Is MLM About Products?

February 4th, 2008 | by Chris |

I wrote many times that multilevel marketing is more than recruiting and putting new members in your downline. I emphasized on the product sales aspect and how important it is in both increasing your income and building a strong and solid organization that could stand the test of time. So if product sales is that important it makes sense to have the best product and choose companies accordingly, right?

And the answer is, of course not.

The product is irrelevant. What matter are product sales. And of course, the product quality doesn’t play that much role. It is an aspect in the customers buying decision, but it’s not the only one, neither the most important. As I also wrote in my previous post quality is subjective and consumers perception about it can be influenced. At least by the price as a study showed.

To give more evidence that supports the argument on the irrelevancy of a product’s quality to a customer’s purchasing decision let’s move out of the Network Marketing world into the traditional sales world. Let’s focus on the trainer shoes industry. According to a study, researchers found that cheap and moderately priced running shoes are just as good and sometimes superior to pricey ones - especially as far as cushioning impact and general comfort is concerned.

So quality has nothing to do with which one is making the money. I am sure that you are all aware of the phrase that Robert Kiyosaki regularly mentions “McDonald’s don’t serve the best hamburger but they are making billions of dollars”. A statement that it’s true and as we see a lot of research comes to support what instinctively many marketers know and practice.

Unfortunately many distributors are still focusing on the product, as if the product sells by itself, while they should be focusing on what is around it and supports it. What really sells is the perception you create, the problem you solve, the relationship you build with your prospect, what you present to him, how you do it and when. There is a whole system build around the merchandise that is called marketing and it is what determines whether a sale would be made or not.

And no, the marketing doesn’t start by finding your prospect. It starts by finding Who your prospect is. By finding a market segment that you can connect with your product and build a system tailored for that group of people. A system that would target them at the places or media they frequent, serve them the appropriate message, show them how your product can solve the problem or fulfill the desire they have in an appropriate way and close the sale.

Of course, don’t forget to gather mail, email addresses or phone numbers depending on the way you work, so you can build a relationship with them, after or preferably before you connect them with your product.

Technorati Tags: MLM Products, MLM Sales, Customers, Prospects, MLM Marketing, Perception, Buying Decision, Product Quality