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("Multiple Income Streams Through Multiple MLM Companies!" : MLM Network marketing secrets - is another great article about mlm, network marketing and a little about home based business on mlm network marketing "Multiple Income Streams Through Multiple MLM Companies!" I see a new paradigm starting to take hold in the network marketing industry, which first came to my attention in a positive way while reading Wave 4 by Richard Poe. I had always believed that the best way to be successful in network marketing was to ...)

"Multiple Income Streams Through Multiple MLM Companies!"
By Tony Kent

Because building a large downline was already a challenge that relatively few were able to do, it seemed to be good advice. If you can't build one downline, why or how could you possibly be able to build two? Actually, I still think this is true for the most part, but what I see happening now is that more and more leaders are building second, third and even fourth downlines, and with some great success.

Awhile back I was on a conference call with the president of a company that I was working with and a number of the top leaders. I suggested back then that I thought it would be a good idea to start expanding the product line of the company because we were losing people to some other opportunities, sometimes because they were looking for greener pastures and sometimes because they simply were buying other things they thought useful.

Our group suggested looking at weight loss, depression, insomnia, etc. and were interested in expanding to these markets with products that helped others with these challenges in a holistic manner.

We felt by expanding our product line we could attract a larger base of prospects. I went so far as to say that we should also look at a line of personal growth products, a phone company with great discounts, a line of paper products made from plants, etc. These were all things that people would use to build a network anyway, and due to the success of other companies that were expanding I thought this would be wise.

The company did not embrace this philosophy, preferring to stay more focused on their current products, and today there are probably less than 30 percent of the distributors still active and most of the leaders, like myself are working other programs.

What I found curious was that the same techniques that are working for me in building today in one company did not work successfully in trying to expand my already existing business. Nor was I able to help other leaders under me or even in sidelines successfully expand their businesses, and I had been a trainer for this company as well. I am still looking at why this is true, and will be writing more about this in the future.

For now, I want to go deeper into what I have experienced when I decided to shift my focus. First, it was extremely painful because I truly loved the products, the company and the friends I had made during my years with this company. I felt like I had to rip the attaching strings from my gut, and it felt terrible.

However, because my income had dropped to about 20% of what it had been, and even though I was still earning six figures a year, I had also increased my lifestyle and made some commitments during a divorce that I was no longer able to honor with what I was currently earning.

I had been a successful fashion photographer before building a network, and I contemplated going back to that, but I no longer had much passion for that anymore. I had written a book about personal growth through network marketing, and I had loved doing seminars and sharing my heart with people, so I decided to pursue my interest there.

I got connected with the people at TPN, and wanted to market myself with them, thinking that I could touch a lot of people in this manner. I really loved creating seminars and I was quite excited about this. I didn't really want to build another downline as much as I wanted to do trainings, however for a variety of reasons that are not important I decided not to pursue this avenue.

I felt they were interested in having me build a downline and what they offered in return was not to my liking. What was interesting to me was how painful it was for me to start another business, especially thinking about building another downline. I felt like I was betraying myself somewhere.

I believe I would have felt like this whether I was working in network marketing or returning to photography. I had fallen in love with MLM and wanted to make this my life.

About this time a large number of my downline also had to shift to ways of increasing their income, and I felt terrible that they were unable to build their current teams. I felt impotent as a leader and saddened by their struggles.

Then one day I received a fax about a natural product that sounded really exciting to me, so I answered the fax, tried the product and decided to jump in. I did not want to contact any people right away in my current opportunity, because I was not sure about some of the aspects of the new company, which was only a few months old.

The last thing I wanted was to break some more hearts and shatter some more dreams. So I focused on different people that were not in my downline. What amazed me was how fast my downline built.

The same skills I had found to be rather ineffective were working very well. Then came an interesting dilemma. I felt that as I started to make good money I was being dishonest to not share this with the people who had helped me be successful in the past.

So I did share the new opportunity, and a few decided to try it, and they had the same experience I did, for the most part - that they felt saddened and awkward about promoting a new company.

I can't tell you how many times I wished that the first company had listened to distributor wishes. In fact, the last meeting I went to they were discussing having the leaders sign agreements that they would not work in another company. Two weeks before I ever even heard of my present company I wrote a letter to the president saying that I would never sign such an agreement and that I felt I had joined a networking opportunity, not a military operation.

What if a year down the road I bought a product through a network company not even born yet that saved the life of someone I loved? How could I keep from sharing it and why should I be penalized because I had done the same with them?

And what if someone who had been super successful with a different networking company wanted to share our products because they had done something wonderful in their body? Should they be penalized? I though the whole thing was ridiculous and conceived out of fear rather than love.

As I started to build in the new company, I came across a lot of networkers who were struggling with the same things I had. Some of them were literally put out of business overnight because their company had just folded. It is not always easy to go from a six figure income to nothing overnight, or from a hundred dollars extra a week that might be making a huge difference, to not having that extra.

I also remembered a person in my old upline who had income from 3-4 companies he had worked with. I had heard so often from other networkers who had a really judgmental way of looking at this. And I was beginning to see how smart this person was. Now I will agree that there are a lot of good arguments as to why it is not advised to build multiple businesses, but I want to focus here on why I feel it is wise for me, and perhaps others, to do just this.

How often do you hear when you are investing for your retirement to diversify?

Some of the advantages of diversification are obvious, some less so, and this is exactly the situation in the world of MLM. So I would like to share now why I have chosen to diversify and what I have gained from it.

First, and foremost for me, has been all that I have learned. I knew virtually nothing about weight loss until my new experience. This has helped me in my own life immensely, because after a few years of rather intensive phone dedication, I had started to develop a rather round midriff. I have now started to pay attention to my cholesterol, body fat, blood sugars, etc. and I feel a lot better off now than I did.

I am also proud of all the others I have helped who were looking for a holistic way to deal with their challenges. What has been interesting is that it has also given me a lot of new prospects for the products of my former company.

I have also liked the fact that my income is returning to where it once was and I have helped other do the same. There are many networkers in my group that need to supplement their networking income, and like me they had either found their income lessening or in some cases stopping.

I have also been working for a few years now on building a presence on the world wide web, which has both fascinated and frustrated me, but has been a wonderful learning experience, so recently when another opportunity presented itself which would help me to learn more in this area, I got involved as well. If you were to visit my site, http://www.tonykent.com, you would see that I am doing what many others are doing on the web, which is building a little shopping mall.

I sell my book, some tapes, a video, and some other opportunities. One is a phone company because every networker can use a good discounted phone service, another is a virtual office with fax on demand. Both of these companies are mlm, but when I present them, I present them as tools to build a network, not an opportunity.

Let me give you an example. Almost every builder in my weight loss program uses an 800 number with a FOD. When they sign up, I can help them get their 800 number with a three minute overview and a FOD within 48 hours. They can use my voice and the same 15 page opportunity overview that I use that took me months to put together and improve, and all they have to do is change the first page, which the company will do for them.

If they prefer their own message then I send them the script and they can read the message and load their own voice message on their number. This allows them to feel professional and they are able to start prospecting immediately which helps bond them to the business.

Later, when they start to sign people, I tell them they can upgrade their service and gain credit for signing others. Because of this, a lot of people actually gain income with their 800 number rather than have it cost them. And because of the way I introduce it none of the beginners lose their focus and try to present two programs. I use this same company for all that I do now, and it has really facilitated my life as well as start to produce some nice income.

I hope that from what I have shared here you have some food for thought. If you are a beginner networker, or not yet really built a downline, I would strongly recommend that you focus on only one program and that you choose a product that you are passionate about and find a sponsor who can teach you how to build. I was never very successful with mlm until I was taught properly.

However, if you are someone who has built a downline before, or simply an entrepreneurial type who has built a successful business, I would strongly suggest looking for other areas where you can help your downlines with tools they need anyway, start to build some extra income opportunities for yourself, and as you develop more and more leaders, then teach them to do the same.

Let me give you a picture of what I see the future to be. I see myself deriving income from at least a half dozen companies. I will operate my business mostly through my web site. By the way, each time I refer a customer to my webmaster, I get a free month.

We have started to do so much business together that he has expressed the notion to me that soon I will not have any cost for my pages, and he designs magnificent web pages. Be sure to check him out.

The leaders in my downlines will also be developing multiple income streams. More and more companies will be offering more than one way to earn money, and some mlm companies will actually merge together. You will see many top leaders in the industry receiving large income streams from more than one source, and because of the internet, worldwide downlines will be common place.

As I network my businesses to my ever-expanding database, more and more people will be creating actual walkaway income, because even if one company disappears, they will still have income. There will be greater retention rate because of expanding opportunities, and so people will not have to see their incomes grow and diminish just as they think they have attained financial freedom.

There is a kind of white lie that flows through most opportunity presentations now, in that people promote walkaway income and never talk about how few companies have a high enough retention rate that if you do walk a way your income will stay steady.

Prospecting is still the engine that drives our industry, and as your portfolio of opportunities grow, you will have something of value to share with almost everyone you meet. I have lots of people who have joined my new business with the internet that have no interest in sharing a weight loss product, but once their internet business has grown, I can see how they might want to promote the other products that I am so passionate about.

Once they have created success with one of my offerings, I am sure they will be open to more ideas. When someone shares a great income producing stock for me, I always return for more suggestions. I hope these ideas are of use to you and I would appreciate your comments. Until then, many blessings to you all.