I want to talk about different Opportunities in a general way. I want to give you a basic guide to the things you're
going to see when you look at any Opportunity or Program.
I'm not going to talk about product sales, though they are the corner stone of any successful business, I am
going to talk about building and recruiting for your business.
Let's talk about pay plans, since you're all interested in how to make money.
1. The Forced Matrix - This is a matrix where there are a set number of places on
each level, and when they are filled, any new recruits are spilled down to the next level. For example, if you have a standard
3 x 4 forced matrix, there are only 3 places on the first level, 9 on the second level, 27 on the third level and 81 on the
fourth level.
When you first see a force matrix, it can be very enticing. You're probably hoping the person above
you is a heavy hitter and will spill lots of members down to you. What you probably will get is someone just like you, who's
also hoping for some spill from above.
The site will talk about spill and gets you all excited. But what happens?
Most people in any Program are able to sign up, on average, 2.5 people. So, you can forget about getting any spill from
your upline. They're lucky if they can fill their own first level, let alone any extra spilling down to you.
And who's to say where you are on their first level. If you were the first to sign up with them, then you would be the
first to receive any spill. But if you were second, in order for you to get ANY Spill at all, they are going to have to recruit
4 extra people for you to get 1 from them. And if you were the third person to sign up with them, you won't get ANY Spill
until they and the others in first and second place have recruited 7 people... And then you only get 1.
And so it goes.
A forced matrix can also make you lazier then you might have been with an unlimited width matrix. A
forced matrix puts you in the mind set of someone who expects spillover and doesn't feel the need to recruit yourself. If
you start thinking this way, then you are going to lose.
On the plus side, a forced matrix in any program can be a good sales tool because people will think
it's going to be easier to build a downline with. And there is something to be said about that tactic. Will it work in the
long run? I have my doubts, if you don't work with and help those who join under you. If you sign up people who are expecting
you to do all or most of the work, then you'll be lucky to fill a second level.
Another bad thing about a force matrix is what happens if you sign someone up who is a real go-getter,
someone who takes the bull by the horns and runs with the opportunity and sells lots of products. If they are on
your second or third level, you are going to miss out on most of what they can do for you and your income. Just as they get
going, filling their levels, it gets deep enough that you no longer benefit from their work.
So, all in all, a forced matrix can be good, but it's not the best deal going.
2. Forced Matrix with Unlimited Width - This setup is much like a normal forced
matrix, except that at some point or when you reach a certain number of members in your downline, you can expand the matrix
from a 3 x 4 to a 4 x 4 and then to a 5 x 4 matrix and so on.
This can help you out or it can be an unattainable piece of candy to get you all excited. But it might
help those on the fence to pop the cash and join or buy. But how many really are ever able to expand their matrix?
Most of the time, there is some kind of trigger before you can expand. Like filling out the first matrix
before you can add another line. Let's face it, most people have enough trouble filling a normal matrix and they will
never be able to expand beyond it.
The bottom line on this kind of expanding force matrix is, that it's more of a sales tool to get you to join,
then anything that will ever really benefit you.
3. The Recycling Force Matrix - This is a different twist on a force matrix, in
that when you fill your first matrix, you are given a new spot under some lucky someone in your first matrix and start all
over again building a new one. Sounds good if your are able to fill your first matrix or if you're lucky enough to be the
one your upline is placed under when and if they fill their first matrix.
How many people do you think are ever going to be able to fill their first matrix and be giving a new
spot to start another one? If the average person can only recruit 2.5 people... The answer is, Not Many.
So, this highbred forced matrix is not much more then smoke and mirrors.
4. The Straight Line Plan - This is a marketing plan where there is one long line
of people who join the program or buy the product. One after another, no matter when someone joins or who they join under,
they are all placed under each other in one long line. Sounds good doesn't it?
But the problem here is, it makes lazy people lazier. They don't feel the need to recruit or sell and
those who do, get burned out after a while. Also, depending on how it's set up as far as you getting paid, it can take
forever and hundreds of people under you before you see much more than a dime.
Remember, whatever the product is, with a straight line plan, you get a very small percentage of each sale.
Even if you get 50% off any first sale you make, getting much more then that, is going to take a while.
Some of these things are set up so that you don't make anything until a certain number of members have been recruited
or buy in under you. Then you get a payment. Before you can receive another payment, more members have to be
recruited, and then more and then more. Payments are going to be hard to come by after only a short while. As it grows under
you, it takes more and more new members before you get paid. Can you say, "A Fool and his money are soon parted?"
A straight line plan may look good when you first run into it, but in the long run, it's going to prove to be
hard to make much of anything with.
5. Binary Plans - These plans have been around for a long time. And they are normally
set up with 2 sides, a left and a right. You are required to place people either on the right or left and then keep those
sides balanced in order to be paid. Many times these things are set up as unlimited depth plans. Which means no matter how
far down they go, you can get a piece of the action when sales are made. Sounds good so far...
Of course the company puts some kind of cap on how much they will pay out each month. After all, they can't pay
out more then they take in.
Here's the catch, you need to keep those sides balanced. Usually in some kind of one-third, two-thirds
rule. Which means for every 2 sales on a side, you will need third sale on the other side before you qualify for commission.
Keeping these sides balanced is a pain in the butt. And if you don't, which most people can't, who makes
money? The company, that's who. Oh, they will tell you that you won't lose a sale, that the money is there, if and when you
balance the other side. But while you're waiting for that to happen, the company has use of all that money, you don't.
If one of your sides gets a heavy hitter, it can take off like crazy, but if you can't make sales on
your other side, what does it benefit you? What if you've made your 2.5 sales and that's all, and the people on your weak
side just sit there doing nothing...
Point being, don't let the hype around any binary plan get you all excited. The company is going to make more
then you ever will.
6. The Unlimited Width Affiliate Plan - Okay, this is a simple plan to understand.
No matter how many levels down it goes, each level is as wide as you can personally make it. It might be a 1 level plan
or 2 or 3 or 6. But you are only personally responsible for building one of those levels.
There is no spillover and no upline help other then advice.
But, if you do manage to recruit a heavy hitter, you are going to benefit from everything they do. You can have a large organization,
but have only personally recruited a half dozen or your 2.5.
A plan like this forces you to do the work it takes to build your business. You are directly responsible
for your own success. If you don't build that first level, nothing much will happen. In a since, it makes you a better marketer
and a better upline because of the way it's structured.
The down side is, if you're lazy and looking for someone else to do the work, you will probably never do well
with this kind of plan. Unless you get very lucky with the one or two people you sponsor, if you sponsor anyone at
all.
With any of these plans, to earn, you are going to have to work at it. Some more than others.
There are variations of all of these plans, but these are the basic ones you're likely to run into as you search the
Web for programs and opportunities. And I hope this helps put them in perspective.
I personally use to really like the forced matrix plans, but as I learned more and got better at this
business, I much prefer a straight affiliate plan, of any depth. To me, it's more fair and I stand to benefit the most from
it, if I work it.
What do you think?
With any MLM or Network Marketing plan, if you really think about it and if you carry it's Marketing Plan out
to it's fullest, you can see that none of them will last forever. At some point, any plan will run out of people.
There are only so many on the planet after all. What keeps this from happening, is people giving up and dropping out and companies
drying up and disappearing. No Matrix, no matter how it's set up, is ever going to fill for everyone. The
only way you are ever going to make lasting money with any Real MLM or Network Marketing Program, is to SELL Products, Retail.
There, now I've made my pitch for retailing over recruiting.
These silly little matrix deals with little or no product, but a big come on built around some so called great Marketing
plan, will fall on their faces at some point. They are built on recruiting, not retailing a product. Those
recycling matrix's will never fill more then once, if that for, most people. The steam goes out of most of these things
very fast.
To build a real residual income, you need to forget about the Matrix, and focus on selling the products to retail
customers. If your downline or matrix starts to fill, so much the better, you get some extra help, But by building a solid
retail business, you will have money coming in every pay period, whether your matrix fills or not.
