1)      Be a leader: “Leaders don’t follow the masses. They lead them.”

2)      Be simple: Create one goal per year and stick to it no matter what distractions come your way. “They may sound good at first, but they can derail your goals, your team, your culture, and, ultimately, your sales.”

3)      Be goal-driven: Make one goal, achieve it, and then set another. “Even after achieving $100 million in sales five months early, we didn’t stop making goals or focused decisions – we just started making bigger ones.”

4)      Be an executive: Make decisions for your company based on its culture and cash flow. “Why not make that one decision right now that can take your business to the next level?”

Mr. Pentecost concluded that he wrote this article to make an impact on other MLM executives, stating, “…the one decision that will rally your team behind your mission and put you on the map as an innovative company in direct sales.”

The Direct Selling News article titled “One Decision to $100 Million… and Then Some” can be found at http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/one_decision_to_100_million_and_then_some

*MLMLegal.com and its sister websites do not endorse It Works! Global.

www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com offer extensive information on how to achieve success as a direct selling business owner. Our Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference is an excellent source of education for startup and existing MLM companies (contact Charity before September 1st to register and receive a discount!). There is also a plethora of information on our blogs, located at http://mlmlegal.com/MLMBlog/ and http://mlmattorney.com/blog/.

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Interviewer: Talk to me about what makes a MLM company successful. I know you’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. You’ve been in this business for a very long time. So you’ve got a real unique perspective on the industry because as you worked with so many successful MLM companies. I bet from your own point of view, you see some of the things that companies are doing well and some of which they can improve on. With all of that collected experience, tell us what makes a company successful?

Jeff Babener: You know, we often hear about the newest sizzling compensation plan. I’m going to say that a good compensation plan is one that pays fairly and proper remuneration is a given. Your company can’t go anywhere unless you’ve created your compensation plan correctly.

Interviewer: So, you got to have a good compensation plan…

Jeff Babener: It should be good and it should be fair. But I have to tell you, a company that touts its compensation plan is often using that as an excuse to cover up for other elements that are missing.

Interviewer:  Got it.

Jeff Babener: What drives the success of direct selling companies, that we have seen, has been high quality products and services. Products and services that stand on their own in the marketplace, something that distributors and consumers bond well with.

Representatives and consumers bond with products and services. They bond objectively. They bond emotionally. So, bonding to that quality product is really important.

Secondly, the people who run the company, for better or for worse, are extremely important. When the distributors of Mary Kay sat in the audience and listened to Mary Kay speak, each of them believed that she was speaking directly to them. There is no substitute for having a connection with the leadership and founders of the company.

Thirdly, the company’s vision is important. What are they doing? Do distributors want to do something good in the world? That is why companies that sell health products, or that sell transformational products (like financial services) resonate so deeply with people. We live in difficult time. Companies that participate in philanthropic or charitable programs connect passionately with the distributors.

When Mary Kay started her company, people may have thought that she was in the cosmetics business. But, what she was actually in the business of empowering women. That is why Avon hosts marches for cancer research.

There must be a vision, a mission or a calling. There must be something greater than a single person for everyone to rally around. People always relate to projects larger than themselves.

Prior to my coming here today, just before we were going to do the interview, I saw a picture of Babe Ruth on the wall in your office.

Interviewer:  Yep.

Jeff Babener: …Looking up the bleachers, hitting a home run… Now, there is a man who transcended all sport. Every person in America relates to Babe Ruth. There are times and there are people who transcend what they’re doing. And they give meaning. They make you feel good. They give you a purpose. They give you a goal. And they drive you to be a better person. Babe Ruth hit home runs, but he did much more than hit home runs. I’m assuming that’s one reason that you put his picture in your office.

Interviewer:  Yeah, he’s a guy that only knew how to hit home runs and grand slams.

Jeff Babener: And, these things happen only a few times in our lifetime. Along comes a John Kennedy who will inspire people. You can’t explain why, but they will do it. And then a MLM company will come around that can do the same thing, which is important, spread inspiration. And that’s the last issue I wanted to bring up.

The amount of time and expense that you spend on training your sales force and your team leaders will be well paid because distributors who join companies not only need to relate and bond with the people who run the company, they need to bond with the people who brought them to the dance, the upline distributors. And those are the leaders of the company, the sales leaders, and they basically are the glue that holds everything together. Every ounce of strength and training, every penny that you spend on really developing those people into leaders, is a good investment.

It comes down to having a good, fair compensation plan that can motivate the right kinds of behaviors. The right kind of product that distributors and customers can bond with and that is a need in their lives.

And, you have got to have the right kind of owners, the right kind of people with a vision to do something greater than themselves. And, training. You must spend the time making an investment in people. You must train them and help them understand the company and how to achieve their own success. You must create the opportunity for everyone to dance together.

Interviewer:  Thank you.

For more information on how to create a successful MLM company, visit the following links:

MLM Consulting: How to Build a Successful Direct Selling Company

MLM Consulting: Starting Your MLM Company

FREE MLM Start-up Manual: Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company

The MLM Startup Conference: Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference

Factors that Make a MLM Company Successful Video

Understanding the Basics in Order to Succeed In Direct Selling – Companion Video to this Blog Post

MLM Legal on iTunes

MLM Startup – The Basics

Or, read some of our other blog posts on success in network marketing, MLM, direct selling, and party plan:

Are you Starting a MLM Company?

An Interview with Industry Expert and Advocate, Jeffrey Babener

It’s Passion that makes a MLM Company Successful

The Top Two Reasons Why MLM Companies Fail

Learn What is Needed to Recruit Top-Selling Distributors for Your MLM Company

Passion, Patience, Persistence – Attitude in Direct Selling

Four Factors that Make a MLM Company Successful

Explaining Your MLM Company to the Public: Answering the Hard Questions

MLM/Direct Selling/Network Marketing: A Validated Channel of Distribution

How Much Does it Cost to Start a MLM Company?

The Next MLM Startup Conference in Las Vegas – May 16th & 17th, 2013

Choosing the Right Product for Your Direct Selling Company

Where to Find MLM Startup Tips and Answers from an Industry Expert

The Nine Basics You Need to Understand in Order to Succeed in MLM – Interview with Jeff Babener

Gaining Experience in MLM – Possess it or Buy it?

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1)      Compensation plans must be fair. Companies often raise suspicion if they tout a “sizzling” compensation plan.

2)      Quality products and service. Both customers and distributors must be able to bond with the product.

3)      Company management. The leadership of the company must have a vision that brings greater meaning to distributors and customers.

4)      Training. Distributors need to bond with each other and bond with sales leadership. Any investment in developing leaders is a good investment.

For more details, watch the video: Factors that Make a MLM Company Successful. Or, visit www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com for more information on the direct selling industry.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

1. Products – The distributors enjoy the products that the company offers

2.  Leadership of the company – Distributors are motivated and encouraged by the leaders of the company

3.  Leadership of the field sales force – Distributors are motivated and encouraged by the leaders of their upline and by others salespeople

4.  Company vision or purpose – Distributors believe in the vision of the company and its mission

5.   Earnings – And, of course, distributors always appreciate a good income opportunity

Why do you stay with your direct selling, network marketing, MLM, party plan company? Can you relate to one of the top 5 reasons distributors stay with a company? Or, do you have a different reason?

(A plethora of information on the direct selling industry can be found online at MLMLegal.com and MLMAttorney.com.)

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.