What do apple pies and MLM have in common?
First let me ask: Which kind of network marketer are you…a Hobbyist or a Business Builder?
If you are a Hobbyist and you’re just dabbling in MLM to make a few hundred dollars a month, then what follows will not matter to you. However, if you are a Business Builder and you want to make a substantial income in the network marketing industry, then it is very important that you understand the 5 Pillars for Success, and make sure your network marketing company has them in place.
UNDERSTANDING THE 5 Pillars
I’m sure you’ve had apple pie at some time in your life. Right? Let’s compare making an apple pie to the 5 Pillars. To make an apple pie we need 5 key things:
1. pie plate
2. pie crust
3. apples
4. sugar and spices
5. oven
Omitting any of these 5 basic items means our pie will not turn out as it should. Right? It’s no different with network marketing (MLM) companies. For a you to succeed long term in a network marketing company, you NEED the 5 Pillars. Again, this is only important for you to consider if you are a business builder and not just dabbling at network marketing.
For instance:
~ If your CEO has ever been in prison, your company may be missing Pillar #1.
~ If your new venture plans to open next week, your company may be missing Pillar #2.
~ If you just can’t sell any more lifetime guaranteed thingamajigs, your company may be missing Pillar #3.
~ If your company boasts about creating more millionaires than any other company, it may be missing Pillar #4.
~ If you and your team feel completely lost, and nothing you’ve been taught is working, your company may be missing Pillar #5.
It takes ALL FIVE pillars to ensure success in network marketing!
By success, I mean:
1. Knowing you can trust the management of the company.
2. Knowing the company has made it through infant mortality.
3. Knowing you have a remarkable product at a reasonable price.
4. Knowing you have a compensation plan that will pay the part-timer.
5. Knowing you have a duplicatable system for success. (Hint: Making a list of friends and family or buying leads ARE NOT duplicatable for the masses!!!!)
Most people don’t know what the five pillars are, and don’t know how to figure out whether an MLM company has them or not. Over the next little while, I will share the 5 Pillars with you in greater detail so you can recognize them.
If you don’t want to wait, you can learn more right away by reading “Success in 10 Steps.”
To YOUR success!
Willena Flewelling
Mentoring with a Servant’s Heart
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Willena, I love the way you wrote this article and likened NWM to an apple pie! Those 5 pillars are very important to success. Although, I have seen exceptions where a company is in it’s infancy, it depends on the experience of the owners also.
Looking forward to reading your expansion on each pillar Willena!
Regards from Julieanne
Julieanne van Zyl recently posted..Easily create your own lead capture page templates
What a creative post! You are absolutely right, Willena, knowing that your company meets these 5 pillars is critical for anyone looking to build long-term financial success in network marketing. There are always exceptions to every rule…..the trusted management that goes awry 10-15 years down the road, the people that did take the risk and got in early on a company that made it past the dreaded 3 year 95% failure rate, the people who are successful in a company despite the comp. plans really not being that fair and balanced, the people who do have success from their friends and family list, etc…..you get my point…..but overall, those ARE the few and far between.
The biggest thing is to do your due diligence and then bust your butt!
It takes all out consistent, persistent and massive action to make serious money in this industry….and in my opinion, THAT is the pillar that is the demise of most people!
Thanks for sharing your creativity and wisdom with us!
Beth Allen recently posted..The Power Living Pledge
Willena,
Any time you can relate a business lesson to food, I’m in! And it was funny as well. If you CEO has ever been in prison….? That’s Comedy Central-worthy. I think this is really effective because it offers a simple, relatable way to determine whether your MLM company has what it takes for you to build a business and not be a hobbyist. Businesses that don’t turn a profit are REALLY expensive hobbies. I have had a couple of those and I’ll pass. I hope you have a POWERFUL week! Allegra
Allegra Sinclair recently posted..Being Authentic- Can You Stand It
Willena, you are a great teacher and it shows in this fantastic presentation. You place our minds on a subject most can relate to, food. Remarkable…
I agree, foundation building is a key piece of the pie, per say. You have achieved all your readers to identify with your article. Now, we can expect great things ahead to put all this in practice.
Thank you for sharing all this knowledge with us here. I will be back to gain more wisdom from your vast years in our business. You are a mentor and coach who I would love to get to know better. I love the way you present this subject!
What a creative way to link the apple pie to network marketing. How Fun!!!
It is so important for a network marketing company to have all the ingredients needed to make it successful and provide what is needed to assist those to succeed that promote it. Thanks for sharing this information and the importance of the 5 pillars.
LeeAnn Townsend recently posted..How do you go about MLM lead generation
Willena….what a great post. You sum it up so beautifully and I couldn’t agree more that without these five pillars to success you will be fighting an uphill battle trying to build a successful MLM business. I would like to add one further point, which I believe is imperative in MLM success and that is joining a team that is enjoying success and that will train and mentor you in how to become a success yourself.
Louise
Louise Steiner recently posted..Facebook “Like” Button html Tutorial For Fan Pages
Tasty way of looking at success in building an MLM business. It’s so important to choose your MLM company wisely or you could be putting so much time and energy into a company that won’t help you produce the success you’re after.
Anne Perez recently posted..Do you need to fire your web designer
Great post, Willena! I know that I learned my lesson from joining a company in its “pre-launch” phase. Things seemed to be going so well, and then all of the sudden, once they became publicly traded, they changed the compensation plan from uni-level to binary, and then it seemed like there were a lot more side ventures that distracted from the main business. In a way, there is a part of me that is glad that I didn’t drag anyone into the company with me. Now, I can focus on a company that has been around for almost 40 years and has a lot of stability.
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[...] s1);})(); A while ago I drew a comparison between apple pies and MLM. An apple pie needs 5 things for it turn out well – pie plate, pie crust, apples, sugar and [...]
Hello Willena
Using an apple pie to illustrate the 5 Pillars For Success is very helpful. As you demonstrate in you example if anyone of the 5 are missing the opportunity is not complete. I agree it seems most people don’t know the importance of the 5 Pillars as they appear to taken by the hype of our industry. Willena I have the book “Success in 10 Steps” and have found it very helpful.
Thanks
Perry A Davis Jr
Music City
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[...] s1);})(); 0Digg DiggA while ago I drew a comparison between apple pies and MLM. An apple pie needs 5 things for it turn out well – pie plate, pie crust, apples, sugar and [...]
[...] 5 Pillars for Success in MLM – Pillar #4 October 13, 2011 by Willena FlewellingFiled under: Network Marketing Skills Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress Plugin(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})(); 0Digg DiggRemember the comparison between apple pies and MLM? [...]
Of course I’ve had an Apple pie before, and it was great. Never thought that it had any correlation with MLM though. Great analogy.
Another great MLM article, not that it’s any surprise. MLM has to be complete with the 5 pillars that you have mentioned because if we are lacking one of it or maybe even more, the foundation won’t last very long.
Tim Ryan@naples condos recently posted..Jim Cramer Optimistic on FL Real Estate
Drawing parallels comes naturally to me. And besides, it’s kinda fun. This particular parallel didn’t originate with me, though. I borrowed it from my mentors.
[...] while ago I drew a comparison between apple pies and MLM. An apple pie needs 5 things for it turn out well – pie plate, pie crust, apples, sugar and [...]
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