients and Customers.





7. Don’t know how to get people to contact you – This is sometimes called attraction marketing and there has been much written about it. Rather than you cold calling prospects, you will be much more effective if you utilize marketing methods where people seek you out because of the information, products, or services that you have. I will have more to say about this in an upcoming blog post.





8. Don’t test different marketing strategies – To use another cliché: "Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” Try a variety of different marketing strategies. Keep careful statistics on results. Stay with the marketing strategies that work and discard those that don’t work.





9. Don’t invest in continuing education – Learn all that you can about your business. If you are with a reputable direct sales or MLM company, the company has most likely invested extensively in the training of associates and independent business owners. It does not come as a surprise, that those individuals that attend training calls and classes and come to company events tend to do better than those that don’t.





10. Don’t spend enough time around positive, but do spend time around the negative people in your life – There are many people who just have a negative attitude. They will tell you that you can’t succeed at your homebased business. Sometimes these people can even be close friends and family members. Don’t let them steal your dreams! Be sure to always stay focused on your “Why” for starting the business whether it is to earn extra money, have flexible hours, or be home for your family.

For more tips on running a successful home business, visit www.workathomemom-dad.com.