First, allow me to clarify the segment of the industry we are in. We are Affiliate Marketers. We deal predominantly with digital tools and/or eLearning products. We affili(8) with affili(et) offers and earn a large percentage of a one time sale for a product or service. This is how Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy run their Affiliate programs although they are not as generous and lucrative as what we do. In our case, this one time sale is integrated with a leverage component that enables organizational growth and earning money from a team that uses a powerline or subscription... or whatever structure the affiliate offer is paired with.
Multi-level Marketing on the other hand, in most cases, is a physical-product-based offer and is almost completely dependent on large organizations given the multi-tiered structure(s) that provide a much smaller percentage throughout all of the different "layers/levels" of their compensation structure.
As an analogy, think of it this way. A person who has an interest in physical fitness gets licensed to be a Fitness Trainer. They then open their own cross fit gym, and charge $160 a month to belong to his or her gym. This is a rough analogy to Affiliate Marketing with a subscription offer involved. It is one person, marketing one thing and reaping the majority (or a significant portion) of the profit from that one thing. They sell a member subscription to cross-fit training.
On the other hand, there are the Planet and LA Fitness Centers. Edge. Gold's... These franchises all have layers of bureaucracy that get fed a percentage of profits. Corporate sites have General Managers, Assistant Managers at the Club level, that report to District and Regional Directors. These report to Corporate VP's/ This is more analogous to an MLM.
The point: MLM and Affiliate business models are completely different. They both (in many cases) involve building Networks if a leverage component is involved. Therefore, inherently, both can be termed "Network Marketing". This can be debated, but nonetheless makes the point that if leveraged income is involved, building a Network of some kind and scale is a part of the model.
With that out of the way... here is just one marketing method that is a step by step plan to target people who are making anywhere from 2-10% on their organization. Your job is to let them know what you know. They "should"be receptive to other ways to monetize people. They stand to earn significantly more from a much smaller group of people: Here is how to do it:
- Google, "Top 100 MLM Companies List"
- From this list, choose a company, or a few companies to target.
- Go to these companies' websites and learn about what they offer and especially focus on their compensation models so you can engage in an informed conversation. Learn if the company prohibits marketing other offers. Some still do and some people obey this ridiculousness.
- Go to Linkedin and plug in the company (plus) the word "seeking" or "looking". I recommend familiarlizing yourself with Max Steingart's YouTube channel for coaching on this method. You will find a ton of useful, practical information at no cost, other than your time to learn it.
- From these results, view people's profiles on different Social Media if you are so inclined. See how engaged they are. Lurk on them to see if they are active on FB, Instagram, Twitter... If you have the opportunity, comment on something they have posted and then follow-up and tell them you have done so. Ultimately, the goal here is to be informed about whether, in your opinion, the person is worth contacting. Many are not, but you can always "take a shot" and find a diamond-in-the-rough.
- When you have done this bit of homework, reach out to people and say... (this can be said 1000 different ways with different emphasis on any number of variables)...
- "I am interested in learning more about the level of success you are having with your company." (or) "I would love to hear about your company and what you are doing to grow your business." The idea here is to get them talking... specifically, talking about themselves. You will come up with better approaches based on your background and personality.
- Another approach is to straightforwardly ask, "What are you doing to monetize people who say "no" to your primary offer? (or) "If people say "no" to your primary offer, you are leaving money on the table if you do not follow-up with another offer. I have some options. Let's talk".
- Engage in a conversation that leads to finding out their pain points. DO NOT immediately "pitch" your offer, but build a relationship and a fundamental level of trust by expressing genuine interest in what they are doing and what is going on in their life (and) not necessarily their business.
- Reciprocate and disclose the same levels of information that they tell you. This builds rapport and trust. However, be vague and say things like, "I work within the Networking and Social Commerce industry to build relationships and partner with people where it makes sense for both of us."
- After this has taken place, ask, "Have you thought about re-monetizing the people in your current organization?" Then, "teaching them to do the same to create an additional source of income?"
- Then, at some point, you provide the links to your funnel. Notice: this is Step 12.
- Hopefully, your funnel has an autoresponder drip series attached, and of course, there is no substitute for following up by phone, chat, or videoconference.
- Realize, very few people will say: "What a great idea! Where do I sign?" Relationships take time (and) over time you build trust.
- Struggling to get to "the next level" and could use what you offer to get there,
- Doing OK, but are open to an accelerant, or;
- Open to lead generating offer, especially if your offer is relatively "low ticket", or;
- Open to "jumping ship" to a better business model.
