A lot of people are asking the question, both online & off. Is MLM for real? When you start doing the research, some interesting truths are uncovered. Some of you who study & educate yourselves about history & the history of business already are aware that franchising went through a similar painful process of acceptance in the business world. Traditional business people & their influence with politicians of the day very nearly killed franchising before it ever gained traction as a legitimate business.

MLM business acceptance is in a similar place today. The direct sales industry has been around for a very long time, and MLM has been around for many, many years as well. It has been long thought by the masses to be the province of scammers and others of little integrity. Many people do not know it, but some of the greatest leaders, speakers & trainers in the areas of personal development & business education have become involved in the industry as of late. Running an MLM home business has been the starting point for many young entrepreneurs today, and for many, the training has been life-changing.

The answer is very simple, sales people in America are held in such high regard, selling is truly recognised as a profession over their by most people, unlike the UK where the first thing people think of when you mention ‘Sales’ is ‘Double Glazing, Time Share, or Estate Agents. Accountants, doctors, even our marketing counterparts all have this and indeed could not practice without a qualification. This also applies to ‘Sales training in the UK’. I have heard many examples of people attending a sales training programme that was delivered by someone who had never actually sold anything!

Whatever you are selling, you need to ensure that any sales training is aligned to the sales process. Would you invest thousands of pounds in a ‘Hypothesis Based Selling’ programme if your sales team sold basic commodity products on mass and on price? So make sure the content fits the challenges your sales team currently face. Equally important is the cultural fit. These simple considerations may seem obvious but they are often overlooked and the results can be disastrous. If you want to ensure your training delivers the results you want, factor them into your training brief.