Normally I tell people to stick with the network marketing program they’re with as long as the product or service line has value, the compensation plan is fair, and the company is legitimate. But there is one other reason that you might want to consider company-hopping—or avoiding a particular program altogether.
Is the network marketing progressive, or does it have a foot or even a few toes stuck in the past? If you answered the latter, don’t just walk away. Run.
But how do you tell the difference between a progressive and a regressive network marketing program?
Mainly, you can tell by how much and how the program uses the Internet.
Let me tell you what happens when a network marketing program doesn’t make good use of the ‘net. I know, because the first network marketing program I tried was really old school. We had meetings (and meetings, and meetings, and meetings . . .), we had cold numbers to call, and we were expected to personally approach everyone from our dentist to our great-great Aunt Nell.
Now, today I’m one of the world’s top network marketers. But with that program? I never made a dime—not even a refund on the product I’d purchased!
What was the difference? The Internet, of course!
I talk a lot about how the Internet has changed network marketing. The most important of those changes is that, with the Internet, you can market directly to people who are already interesting in what you have to offer, and only those people! No more great-great Aunt Nell. No more endless meetings to keep the morale up.
With the Internet, it is just a virtually unlimited market and you.
Another thing the Internet has changed—and that your network marketing program should be taking advantage of—is that it’s no longer necessary for marketers to keep inventory unless they absolutely want to. Your job as a network marketer is to get the orders and recruit a strong downline. It’s the company’s job to process those orders and get the products or services to the customers!
Finally, what kinds of restrictions does your program have on the way you use the Internet? If you’re required to use a website format that’s straight out of the 1990’s, forget it.
Now, there is one thing you need to be careful of with network marketing programs that are making extensive use of Internet technology. Does the company allow customers to bypass its marketers and order directly from the company online? Or does the company at least encourage customers to consult with its marketers? Be careful of programs where the companies are willing to undercut your income.
Again, I don’t encourage network marketing program hopping. In the vast majority of the cases where someone is having trouble with a particular program, the real problems lie with the marketer, not the program. But if you see signs of regressive thinking in a program you’re with or that you’re considering, it’s time to look somewhere else. After all, this is your future you’re working to build, not theirs!