PRODUCTS

One crucial aspect that many MLM's completely overlook is actual products business is selling. That's one extreme difference between many MLM's and traditional business, yet should it be?

A lot of MLM companies focus very little on their products. Instead, biggest money maker and focus is placed upon referring new recruits. There is nothing wrong with building a large downline and making money this way, but why not focus on strong products as well that will lead to further commissions resulting from your downline sales force? As well, some who do not recruit well may make more sales from products your business offers. In a recruit only oriented MLM with poor products, you are only stifling your income potential.

DUAL SALES POTENTIAL

With good products, you also have a better recruiting tool. Instead of always throwing out typical ads about money making potential of an MLM, use your products to bring in leads.

Front end sales, on good products, will interest many in joining your downline. If you build a good customer base with what you are actually selling, this can become a good base for leads on joining you in business. If they use, recommend, or believe in produces first, they will be more likely to be interested in business for themselves. This will also give you a better reputation and sales record to exhibit to others coming in with interest in MLM side of business.

MARKET APPEAL

Today, those books and reports of by-mail selling have become eBooks and websites, camera-ready flyers dealers had printed to promote them have became computer generated affiliate sites, and automatic tracking of credit card payments has replaced cash, checks, and money orders that were sent through mail. But story remains same...

By having many dealers selling his product, a successful mailorder publisher was able to make a lot of money. As for dealers, they were lucky if they could make enough selling it to cover costs of their mailings!

What mailorder dealers needed were products they could sell for small cost of having them printed, because 50% just wasn't enough. But unless a dealer could produce a product of his own, what he had available to him were same schlock reports to which anyone could have reproduction rights by simply purchasing report. Much of this marginally useful material has found its way onto internet where it is given away by diskful, often through affiliate programs!

In make-money-by-mail circle, most of which is now in past, it was "prime source" or publisher who won. In make money-money-online circle, it's still prime source who wins, though he isn't called that, anymore. The more things change, more they stay same!

One thing electronic publishing has made possible is ease with which it can be done -- for practically nothing.

A mailorder publisher had to be willing to take a sizeable risk to get his work into market. Typesetting, printing, and binding cost money. So did print advertising, direct mail, and shipping. But electronically, most anyone can now put together and promote a publication for little or nothing and deliver it free. And most everyone is!

Who fared best as a dealer, offline?

It was dealer with his own products who could offer someone else's products to his customers in what was called a "bounceback" or "back-end" offer. Any sales made this way didn't cost much because sales materials for offer "rode along" in fulfillment package to a highly qualified lead. Bounceback orders were almost entirely profit, since dealer simply forwarded order to "prime source" of product along with his distributor cost, generally 50%, and a shipping label. The prime source, "drop-shipped" his product to customer, and everyone was happy.