To create momentum you need to build in depth, and build it quickly. Drive each "leg" you have as deep as you can--even if it means helping those people who fall out of your pay levels. The best way to guarantee your residual income is to "lock-in" those you sponsor by helping them sponsor in depth. No one is going to drop out if they are making money. If you have a leg that is 50 deep and 30 people in that leg are making a small profit, you've just guaranteed yourself a monthly residual income as long as those results stay in place. That leg should NEVER go away. Why does building in depth create momentum? Because it builds everyone's belief level. If you sponsor someone in the first 30 days, you start thinking, "This is going to be easy". But, if you don't sponsor someone in the first 90 days--although you've talked to a whopping 5 people, you start thinking, "This thing isn't working. I can't believe I let someone talk me into doing this stupid program, I'm going to quit"! Now you tell me, which person is easier to motivate and work with? The first person who's excited, or the second who's thinking about dropping out? You're right, the first one.

Compare building in depth to building in width for momentum. If you put 25 people on your first level in the first 30 days (assuming your pay plan allows you to build 25 wide), who's the most excited? You or your downline? You Are!

Now, let's time warp ahead another days, to the end of your downline's 60th day. At this time you're so excited about sponsoring 25 that you go out and sponsor another 10 on your first level. Now, you have 35 people on your first level and nobody on your second level. Why? Because you've failed to reach out your hand and help those who you've sponsored on your first level to duplicate your efforts. By building too wide, too early, will only create momentum and belief for YOU, not your downline. Although it's great to build your own belief, that's not the key to residual income. In order to get where you want, in MLM, you need to re-focus your efforts and concentrate on your downline and their needs.

Just by your buying this book to read, I already know that there is no "question in your belief" system. In other words, your going to make your MLM a success and there isn't any "question" about it--it's a done deal! What I want you to do is start taking the focus off yourself and start concerning yourself about what your downline needs are. Here's two very important quotes that will help you focus on your downline:

"I'd rather have 1% of 100 people's efforts than 100 of my own"

"You'll achieve your goals and dreams, when you help enough other people achieve their goals and dreams".

If you're not making the amount of money in your MLM that you want, then the simple fact is that you're not helping your downline make the kind of money that they want, period!

This might be a though statement for you to accept, but it's true. Think about it. If you took the next 12 months and sincerely called your downline, identify those who are willing to plug into your system and work at it, and then HELP them sponsor other people religiously. Then don't you think you'd profit from that? Of course you would.

As I stated in Chapter 12, the biggest myth of sponsoring people in MLM using direct mail is, all you have to do is mail out a few hundred letters and you can "Sit Back" and do nothing else. Unfortunately, this doesn't work for the average MLM'er. That's why it's imperative to get to know who's in your downline. Don't worry about getting to know 300 different people at once--it won't happen that way. Instead, what you'll find out is that only 10% to 20% of your downline will become what I call "active" markets! Call everyone at least once. Make yourself available and work with those who call you on a regular basis and want to be worked with! Too often we expect EVERYONE to build their MLM business. The quicker you learn this MLM LAW, (only a small percentage will join and then only a small percentage will duplicate your efforts), the quicker you'll learn the art of building wide and deep in your organization at the same time--more on that later in this chapter.

John Merris, my upline in one of my MLM's, is an excellent example of, "When you help enough people obtain their financial goals and dreams, your dreams automatically come true". John is a former Texas Instruments regional sales manager. He also owned his own home security business. Fourteen years ago, John got into a bad real estate deal, and instead of making an extra $400 a month like he had planned, he was loosing $400 a month! Although John was very successful in the traditional sense, he had a good job, drove the right kind of car, lived in the right neighborhood, yet he was spending more than he was making every month! He looked good, smelled good, but didn't have any money in the bank. Sound familiar?

John and his family had a financial need. He knew he wasn't going to make anymore money very quickly at this present job. That's why he tried investing in real estate--but that ended up costing him $400 a month! John went to an opportunity meeting and decided to take a chance in MLM. He had no previous MLM experience--he only had a huge NEED--TO GET OUT OF DEBT!

Over the next 13 years John spent every amount of his spare time learning what it took to make money in his MLM. What he found out shocked him. Not everyone else felt the same way he did! If he had thrown up his arms and quit at that moment he wouldn't be a millionaire today. Instead, John stuck with it, and learned to take his focus off his own needs, and started focusing on helping other people achieve their financial goals and dreams.

Today, John has over 15,000 people in his organization. His income recently was $1,000.000 (1 Million)! If you'd meet John, you'd find that he doesn't fit the expectation you might have of a millionaire. John has a way of making you feel that you can do anything. He has become an excellent people person--a necessary element needed in your MLM business. John admits that he wasn't successful overnight. In fact, he was making less than $100 a month.

So, how did John make it from $100 a month to $1 million a year? Simple, he learned to help others make money. He put other people's needs in front of his own. He also learned the art of training others to do EXACTLY what the was doing. John didn't act like a big shot around others, nor did he do all the work for them. What he did though, was set an example and looked for others who wanted to follow! Did John have tough times? Did he ever feel like quitting? Sure he did. But he didn't, and today he is glad he stuck with it.

I have the luxury of meeting with John about once a month. Do you think I "earnestly listened" to what he has to say? You bet you booties I do! The funny thing is, at first I didn't. Why? Because I thought I knew everything about MLM. Sure, I knew John was a millionaire but, I was just arrogant enough to think I knew more than he did. My lifestyle was "comfortable" and, I wasn't very teachable. In fact, I thought I could teach John a few things about networking.

At the time I met John, I was making about $5,000 a month in income. I thought I was "hot stuff". I asked his advice, he gave it, and I ignored it and went on doing it "my way". Even thought I was making money in other MLM's, I was indeed frustrated! About this time I noticed a disheartening thing happen to my so-called "money-making MLM's". My checks weren't getting any bigger! If anything, they were dropping around 5% to 10% a month! What was going wrong? Here I was doing the same thing day in and day out that I had done over the last 3 years. Yet my income was slowly shrinking instead of growing.

What I found out is that I wasn't working to secure the income of those who were in "depth" in my organizations. Sure, I was placing about 20 to 50 people personally in all my programs every month, but I wasn't helping them to do the same thing. I'd sponsor them and if they didn't build the program, I'd just go out and "get some more". I had the ultimate "revolving door" MLM. Ease come, easy go!

The most important thing I've learned from John Merris is, "People don't care how much you know until, they know how much you care". At that time my only interest in my downline was how many people they sponsored, how much product they bought each month, and why weren't they building their business faster!

I exercised no compassion. I wasn't willing to work with people and help them. I wanted them to help me meet my goals and dreams. I was willing to go through a million people if that is what it took. But what John has taught me is, "You build a friendship first, and a distributorship second". John is a good friend of mine today. I know that I could pick up the phone anytime of the day, call his voice mail, and ask for his help and with in 24 hours he would answer me back! How many millionaires do you know that would do that for you? That's why John is where he is today--he cares about people. MLM is indeed a "numbers game". But, what I had started doing in my MLM's was treating people like numbers! People get that at work--why in the world would they want to put up with that kind of atmosphere at home--especially when they aren't making any money in the first few months? When I started "listening and applying" what John was teaching me, not only did my income in his program go up, but the income in my other MLM's did as well!

I learned to give unconditionally. Not everyone is going to be in favor of what you're doing. But don't worry about that because you're not looking for everybody--you're looking for a handful of people who believe just like you do. Then and only then, will you be financially free with residual income!

Okay, now you know that building in-depth is important to building momentum. Building depth in your program is your financial "SECURITY". Now, what about building in width? How do you do that and when? Building your organizations depth is only one-half of your success. Because without the proper "WIDTH" in your organization you're not going to be very profitable.

(The only exception to this rule is in a Matrix. When you personally sponsor people in width in a Matrix, they will automatically be placed under the next available slot. But, it is also important to remember, that once you get down to your third level and beyond in a forced matrix, your organization is going to start looking more like a Uni-Level program. In a 3x8 Matrix, you have slots for 81 people on your 4th level. If you took the time to personally sponsor 81 people and they fell on your 4th level, you'd have to go back on your 4th level and replace the 40 people who dropped out over the last year because you wouldn't help them! So Width and Depth is even important in a Matrix as well)!

Your width in most MLM programs is where you'll find your "PROFITABILITY". So, how many people should you sponsor in width in one month, and how many people should you be working in depth with each month? It depends upon you and your program. If you're promoting a program nationally by running ads, using the mail and calling them on the phone you can work with more people than, if your are building a local group in a one-on-one scenario.

In most local MLM's you should try to work with only two or three different personally sponsored people at a time--anymore and you'll get spread too thin and you won't be able to do a good and thorough job of training your downline. Working with only one person at a time is all right, but after a month of "just" working with them you begin to have a credibility problem with them. They might be thinking, "I'm his only downline member that's doing anything". Your downline then begins to think they know more than you and stop listening. By having at least one or two more active personally sponsored people who you are working with, you create an atmosphere of "competition" among your downline members. Your time becomes "limited". If you are working with two or three personals at one time and your new downline members knows that, you have their attention and respect--that makes them easier to teach. It's hard to teach someone who doesn't respect you!

It's also a good idea to get your non-growing personals around those that are growing. That too, will create a little competition. You'll find that by getting your organization together, you create a pull or momentum all by itself. This keeps you from having to hammer away at your downline and try to make them do things they aren't ready to do. By not getting your growing and non-growing groups together, you simply turn into the "mistro" of your organization.

If you're building a national organization, you'll be able to work with more people, because you're using the mail, the phone, the email, and the fax machine to communicate. I've been able to work with as many as 10 growing personal "legs" in these type of programs. The key is begin available to those who want your time and then giving them advice on how to sponsor more people. Most of the "leaders" in my national organizations spend time on the phone with me coordinating advertising co-ops and sharing their success and failures. I also try to make 3-way calls with them to those who've responded to their ads. Most of the time these leaders also need encouragement they just want to hear a friendly voice who will say, "You can do it".

When working in depth in your local organizations be sure to ALWAYS take other downline members with you. This way, when you're giving a presentation or signing someone up, you can train two or three people at the same time--the ultimate in TIME COMPOUNDING! Plus, you have time to develop a friendship with them--another key in making big money in MLM. True friends stick it out with you in the long haul--be a friend and you'll have friends. That doesn't mean that you have to unnaturally go out and "try" to make friends. Some of my best friends today are in my MLM businesses. Many of them I didn't even know before they got into the business. Did I become friends with them overnight? No. You don't build a true friendship overnight. Instead, you'll find through your common interest, that your downline members will become your best friends over a period of time. If you're actively building your MLM in depth and in width, and you're being a good example, then you'll automatically attract friends. When people like you, they'll go the extra mile WITH you.

When working in depth in your national organization the most you'll be able to train on the phone is one or two people at a time. I also try to feed leads to those who are active in my downline. If I have a go-getter in Dallas, Texas and I get a call off one of my ads from someone in Dallas, I usually "give" that lead to my downline leader in Dallas. I'll either do a 3-way call, or I tell the prospect that I'll mail the information today from my office and I'll have one of my local representatives call them in a few days. I then hang up the phone, call my growing downline in Dallas, give them the name, address, and phone number of the prospect and tell them to call the person in 3-5 business days from when I mailed them the information. YES, I MAIL THE INFORMATION AT MY COST AND THEN GIVE THE LEAD TO MY DOWNLINE IN THAT AREA! Why should I do that? Because, my ultimate goal is to have hundreds of people in my organization who are working as hard as I am. If I don't help those who want to be helped, how in the world am I ever going to be free? Why would I let a postage stamp and self-mailer keep me from being financial free? People who don't do this are "peanut thinkers". They think small and their income, in turn is small. I like the quote, "Don't get caught up in the small stuff. And everything is small stuff"!

Sure, I just spent postage, plus the cost of the phone call and "gave away" the lead to someone in my downline. But, how do you think that makes my downline member in Dallas feel when he hangs up the phone after talking to me? He feels like I care. If he wasn't very excited about his MLM before, you better believe he is now! Plus, he wants to be accountable to me by calling and "closing" this person into his organization. He feels like he's apart of a team--not just out there all alone making everyone in his upline rich! Get the picture?

Usually you have a 90 day window in which you have to keep and maintain your downlines motivation. A good rule of thumb is "You don't have someone sponsored until you help them sponsor someone". Help them sponsor someone within the first 30 days and your percentages of keeping them active raise by over 50%. Think about how much excitement and momentum you create when you have a simple, yet duplicable plan to help EVERYONE in your organization sponsor at least ONE person their first 30 days! The biggest reason people drop out is because they don't believe it's working. If someone new in your organization sponsors their first person in their first 30 days, you've built their belief level. This one person may carry their belief level so high that it keeps them excited for 3 to 4 months.

Building wide keeps you focused on those who are willing to work your program NOW. Don't forget about those you've recruited and are doing nothing. Follow my examples outlined in Chapter 18, and you'll be doing everything necessary to stay in touch and be available to everyone in your downline. The key is, don't "camp-out" on those who aren't doing anything. If there is a problem, call them and offer help. Then move on. When do you stop sponsoring in width? Never. Work with 2 to 10 personal legs every month until you find 4 or 5 people in that downline that is duplicating your work effort. How long will that take? It depends on you, your program and the quality of people you have to work with. It may take you 30 days, or it may take you 12 month--what does it really matter? What better things do you have to do? Once you've made a decision to build wide to find the leaders, then help them build "depth" until they've done the same. THE FACTS DON'T COUNT! If you're going to be a fair weather MLM'er, then you won't be around long enough to reap the rewards of residual income.

John Merris told me once, "The only difference between you and me is, I've taken more No's than you". He also said, "If you out-work me, then you can be making more money than me"! I know both statements are true. If you don't, then you're in MLM for the wrong reason. If you're in just to make quick bucks, then you're not willing to do what it takes in order to make it happen. That is the major reason the MLM industry has a bad name--people getting in and out and jumping from program to program. The problem isn't the program, the problem is YOU! When I realized that I was the problem, then I got my act together, and then my checks began to grow. If you follow this simple, yet effective plan, so will yours.

One last comment on building in "width and depth". I've had several of my key people ask me, "What do I do if nobody else but me is recruiting anyone?" If you find yourself in this same predicament where your downline isn't sponsoring people, then you might be making mistakes in one of the four following areas:

If your downline gets their start-up kit and they never hear from you--then the likelihood of them dropping out is about 99%. Don't rely on your downline to sponsor someone on their own. Especially, don't count on the parent company to do anything to help motivate and keep them locked in. You need to call them, develop a line of communication and help get them off to a fast start. If you don't, you'll find that you're going to be in the personal sponsoring business for a long time--and you've just created another "JOB" for yourself.

If you, your upline, or your company don't have a duplicable recruiting system in place, then you're doomed! Getting someone started and saying, "Go Get-em" isn't going to make you any money. By not having a system in place, and calling them and telling them about it, you are essentially telling them to "Go Get-em". The key to making big money in MLM is having others duplicate your efforts. The faster you teach your system to your downline, the faster you can retire from your job and stay home and do what YOU want to do!

Most MLM's have good products and services. But, there are some that STRETCH the truth a bit about the quality and effectiveness of what they sell. If something claims to cure cancer, BEWARE! But, if something claims to give you more energy and help detoxify your system, buy some and try it. The best experience is personal experience. How can you recommend a product or service you haven't even tried! Represent high-quality products and you'll find a loyal following of downline members who will buy them month after month.

Sometimes you find an over-zealous distributor who wants to sign someone up so badly, that they stretch the truth a bit about what the product or service will do for the prospect. Or, they exaggerate the income potential. Some call this lying. I call if flat out LAZINESS! In the past, I fell into this category. I didn't want to work very hard, so I told the prospect what they wanted to hear--not what I knew it took to make their MLM business profitable. So, they signed up thinking one thing, and after 90 days, things went another way--the real way! If you do this, you're just setting yourself up for a lot of heartache for both you and your prospect. Be upbeat, but be honest. Answer questions honestly and to the best of your ability. This is another reason why you need to plug into your profitable upline. Don't lie about how much money you're making when you can tell the truth about how much your upline is making and that they are teaching you how to do the same. People will respect you for telling the truth. Most people can sense when you're giving them a "snow job" anyway. So don't do it.

Another reason is that you're sponsoring the wrong kind of people. I find that across the board that the people who really need this business--poor people, don't build it. I also find that people who are professionals, and have a good job, but are tired of working for someone else, build it! Why is that ? Because, if someone is poor, they usually have a poor attitude--I know that there are extenuating circumstances for some cases, but, I find that people who you think wouldn't be interested are the ones who have been secretly looking for a business to open on the side, because they are ambitious! Focus on sponsoring people who are at your level or above. Try to relate to everybody, but don't go down to the local "shelter" and expect to find 5 people who are going to tear it up! Instead, hang out at your local Chamber of Commerce, or any other professional business setting. Ask people what they do when you're talking to them. Size them up and ask them if they're open minded about business. You'll find out quickly if you have a prospect about for MLM or not!

If you're building your MLM business on a local level, you have another key way of building momentum over building your group through the mail. Get your newest people around those in your organization who are growing and are excited about it! I have found some people in my organization weren't doing very much at all until they saw Joe start making money. Their comment to me was, "If Joe can do it, so can I". Getting your new or non-growing downline around those who are actively building their MLM. This builds belief--and when there is belief, there is action, where there is action there is MONEY!

If you are building your group through the mail, create a newsletter that shows photos and gives testimonials of those in your group who are successful--this will help build their belief level as well.

With the correct balance of "width and depth", you'll have a growing organization and your commission check will continue to grow larger every year. John's is and so is mine.