Network Marketing - Ten Things You Need to Know Before Joining Any Company

1. It's absolutely critical that the corporate leadership of the company have integrity and a proven track record. The company is only as good as the people running it.

2. The compensation plan has to be set up so that the reps are well paid. You have to be compensated for your time. For example, the company I am currently with set a cap on corporate profits, requiring over 90% of the revenue to always be paid out to the reps! (That's just unheard of! If that doesn't prove that the founder started the company to help other people and not himself, I don't know what would! Because of this, there have been 28 pay raises in the comp plan during the 8 years the company has been in business.) Unfortunately, most companies are started to make the owner of the company a lot of money. I would especially stay away from any binary plans, because those are usually virtual cash cows for the owners. With binaries, what usually happens is that the reps never get paid for a large percentage of their hard work.

3. The company needs to have very little debt, or better yet, be debt-free (which is rare.) If the company you're with goes belly-up, your paycheck won't clear the bank!

4. The company needs to have a simple, duplicable system for building your business. If it's too complicated or involves too much education, it will be hard to find enough people willing to get involved or stick with it.

5. The timing of the company can be a huge factor in how quickly you can get your business off the ground. If you can be so fortunate as to get involved with the right company at just the right time, you can be a millionaire within 2-3 years! The "right time" is after the company has been around long enough to prove the test of time (5-6 years) and just before the growth hits critical mass. (The same concept as "buying the real estate before the interstate comes through.")

6. I have learned the hard (expensive!) way to definitely stay away from start-up companies, because in all likelihood they will only be around for a few months. It doesn't matter how great the comp plan is if they're not around to pay you. Start-ups are ok to gamble on, of course, but only with money you don't mind losing, and never for your main source of income.

7. I recommend staying away from companies that are traded publicly, because they have to be more concerned with keeping the stockholders happy than keeping the reps happy. And the stockholders could care less about the reps!

8. The company should have competitively-priced consumable products or services that are recession-proof. In other words, things people are going to have to purchase regardless of what happens with the economy.

9. The array of products or services should have enough variety to be flexible and trend-friendly. For example, the company I'm with has such a wide variety of products and services that people use everyday, that it didn't hurt the company one bit when a certain product went out of style. If something else goes out of style, that won't hurt us either, because we'll always be marketing whatever is IN style.

10. The company needs to be one that you sincerely believe in, and have a good feeling about, with products or services that you are sold on yourself. You should always be your own best customer. People can sense your level of belief and commitment, and they won't join with you unless they can tell that you are 100% sold yourself.

Linda Gracy is a network marketing veteran and successful team building coach. She had a successful 20-year career with one company, while simultaneously searching diligently for her dream company. After finally finding it a little over two years ago, she is now an Executive Sales Manager, with a team of over 1600 reps. You can view her site at http://www.300KPerYear.com