One of the greatest questions in network marketing is: "How do I keep the people in my network marketing opportunity involved long enough to see success?" There are many great answers, most of which are very common in the industry. These include:

1. making sure your people are motivated by helping them focus on their individual goals
2. making sure they have the correct tools and know how to use them
3. making sure they have a support system in place to help them through the first few months while learning the ropes.

All of these are good answers, but they do not really address the largest concern for your new enrollee, which is... making money!

Surprised? Don't be.

The truth of the matter is that most people look to network marketing as a way to achieve financial independence. So it is only natural to assume that the #1 reason that prevents people from staying in network marketing is that they do not see a return on their investment early enough. Now, you are probably saying to yourself, "I know people need to make money; you are only stating the obvious." Perhaps that is true, but when I say "making money," I don't mean cashing in those "HUGE" $10,000 commission checks every month. I am talking about something much simpler.

Before getting into the idea of money, let's first look at the current situation in the field. You have all heard it before, either at a home opportunity meeting, or a one-on-one sales pitch, "All you have to do is sponsor 10 people, then those people will sponsor 10, and so on, and pretty soon you'll be making X amount of money per month." Well that sounds easy enough, but what they don't tell you is that out of those first 10, only 1-2 will remain after the first year. So, what they should be saying is, "You sponsor 10, and then 9 drop out, and then the 1 whose left sponsors 10, and 9 of those drop out." That doesn't sound like a very good sales pitch to me. Would you join that opportunity? Unfortunately, the odds are, you probably already did.

But, it doesn't have to be this way; you do have an option to improve your chance of keeping people in your business. It all starts with how you prospect. The way you prospect and sponsor people into your business will set up their first expectations for success or failure. A common approach to prospecting is the old "get rich quick" method that exploits the prospect's emotions by promising large downline organizations that work non-stop while they take a long walks on the beach sipping Pina Coladas.

This method sets your prospect up for failure immediately, since 98% of those in networking NEVER reach that type of success. In addition, with this type of "get rich quick" mentality, even if your prospect did reach a solid $100-200 per month in extra income, they would consider themselves a failure. If an extra $200 seems like a small amount, try doing some calculations to see how your home mortgage payment would decrease if adding only $200 more to each monthly payment.

Another common mistake is making the following statement: "If you get in now, you can become a millionaire (while showing your upline's huge check)." Instead of creating these over-the-top expectations, try to say something like: "You can earn a part-time income to supplement your current income to pay for a home or car loan." When making statements that address a prospects goals, make sure they are realistic and achievable. Did you know that the majority of people in networking today would be very happy with earning a commission check large enough to cover the cost of their monthly product order?

This is where the $100 solution is put to work. Let's say in order for a distributor in your company to be considered "active" they must spend at least $100 on a personal product order every month. What if you told your downline that in order to be considered successful, all they have to do is earn an additional $100-$200 per month in the first 8-10 months? What would their expectations be in this case? Would they consider themselves a failure if a $100 commission check started showing up in the mail? More than likely, they will feel a sense of pride for achieving their first true level of recognition.

In addition, and this is crucial, you must make sure to recognize and acknowledge the success of each person that reaches this first income level. Treat it like an initiation that has just been passed. When you take time to recognize the achievement of "realistic" goals, you set up an environment that is more constructive to building upon past successes.

Most new distributors in the network marketing industry are unfamiliar with how this business "really" works, and therefore do not have realistic expectations for themselves or the others they may sponsor. Now, these people have a solid goal to achieve that is within reach, and only aids in setting them up for larger checks and recognition. Follow the tips above and you will be on your way to keeping people in your business and attracting the type of prospects to create long-term success.