When most people join an MLM company, they really have no clue what to look for so they make their decision based entirely on emotion rather than a good solid business decision. I know this because I did exactly the same thing in my first two companies, I got in because I got caught up in the excitement and hype. Fast forward a few years and I now make my decision based solidly on some business principals and a few very wise tips that I learned from two people who became unimaginably wealthy in their MLM business back in the 1980’s and 90’s and then joined an new company in the late 90’s and have done exactly the same thing there. So how is this possible? Ah, my friends this is the little secret that no one ever tells you, so read on and I’m going to let the cat out of the bag!

Before I do that, you need to ask yourself if you are open to receiving this kind of information. Because this just might make you catch on that you are just flat out, with the wrong company and no matter how hard you work you aren’t going to be able to build it big. So are you open and ready to learn?

Alright then, here we go…

Don’t choose an old company. Not because there is anything wrong with them, but the leadership has been long entrenched therefore the top of the pyramid is chock-full and there isn’t enough room for someone new to fit in and make it big. Don’t believe the hype that you get from other people in the company and if you do see someone new build it big, believe me there are other factors entwined that have enabled them to do that. Maybe they moved a team from another company, could be that they have a huge influence in MLM circles but it’s never an inexperienced MLM’er who is doing this. Old companies who are still posting growth figures usually have the vast majority of their growth coming from global market expansion. Amway for example is growing and continues to grow, but the majority is not in the U.S.A. however lots of new people are coming on board due to their massive advertising campaigns, but the big money is still difficult to get in companies like this. This isn’t a knock on Amway because they are in fabulous company and we all owe them a debt of gratitude for paving the way.

Don’t choose a company that’s new and in pre-launch. This is the worst time to get started because they might not even survive the first couple of years. Ground floor is best when it’s an established, well heeled company with experience and not a new to the game company.

Don’t join a “me too” company. Look at the competitive market place and see how much competition there is and I am not only talking about MLM or network marketing competition, I’m talking about the entire marketplace. For example, if you were looking at a juice company, how many levels of competition do you have? MLM juice companies, the health food stores at the mall, grocery stores and even Wal-Mart. You can give me the “but we have a business tied to this and you can earn money” which is true, but do you really want to reduce your level of success? Of course not, you want to have the greatest possible odds and having little competition allow you an advantage. There are approximately 5000 network marketing companies competing with comparable products and services in a few limited categories including cosmetics and skin care, nutrition and weight loss, household products, technology products and services like financial, travel and discount programs.

Don’t choose a company that is built on a lower priced item that is an one time purchase. An example would be a company that sells clothing, handbags, shoes or even an inexpensive line of jewelry. I’m not saying that you can’t make money in these kinds of companies because you can, but you will only make it by creating a job for yourself and doing things like home parties to move product to earn commissions. If the product isn’t a monthly purchase or auto-ship you might be better off with a top-tier company selling a product or service with very high upfront money. These typically have a buy in between $3000 and $10,000 and pay large up front bonus money.

Do choose a company that is young and is established enough to be solid but is still in a pre-momentum growth stage. Momentum is when a company hits critical mass and goes from 25,000 – 30,000 reps to 100,000 or more an a few months. This is when wealth and long term income is created and don’t make the mistake of believing that this happens with every single MLM company. That would be like believing that every restaurant succeeds or every single stock offering is a winner and will bring a huge return. Momentum comes to a handful of companies who are positioned correctly, more on that later in this article.

Choose a company with first mover advantage. This is when a company comes to the industry with a hot new product or idea that’s never been done before. Excel Communications is a perfect example of this, they were the first mover in a deregulated long distance phone service and grew from an upstart in 1988 and in seven years, became the fourth-largest long distance carrier in the U.S. and the youngest billion-dollar-annual company in history. It took only 8 years as compared to the second fastest growing, Microsoft Corp. which took all of 15 years.

Choose a company with network marketing experienced owners, preferably owners who have built vast MLM organizations as reps. You need owners who understand the daily trials and triumphs of a representative in the real world. Make certain that the company is well funded and debt free and has a strong company infrastructure.

Finally, choose a company because of the team of the upline leadership. I’ve had some great upline leadership in my years in this industry, some very successful business builders who have taught me well. I have to make you aware that when building today’s network marketing business you had better have an active upline who understands every aspect of building online and offline. My previous company as good as they were, they didn’t understand how to build online and that’s from the company itself through my entire upline. Oh they thought that they were on the cutting edge of online building, but they were kindergarteners compared to where I am now. As a matter of fact, I actually found my current company because I was looking for cutting edge online business building techniques and met several people in my current upline. I discovered that they were two of the top internet marketers in the entire industry, I then took a look at the company that they were with and realized that I had stumbled upon something that I had dreamed about for years. I had found the golden goose…needle in the haystack… the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow… the “Holy Grail” of network marketing.

So now you know what true veteran network marketing professionals look for in an opportunity. If you apply what you’ve learned here you just might be fortunate enough to find one of the two or three companies per decade that meet these criteria. If you’re serious about creating a large residual income put aside your emotions and make a business decision, you and then begin to make money.

To Your Success!

-David Englert