You know you're an MLM potential if you :

- Are opportunistic. No, it's not a dirty word associated with crows and cougars. If you look it up, an 'opportunist' is actually an entrepreneur, a pioneer and an investor and yes, that means you.

You should be able to recognize an opportunity before it hits you. If you've decided to embark on an MLM venture, then you must have the talent to know opportunity. But as you go along, opportunities will come and go, some of them unrecognized and untapped and they could be in the form of a potential customer.

When you're just gunning for the big closure, then it's easy to hard-sell. But in the heat of the moment, you fail to notice if you're actually getting the point across or just wasting your breath. Some people are born nice and you might be talking to some of them right now. They could be nodding and saying 'yes, that's great' but maybe they're just too polite to say no and walk away.

Learn to 'read' an opportunity. MLM is about building a sustainable business peopled by individuals who recognized an opportunity and know how to sell it. You don't want to work with robots or zombies now, would you?

- Network. Have more than one relationship. In MLM, this is a must. You can't just attempt to build a network with just one person even if that person had ten thousand friends in five countries. Remember that old adage about putting your eggs in one basket? That applies to MLM as well.

- Have excellent communication skills.

Study your gestures, modulate your voice, write and rewrite your articles and press releases. Practice everything and don't just leave things to chance. Talking and writing are skills that everyone has, but not all of us can get our message across effectively.

- Have supervising skills. Know your left as well as your right. One of your skills must be knowing how to oversee and manage a group and not just the people who have direct contact with you, but the people who are in direct contact with them.

Ask to talk to your people's contact and know who they are, what they do, how they view the product and how they plan to sell. Knowing the kind and number of people you have under you will help you plan better and gauge your success meter more accurately.

- Have genuine interest. Nobody succeeded in an MLM venture without enthusiasm, or in anything else, for that matter. MLM is about selling a product and how can you effectively convince someone of its benefits if you yourself are pessimistic about its potentials?

If you want to build strong MLM alliances, then you should truly like working with people. You will be spending hours in discussions and sales briefing with them so you better like being there. If you're just in it for the money and attempt to bulldoze everything in your path to get to the bank, then don't even think of starting an MLM network. You'll be exposed and you'll hate yourself for it.

- Have leadership. Which means going in first and taking the bullet before anyone else. It doesn't seem pretty, but it has its rewards. Being a leader means you know what to do in a given situation and how best to do it. If right now you have the beginnings of fear in the pit of your stomach, then you might want to think twice about MLM.

You can learn how to handle fear and turn it into an advantage. Focus your fear on failure and you'll hate to fail. You and your team will work harder than anyone else because you're scared of not making it. Being a leader means that you know your weaknesses but you acknowledge that they can be overcome.

- Self-imposed brakes. Know when to talk and for how long. MLM is about convincing people about your product and you will be talking or writing about your product for hours at a time. If you've had some previous sales experience, notice how you learn to filter your sales talk as you go along?

This also happens when you're trying to build a network or actually selling the product to potential customers. It's tempting to talk on, especially when you're enthusiastic, but learn to listen to your customer. Ask them questions and listen to what they have to say. You are better able to target their needs better if you listen more than tell.

- Honesty. MLM has had its share of flak because of some unscrupulous business practice from individuals who were just looking to scam someone out of their hard-earned money. If your purpose is genuine and we're hoping it is, you should be able to know what your product is and acknowledge what it is not.

Sometimes when a potential client shows some interest, you feel the need to talk on and on to impress him more, but too much talk can ruin the soup, so to speak. You might lose sight of your purpose and that is to tell your client the benefits of your product and why they should be interested in the first place.

Developing a skill for a successful MLM business is not like studying quantum mechanics. You're not trying to build a rocket or the next Great Wall, you're just trying to put up a business and if you're in it for the long haul, then you should know your skills.

The only skill anybody was ever born with was probably knowing how to complain and even that is doubtful, since it's usually in the form of crying and subsequently labeled as a reflex. All skills are learned. If you truly want to succeed in an MLM venture, then learn the necessary skills. If you already have them, don't rest on your laurels and learn more. If you expect the best from your team, so would they. So you better be able to deliver.