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[Paul Klaszus Contribution Level: 2]

David,

You have hit the nail on the head. We are in the business of providing solutions. It doesn't matter what you market. Fulfill an unfulfilled need.

If you're doing something that does not fulfill an unfulfilled need, you will not succeed.
The problem may be poor nutrition, dirty carpets, expensive phone bills, or not enough rich people. (Well said, Landon!!) A company may go into business to provide a solution, and in some cases, may need to diversify the product line to accomplish their goal.

Side note: Just because you have a solution to a problem (again, regardless of the number of products it takes) does not mean you will be successful. If succeeding is finding people who have the unfulfilled need that your product/compensation plan/etc. can fulfill, then it stands to reason the more people you can do that too, so much the better.

I would not recommend following a path of fulfilling a need that only applies to a certain type of people, unless it was such a passion of yours that compensation wasn't the issue. Again, that's been said already.

I'm off topic. Just realized. Getting back to the matter at hand.

I would never speak against Mike's wisdom nor disagree with something he had to say because along with hundreds of thousands of other people, I am a student, and will take all knowledge I receive from him as something that will help me succeed. Having said that, when he was referring to the number of products a company is marketing, I believe that this may be where he was cautioning people:

People's indecision is not found so much in choosing one product (say cheese) over another product (call it rice). Rather, indecision would set in even the greatest of decision makers to choose over one protein drink over another. Especially, if they were within the same company.

Having many products to market only requires whoever is 'selling' (I hate that word) to be knowledgeable in the features of each product and the benefits thereof so the purchaser can make an educated decision with promptness and ease.

Richard, you strike with deadly accuracy in your assessment that it really is all in how you run your business. You could have the one and only product that cures a global disease, but if you cannot do things in the Certain Way, you will fail. (Loving Wallace D. Wattles at the moment)

Amazing topic - and even more amazing thoughts shared! Thanks!

Paul

[Shirland Carrington Contribution Level: 2]

This thread was right up my alley and the feedback from Richard, Landon and Curtis was excellent. They really broke the rational behind these two arguments. I am part of a business that has 30 products but I am only going to focus on 4 or 5 of the products. The reason being is that everyone focuses on the flagship product. I just started with this company so I figure I will target a certain segment that no one else is focusing on. This thread made it clear that this is the strategy that I should use. Thanks again.

[Reynaldo Perales Contribution Level: 3]

Personally...

..I had to come back but only for the sake of the new people that are trying to
start..

A company with only one product is also a newbie..if it succeeds then of course
more products will be added..

Now, people do not need to be a copywriter..the company furnishes the selling
material, brochures, press releases, etc..of course, people have to buy them..

In short, it is wise not to try to be somebody we are not..most of use are not
sales people and we don't have to be not in network marketing..and guess what?..

The majority rules..only a handful of people compare to the population are involve
and yet..most people are preached to go for the upper class of distributers..

One big reason that most folks quit is because they don't know and possibly never
been told to stick with their own..where the masses really are and they might not
have a lot of money but they sure have enough..

We can find a lot of more loyalty in the average people and commitment with only
the minmum of what it really takes..to succeed in network marketing..

..it's not a big deal really..only for the above average people because that's
all they know and they work with what they know and that's how the average
should be taught to do because it can happen..

Again..the mind rules and does not care who we are!..

rey

[Landon Stewart Company: ViSalus Sciences Contribution Level: 3]

Ha ha thanks for the supoport Shirland.

In all honesty I do not think that how many products a company carries matters. I don't think it will decide how long the company stays in business or not. It could for some, but I don't think a company is going to fail today just because it carries 20 products. That would be just plain crazy talk.

But I would like to add that a person needs to be focused or else he will fail.

I am not saying that a person should not try to sell more than one product because there is nothing wrong with extra streams of income .

But then again you should not try to hop in and sell them all at once.

You need to master selling one product at a time.

If you do that, then I don't see the harm and selling more than one product.

Just make sure that you have narrowed down your focus enough.

[Judith Sherman Contribution Level: 2]

I understand Mike Dillard's point that having less products to choose from makes it easier to make a sale. I agree, but I also disagree and here's why.

I will use my experience in Marketing Amway Products many years ago, to show how I sold a variety of products that people wanted by asking them to replace what they were already using with our products.

I left a sample kit with the customer to try and then went back later to pick it up. By doing it this way, I took the pressure off from selling them on a product they didn't know or trust and allowed them to see the concentration power and quality of the product.

My point is that, although Amway has a huge product line, I presented the customer with limited products to choose from. Plus, the customer didn't feel pressured to buy and I didn't feel pressured to make a sale because the product sold itself.

Two or three days later (no more than that), when I picked up the kit, we discussed the customer's experience. If they were positive, I asked when they would be running out of their product and then asked for the sale; which I almost always got. I did very well using this method of service. So yes, I do agree with David in this situation.

Now why do I agree with Mike Dillard? I learned that, if people have too many choices and can't make a decision, they will shut down and not make any purchase. Therefore, the more products you have the more likely it is that people will become confused like Mike Dillard said.

A way around the scenario that Mike Dillard talks about is to not bombard people with a lot of products at once; this includes leaving a product catalog with them on the first visit. For example, going back to my Amway days, leaving a kit with just a few samples in it allows people to try only a few products at a time. If they liked the products, then I usually got an order. If they didn't, which sometimes happened, then I would leave a different kit with them to try. I had six kits: one was laundry products, one was cleaning products, one was car care products, one was personal care products with shampoo and such, and one was skin care products.

My experience shows that breaking down a customer's exposure to a limited amount of products at a time makes it easier for them to purchase something from us. This practice worked very well for me and my downline and helped us have a booming business.

However, I did make a huge mistake; making Mike Dillard's point even more valid. I started selling Avon products after I became less active with Amway and had moved to another state. When I tried to integrate some targeted Amway products with Avon products, I lost customers.

So why did I lose customers? Isn't it better to offer my Avon customers a wider range of products by introducing products they need that Avon did not provide them? I think part of the answer is what Mike Dillard is pointing to, that people get confused and don't understand why we throw so many products in front of them. They don't understand the differences from one product to another and so they shut down.

One more point that I want to address now is what Dave Green said; that of risking your one or two product line business, which Mike Dillard suggested you have, of being shut down for something adverse going on in the market or with government regulations. This is a valid concern, obviously, and should be included in your plans for doing business.

I have personal knowledge that Tom and Don Ashlock had an energy business turn bad when government changed some of the regulations for energy. After they recovered from that situation and refocused, they had a hostile take over (at gun-point) of their company by share holders. That is why they joined a Network Marketing Business. Tom Ashlock went from having a very successful $7 million dollar business to washing windows when they lost their energy business.

I hope I've given you plenty to think about, so you understand the reasoning behind both Mike Dillard and Dave Green's perspective. I would love to hear from you on this subject.

Judith Sherman
http://www.IldAssociated.com

[David Green Contribution Level: 1]

Judith, I couldn't have said it better! While keeping things simple is important (it reduces confusion and increases focus), a limited product line (especially having just a single product to sell) also severely limits your ability to expand and grow your customer base and your business organization - as well as exposing you to the vagaries of outside forces (nature, supply shortages, government regulators, economic turmoil, new competitors, etc.) that could put you out of business either temporarily or permanently.

An example: the "one-to-one marketing" company I'm associated with used to sell a weight loss product that contained ephedra. When the FDA banned ephedra from all non-prescription health & weight loss products several years ago, that product had to be removed from the market. A new one without ephedra was developed, but it was a few months before it became available. What if that was the only (or primary) product that the company sold? Given the heavy influence that pharmaceutical companies have on the FDA, one could anticipate that other "natural" (non-pharmaceutical) ingredients are undergoing similar scrutiny by them, so it's not unlikely that we'll see this scenario play out again ...

Again, my main point is this: Short term, a new single product company can outsell a multi-product (or multi-line) company due to concentrated effort and focus; but long term, it's a more tenuous foundation than a multi-product or multi-line company for building a business with ongoing residual income that you can safely retire on.

After all, that IS what we're working for as network marketers, right?

Thanks to all for your comments - it's been an enjoyable discussion.

Gotta run - I'm taking my wife away to a bed and breakfast for the weekend!

Keep Moving Forward!

David G.

[Landon Stewart Company: ViSalus Sciences Contribution Level: 3]

Again, my main point is this: Short term, a new single product company can outsell a multi-product (or multi-line) company due to concentrated effort and focus; but long term, it's a more tenuous foundation than a multi-product or multi-line company for building a business with ongoing residual income that you can safely retire on.

Although i do think that it is important for a company to look long term from the very beginning, but then again a company should also look short term also.

If a company is not successful short term, then obviously it would be impossible for a company to be successful long term, and I do think that we all understand why.

So this is my conclusion for this whole forum thread.

My decision on it all. (drum role please, Ha just kidding)

But here it is:

A company should start off with one product to make sure that it stays in business for that first 2 years since so many fail in the very beginning. This will allow them to stay focused.

Then the company needs to add more products to exband their customer base, and make even more money. This will also allow them to reach a wider group of people, and so on and so forth.

A new distributor for a company should start off just selling one or two products to master one portion of advertising first, and to also stay focused.

But after mastering one product move on to more, to expand his customer base, and reach more people.

So in the beginning i'd say start off with as few as possible, but then it is important to expand your business.

[Dave Dauber Company: CarbonCopyPRO Contribution Level: 2]

It's not as much about which company is better
as much as diversifying and having other streams
of income as Mike teaches.

Truth is you MUST diversify or die.
(Or get killed by some comp plan
change, or greedy ownership, or
federal regulation.

Happens all the time.

I am growing more and more concerned
as I see a certain evolution in the MLM
marketplace. Been full-time in the
industry for 6 years in the top 1 % but...

It seems companies are moving more and more
toward requiring leaders to keep recruiting and
meeting certain ongoing requirements to keep
their check.

What does that mean? Well it means walk
a-way income is not really walk away.

The whole idea of this industry is to create
a residual income. Well, if ownership
is making it tougher to leave then it
becomes a job.

I just got a memo from an MLM
company that is requiring anyone
making over 2k a month that they must
attend conferences, must recruit a certain
amount per quarter to keep their check and that
you can't effectively "retire" unless you have
5 or 7 years of service in and even then you
STILL must meet certain attendance requirements
or recruiting requirements to keep your
whole check.

That's bad news. Don't know about you, but
that was never the pitch!

What if I am happy with my results in
one or 2 years and want to go to
Tahiti?

I kind of saw this coming and as a result
have diversified into top tier sales where
there is actually more money, faster payouts
and no meeting or recruiting requirements.

Truly a home business.

As a matter of fact lots of doors open
especially in the marketing arena because
you can really really learn how to market
on the Internet where many MLM
companies have more restrictions.

My advice at the very least, learn about your
options here:

http://budurl.com/betternet

There is a strong residual component,
little competition, big payouts and
lots more than meets the eye.

Check it out today and know your
options.. You will be presently
surprised.

Go here:
http://budurl.com/betternet

To your success,
Dave Dauber
"Your Cash Flow Professor"
973-853-0093


PS. Forgot to mention that
if you really want to learn
everything about Internet
marketing in a paint by
numbers hold your hand
fashion that's all part of the
package.

http://MlmMarketingInternet.com

[Company: Talk Fusion Global Contribution Level: 2]

I agree with this statement. It is much easier to package a simple concept then to speak as an expert in one that has a wider range of products and solutions. People are looking for simple when they achieve, not have to memorize a spelling test!

[Seth Robertson Contribution Level: 2]

Sorry sir, but I respectfully disagree...A company with more than one product is only a company trying to make up for a lack in its others. A great company, the majority of those growing now, are single or primary product companies, because they need none of these "filler" products.

You may or may not be the short-sighted one, but you don't get to decide nor choose; remember that
Talk is cheap, and I want to see some results - Usana was the last one I saw that made a stable income, but now they're starting to stagger. Any large supplement company is so far beyond saturation, it is nearly impossible to be successful in it - and every single day it is getting harder... Let's get real here, different strokes for different folks, but don't say someone is wrong in an opinion driven discussion - there's no point.