If you are at all interested in internet marketing you will no doubt have come across one or more businesses that use the "board" or "target" concept in their payment plans. Businesses offering this type of structure are popping up all over the internet.

If you can manage to avoid the pitfalls, they can provide you with an opportunity to achieve long-term lucrative on-line business income. However, if you are unfamiliar with this business model, you can just as easily lose your up-front business investment. Beware the pitfalls.

One of the biggest pitfalls is knowing how to choose among the myriad of team-builds that are springing up everywhere you look. Some of these teams promise the moon and many fail to deliver on their promises. While there are no guarantees, you can undertake a process of review that will provide you with some degree of assurance that you have done everything in your power to safeguard your investment in an on-line business venture and that the team you have joined will be an asset and not a liability in your business endeavours.

Here are some things to look for that will help you to protect yourself and more importantly will equip you with sufficient knowledge to enable you to make the right decisions. At the very least, you can avoid the worst possible scenarios. That is ending up on a team, with no understanding of how the business works and no one who can adequately explain things so you can grasp it yourself.

First and foremost, gaining an understanding of how these business structures work should equip you with a better feel as to whether or not this type of on-line business venture is right for you. Second, assuming that you believe this to be the right fit, knowing what to look for and what kind of questions to ask should assist you in selecting among an ever expanding choice of team-build efforts. The best part is that you'll now be in a better position to explain the business opportunity to your own prospects or referrals.

The Business Plan

A team of internet marketers forms its own business syndicate which should have as its objective the goal to assist each of its members to achieve success in the team business. Check it out.

1. Does the team have a mission statement? This is a statement that tells you exactly what their goals are and in broad terms how they will achieve them.

2. Do their actions support this statement, or is it just window dressing?

3. Does the team have a business plan? If they don't know where they are headed, and are lacking a definite plan to achieve their objectives, how can they possibly arrive at their destination? Anyone can put up a website that says, "Success is yours if you join our team. We will help you get your referrals." It might make for catchy ad copy, but take the time to complete your due diligence. Check for the substance behind the inviting words.

Think about it, if you are planning a trip, would you board a plane without a compass? Why then would you even consider joining a team of internet marketers who have no specific plans or goals, to help guide them and everyone else towards their destination.

END OF CHAPTER ONE

Watch for our next issue, which will include the following topics:

1. Promises, Promises

2. To Participate or Not to Participate

3. The Team Leadership ...... Do They Know?

© Rhea Lust, January 29, 2008