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Let’s talk about some numbers and how they relate to network marketing. They are equally applicable to marketing on the internet or to offline marketing.

Specifically, we are going to talk about the 80/20 rule, the rule of 2, the rule of 7, and location, location, location.

Huh? That last one isn’t about numbers!

Well, it sorta is. We’ll get there in a while.

In the meantime, let’s start with the 80/20 rule.

Several years ago, a major financial services institution conducted a study to determine WHY its top sales people WERE top sales people. Once they waded through all the data, and threw out the immaterial items, they were left with one fact glaring in their faces. The top sales people were the top sales people BECAUSE they made the most calls and contacts, and handed out the most brochures and business cards. As a result, they gave the most presentations and…you guessed it…made the most sales.

Other studies throughout the years, as well as some of our own experiences seem to bear this out. Ever been in an organization where 20% of the people seemed to do 80% of the work? Oddly enough, that’s roughly the percentages the study I mentioned came up with.

Not only were 20% of the sales force generating 80% of the sales, it seemed that, in general, out of 100 contacts, they got to do about 20 presentations. Out of 100 presentations, they got about 20 sales.

Now these figures are not gospel, and merely indicate a trend, but they can be used to our profit. In the area of statistics, it is known that it is difficult to get an accurate analysis or prediction from a small sample. The larger the sample, the more accurate the results!

Okay, so if the 80/20 rule is true, and if I have a decent product and presentation, and if I remember to brush my teeth and put on clean underwear before making my pitch, I should nail 20 out of 100?

Well, again, this figure is merely indicative of a trend, but if you make a large number of pitches…er, presentations, you should expect to see some of them translate into sales, hence the “location, location, location” crack. Or maybe I should have said, “locations, locations, locations”?

Lots of locations

The more ads you place, the more brochures you hand out, the more links you provide to your offer, etc., the more inquiries, presentations, and sales you can hope to make. Remember, by the way, on the internet, your website is probably your presentation.

What we are talking about is volume, or bigger numbers. Volume is measured by numbers. See, I made it fit into the numbers thing.

Just to make my point, I had two friends become millionaires in two different network marketing programs. In both instances, they were nice but ordinary persons, and neither was by any stretch of the imagination a sales whiz. However, for over 3 years, each of them handed a brochure to everyone they met and answered questions as best they could. For 4 years, I worked on some websites when and where I could find a few minutes, and eventually, though I was working a 60 hour work week elsewhere, I began receiving WEEKLY commission checks in excess of $2,000.00.

What my two friends also found, as did I and most other network marketers, was that the 80/20 rule also applies to our downlines. Most will do nothing. Some will do a little. A rare few will be winners, but usually not by their own innate genius or greatness, but simply by a willingness to put in the necessary effort for the required length of time.

Now, the rule of 7.

While you are making all these presentations, handing out brochures, buying ads, etc., be aware that many people will not respond until they have seen that ad, or received that information 7 times. While there will be a few early adopters who see the info once or twice and buy in, most of your potential sales will come from those who have seen your ad several times. So don’t assume that simply because you sent someone a great ad and they didn’t respond, therefore all is lost. Send them the info again, or post the ad again.

Finally the rule of 2.

This applies mainly to ventures with a multi-level marketing program. You and I are each only one, and if we work very hard, we can only make a limited number of sales. If our income depends only on our personal sales, we are likely to make what is quaintly referred to as a pittance!

However, as is often pointed out in multi-level marketing literature, if I recruit 2 people, and they recruit 2 people, and they….on thru 5 levels, let’s say, I will have a downline of 62 people producing income for me. Depending on the program, this could be a lucrative proposition! Many multi-level organizations go much deeper than 5 levels. Our goal IS to build as large a downline as possible, so getting 3 on each level does even more. In fact, if each of us gets 3 in our downline instead of 2, our downline changes from 62 to 363!

Also, the type of program and its payouts will also influence your income. For example, one program with which I am affiliated would pay me $490 if each of my 2 members each made only one sale. In this particular program, however, my downline makes that and more each week, and those are only NEW sales. A program with residual income provided by re-orders can increase those figures immensely.

Just remember, however, to get those 2 GOOD producers, I will probably have to have a field of 10 or more recruits from which they can rise. In most network marketing ventures, the unfortunate truth is that I will probably need a few more than 10 recruits to get 2 GOOD ones!

But! Once I have those two good ones, and they have their two good ones, etc., there is no stopping me.

Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. A graduate of the University Of West Florida (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has blogs on the subjects of weight loss and health, hybrid cars and alternative fuels, and internet marketing and related business topics.

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One of the things that makes the Internet fun is all the message boards and forums. You can sound off about nearly anything, get and give advice, and even build a relationship or two.

But message boards can be great for another reason: They’re a free, effective place to market your business. You spend nothing but your time, but you make valuable connections with potential customers, and get your name out to members and guests alike.

With a link to your website included in your signature, you also can generate traffic. And, if those links are visible to guests, and the forum is indexed by search engines, those links may be counted by the spiders and improve your ranking.

Naturally, there are rules to follow if you want to effectively add forums to your marketing arsenal.

First of all, choose wisely. Keeping up to date with forum happenings takes time, and you want to make the most of it. So be sure you are posting on message boards that are visited by your prospects. You’ll also get the most benefit from boards that allow you to put a link to your website in your signature, and that make those signatures visible to guests as well as members.

Your signature should contain a link to your site, as well as a tag line. Be careful not to be too pushy in your signature. A quiet link and your USP are more effective than a blatant ad.

Nothing ruins a forum faster than a bunch of pushy, in-your-face ads trying to disguise themselves as posts. Make sure your posts are genuine additions to the conversation, not just commercials, or you’ll wind up doing yourself more harm than good. And you may even find yourself banned and your messages erased.

You’ll get more out of your message board involvement if you put more in. Ask and answer questions. Give helpful advice, without mentioning your business. Remember that your goal is to build relationships. The more good, quality free advice you can give in your area of expertise the better. Besides just being a good thing to do, it builds goodwill and positive exposure.

Think of forums as an online version of a networking group. You don’t want to be the guy in the polyester suit, pushing his way into everyone’s conversation, and irritating them with constant commercials. You do want to be the guy who leaves with a stack of business cards and several new relationships.

If you’ve got the time, and can resist the temptation to be pushy, message board marketing may be just the boost your business is looking for.

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