Recruiting - Going Wide or Going Deep?

Independent Members of your organization may decide it’s time to share what they know about the quality of the products by inviting others to become “Business Builders” and not just product users. How should they go about building a team?

My answer is that “It all depends.” In my opinion, the average individual will have to invest several years of time to reach critical mass and have staying power as a business (a lot of people taking a little bit of products). Our discussion is not about fireballs or flashes in the pan. Any legitimate company is product or services driven and provides a “work program.” Sorry, no free lunch for most.

Most compensation programs require a heavy “Time” investment to be successful and provide residual income (income earned while you sleep). After all, time is what we bring to the table. Our industry is heavily regulated if not outright tortured (see WEB site of constitutional lawyer Jonathan Emord) and most companies have to have liberal product return policies to stay out of trouble with government agencies. We aren’t asked to invest a lot of capital to start a business. We are asked to invest a lot of “Time.”

Everyone brings their personality into play (Amiable, Expressive, Analytical, and Driver) which impacts how they recruit. Some are more comfortable with retailing and going wide fast (instead of building relationships and building deep). In building our business, we have used the “Power of Three”to build strong relationships. We are just looking for three people to take the journey with us and plug into the company system, to teach the art of duplication and multiplication (going deep), and eventually learn the art of promotion (going wide).

Is it easier to find (3) Business Builders and help or teach (39) or find (39) people direct? You find (3), they find (3) = 9, who finds (3) = 27 or a total of (39) to earn residual income. You + Other People + Time = Exponential Growth.

Is this a pyramid or scam?

This is just a business model. Many businesses are built on a pyramid. Seth Godin: “…lots of people sign up for a health-club membership (having a lot of members lets the club keep rates reasonable), but the club itself is small because very few people actually come frequently after they join. That’s built into the system. If everyone who joined came, you’d never be able to find an empty bike or to afford a membership.

Netflix gives you an unlimited number of DVD rentals a month, postage paid, for $10. How can this be? If you watched a movie the day it came in and sent it right back, you’d get to see at least six movies for $10. Of course, the key is that for every person who sees six, there are plenty of people who lose interest and see one movie, or even no movies, a month. these people subsidize the committed members. Sure, Netflix wants you to see a lot of movies–that makes you a loyal customer. But the economics of the entire business would fall apart if it weren’t for the uncommitted users who just dabble.

For a long time, airlines oversold their flights because they knew they would profit from the no-shows.

Politicians fully expect that the lazy and ill-informed won’t bother to vote. These citizens pay taxes, which support the political life of the few who don’t quit the system.

And, of course, the entire college-football money machine is based on a pyramid scheme of players who aspire to the NFL but will never make it.

Whatever you do for a living, or for fun, it’s probably somehow based on a system that’s based on quitting. Quitting creates scarcity; scarcity creates value.“

In a quality MLM company you get what you pay for because commissions or royalties are always just a percentage of sales volume.  Admittedly, the fact that most people won’t take the “business” seriously is one reason that it is so profitable for those who do.