RESIDUAL INCOME: What network marketing offers is a way to create residual income, while working part-time. Network marketing is not a "get rich quick" scheme. Those who succeed work hard, but they are creating something magical: residual income.

You go to work, and you get paid. If you don’t go to work, you don’t get paid. This is linear income. Residual income doesn’t depend on you working. Think of an author, who writes a book and gets a royalty check year after year. Residual income, like royalty checks, keeps coming and allows people to retire, have freedom to travel, and do other wildly pleasant things.

MY 12 SUGGESTIONS FOR NEOPHYTES FROM ANOTHER NEOPHYTE:

1. Don’t rush into network marketing. Look around and find a good company that suits you and your needs. Don’t get pressured into anything. Ask lots of questions of network marketer you are talking to. Avoid high pressure people.

2. As soon as you finish reading this, run out and buy Wave 4: Network Marketing in 21st Century by Richard Poe. I don’t know Richard Poe, but I do know that this book explains everything.

3. Find a company and product that you are EXCITED about. It’s hard to sell something you don’t believe in. Ideally, you want a product that people buy over and over again, month after month, year after year, and a company with values that are congruent with your values.

4. Look for a company that has been around and proven itself. Someone who has been in network marketing and has experience might take a chance on a new company, but a novice should be more careful.

5. I’d suggested publicly traded companies. Their financial statements are public, and you can request their financial portfolio. Go to www.morningstar.com, or www.nasdaq.com, or www.valueline.com, or your favorite place and do some research. You just need company’s ticket number, and you’re off and running. If you don’t feel confident doing this yourself, find a friend who knows something about stocks and financial statements, and ask her for help.

6. Check out compensation plan. Is commission fair? How often do it pay? Does excess sales money roll over? Does your team have to meet a quota? This could be a big drawback. If there are hefty quotas, you might find yourself buying products you don’t want. Poe’s book is priceless here; he explains different commission plans.

7. Do you have to buy, store, deliver products? Most network marketing companies don’t do this any more. Most companies provide online or phone ordering, and company distributes its products. You place an order, and they do work.

8. Training is very important. What kind of training program do they have? In network marketing, team members help each other build their businesses. In network marketing, if people on your team are successful, you are successful.

9. How do you work your business? Face to face with people you meet? On internet? Or a little of both? This is important. Are there hidden costs in marketing? Ask for details.

10. See if you can find any dirt on company. Check with Better Business Bureau. Are there complaints against company? What kind of complaints? You can do this online. Know what you are getting into.

11. IMPORTANT: Make sure that you are willing to commit time and energy to building your business, 10 to 20 hours per week. If you have a family, make sure they are cool with this.

12. Don’t quit your day job! At least not until you are making more money in network marketing than you are in your nine to five.

Cora L. Foerstner teaches English and composition at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is also a Master Practitioner of Neuo-Linguistic Programing (NLP), Master Results Coach, and most recently, a fledgling network marketer. You may contact her at mailto:cora@usana.com or visit her web sites at http://www.unitoday.net/cora and http://www.whyresidualincome.com/cora.

WHATEVER SHE CAN’T SHOW YOU IS THE REASON FOR CALL RELUCTANCE.

“Afraid of rejection” is garbage. Anyone who says that that is their reason, you can easily call their bluff by setting a tape recorder on a table and ask, “Invite me to come to your business meeting.” They can’t do it. Why? It’s not fear of rejection… tape recorders don’t reject you.

AFRAID OF REJECTION, OUT OF COMFORT ZONE, CALL RELUCTANCE, AND ANY OTHER FANCY PHRASE A PERSON CAN COME UP WITH IS ONLY A MASK TO COVER UP WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO.

I DON’T CARE IF THE PERSON HAS BEEN IN SALES FOR 20 YEARS – IF THEY WON’T DO IT, IT’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW HOW.

Fear, fear of rejection, and/or call reluctance is same animal – not being able to predict an outcome. That’s basis of all fear. The person just simply can’t predict what will happen if they do something. If you go bungee jumping – it’s inability to predict outcome that causes fear. If you defuse bombs (my past profession) – it’s inability to predict outcome that causes fear.

I’ve seen this surface from some very unlikely people. There was a person who had seen a fair amount of success but was not able to reap rewards from one of her business legs. The compensation plan required her to have 12 on her front line to earn on depth of organization.

When she first came into business she had a friend with her and her friend saw business at same time. Her friend built a big business under her. So she had one very large organization. But she could only earn on one level deep.

When she had 12 on her front line she could earn 6 levels deep of whole organization. But she couldn’t get other 11 people. Everyone in company (not just her downline) looked up to her because she had such a large business. But she couldn’t earn money on all volume until she got those 11 people on her front line. She talked to me about it. She said she wasn’t making calls because of “call reluctance.” I didn’t buy her excuse.

Don’t you buy your downline’s excuses –run them through check sheet above and train them on whatever they can’t do.

Don’t you buy your own excuses – get trained.

With respect and admiration,

Tim Sales

Near the end of an 11-year tour with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team, Tim answered an ad in a newspaper that led him to his first and only network marketing company. Five years later his MLM income rose to over $150,000 per month with over 56,000 people in his group. His most noted contribution to the industry is the "Brilliant Compensation" presentation. Tim is also a teacher at the Network Marketing Certificate Seminar sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago.