What You Should Consider When Joining That Once In A Lifetime Business Opportunity!!!

Have you ever heard of the 5 pillars of Success?

They're often used to determine if a network marketing company has what it take to help those who join, succeed. It is hard to believe how many people actually believe the 5 pillars have validity. There are people who share that they are in a 5 pillar company as if this is actually criteria that will help them succeed. 5 Pillars first and foremost are 5 common sense Business 101 concepts. Secondly, and probably most important, these 5 pillars were created, discussed and designed to help justify their opportunity as the "one", at whatever time they were promoting.

1st Pillar: Does the company have management with experience and integrity?

I agree but to go further wouldn't any company have to have good management with integrity to succeed. I am willing to bet that if Henry Ford was to start the Ford Motor Company today, there would be people on the Internet accusing him of being a scam. The Ford Motor Company that exists today is the 4th company Henry Ford put together. The first three all went bankrupt. So in today's standards he would be a scammer, crook and no one should ever invest, trust him and there would be all kinds of people complaining on the Internet. So the reality is you have to understand the accuracy of information and the purpose behind it before making a decision. The reality is most people are good and some business ideas fail. Doesn't mean the intention was bad. It was his persistence and determination that developed and changed this country. Sometimes great ideas need time to develop.

2nd Pillar: The Product! Does the company offer a unique product with value?

Every network marketing company says its product is unique. If that was true, and I will just narrow on the nutrition (which includes vitamins, juices, etc.) wouldn't it make sense then people would continue to buy these products even if the opportunity wasn't there. Yet they don't. Just a question? If there was a value in the product, why would people just not buy the product. Yet when you look at these companies from a Distributor to Customer ratio the Distributor ratio is much higher. One last thought on this subject if offering a unique product makes you successful in business, or at least network marketing, then why are the most successful companies in recent times, none of them had a proprietary product. WalMart, Amazon, EBay, iTunes and many more did not have a specific product yet found a way to distribute the products people were already buying and using in a more cost effective manner. So maybe this theory is a little self serving to those companies that think they have a product that will change the world. What's been changing is the distribution method.

3rd Pillar: Timing?

Why is that all the people who get involved at the beginning tell everyone else that is the worst time to get in. Wait for momentum. You can do what I have done in less time and easier. No - historically the people who have made the big money have positioned themselves early to take advantage of the masses coming in during momentum. The story has worked well for those few though.
According to Paul Zane Pilzer, world renowned economist and author of 8 bestselling books: "Of all the entrepreneurial opportunities available today, one of the most important is direct selling, also called 'network marketing'. The direct selling industry...is perfectly positioned to create many of the Next Millionaires." Never before in history has there been a better time for anyone, to become an entrepreneur! A lot of people use this quote. It is so incorrect on so many levels it is not even funny. Direct selling is not also called Network marketing. Actually they are two different distribution methods that have been lumped together so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Network Marketing is NOT an industry. Be clear. If you sell vitamins, juice, nutritional supplements, you ARE in the nutrition / health field utilizing network marketing as the distribution channel. If you sell phones, cellular service, you ARE in the telecommunications industry. If you sell travel services, you ARE in the travel industry. If you sell lower consumer gas, you are in the ENERGY business.

NETWORK MARKETING IS A DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES - NOT AN INDUSTRY.

This is the reason so many people do not see the value in the products but the opportunity. They believe the business you are in is network marketing. It is not. So when you understand this you can then move forward.

4th Pillar: Compensation Plan!

Compensation plans vary and often times are not lucrative to the business owner. Many different forms of compensation plan exists. While many will argue theirs is the best, the binary (that has proven to fail more than succeed), the forced matrix (track record not very good) and many others does not matter as much as you may believe. What is important is does the compensation plan reward you fairly for your efforts. Because the truth is most people do not do want is necessary for success. The biggest argument against the typical network marketing compensation plan is you are forced to buy a specific product in order to get paid every month. So there sales are forced sales not value based sales. Many of the people say I would buy X product even if there wasn't an opportunity and yet as soon as they move on or see the opportunity is not what they thought it was, they stop buying the product. A single product focused (and it does not matter whether you have 1 or 15 different products but all the products are industry specific such as nutritional products) your opportunity is very limited in scope. There is not a single product that exists that EVERYONE must have, desire or will utilize. Compensation Plan not matter how good you think it is can never overcome the obstacle of a limited market and limited interest.

5th Pillar: Does it have the systems in place for success?

Does your company offer websites and tools that are clean, concise yet persuasive? Do the websites give the consumer information in a simple yet informative way? Do they offer training, training calls, upline support, access to leads and other tools that are duplicatable and promote success to the downline team members? Most companies today do. So what? Companies want you to believe the video, brochures, and all the samples in the world will replace what this field of distribution really is about. (Personal communication) Unless you are willing to talk to people and engage them in whatever, the tools are just that tools. The tools are designed to help you communicate not replace the communication.

Business is changing. These 5 pillars were designed to help justify the opportunity at the time. They are still used by many.
Here is reality. People do and buy what they buy. They will continue to do that no matter how great you believe your product is. The one thing about consumers that is becoming more evident daily is they are seeking value. We are engaged in the most efficient and effective distribution channel there is - the internet.

It is the distribution of products that is changing in business.

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