The network marketing business can be an extremely lucrative one, and indeed many people make a fantastic living from the industry. However, the sad reality is that over 90% of people who enter the network marketing industry fail to build significant downlines, and indeed often fail to sell a single product or recruit a single member.

So why is this, and why is network marketing so difficult?

Well I believe there are 5 main reasons for this:

1. Lack of knowledge.

Quite simply, most people are lured in by the promises of riches, but when they join a program they quickly discover that they do not know how to successfully build their own downline and grow their business. This is nothing to be ashamed of because we all have to start somewhere, but it's important to prepare yourself, before you even think about joining a network marketing program, by reading as much material as you can, and studying and learning from other successful network marketers about how you can successfully promote your product or program.

2. Lack of support from your upline.

This is linked to the first point, in that it's important that you choose your upline carefully when joining a program. While it's very easy to look for the big-hitters who could place many members beneath you through spillover, in most cases these people are extremely busy and will not have the time to help people on an individual basis, so you will be left on your own to figure out how you can successfully promote your program.

3. No duplicable system in place.

Following on from the last point, unless you have a duplicable system in place that you can copy from your upline, you will have to work out how to promote your program on your own. A good upline will have a system you can use yourself that will help you build your own downline. Examples could include an advertising co-op where downline members pool their resources to pay for advertising, and then share any referrals they get, or it could simply be a list of useful advertising resources you can use that your upline has used themselves and can recommend. Whatever it is, a good upline should help you in some way to build your own downline.

4. Inability to offer help and support to your own downline.

Many people do manage to attract a few people into their organization, but fail to offer necessary support to the people they bring in, so subsequently soon start to see members of their downline quitting the program. This can be demoralising, so even if you yourself are not receiving support from your own upline, you should make sure that you are helping your own downline. After all, if you have managed to recruit a few members yourself, share your methods with your downline, and they can replicate what you are doing.

5. Lack of discipline.

The final reason why the vast majority of network marketers fail is simply down to a lack of discipline. Network marketing companies themselves are partly to blame for this in my opinion, as they often lure people in with the main selling point being how much they can earn from promoting the program. As a result many people wrongly come to expect instant riches within a few months of joining a program, and quit the program because this hasn't proven to be the case. However, the harsh reality is that you can be wildly successful in this industry, but it takes time, and certainly doesn't happen overnight (unless you have your own mailing list of thousands you can promote your program to). Similarly it's important to remain focused. Too many people give up after a few weeks of promoting, and not being able to sign up anyone, but please don't give up. If one method of promotion isn't working, move on to another, and keep persevering until you find a method of promotion that does work effectively.