This is an exciting time to pursue a career in network marketing. All of your dreams can be realized with commitment and perseverance. Choose wisely.

Product

You will be most effective if you share a product that you are genuinely enthusiastic about. You must distribute a high quality, proven product with a guarantee. It should be affordable, but unique in that it has an aspect that cannot be obtained from products sold in retail stores. It should also offer convenience as the product can be shipped directly to the consumer. It should be needed by a broad segment of the population and consumable so that it will be replaced continuously. Also make sure that the company has adequate product lines with at least a dozen different consumable products to choose from. Find something that you can have total confidence in.

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to promote a product that does not work for you and that you don't believe in. Your belief will show through loud and clear, so this is very important. Ask yourself if this is a product that you can use and recommend to your family and friends. Do you feel there is a real need for this product in the marketplace? Can you get excited about the product and how it will change lives? Can you find the enthusiasm to sell and market this product to the world?

Credibility

It is important to determine what type of credibility this network marketing company has.

You need to know who is endorsing its products and if you can find good testimonials about the opportunity and products. Is there someone well known as a spokesperson or distributor of the company? Name recognition is critical for credibility of the company. You should know if the company is manufacturing its own products for ultimate quality control or buying them from the same place everyone else is and just putting a different label on the product. There should be one or several qualified directors or scientists to answer questions, do product training, and promote the products.

Stage of Company

If you have ambitious goals, you need to be able to recognize the various stages of company growth and get involved in a company while it is in momentum and before it reaches its stability phase.

The first stage of a company is the start-up, or pioneer phase. This occurs when a company has no name recognition, few distributors, and little to offer new distributors in marketing materials, technology, and training. This stage occurs when most distributors fail. This stage can last from a few months to a few years. Over 90% of the new network marketing companies will fail within the first eighteen months and 90% of the remaining companies will fail within five years.

Once a company succeeds beyond its start-up phase and reaches around $50 million in annual sales and 100,000 distributors, the company begins its momentum phase. This is the best time to take advantage of fast growth as the company becomes a household word and its products have gained popular acceptance and have become market driven.

The last stage is the stability phase, when a company has between $500 million and $1 billion in revenues and has over one million distributors. During this phase growth in the company is much slower. However, once a company reaches this stage, it has a very high rate of long term success. This is a great time to have a large downline. The company can continue to grow by diversifying the product line and opening new international markets. With a stable company, steady growth can occur for decades.

A good company should be financially stable and debt free. The company should have been in business for at least three years and be a member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA). Also, the company should be public, not private, so you can check out the company's background through the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade

Commission or the attorney general's office of the state in which it operates.

When choosing a company, you will need to determine which phase the company is presently in. Is this a company with long term growth? Will this company be around in five years? Has the company already reached its peak performance and is it now in a slow growth period? Can I depend on this company for my future?

Training

One of the keys to network marketing is the training and support. Research has shown that 90% of network marketers become frustrated and quit because they do not receive the training and support they need and deserve. Training is guidance, mentoring, and counseling from your upline. This can include one-on-one training, teleconferencing, marketing materials, video and audio presentations, and verbal support and help until you feel comfortable prospecting on your own. Also, conventions, local meetings, and other company-sponsored events will help you grow your business. Some companies offer extensive training, yet others leave you feeling abandoned. Upline leaders who offer excellent training and support have high retention rates. Training and support should last as long as you are in the company.

Take a look at the training and support of the network marketing company you are observing. Will you sponsor help you with marketing and recruiting? Will your sponsor offer continuous training and support after the first month? Does the company have a voicemail and e-mail system that its distributors and associates are a part of? Does the company have printed audio and video materials to help train new distributors? Are there web pages, fax on demand, and recorded message lines to help new distributors? Does this company use interactive phone conferencing and support hot lines? Do you have to fly all around the country and attend seminars and meetings to be trained? Is the training cost and time effective?