If you've ever gotten caught up in the dream of building a huge downline and making wheelbarrows full of cash while kicking back on a beach somewhere, you probably found out the hard way that it's not as easy as someone made it sound. Let's take a look at what the problems are with the majority of MLM opportunities and what can be done to actually succeed in one.



For one thing, the basic structure of the MLM opportunity is flawed from the start. That's right, you are already fighting a losing battle before you ever get the first person signed up in your downline. You see, the primary way of making money in MLM opportunities is that everybody in your downline pays some type of membership fee or subscription service.

That's great for a little bit, you jump through the normal marketing hoops, get some people excited about the opportunity and start watching those signups. You can almost feel the cool ocean spray on your face as images of you in a hammock sipping a fruity drink dance around in your head like sugar plums in the dreams of children on Christmas Eve.

But before you can even decide between your Scooby Doo or Superman swimming trunks you notice that your downline is dropping out.

What's going on you wonder as you grudgingly start to unpack your suitcase. Well, the truth is that the people signing up below you didn't know how to promote the opportunity themselves and while they happily kept slinging money out the window for a little while they grew discouraged and decided that they just didn't have the knowledge or unlimited funds to keep pursuing it.

So what's the answer?

I would have to say that a successful MLM opportunity would have to have a couple of components.

One, the structure would have to be so that it is free to join and participate in. For this to happen, another method of payout structure would have to be developed such as a shopping rebate program or something similar to that. This would enable those without online marketing experience to suffer through the learning curve. They could stay members forever and earn substantial commissions without being forced to spend money themselves.

Two, personal communication from the MLM opportunity itself or directly from you. You have to consider that the majority of people who sign up in your downline will not have the knowledge or skills necessary to grow their own downline. Even if the program is free, they will not actively promote it if they are unable to grow their downline and prosper financially.

So, if you have ever found yourself wanting to drop out of a MLM opportunity before because you either didn't have the knowledge or skills to build your own productive downline or because your own downline kept dropping out, not allowing you to reap the rewards of your hard work, then take a big step now and...

A. Learn how to market your MLM opportunity. Learn everything there is to know about building a dowline like traffic sources, ad copy, lead acquisitions, etc..

B. Put in place a support system to help those in your downline do the same. Imagine if when you first started out, you had a group of people there ready to take you by the hand and say "Do this, now do that". I would suggest a forum type atmosphere set up for your downline only. The more your downline grows, the more people that will be helping because one of you doesn't succeed unless you all succeed. Eventually it will be virtually hands free for you as the support forum and your downline continue to expand.

Ok, maybe you're not quite ready to start picking out shades and big straw hats for that island hopping adventure but you most certainly can do it eventually if you will take the time to cultivate your downline. Meanwhile, you can go ahead and put on whichever swim trucks you opted for and find a nice shady spot in the yard and think about what you can do to start securing your financial freedom.