In building a Network Marketing business one of the biggest things to do is build relationships. There are many systems out there that claim they are duplicatable. But I have found that duplication does not mean contacting friends and family.

Research has shown that even today, 80% to 90% over everyone in MLM comes in as the result of talking with a friend or family member. That surprises me, but it doesn't astonish me. I think most people act on the recommendation of someone they trust. If it's not a person they trust, chances of them following the recommendation decrease dramatically. So to achieve your MLM goals, you really need a network of friends to talk to.

If you begin without network, that is OK. But you still must then BUILD that network before you can have much success. It's just like when you stock a pool with fish. Chances are you'll be a lot luckier fishing in a loaded pond than in a pond with no fish. When we talk about MLM, a "fish" is someone with whom you have first built a relationship. That does not mean you sell them something. You build relationships by talking with people and offering them something that brings value into their life. Then you can offer them something else.

Find out exactly what they want, and bring that to them. That is how you will build trust, build a network of people who value your friendship and will follow your lead. Without that network, success is very difficult in MLM or in life.

When you're talking to someone about your network marketing business, one of the most important factors in their mind is the training. They need to see that you or someone in your group is doing real training, and that it's easily accessible for them, and that it's not an overwhelming course. And the quicker they can make money, the better. If it's a training course that takes weeks or months, you will lose them. They will need to look at it and see quick and easy. The thought process is, they quickly realize that they will need help training the recruits they bring into the business.

The more time they have to spend training, the less time they will have to actually bring in new people. So the ideal situation is to be part of a team that does training for all the team members and the new associates they bring in. Have them listen in on some of your training calls and show them all the help they'll get. Give them your personal contact information, plus that of your upline, so they can get in touch with you whenever they need to. Your recruits want assurance that you will be there for them.

Long-time network marketer Michael Dlouhy wrote about these ideas and more in his ebook, "Success In 10 Steps."

There is some real eye-opening stuff in this book. Chances are, you realize the "go down in flames" rate is pretty high in most businesses. Unfortunately, you find a lot of network marketing companies have the cards heavily stacked against you.

Back in the early 1990s, Dlouhy signed up in more than 100 MLMs and did a comparison of them in a lot of different ways. He discovered some common factors that really cause most new reps to really have no chance to ever be successful in the business. But he also found that if you can avoid those certain problems, you have a real chance to make a long-term living from network marketing, maybe even achieve the "retirement" dream.

It's definitely a book worth reading.