The Importance of a Great Sponsor in MLM Programs

Most people look for MLM programs to join based on the details of the program itself.

Typically they’re looking for a program that will let them profit with as little effort as possible, which is certainly attractive. So a forced matrix is good, since you can get spillover from your upline. High commissions on your first level are good, since that puts you into profit soonest. A typical setup is that when your first level is filled, you’ll be breaking even on your membership fees.

What most people don’t consider is the importance of your sponsor in the program.

A good sponsor is more than the source of potential spillover in a forced matrix. A good sponsor will offer you advice, encouragement, and support. A great sponsor will take direct action to help you succeed, knowing that your success is their success.

If you join an MLM program and your sponsor does not contact you, that’s a good sign that your sponsor doesn’t really care if you succeed or not. If someone else in your upline contacts you, that’s a good sign that your sponsor is relying on spillover from above. The person who did contact you is effectively your sponsor for the purposes of this article.

Here are some of the concrete actions a sponsor can take to help you succeed.

Offer Expert Advice

Your sponsor is, in a sense, more experienced than you if only because you joined the program under them. They no doubt have knowledge that can help you short-circuit some of the learning curve in the program, and should be willing to share that advice with you.

Offer Marketing Help

Your sponsor has shown an ability to get at least one referral, you. They should, at the least, be willing to let you know what has worked best for them. They may also provide you with access to splash pages they’ve used. A great sponsor will offer you a spot in a URL rotator that they send traffic to, to help you gain referrals through their marketing efforts.

Not Bombard You with Advertisements

A great sponsor will not send you advertisements about other programs to join. They may, now and then, point you to an opportunity that complements what you’re already doing, but they won’t try to get you to join every opportunity they’re in just to get referrals.

I try to model these actions with my referrals in any program I work. I’ve found that keeping referrals is easier if you show an interest in them and are seen to be trying to help them succeed. There’s nothing worse than joining a program and then feeling like you’re on your own to succeed or fail.

13 Replies to “The Importance of a Great Sponsor in MLM Programs”

  1. The “making money” niche is getting to be a crowded niche. It seems like there is a new guru each month with the biggest launch of the year each week.

    How do a “newbie” know who to follow? My suggestion is to follow your gut before you pull out your wallet. Join the list of a few Internet Marketers and see just what kind of advice they offer. If every email from them is an affiliate offer and there is no other info, you may want to continue your search. There are a lot of good IMs out there. My favorite 4 are Todd Gross, Derrick Van Dyke, JP Schoeffel, and Eric Holmlund. Keith Baxter and Russell Brunson are also high on the my list.

  2. Getting advice is fine, but I’d recommend not “following” anyone. Any advice they give is only as good as your skill set, and it takes an experienced teacher to frame advice so that it’s relevant to what you can do, but pushes you just a bit farther in the direction you want to go.

    That’s why direct one-on-one mentoring is so important.

  3. I would have to agree that your skill set when you begin in the networking industry is going to be a major factor in how you market.
    What people do not realize is MLM is a legitimate model you must learn and educate yourself just as if you would go to college for any other subject to try and learn. To make big money you have to be a pro!
    What are your strengths, likes, dislikes, comfort zones etc.

  4. By becoming a great sponsor, can you tell me how many paid downlines you already have in the current Network Marketing program you join? πŸ™‚

    How long have they joined under you? πŸ™‚

    Because one of the toughest problems in Network Marketing is how to keep Paid Downlines stay in any programs you join. And I think the only way to keep them stay is to help them get enough Paid Downlines so that the commission they will receive surpass the monthly fee they have to pay. πŸ™‚

    And that’s what a great sponsor is all about. πŸ™‚ πŸ˜€

  5. Hi Rizky! That does seem to be the usual MLM mentality. Unfortunately, it’s a false goal, because the way MLM is structured, you always have more people in your downline who don’t make money than do (assuming the MLM requires a monthly fee).

    I stick to programs that are truly useful, so that people don’t mind paying the monthly fee to get access, and making money on top of that is a bonus.

  6. While Most MLM Programs look promising the reality is that it still comes down to your own efforts. If you are going to wait for others to give you spillover you will be waiting until the cows come home. Promise of spillover is only for lazy people that want something for nothing.My best advise find something that will give you results based upon your effort and find a mentor that will truly help you become successful in your venture.Spillover is a myth because everyone is looking for it and no one does any work or even get the product.So I ask why even get involved with something like that to only spin you wheels.

  7. [quote comment=”35518″]Hi Rizky! That does seem to be the usual MLM mentality. Unfortunately, it’s a false goal, because the way MLM is structured, you always have more people in your downline who don’t make money than do (assuming the MLM requires a monthly fee).

    I stick to programs that are truly useful, so that people don’t mind paying the monthly fee to get access, and making money on top of that is a bonus.[/quote]

    Most of Online Network Marketing programs do require monthly fee. That’s where the revenue comes from. Unfortunately, not many programs provide their members with benefits that have greater value than their monthly fees. πŸ™

    That’s why most members in these programs joined mainly because of the money making opportunities and considered the benefits as the bonuses.

    Therefore, if we as their sponsors cannot help them get enough Direct Paid Downlines (not spillover), somewhere along the way, they will quit.
    πŸ™

    [quote comment=””]While Most MLM Programs look promising the reality is that it still comes down to your own efforts. If you are going to wait for others to give you spillover you will be waiting until the cows come home. Promise of spillover is only for lazy people that want something for nothing.My best advise find something that will give you results based upon your effort and find a mentor that will truly help you become successful in your venture.Spillover is a myth because everyone is looking for it and no one does any work or even get the product.So I ask why even get involved with something like that to only spin you wheels.[/quote]

    By “helping our Paid Downlines get enough Paid Downlines” I don’t mean it as spillover. I mean it as Direct Paid Downlines. And to achieve that, first we have to let them know the right attitude to grow their online Network Marketing business.

    That’s why everytime I get a Paid Downline, I send them here:

    http://blog.arigola.com/?p=5

    to read an article I wrote titled “The Right Attitude For Online Network Marketing Success”. If you have time, I invite you to check it out and leave some suggestions so I can improve it. πŸ™‚

    Thanks and regards,
    Rizky

  8. [quote post=”243″]Most of Online Network Marketing programs do require monthly fee. ThatÒ€ℒs where the revenue comes from. Unfortunately, not many programs provide their members with benefits that have greater value than their monthly fees.[/quote]

    Take a look at my review of Traffic Wave. They provide unlimited autoresponders and ad trackers, at a price that is comparable to their competitors. Yet they’re also an MLM and pay you for recruiting a downline.

    That’s what I mean by programs that people would join even without the commission. Every Internet Marketer needs ad trackers, and most get to the point where they want autoresponders pretty quickly.

  9. I think it is all about PASSION, and that will truly determine whether somone will succeed in an mlm business.

    People are attracted to passionate people, and if you can convey to others that you are passionate about your business, you will have a greater chance of success than if you dont.

    Enjoy Life.

    Anders Gustavsson
    President
    Infinite Synergy, Creators of MLM The Game

  10. Hi Anders, you’re certainly right. No matter what niche or business you’re in, you can’t go wrong by showing how passionate you are about it.

    By the way, very cool idea with the MLM game. I’m a big fan of using games to teach, it’s great to see the idea being used with something like MLM.

  11. [quote comment=””]Hi Anders, you’re certainly right. No matter what niche or business you’re in, you can’t go wrong by showing how passionate you are about it.
    [/quote]

    Bingo! PASSION and Enthusiasm are some of the keys to MLM success. If you can deliver them to your downlines, their chances to recruit paid downlines on their own will be bigger than ever. πŸ˜€

    Cheers!
    Rizky

  12. [quote comment=””][quote comment=””]Hi Anders, you’re certainly right. No matter what niche or business you’re in, you can’t go wrong by showing how passionate you are about it.
    [/quote]

    Bingo! PASSION and Enthusiasm are some of the keys to MLM success. If you can deliver them to your downlines, their chances to recruit paid downlines on their own will be bigger than ever. πŸ˜€

    Cheers!
    Rizky[/quote]

    Surely anybody joining an opportunity hoping to make money from spillover and their upline is just lazy – not the type of person we should be interested in recruiting.

    But on the other hand I have joined 2 MLM opportunities where my sponsor basically vanished after I signed up. On my 3rd attempt, my sponsor did try to help me to the extent of buying leads, but never got as far as actually speaking to me.

    I have since joined a forum called Infinite Potential in which all members operate as a team, helping each other, posting training articles and probably most importantly supporting each others marketing efforts.

    Bottom line is I think we should look at joining a tem first, not an opportunity.

    If this sounds good to you, you can learn more at http://premier.InfinitePotential.com

  13. Hey,

    Another great post here, another one of the most powerful things you can offer people as a bonus for signing up is some personal mentoring time with you. People always need that one on one coaching to really take their business to the next level and it is something I actively offer to the most highest qualified prospects and students of mine.

    Keep on rock!

Leave a Reply