You may have heard it said that all great businesses have systems to consistently create success and MLM systems are no different.
MLM (multi-level marketing, also known as network marketing) systems are no different than the systems of other businesses which is why we, the marketing ninjas, have some great information to share with you here. We rescued a business that was on the edge of ruin and turned it into a successful operation that touches the lives of an entire community.
MLM Systems
There are three primary Ninja MLM Systems:
- Communication
- Marketing
- Team Development
Let’s look at each system more in depth.
The ninja were master communicators and they used all resources available to them. Ninjas today utilize the internet and all kinds of electronic gadgets to optimize communication. But gadgets alone do not guarantee a good communication system.
Good communication systems involve consistency and regularity. Make a habit of your communication for both your marketing and team development. Someone who changes their style and timing of their communication like a weather vane is not likely to attract leaders (or keep them) because they are not exhibiting leadership.
Communication is a two-way street and listening and reading between the lines is critical. I can recall one coaching call I had with my upline early on and if you read the transcript of the call you would say everything was fine. However, about three minutes after we hung up my phone rang again. It was my upline calling to check in again because she felt like there were things going on for me that I hadn’t spoken about. THAT is how a leader communicates.
A leader realizes that newbies sometimes don’t have the communication skills to speak up about tough subjects or they may be afraid of disappointing their upline. A leader sets the tone for positive communication habits that will be passed down for generations. Good communication starts with you.
When ninjas began training their children in their martial arts they did almost all of their training as games – it was fun, rewarding, and challenging. When the children grew older and their skills advanced there was a time and a place for more serious training however in the beginning, especially, there was a strong spirit of play.
We follow the same principle in our MLM systems, network marketing leadership and our martial arts school. We believe that people learn the best and have the best retention when they are having fun. People do not retain information well in an environment of intimidation or pompous authoritarian rule. You won’t find this in every network marketing leader so choose your leader (and their leadership style) carefully, you will be living with them for a long time to come.
Marketing is likely the MLM system that has the most materials written about it because this is the easiest system to sell as a “magic bullet”. Well, I am sorry to burst your bubble but there is no magic bullet. There are, however, better ways and worse ways to market.
When we were new in our ninja business (and near bankruptcy) we went to martial arts conventions regularly and listened to a variety of “successful” school owners speak on what was necessary to create a solid business. Many of their practices involved deceptive selling, scare tactics, and bullying. Ugh! We were committed to NOT run our school like that.
We decided that we needed to create the environment that we felt was the best and most fair for all students. We listened to the experts but stopped jumping on the bandwagon of every heavy hitter that came along. I encourage you to do the same. There are a lot of network marketers out there selling MLM marketing systems that encourage deceptive practices and other tactics that you may be uncomfortable with.
Give yourself a “gut check” – ask how you would feel if someone marketed to you that way.
For example, I will never use an auto-dialer and recorded message system for marketing because I absolutely HATE to get those calls from others.
One of the things that separates ninja marketers from the rest is that we have sneaky ninja secrets. I always like to say that no one can throw a surprise party like a ninja because we train in the art of being sneaky – but being sneaky for good, not evil.
We have marketing “tools” that we use regularly that look like what people would use in regular life. Did you know that “shuriken” (the ninja throwing stars) are actually what the earliest ninjas had available to them as nail-pullers? They were a construction tool!
Our marketing systems and tools will be things that you are already comfortable with because likely you have already used them in other areas of your life. You are already half-way there!
Team building is a system that ninjas excelled at. A ninja village was a team of individuals whose lives depended on each other. We have already built a real ninja village of 350 strong (not counting their friends and family whose lives we also touch), what do you want in a team that you are on? Truly, doesn’t your life depend on your network marketing team?
One of the trickiest aspects in this particular MLM system is handling various personalities. There is no “one size fits all” for helping people achieve their goals and dreams. The communication style of the leaders has a huge impact on the team’s success.
Most people just starting out in their network marketing business are doing it part time. They need to work their business development into the rest of their lives and sometimes that gets tricky with other areas of life adding pressure. It can be done! Fear not, but it can take some finesse and special leadership to handle your particular situation.
There can also be cross-relationship challenges with your downline or a network marketing “cousin” (someone who is part of the same company and group but not directly in your team). These cross-relationship challenges can really take a lot of time and energy that bring down the entire group – our job as leaders is to help you stay energized and inspired. A good leader has a great team building system that can manage those personalities when they crop up (because, trust me, they will).
You can see that while we only looked at the three primary MLM systems there is a ton to consider around each of them. One of my favorite quotes is, “Being successful in network marketing enables you to become the very best version of yourself.” Make sure you are developing yourself into the leader that you are looking for and you will have MLM systems (and growth) that will be the envy of many!
No related posts.