There are many factors in the equation for success in network marketing. The more of these factors that you familiarise yourself with, the greater is your chance of mastering the equation and achieving success. Network marketing is one of the few avenues through which individuals from all “walks of life” can achieve sizeable incomes and a great degree of “freedom of time.”

During my 32-year career, I have been witness to truck drivers, waitresses, plumbers, clerks, factory workers, the young, the elderly, along with accountants, bankers, lawyers, and physicians that have earned five, six and seven figure incomes in this industry. On the other hand, I have seen thousands of individuals waste time, lose their investments, have their dreams extinguished, and live in the frustration of perpetual pursuit without achievement.

Success by Design

You can aimlessly test one program after another, searching for one that will work for you, or pursue success by design. Generally programs do not work for you. You must select a program with the right dynamics and then learn to work the program. Learning how to be a true networker should be your goal. Articulating effective marketing strategy and learning to effectively communicate the benefits of your program are paramount to maximum success. Understanding the equation for success is vital to the preparation process for achieving maximum success.

One of the most important steps in your journey is selecting the right program. Success at the company level does not always equal success at the distributor level. There are very successful companies that have very high distributor attrition (drop-out) rates. Many companies “waste” thousands of distributors in the process of developing a product user base. Often there are flaws in the strategy of the company leaders that directly affect the distributors’ success.

5 Crucial Factors

You can reduce this risk by carefully examining the dynamics of the program that you are considering. It is not necessary to be in the “best program.” There are thousands of distributors in dozens of companies earning exceptional incomes. What is important, is to choose the program that has dynamics that will best work for you. There are five basic factors that you should examine:-

1. paradigm of company leaders

2. product philosophy

3. compensation strategy

4. marketing strategy at the company level

5. the support that is available to you from your upline and from the company

The security of the program goes beyond the financial realm. Although the financial condition of the company is important, real security is more complex. Having adequate funding available does not tell you how much the founder is willing to lose or risk. Don’t hesitate to ask the right people the “hard” questions. Talk to the company leaders, industrial leaders, competitors, and editors of networking magazines. You will be surprised how many people will be willing to chat with you.

1. Paradigm of Company Leaders

The paradigm or thinking patterns of the company leaders is very important. Experience in business as well as in marketing is useful. How do they think? What is their focus? How do they handle market challenges? What is their background? What is their marketing philosophy and strategy? Will the company’s strategies compliment your success as a distributor? Are they egotistical or arrogant when put on the spot? What is their perspective of the company’s responsibilities to the distributor? What are their projections and what are these projections based on? You can find industrial leaders who know these founders.

What are the company leaders’ attitudes toward service? Call the company a few times and check out their customer service. A poor customer service department can damage your business. You can’t just automatically believe claims of quality service; you have to check it out. Take time to gain an understanding of the industry in order to avoid wasted time and money. Network marketing is a serious business with the potential to change your life forever. It deserves serious consideration.

2. Product Philosophy

More than 80% of all successful networkers belong to companies that have nutrition products involved in their programs. Network marketing companies with products and services that directly compete with strong conventional markets have a very high failure ratio. Typically, in the conventional market, companies such as GNC and Wal-Mart have tremendous pressure to compete on a price basis. They do not have the personal service available to explain why one bottle of nutrients costs twice a s much as another bottle. Price becomes t h e determinant factor for which product will sell. In the past six years, 80% of all new distributors that have entered the network marketing industry have joined companies that include nutrition in their agenda.

The product philosophy of the company leaders is a cornerstone to success. Growth without responsible product strategy is short-lived. Product philosophy should be balanced between growth and stability. In order to achieve quick and progressive growth at a “grass roots” level, the program needs a flagship product that will open doors. The more unique and exclusive the product is, the easier it is to gain the interest of prospects. Be careful that the company does not hide a poor pay plan behind a “sizzle” product. Success requires a balance between these two factors. The flagship product should be backed up with a number of quality and diversified products. Although many networkers join this industry to supplement their income, history teaches us that the product is generally the primary consideration in determining which program they will join.

A company with an internal research and product development department is more inclined to provide quality, cutting edge products. Product formulas that are backed by scientific research and clinical testing can better withstand the “battle of the hype.” Be careful to examine the claims made by distributors. Often clinical studies quoted do not verify the effectiveness of the actual products being promoted.

An example of this is the recent HGH precursor “wave.” A great majority of the claims being made about the product refer to the research conducted on individuals who had the actual HGH hormone administered intravenously. Very little research has been conducted on precursors. A few years ago another similar marketing scenario occurred with a DHEA precursor. Dozens of mainline network marketing companies were promoting a precursor that supposedly increased the body’s production of DHEA. Research data on the benefits of DHEA was used to promote the precursor. The Life Extension Foundation, an independent non-profit organization, performed a clinical trial on 1,000 individuals to discover if the precursor actually elevated serum DHEA. Not a single individual experienced an increase in blood levels of DHEA. I suggest that you personally study out the science behind product claims. A bogus product will not maintain long-term growth or retention.

3. Compensation Strategy

Another important consideration to your selection is compensation strategy. I suggest that you carefully examine different perspectives on this subject. My preference in compensation strategy is based on balance. There are two fundamental aspects to compensation strategy; the pay structure used and how the commission percentages are arranged. Breakaway, uni-level, binary, matrix, and the Australian two up are examples of the various compensation structures. Each of these structures has advantages and disadvantages. I have found that only a few very experienced networkers really understand the dynamics of these structures and will promote the one that profits them the most. Overall, I believe the uni-level has the greatest capability of providing the best balance in compensation.

There are several considerations in analysing pay plans. It is important for a plan to adequately compensate the part-time marketer within the first three levels. Traditional programs have “stacked” the commission structure in favour of the “heavy hitter,” resulting in excessive attrition. One of the keys to low attrition is to allow the part-timer to get into profit with a small number of customers or distributors. On the other hand the pay plan must adequately compensate the experienced, full-time marketer in the deeper levels. The compensation strategy must be balanced between these two segments.

Part-timer vs “Heavy Hitter”

A successful program must attract leaders who can develop effective marketing strategies and support systems. Without this segment the organization will have a weak foundation and will not achieve and maintain maximum growth. If the part-timer is not adequately compensated, attrition will erode incomes and will begin the unwinding process from the bottom up that can even destroy companies.

The company must balance its investment between compensation to distributors, product development, competent corporate leadership, logistic support, and effective marketing sales aids. If the company invests too much into compensation it may fail to finance other areas that directly affect the ability of the marketer to build his business. As ironic as it may sound the highest paying program is the last program you may want to be involved with. I have existing downlines in several companies and some of the best paying programs have been the most difficult to build.

Programs that compete on the basis of “pay out” alone, generally, do not have enough money left over, after paying out commissions, to invest in product research and development, nor in state-of-the-art marketing materials. In the past six years four companies have each enrolled approximately one half million distributors. In my opinion all of these companies have inferior pay plans but have product focused programs. Not one of the programs with the most lucrative pay plans have approached that kind of growth. When you examine programs look for balance.

4. Marketing Strategy

When you examine a program, study their marketing strategy. Does the company have marketing “tools” in place that will support your strategy? What is your personal strategy? Are you going to work this business from a warm market perspective? Are you going to “work the phone,” advertise, build through the Internet, or use direct mail? Does the company have videos, cassette tapes, a strong Internet presence, toll-free message support, or effective literature? Building a successful business requires more than a lucrative pay plan or a “sizzle” product.

5. Support Available

When you are introduced to a program, shop around for the right upline support group or sponsor. Even an experienced marketer can be more successful if they have the right upline support in place. Your organization will need all of the support they can get. You are not obligated to join under the first person that prospects you. This is a business not a hobby or game. You have a responsibility to yourself and your loved ones to make a good business decision. The company and upline you select will, to a great degree, determine the boundaries of your success.

See you at the top!

Mike Akins

About Mike Akins

— “The Greatest Networker In The World”
Click here to find out why Mike Akins is known as The Greatest Networker In The World

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In this most recent issue of Personal Money (The Edge Magazine on Managing Your Finance), editor Celine Tan’s cover feature shows that there are practical ways to build up income streams so that you won’t always have to trade your time for money. This cover story features 6 ways to create Passive Income Streams and how to make money while you sleep. On page 66, it states that the lowest cost of all the 6 ways to start creating and maintaining a passive income stream is the one shown by Cheanu Chew—thru his trademark automated system, Passive Resources.

Read on for the full interview.

Full Interview with Personal Money editor, Celine Tan:

Celine: I’d like to have some introduction about you… How should I address you? And how old are you? And please tell me more about yourself.

Cheanu: My name is Cheanu Chew Kheng Yew—my friends address me as Cheanu. I’ll be 28 years ‘young’ this year. I was a financial auditor by profession. During my college years I was awarded The Star Education Fund Scholarship to pursue my ACCA course. I completed my ACCA course and graduated in 3 years. In 2001, I began my first financial auditing career in one of the top accounting firms in KL. The best-selling book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki had a very great impact on my perception about my financial destiny—thus creating a turning point in my life. I left the financial auditing industry in 2003 and went on to acquire my skills in the corporate world, mainly in leadership and personal development and eventually pursue my dreams of financial independence.

Celine: My article for the August issue would be about generating passive income. It’s our cover story for the month. May I know how long have you been in the passive income-generating tool and how long does it take you to generate passive income?

Cheanu: I’ve been involved in network marketing with a clear intention of not only creating a source of passive income for myself, my family and my next generations, but to also help many others to achieve their dreams along the way. I started my own business with 4Life Research in 2005. It took me 3 months to start enjoying some passive income. Since then I’ve never turned back and went forward to create more passive income with 4Life Research. Today, I’m a public speaker, author, business entrepreneur as well as a personal development coach. I’m enjoying every single minute of my day now, working in the comfort of my home.

Celine: What is the cost or investment needed before it becomes a passive income-generating tool (in money terms and time)?

Cheanu: The amount of time needed to start generating passive income would be very much depending on your own commitment and effort. I’ve seen people generating passive income as soon as 2-3 months from starting their businesses. During this period, the cost in money terms would mainly be your phone charges, transportation costs and some food & beverages expenses as you will be contacting and meeting up with people.

Celine: What should they know before they embarked in investing in tools that could provide passive income?

Cheanu: Before anyone embarked in starting their own network marketing business, they should do some preliminary researches on the background of the company, the products or services the company is carrying and its marketing plan. Nowadays, information can be easily obtained over the Internet; and because of that, we need to be aware of the source of such information. One more thing that I personally look for besides the company, products and the marketing plan, is the support system. This is particularly important as the key to success in network marketing is the ability to duplicate your work easily. I have founded Platinum Networkers, an international team of profesionnal entrepreneurs dedicated to empowering ordinary people to become inspirational leaders. Our team is well known for its strong duplicable system. It is because of such a strong support system that works both online & offline, that I’m able to enjoy passive income faster and have my business cross over to other parts of the world without having to be physically travelling places. In fact, we’ve developed an automated system that supports our people to enable them to achieve greater height faster and easier.

Celine: What are the main sources of income and expense?

Cheanu: In the long-run, the main source of income from network marketing doesn’t come from the sales of products or services you’re involved in. Initially, you may earn only from your personal sales before you secured a source of passive income. But there’s only so much you can sell in a day. By duplicating yourself in terms of your skills and leadership, you will be building a network of distributors as well as consumers in your organization. Eventually, the overriding commissions earned from this network will eventually form the main part of your income. The main source of expenses, however, would remain the same as they would mainly be your phone charges, transportation costs and some food & beverages expenses.

Celine: How to maximize the best returns?

Cheanu: The only way to maximize the best return is hard work. Follow the advices of your successful upline leaders and put into actions what you’ve learned from them. Treat this as your own business, because it is. Never get lazy just because you’re not reporting to anyone and you get to control your working time and the pace of your own progress. If your support system comes with a tool that helps you promote the business automatically, sort out interested prospects and capture their contact details, don’t hesitate to use it. This kind of tool could generate income for you faster than you could personally.

Celine: What is the maintenance works needed?

Cheanu: As network marketing is well known for its low cost of operation, there’s not much maintenance works needed. Anyone can join a network marketing company and start building the business. Perhaps the only maintenance works needed are self-improvement and personal development. Although anyone can start a network marketing business, not everyone can succeed big time in network marketing. One needs to have a strong personality and mindset, which comes with a right attitude, to achieve great success in network marketing. Most companies and support teams will have their own self-improvement and personal development trainings that you can attend periodically.

Celine: What are the risks involved?

Cheanu: The risk of venturing into a network marketing business would be the lowest as compared to any types of conventional businesses as we don’t need to pay for rental expenses, salaries, EPF contributions, logistics and product deliveries. The financial risks involved would depend on the network marketing company you venture into. As for me, the risk involved in the network marketing business I’m involved in is only the cost of 2 product items and a business kit, which totaled less than RM540. Some companies require large bulk purchases of their products for you to join. For such companies, the risks involved would be the high financial risks if you fail to build a source of passive income from this venture. One acid test is to determine if the products are “easy to buy but hard to sell”. If they are, then the risk would be higher if a large bulk purchase is required.

Celine: How to handle hassles from such work? What are the skills needed?

Cheanu: To succeed in network marketing, you need to have very good leadership & people skills, as we’re dealing with people and helping them achieve their dreams in the long-run. However, the beauty of network marketing is that you don’t need to learn everything before you can start building a business that lasts. If your support team is strong and experienced, they will be able to guide you along step-by-step and have you learn the skills while earning at the same time. I personally mentor my people along when they started their business and then coach them personally to identify their strengths and weaknesses so they can learn about themselves and improve themselves progressively. If you join a team who leads with their hearts, then you should be fine.

Celine: You mentioned that your team has developed an automated system to support your people. Is there a cost to this?

Cheanu: We’ve developed an automated system that runs online for us, and it costs only RM15 per month as cost to the web host. We don’t charge for our support, as we believe in building people by giving them full support to enable them to achieve greater height faster and easier. You can take a look at how it works at Passive Resources.

Celine: How to identify opportunities?

Cheanu: Opportunities are everywhere, and can only be seen by those who are open-minded and ready to embrace them. Everything has changed nowadays as compared to 30 years ago. If our mindset is still stuck in the 1970’s then we would not be able to identify opportunities that come around in the 2000’s. Network marketing has evolved throughout the past 30 years. Some people still have an old-fashioned mindset and relate network marketing to direct-selling or MLM and that it’s meant for only housewives or people with no education and experience. If you research on the industry itself, you’ll be surprised to find that many leading Fortune 500 companies in the world today are embracing network marketing as a sound business model. Many professionals, like me, are passionately involved in network marketing today.

Celine: How to research the market?

Cheanu: The best way to research the market is to determine what the fastest growing trend is. The fastest growing trend today is the Internet. But the Internet is just a gigantic marketplace that sells everything under the sun. So we need to identify which product is the highest in demand. According to Paul Zane Pilzer, the health and wellness industry will exceed the one trillion dollar mark within the next few years (Paul Zane Pilzer was the advisor to two past US Presidents and won the Nobel Prize for Economics). As you might know, the baby boomers are those who were born between the year 1946 and 1964. They form 1/3 of our world. Every 18 seconds, someone turns 54 years old. What do they need? They need to look and feel younger, healthier and more vibrant. So the next biggest trend is something that can fill their needs. The health and wellness industry is the next biggest boom. If you could combine the Internet and the health and wellness industry, you’re tapping into the next trillion dollar industry.

Celine: How to know if a tool is going to provide passive income?

Cheanu: To find out if a network marketing business model is going to provide passive income, do your own calculations according to the marketing plan. If the main source of income comes from selling of products or services or from sponsoring new downlines, then it is not entirely passive. Some companies sell one-off items with very low repeat sales, therefore the distributors need to keep looking for new customers or keep sponsoring new downlines in order to maintain their income. Look for companies that carry consumable products, with repeat orders at least once a month. On the other hand, the product must be unique and effective so that customers will keep repeating their orders without being asked. Besides being unique and effective, one key point to note here is if the company has a worldwide patent for its unique product. If yes, then the passive income source would be almost guaranteed. If the product has a strong science base and an extensive independent researches being done on it, then it should be safe.

Celine: How to not fall onto unrealistic promises?

Cheanu: Beware of unrealistic claims by over-enthusiastic distributors. Some tend to over-exaggerate their income claims or product claims in order to convince others into joining the business. Do your own due diligence. Research for yourself (but don’t over-analyze) the background of the company, the science behind the products, the marketing plan (if it’s workable) and the support team you will be attached to. Calculate for yourself after understanding how the marketing plan pays, how much earnings you will make based on your expected, realistic effort. Never compare your own progress with others. Everyone will earn at a different level depending on their skills, effort and commitment.

Celine: Cheanu, thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge on this issue. The magazine is out and should be at major newsstands by end of July.

Cheanu: Thank you for your time. It is a pleasure meeting up with you today. I deeply enjoyed our conversation. I hope you do as well.

For more information on how you can join Cheanu’s team, take a look at www.myunlimitedincome.com and take your free test drive. Everything will be presented to you, with pictures and explanations along the way.

Plug your business in to this trademark automated system that ensures that you will not be involved in personal sales or direct distribution of products like you would do with any MLM/direct-selling businesses. You will be attached to a comprehensive automated system that will take care of the distribution and even presentation of the products. In fact, I’ve never sold anything to achieve success and retire at age 25 with passive income. I didn’t even need to deliver anything for that matter. My business has gone to various parts of the world even without me being physically there to expand my business. So if this business requires personal sales or direct distribution of products, that wouldn’t have happened. All you need to do is to build relationship and cultivate your leadership skill along the way with your people. Of course, trainings are provided online too.

Plug in to an existing, proven system today. Learn about my Simple Success System & Strategies that will allow you to have Continuous Income and Cashflows for Life… Guaranteed!

www.myunlimitedincome.com

Be different. Be respected.
Be a Platinum Networker.

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4Life Research™ announced today the opening of its Hong Kong market. 4Life will celebrate with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and recognition event on July 19 at the Regal Kowloon Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. 4Life executives and distributors from around the world are expected to attend.

Hong Kong is a thriving, multi-cultural country with an estimated population of seven million people. The two official languages are Chinese (Mandarin) and English. Situated at the southeastern tip of China, Hong Kong is ideally positioned at the center of rapidly developing East Asia. With a long history of network marketing, as well as a population that’s very interested in supporting well-being, 4Life has a bright future in Hong Kong.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Out of hundreds of home-based businesses, 4Life provides you with one of the most important factor of a successfully run business: CONSISTENT CASH FLOW.

No wonder it has been ranked as the #1 opportunity in the world.

As the famous Robert Kiyosaki says in his famous book Rich Dad Poor Dad:

“Cash flow, not money, relieves anxiety”

No face-to-face selling. No inventory to carry or deliver. No experience required.

My international team and I will provide you with FREE step-by-step training, advice and guidance to set up your own profitable Home-Based Business.

Get your FREE Test Drive of our online, automated system today at:

www.myunlimitedincome.com

Be different. Be respected.
Be a Platinum Networker.

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