The Multi-level Marketing (MLM) Matrix

How a life, business and executive coach can help you see the real world.

What are most multi-level marketing companies selling, is it a dream world or is it reality? Could life, business and executive coaches along with mentors be the Morpheus for the average multi-level marketer? Could the average multi-level marketer become the next Neo of multi-level marketing by working with a business or executive coach?


We talked to quite a few multi-level marketers, both on high levels and many that had just joined a multi-level marketing company. What we found out was not only interesting to us as life, business and executive coaches, but also useful to many of the people we spoke to and we hope that this information will be useful to you as well.

Is the concept of MLM a matrix or is it something that can be done in reality? Are there only a few elite that can hack it in the world of MLM or could anyone succeed? The answers to these questions depend not only on people. They also depend on the company the people choose represent. In this article we are not going to judge what MLM company is good, and which ones may be a lesser choice for people considering this type of business, we were and are simply looking at the mentality that should be there to increase the chances of success. What elements you should have or acquire to succeed in multi-level marketing.

Is it a numbers game?

The foundation of any company, be it MLM, consulting, life and business coaching , and of course any service or product you may be offering, is the ability to sell. This means that if you use the same approach over and over again you will eventually find someone that is willing to buy from you. What is it that you are really after? What is the ultimate purpose of doing business? Probably either to sell more of your product or to sell your product or service for a higher amount, in the case of MLM is it a combination of sales you have to be able to do. That is also what makes the business a hard one, granted that if you play it like a numbers game you will have some success, but will you be really successful?

What do you need to be successful at MLM?

First of all you will need to have the right mentality, just like with any other business. Most MLM companies will make an effort to teach you a certain mentality. What is important that you realize, is that you have to not only be a salesperson. You also have to have the ability to put on many different hats, as we will talk about later. Unfortunately what they teach is often the numbers game approach, using the same approach over and over again till you eventually find someone that likes to be sold the way they have taught you to do. One of the things we noticed with some of the people we talked to. Was that they were so focused on doing things exactly like they were taught to do, that they forgot a simple little thing called common sense. Every great salesperson know that not everyone buys the same way, not everyone buys for the same reason and not everyone likes to be sold to in the same way. This also brings us to the list of what you need to have to become successful at MLM (Multi-level marketing), the people that have excelled in this field have or at least have people around them that can fill these different hats, and do so very effectively.

The six basics that you need to have, to become successful in MLM:

1. You need to be a Salesperson

You need to be a salesperson to function in a MLM or any other business environment. If you can’t sell anything there is no purpose in working independently. Fortunately some of the MLM companies will provide you with a basic training, a basic script and some manuals on what you should say when talking to people. This is sales as a numbers game, these scripts, manuals and sales pitches are designed for a certain group of people. Most groups that you can market to are between 9 and 17% of the total population, in most cases it is based on the same profiling as marketers use when designing and creating advertisements.

2. You need to be a recruiter

If you want to expand your network you need to be able to recruit people, so you not only need to be able to sell them the idea of what you are doing. You need to be able to recognize if you are recruiting the right type of people that will continue to expand your network, or if nothing else be able to make sales.

3. You need to be a manager

You need to be able to manage your own time, assist others in managing their time and keep an overview of the distributors you sign up. Balancing these things can be a tedious thing to do if you have no managing experience.

4. You need to be a motivator

If you want your people to succeed you need to be able to motivate them, which in theory isn’t hard. If all the people have similar personalities then you can use the same method for all, if that is the case you probably at the same time are limiting your chances of success.

5. You need to be an administrator

You need to be in charge, while at the same time keeping people at the same level you are. After all the ultimate goal of a person in MLM is having people in their “line” that sell just as much or even more than they do themselves. If you can effectively administrate the people in your line you should be able to get quite a few people being as or even more productive than you are.

6. You need to be an organizer

You need to be able to maintain your organization. This takes excellent time management, since at least some of the companies demand that you sell for a specific amount every month to get your royalty check. In addition you need to be able to organize events, or at least the attendance to events of your organization, since motivation is a big aspect of the success in MLM companies. The ultimate goal is eventually to have people self motivated, yet most fail to do so because they target only 1 or 2 personality types, while there are at least 7 out there.

Is it impossible for the average person to succeed?

Far from it, multi-level marketing companies are a good way to do business. If you are willing to do a little more than what they teach you. That is where life, business and executive coaches come in along with mentors. Even though most of the MLM companies make an excellent effort at teaching the people in the organization certain things, most of them lack teaching what really matters. They teach an attitude, but not always the right attitude. They teach you a mentality and a sales approach, but not always the optimal mentality and sales approach for you to succeed. The difference between those who have done really well at MLM and those who fail to do so, is that those who succeed have more than what the “system” teaches. They either have the experience, or have acquired the experience needed to be able to deal with more than one or two “personalities”. They have the ability to put on many hats, depending on what situation they are in, and who they are talking to. Which allows them to grow fast in an organization like MLM is.

Are the successful people the ones I should listen to?

To some extent those are the people you should learn from, the only problem with that is as we found out is that the best students aren’t always the best teachers. Some of the more successful people contributed their success to the “system” yet when we interviewed them they did a lot of things outside of what the “system” taught them to do. To them this was a natural thing so they never had to think about it, so why teach something you never think about? They have led themselves to believe that it was only the “system” that brought them this success and not taking into the equation what their “natural” abilities already are and how they contributed to their success. Of course some of the successful people learned this along the way, by reading, seminars mentors along with using life, business and executive coaches. That is what really made them stand out from the crowd, which is what really made the biggest difference in their success.

What is the biggest failure of MLM?

What we noticed while talking to some of the people involved in MLM is that they are taught to believe in the “system” so much, that it actually may limit their potential. Granted that these systems are designed to work on specific people, they are designed to have growth potential. Unfortunately a lot of it seems to be built on the policy of work harder, not smarter. The work smarter attitude is what you need if you want to become really successful in the business of MLM or any other business for that matter. Is there one thing that is a bigger downfall than other things when it comes to MLM and sponsors in MLM? If there is one thing we had to pinpoint as being the biggest downside to this type of business it is the limited beliefs that it brings with it. The system is designed to work, yet a system always has limitations, which means if you rely too much on the system it will eventually limit your success potential and for most it does. First of all it is because they are trying to sell something in a way that is not comfortable to them, which in turn will lead them into selling in a way that is not comfortable for them, because their sponsor is following the “system” and teaching them how to use it.

What can I do to increase my success potential?

First off you should start by learning more about yourself, and then learn more about people and in what way they differ. Learn more about the six things we mentioned above, a good life, business or executive coach can help you work on all of the aspects, if you have a mentor or a sponsor realize that they will teach you things, but they may not be the person that will bring you the success they have had. There is a big difference in how people are motivated, how they like to sell, how they want to be recruited and how they like to be managed, how to effectively do this comes naturally to some, while other need to make an effort learning it. The people in comes naturally to, like we said before, may not realize what it is and therefore will not teach you that aspect. A one size fit all mentality will be your downfall, or at least limit your success in a business you probably want to succeed in, after all isn’t that the point of joining a MLM company?

If you want to succeed, educate yourself, get a life, executive or a business coach, have them work as you mentor in understanding not only yourself, but in understanding other people. Have them teach you about different types of motivation, about the laws of persuasion, and how to become more effective at doing your business. How to become more than what you are now, how to create success like you have never seen before. There are alternative ways of learning this, such as books, seminars, motivational events and of course what the company is teaching you, yet they do not compare to having a life, business or executive coach work with you directly. Coaches are trained to help you find your strengths, your weaknesses and the best way for you to improve the results you are getting. Life, executive and business coaches are trained to help you understand not only yourself, also to understand others and how you can reach more people, how you can become more flexible to be able to put on more hats to fit the situation you are in.

What would be the next step?

We suggest that you find a life, business or executive coach that is willing to work with you one on one. This can be done over the phone or in person. Both are extremely effective. No matter which one you choose you will always benefit from it. You will learn new ways of selling your product, your service or a dream to someone. You will learn more about the system you work within and how you can bend it. You can learn how utilize it, how to make it grow, how to make it what you signed up for. If there is one thing we can tell you, then this is it, the investment you make in yourself getting a life coach, a mentor or someone to help you bend the system the more chances you have of success. The investment will always be worth it, because for every session you pay for, you may have gotten access to a larger market. Seek out success, because success will not seek you out. Take the time to learn, take the time to improve and be willing to learn from those who know about human behavior than the average person does. Find a person that will help you take that first step and take a peek at real world. Make sure that you are not being limited by your own beliefs, or the beliefs of your sponsor as a bonus from working with a life, business and executive coach you can help creating change using beliefs.