How to Choose a Network Marketing Company

Choosing a network marketing company is perhaps the most important step in the decision to enter into your own home based business, and it behooves everyone to learn how to choose a company and why. And this can be difficult, because every company out there is trying to sell you on your dreams, financial freedom, trips to exotic places, and residual income where you "do the work once" so your business "keeps paying you." The whole selling on a dream thing is overrated and overused. My opinion is to make SOLID business decisions based on FACTS. Sure, use your dream as motivation, but don't use the dream marketing to sucker you into to just any old opportunity.

And with that, here are five points that are critical in the decision process of choosing a company to work with.

1. Make sure it's a product you would buy anyway. The fact is there are good products out there from many MLM companies, but if they are overpriced, or they don't work well, or they smell funny, it will be awfully hard to keep up that monthly ordering requirement, especially in the first few months in your business when cash flow can be tight. MLM companies will attempt to keep you onboard by saying "there is a financial freedom opportunity" attached to the price and the product.

2. Make sure the company is in a strong growth phase. There are many companies out there, all in various stages of growth and development. The ones you want to choose are the young ones who are showing a massive growth curve. These are the companies that have a solid management team in place, a distribution system that can handle the growth, and a product that is on fire. This will make it easier to both get retails sales and sponsor people to grow a big organization.

3. Make sure you can work well with your upline. Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT have to join the first person who has contacted you about a particular company. You can take the time to find other teams within that same company that are more suitable for you, a team that you feel has a great system in place. You will be spending lots of time with you team, so make sure it's one you can work with.

4. Make sure the company and your immediate team has the systems in place to handle both retail sales and new distributor sponsorship. There is nothing like ruining your own reputation with a company that can't make shipments on time, or bundles an online registration for a new distributor. These problems you see may be the tip of the iceberg, and if they are surfacing it is a clear red flag. Avoid these types of companies.

5. Favorable commission structure. Lastly, make sure the compensation plan is one that you think will meet your financial goals. Take into account the money you will have to spend on advertising and marketing your business, as this will play a role in the first few months. Understand the tools you will need to buy (and you WILL need to buy some), and also the type of marketing you will be expected to do. Your sponsors should be able to give you this info before you sign on the dotted line. And if they don't, run!

Consider all factors in making your decision to join a company. Don't let the company's "dream marketing" get in the way of your due diligence. You are starting a business, and you should treat it as such.

Robert diSiena is an Internet marketer by profession, and helps MLM and network marketers how to increase sales and prospects using the power of the internet. His resource site is www.TopMLMBuilder.com