We have hosted more than 70 national conferences on starting and running a direct selling, network marketing, MLM or party plan company. We host the original MLM Startup Company that many try to imitate. We have started and advised many of the leading companies in the industry. We have a “big picture” approach that is difficult to find elsewhere. We are big believers in education and our website, www.mlmlegal.com, is hopefully evidence of this, with hundreds of articles, cases, statutes, and scores of videos. We take a particular satisfaction in helping entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and the consequence is often the creation of thousands of jobs and opportunities. And at our conferences, we have started many companies that are, today, household names. It has been a pleasure and honor to assemble professionals in these conferences to assist individuals to create “something from nothing.”

Join us at the next MLM Startup Conference in Las Vegas!

The Original MLM Startup Conference – Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference in Las Vegas

The MLM Startup Conference is perfect for executives who have a lot of questions that need answered by a broad range of experts. It is also perfect for those who need general knowledge about the network marketing industry.

The Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference is just around the corner! For over 30 years we have hosted over 70 national conferences to educate startup and existing MLM company executives. All executives/owners of MLM, direct selling, network marking, and party plan companies are welcome to attend. This is the original MLM Startup Conference, hosted and perfected by direct selling industry expert, MLM Attorney Jeff Babener.

The MLM Startup Conference is held three times per year in February, May and October. For current dates, click HERE.

Still unsure? Our MLM Startup Conference is incredibly popular and well-attended. Visit this page for statistics on our last event (i.e. attendance count, company count, countries and states represented).

Did you miss the February MLM Startup Conference? In attendance were over 100 people, representing 65 companies from 20 states and five countries (Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States). The companies in attendance represented the entire spectrum of company ages, from startups to established companies. All attended to learn more about the network marketing industry, to grow their companies, to meet experts in the industry, and to educate themselves on the MLM industry.

WHO ARE THE SPEAKERS?

Direct Selling Attorney, Jeff Babener, Founder of Babener & Associates and Sponsor of the MLM Startup Conference, has over 30 years of experience in the industry, representing companies such as Avon, Nikken, Melaleuca, Discovery Toys, Usana, and NuSkin.

MLM Industry Consultant, Mike Sheffield, with The Sheffield Group and Co-Sponsor of the MLM Startup Conference, has helped launch over 800 companies over the last 27 years.

Over the course of two days, you will hear from many leaders in the direct selling industry, who include:

Expert, Experienced MLM Attorney, Jeff Babener

Jeffrey A. Babener, of Portland, Oregon, Conference Chair and Sponsor, www.mlmlegal.com, is the principal attorney in the law firm of Babener & Associates. He represents leading U.S. and foreign companies in the direct selling industry. He has been a key advisor to such companies as Avon, Herbalife, Discovery Toys, Nikken, Shaklee, NuSkin, Excel, Usana, Fuller Brush, Cell Tech, Enagic, Sunrider, Melaleuca, Nerium International, etc. He is a frequent lecturer and has been interviewed on the industry, and published, in such publications as Money, Inc., Atlantic Monthly, Success, Entrepreneur, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Home Office Computing, Business Start-Ups, Direct Selling News Magazine, and Money Maker’s Monthly. He is editor of the industry publication, Direct Sales Legaline. Mr. Babener is also the author of the books; Tax Guide for MLM/Direct Selling Distributors, Network Marketer’s Guide to Success, The MLM Corporate Handbook, Network Marketing: Window of Opportunity, and Network Marketing: What You Should Know (used as the college curriculum textbook at Utah Valley State course on network marketing). He is editor of one of most frequented network marketing educational web sites, www.mlmlegal.com. He has served as Chair of more than 70 national conferences on starting and running the direct selling company. He serves on the Lawyers Council and Government Relations Committees of the Direct Selling Association (DSA), and he has served as General Counsel and on the board of the MLMIA (Multilevel Marketing International Association). He has lectured at major industry trade meetings and at such educational institutions as the Univ. of Illinois, University of Texas, University of Houston, etc.  He is a graduate of the University of Southern California Law School where he served as an editor of the USC Law Review, followed by the appointment as a law clerk to Hon. David Williams, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

A number of Babener & Associates client companies have been success stories over the last several decades, including several billion dollar and NYSE companies such as Avon, Herbalife, NuSkin, Usana. Other successful companies, to which the law firm has provided varying level of advisory, have included Melaleuca, Nikken, Enagic, Discovery Toys, Amazon Herbs, TriVita, Nerium International, Shaklee, PrePaid Legal, Tupperware, Primerica,  Arbonne, Longaberger, Excel Communications, ACN, etc.

Mr. Babener has served as lead trial counsel for multiple cases on direct selling throughout the U.S. Further background material on direct selling will be found at the website, www.mlmlegal.com, where he is editor.

Mike Sheffield

Michael L. Sheffield is Chairman and CEO of The Sheffield Group Inc., a full service direct sales consulting firm and Chairman Emeritus of the Multi Level Marketing International Association. The Sheffield Group (www.sheffieldnet.com) specializes in startup operations, compensation plan development, distributor recruiting systems, and sales tools. The firm also consults on new product concept development including positioning, pricing strategies, marketing, and product sales strategies. The Sheffield Group has assisted in over 800 direct selling company start-ups, including 23 of the top 100 MLM/Party Plan companies in the world. In addition, Mike has assisted in numerous special projects for many of the industry’s most prestigious direct selling, MLM and party plan companies. He has been a frequent lecturer on launch strategies for MLM companies at various industry conferences as well as the Schools of Business at Arizona State University, UC Berkley, University of Cincinnati, California Lutheran University,
Anderson University and others. He was selected to make a special presentation on behalf of MLM at the Harvard Business School Association symposium. Mike is nationally respected as a leading compensation plan design expert and on the special staff teaching the subject at the University of Illinois at the Chicago Network Marketing Seminar. He has co-authored numerous academic papers on MLM presented at various academic conferences. He has served as sponsor and chief coordinator of various academic/corporate MLM conferences at the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP). His contributions to these academic conferences earned him the honor of being the subject of a feature article in Success Magazine. Mike has been the MLM Expert for Entrepreneur Magazine and a contributor to the Entrepreneur Magazine training manual teaching how to start a successful MLM company. He can be contacted at www.sheffieldnet.com.

Clifton Jolley, Ph.D., of Dallas, Texas, is President of Advent Communications and has provided communications products and consulting to leaders in network marketing for more than 15years, in addition to teaching communications at the university level both in the United States and abroad. His innovation and skill have been heralded in the Atlantic Monthly, Success Magazine, Wave 3, and numerous other national publications and broadcasts. He has been a frequent contributor to leading magazines and has acted as media spokesman for such major companies as A.L. Williams, Home Shopping Network, Nokia, Sunrider, Quorum, Nikken, Oxyfresh, Network 2000, and dozens of others. His skill in crisis intervention and media relations has been credited with rescuing dozens of Advent clients from media scrutiny. Dr. Jolley’s company is known for state-of-the art graphics production, including distributor kits and manuals and Web site production. Advent Communications also provides its clients award-winning video production, executive communications and distributor programs.

Robert Proctor is President of MultiSoft Corporation, a veteran provider of MLM Software to the Network Marketing Industry for over 25 years. With offices in the USA, Europe and Asia, MultiSoft Corporation provides turn-key and custom MLM software packages from start-ups to mature companies with a focus on “Internationalized” MLM software. Robert has worked with hundreds of companies around the globe and has been involved in nearly every aspect the network marketing industry for 16 years as a developer, designer, distributor, owner, operator, and provider to the industry. Robert has built down-line organizations exceeding 50,000 customers and 6,000 distributors. Robert has a diverse background that includes public speaking, radio & television, advertising and marketing, business law, accounting & finance, banking, sales, customer service, compensation plan evaluation, network operations, programming, design, and management.

Robert Butwin, of Santa Rosa, California, is the consummate MLM professional. He has built and led large distributor organizations. He is highly respected in the MLM corporate community and juggles his distributor schedule with duties as a mentor on recruiting to corporate management of many leading companies. He is the author of the highly acclaimed “Street Smart Networking,” available in bookstores everywhere.

Garvin DeShazer, Executive Consultant, Sheffield Group, has nearly 30 years experience as an entrepreneur. With 26 startups or acquisitions of his own, in industries ranging from alternative fuels to network marketing to fine arts, he has extensive experience in corporate and marketing management and driving sales. Included in his past corporate experience is the founding of a major direct selling company in the home security arena. He has served as a Senior Consultant for more than 60 network marketing companies where he focuses on strategic planning, key distributor development programs, creative writing, and project management.

Alfred White is a Senior Management Consultant for Hamilton LaRonde & Associates of San Diego, California and Vancouver, Canada. Mr. White has extensive international experience. For the last twenty-two years, Mr. White has been a management and marketing consultant to the direct selling, multilevel marketing and network marketing industries. Mr. White’s experience includes more than 200 assignments with a wide range of companies both domestic and international. He is highly regarded for his expertise in operations management and compensation plans. Mr. White designed the PDX computerized system for structuring new MLM companies. The PDX system is a very effective system that can bring a company from concept to fully operational at considerable savings in time and money. Above all Mr. White has a love for the MLM/Network marketing industry and devotes time and energy developing systems for the entrepreneur to be the owner of their own network marketing company. He is a featured writer of articles in national journals on the subject of network marketing.

Rod Cook is most commonly known as the MLM WatchDog of the industry. He studies the good of the MLM industry and at the same time tries to stomp out pyramid schemes. Part time he is a consultant who helps people start up new companies so they are a credit to the industry. At MLMWatchdog.com, editor in chief Rod Cook and his field reporters handle hundreds of questions or complaints a week about MLM companies. Rod jokingly says, “I live in the middle of the MLM Information Highway and get run over by trucks twice a day!” Rod is considered the ultimate MLM “marketing” inside information source! His articles have been published in over 30 different publications.

Sandy Elsberg, of Orange County, California, is one of the most successful and admired distributors in the MLM world. She has led huge sales networks over the years. She is sought out frequently by MLM companies and distributor groups to speak and train. She is the author of the best seller, Bread Winner, Bread Baker.

Wayne Hinkle is V.P. of Sales of Trinity Software of Dallas, Texas. Trinity is a leading technology solutions provider to network marketing companies. Prior to becoming V.P. of Sales, Hinkle served 20 years at Nortel Networks where he was responsible for customer service and satisfaction for the entire eight-state region of the SBC operator services division. He is a specialist in customer support and service as well as technical support, training and project management.

Greg White of Vancouver based Hamilton LaRonde has a twenty five year career in meeting management and coordination of MLM sales materials design and production. He has managed every single Starting and Running Conference since the 1980’s, more than 50 conferences, and supervised all of the art work for the conference.

Scott Fitzpatrick, Marketing Director of Pivotal Payments of Montreal, Canada. Pivotal is one of the leading merchant account processors for the Direct Selling/MLM industry, providing solutions for e-commerce online processing as well as traditional credit card, debit card and other processing for sales by direct selling companies and their sales force.

Sean Eggert is Director of National Sales with Hanna Shea Consulting, Scottsdale, Arizona, which provides Executive Search, Recruitment Process Outsourcing and International Staffing services for Fortune 500 clients. Additionally, Hanna Shea has a specialized search service that is dedicated to MLM and Direct Sales Organizations to identify and recruit top talent as members of the leadership management team.

Jeffery Boyle, of Nampa Idaho, is the CEO of Boyle Network, a focused industry resource specializing in empowerment of distributors and companies through multimedia production on the web and social networking. In addition, he is editor-in-chief of www.networkingstar.com, an educational and informative website profiling the people and issues of the network marketing industry.

Rosann (Ro) Shales, of The Sheffield Group, Scottsdale, Arizona, is a long time Party Plan expert. Ro is a veteran direct seller with multi-faceted experience, both in the sales field, having built her own $1.3M organization, and as a corporate executive working with companies like Tupperware, PartyLite and Jafra Cosmetics. This has served her well in working with start-up, established and mature-market companies. As a strategist and connector, Ro brings ideas and people together for increased recruiting, leader development, and retention to drive revenue and success. Roseann is the author of “RECRUIT! Connecting with People to Change Your Business and Your Life,” available in English and Spanish. RECRUIT is a valuable resource to everyone in MLM and Party Plan, both field and corporate, plus everyone who recruits volunteers or develops teams.

Patti Lamb, of Santa Barbara, California, is President of Alexandria Services. On behalf of startup and established MLM companies, Alexandria specializes in searching out multiple resource options for merchant account processing with established banking and processing financial organizations.

WHY?

The information you will gain and relationships that you will build by attending the conference are invaluable. You’ll receive information on how to:

– Structure your compensation plan
– Legalize your company
– Recruit key employees and top-ranking distributors
– Develop a business model
– Generate leads
– Fund your business organization
– Establish your website and technology platforms
– Better understand the direct selling industry
– And, so much more

Read why network marketing executives have consistently attended the MLM Startup Conference for over twenty years:

– [I] Launched [the company] Federal Chamber of Commerce in 2002, after attending your Conference. Contracted with Mr. Alfred White to consult on our Compensation Plan. Recruited 10,000 Reps and $5,000,000 volume in 9 months. Cashed out stock in 2003. Back again in 2013 with new partners and a new concept…

– We want to get the fundamentals and the basics down… get a good review of what needs to be done to be successful…

– We have a traditional business at the moment and we are looking to take it into the realm where it’s more personalized, it’s more about building people and an experience. It has been absolutely worth our trip. We are
looking to take our business to the next level and build relationships.

– [I’ve] been in network marking for 30 years [but] we are learning a lot of things about how to launch, how to reach the people we need to have, and again, the things that are required to make a successful company, not only for us but especially for our customers and for our affiliates.

– I want to teach other people how to run their own clothing business and have fun doing it. I have a distribution plan. I have a unique product that I need to take nationwide in a couple of months.

– I’m here because I want to know more about multi-level and I can replicate that experience in my country (Columbia) … It’s worth it to be here.

– The reason I came to the show was to learn more about how to launch my direct sales company. I’m very comfortable and accustomed to selling through more traditional networks; however, I believe that the product that I’m launching is more suitable for direct sales; to get direct-to-consumer faster and in greater sales.

– I have a huge to-do list… Once I know what I’m supposed to be working on I won’t spin my wheels.

(Additional testimonials can be seen in the following video: MLMlegal Releases New Film on MLM Startup Conference – Produced by Networkingstar.com.)

WHERE WILL THE MLM CONFERENCE BE HELD?

The MLM Startup Conference will be held in Las Vegas. Call 1-800-231-2162 for the exact location. Why don’t we advertise the exact location? Since our conference is solely educational (no selling or vending allowed!), we don’t allow vendors, distributors and other solicitors to attend the event. This enables us to maintain the conference’s high standards. Therefore, only registered guests are given the address after they’ve registered. However, if for some reason you cannot attend after registering, we will refund 100 percent of your attendance cost.

WHEN DOES THE MLM CONFERENCE TAKE PLACE?

February, May and October – Las Vegas, Nevada. Click HERE for current dates.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO ATTEND?

The price to attend is $195 for the first person and each additional attendee is $150. We accept all major credit cards. Reservations must be made via phone, prior to the event. 503-226-6600 or 800-231-2162.

Want to attend the MLM Startup Conference in Las Vegas on a budget? Save $345 in registration fees!

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

FREE to all attendees – “How To” Manual

Each attendee will receive a FREE copy of the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Manual. Some of the chapters include:

Legal Issues
MLM Law in 50 States
FDA Health Claims: The Final Rules
The Snail that got Mugged: FTC v. Direct Selling
Start-up  Issues
Incorporating the Network Marketer
Five Dynamics that Drive An MLM Company Product
Creating Your Next Million Dollar Product
Treasure Hunting for New Products
Compensation Plans
Comp. Plan Conversion: Direct Sales to MLM
Your Compensation Plan’s Competitive Edge
Communications and Media
Focus on the Mission…Not the Commission!
When the Media Calls… Who Answers the Phone?

Attendees receive over 30 consulting hours with an array of industry experts – all in one location.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION?

Visit our main website:
www.mlmlegal.com

Read our blogs:
http://mlmlegal.com/MLMBlog/ and http://mlmattorney.com/blog/

Watch the videos:
MLMlegal Releases New Film on MLM Startup Conference – Produced by Networkingstar.com

The MLM Startup Conference in Las Vegas

MLM Startup Conference – A Must for Executives of Startup and Existing MLM Companies

Since You Are a MLM Attorney, Why Would You Host the MLM Startup Conference for the Executives of Startup and Existing Companies?

BEST BET?

Call us to register: 503-226-6600 or 800-231-2162

CAN’T MAKE IT?

As mentioned, our conference has taken place consistently over the last thirty years. We hold each conference three times per year. Join us in February, May or October. Check MLMLegal.com for the most current conference dates.

Don’t get fooled by copycat conferences! We host the original MLM Startup Conference – – responsible for launching many industry-leading companies — perfected over the course of a quarter of a century to ensure the highest quality of information, most knowledgeable experts, and most practical advice from qualified consultants.

Join us at our next conference! Over the course of two days, attendees will hear from scores of industry experts, and if they choose, can sign up to meet with the speakers for individual one-on-one time. A full list of speakers and their biographies/credentials can be found at http://www.mlmlegal.com/bio.html.

Lastly, learn how you can receive two FREE tickets to attend the May 2015 Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference by visiting our Innovation Campaign page.

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

The assault was not on the beaches of Normandy, but nonetheless thousands of direct selling distributors and scores of direct selling companies scaled the cliffs of the FTC’s regulatory bunker to knock out the imminent threat to the direct selling industry, the FTC Proposed Business Opportunity Rule. In July, 2006, the mail room and internet repository of the FTC was inundated with letters and comments of thousands of individuals and scores of leading companies, representing 14 million home based-businesses that contribute $30 billion to the U.S. economy.

Along side the charge were detailed commentaries by industry professionals and experts, as well as trade groups such as the Direct Selling Association and the Multilevel Marketing International Association. Their message to the bureaucracy: the proposed FTC rule, although well-intentioned to protect the American consumer, misses the mark and, in fact, through onerous regulations, may well significantly impair the likes of Mary Kay, Tupperware, Shaklee, Quixtar, NuSkin, National Companies, Primerica, Herbalife, and so many other contributors to small business opportunities in America.

Major companies did not mince their words in requesting the FTC to withdraw its proposal: Mary Kay, “impractical, unnecessary and burdensome compliance requirements which would devastate our 43 year old company”; Avon, “overly broad and unduly burdensome”; Primerica, “The proposed Rule, if adopted, would cripple many direct selling businesses and would impair the livelihoods of millions of Americans who work in the industry.”

The Issues in a Nutshell

An excerpt from formal comments of Babener and Associates, legal advisor to many of the companies in the direct selling industry, filed with the FTC, echoes industry opposition to the FTC Proposed Business Opportunity Rule:

1. The underlying assumptions regarding the size and scope of the direct selling industry and the adverse impact on the industry are grossly underestimated in the FTC staff report on the proposed rule.

2. Requiring prospective sales recruits to wait seven days after a recruitment presentation to join a direct selling company will stifle recruitment in an industry that depends on an orderly development of a sales organization. A better approach would be to allow a seven day right of rescission, paralleling the FTC Cooling Off Rule.

3. Requiring direct sellers to provide information and identity of 10 sales associates, in close geographic proximity to a prospective salesperson, will be a logistical nightmare and a dramatic invasion of privacy of those whose information is shared. The proposed disclosure lays a foundation for identity theft and, in an industry where the majority of sales people are women, the disclosure of their identity information to “strangers” creates unwelcome opportunities for sexual predators.

4. Requiring direct sellers to release any information regarding prior litigation, whether or not at fault, is not only onerous and unfair, but creates an unwarranted stigma for legitimate companies involved.

5. In the course of crafting a separate business opportunity rule, elimination of the historical $500 expenditure threshold for triggering applicability of the FTC franchise rule is inconsistent with state business opportunity legislation, FTC franchise rules, and causes direct selling companies with minimal investments to be subjected to onerous record keeping and disclosure rules that will become a major inhibitor of small business, a major contributor to the U.S. economy. In fact, after a few decades, in light of inflation, the threshold should be raised, not lowered.  In reality, as is the case today, the frauds and cheats will not bother to comply with the proposed rule and the burden and damage of the new bureaucratic rules will be borne by legitimate businesses.

6. If the goal is to attack sleazy “fly by night” marketers of false and deceptive direct selling practices, a long line of FTC enforcement actions demonstrates that the FTC has the current authority, mandate and capability to attack fraudulent and deceptive practices.

What Next?  We will fight on the beaches…

The industry was forcefully heard in the thousands of well-articulated formal comments to the FTC. Congressional delegations have been briefed by industry representatives. A hearing and/or workshop process is projected to last 18 months to three years. The industry has called out “big guns.”  The most recently retired chairman of the FTC has been engaged by Primerica to lead a battle to convince the FTC staff to withdraw its proposed rule or dramatically modify the proposal to respond to industry needs. Industry experts, associations and professionals will dialog with the FTC staff. Industry associations, such as the DSA, have placed this issue as their number one priority. Industry representatives are extremely well prepared for any adversarial hearing process. Companies and trade associations are geared to challenge in court the legality and overreach of the proposed rule.

Obviously, no one can predict the outcome, but knowledgeable industry experts are optimistic that the end result will be quite workable for the industry. If all else fails, in a similar fashion to the health products industry response perceived overreaching by the FDA, which resulted in Congressional protection under DSHEA, the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act, the direct selling industry, through its companies, sales forces, lobbyists and numerous Congressional allies, will be prepared for “nuclear option,” remedial federal legislation in the event of the adoption of an unsatisfactory rule by the FTC. Although not beyond the realm of possibility, the FTC may withdraw its proposed rule or amend it before proceeding further. More likely, however, a combative process will occur during the near term. Until, and unless there is a modification in the existing rule, distributors and companies should clearly understand that “nothing has changed” that will affect their business.  A modest prediction: “things will work out okay in the end, but it will be a long process, perhaps years.”

PS. Although the formal comment period is over, individuals who wish to file comments with the FTC may still do so.  In fact, continued expression of concern by interested individuals cannot help but be heard by the staff at the FTC. FTC internet contact information can be found at www.ftc.gov.  The industry and the FTC are not enemies.  They both seek consumer protection, but the direct selling industry objects to unnecessary overregulation that can destroy an important channel of distribution.  Please follow ongoing updates and discussions on the status of the FTC Proposed Business Opportunity Rule at www.mlmlegal.com.

Visit these pages for the latest information on the direct selling industry and the FTC:

FTC v. BurnLounge: Lessons Learned for MLM/Direct Selling

FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials
FTC Guidelines Resource Center
FTC Guidelines Endorsements and Testimonials: Detailed Analysis
FTC News Release on Endorsements and Testimonials
FTC Complete Guidelines Release
FTC Short Version Guidelines Release
FTC Examples of Material Connection
FTC Regulation of Advertising

FTC Proposed Business Opportunity Rule: Analysis and Updates:
The FTC Final Business Opportunity Rule: Still Work to Do
FTC Exemption Draft Falls Short … MLMLegal.com and DSA Suggest Revisions
FTC Exempts MLM from Proposed Business Opportunity Rule
DSA Position on FTC MLM Exemption Proposed Business Opportunity Rule
Analysis and Industry Response
Actual Text of Proposed Rule
FTC Speaks Out
DSA Speaks Out
DSWA Speaks Out
MLMIA Speaks Out
DRA Speaks Out
MLMLegal.Com Speaks Out

Or, watch the video: What is the Relationship between MLM and the FTC?

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

The only thing I know is that the shower curtain goes inside the bathtub…

-Conrad Hilton

So said Conrad Hilton when asked how he was able to build a worldwide hotel empire. His message was that no one starts at the top. Everyone starts at the bottom and the most important thing to remember is to get started and to learn the fundamentals of the business.

Several years ago, Mary Kay commissioned a study as to the factors for success and failure of distributors in the business. Interestingly, the study found that, after signing on, as many as ten percent of Mary Kay distributors never really “got going” at all or moved beyond the point of sign up.  Obviously, this is a wasted opportunity.

There is an invariable inertia against moving forward for both distributors and those they sponsor. The message: if you are looking for success, you and your downline, must learn the basics first and you must “do something” … Start! … Now!

You only have one chance to make a first impression…

-Cheryl Lightle, Founder, Creative Memories

Whether you are recruiting or selling, you need to put yourself in the shoes of the person with whom you are speaking. Often, the message received is not the message you intended because you did not understand your audience. As the PR director for NuSkin once noted, “[A] perception may be factually right or wrong, but it is always right in the mind of the person who holds it.”

When you describe the opportunity or the product, make sure that the listener is hearing the message you want to convey and that you are perceived and imagined as you would like to be perceived. As Andre Agassi once said, “Image is everything.”

Your character is your fate…

-Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher

The advice from Heraclitus may or may not be true, but it should be. The wisdom is probably mirrored in every culture, philosophy and religion. Theoretically, it means good deeds, good rewards. Again, this is a code of conduct that serves you well in life and in your business. Your actions inspire trust in your customers, recruits and downline, and this translates tangibly into the building of sales and a sales organization.

In Japan, direct selling has always been a well received vehicle. Just look at the success of Amway, NuSkin, Herbalife, etc. In fact, the model of direct selling has been a primary method of selling automobiles in Japan for decades. A Japanese expression explains an interesting paradigm in this culture. Loosely translated, it says that if you ask your friend to buy something from you, he or she must buy it. Obviously, network marketers in the U.S. would love this paradigm for their sales endeavors. But, the corollary and lesson are that the Japanese culture is based on honorable behavior. Friends do not “burn” friends. Friends honor friends. And this leads to the reasonable expectation that friends will honor requests to purchase products or listen to opportunities. To the extent we can emulate such an honorable culture in the U.S., we will enjoy the benefits. In other words, from a practical standpoint, your character is, in fact, your fate.

Lech Lecha … Go be yourself …

 -God to Abraham, Genesis

Okay, God doesn’t give marketing advice. But the original Biblical expression from Genesis, “lech lecha” arises from the mission statement God gave Abraham to go to another land and become a new person. Scholars have argued forever on the literal and figurative translation… go, go to yourself, go for you, go on a journey, go to become yourself, go on a spiritual journey inward to become the person you were meant to be…

From a marketing standpoint, there is a message here also. Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else. Build your business and conduct your life on your own terms… take an inward journey and become the person you were meant to be… the person you will be. The fact is that “authenticity” is a major selling point from the customer and recruit’s perspective. In fact, a close look at the top distributors of many leading direct selling companies will reveal individuals who had no prior networking experience, but their honest passion for the product and mission of the company catapulted their success… and they did it on their own terms and in their own style.

Visit MLMLegal.com for a plethora of information on the direct selling industry, including more advice on marketing and recruiting. Visit MLMAttorney.com to watch our videos that educate distributors and MLM company owners on how to recruit key corporate members and independent representatives.

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

Beware of the celebrity that is not bonded with the product and the mission of the network marketing company. On the other hand, there are athletic users of company products, medical advisors who sincerely believe in the effectiveness of the product and even non-expert celebrities who are passionate about using the product. These are worthwhile opportunities with which to associate. With some common sense, the distinction between sincere celebrities and “money” celebrities is not that hard to distinguish.

For more information on endorsements and testimonials, read the article “FTC Guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials Analysis.”

You may also enjoy the video Recruiting Advice from an Industry Expert.

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