How To Choose Your Upline

Statistics say 95% of Internet Marketers don’t make any money

online. This sad failure rate will probably not improve in the near

future either because so many newbies, and old hands, are being

left without enough support from their upline or sponsors.

There are many sponsors, especially the very successful ones,

who don’t even bother replying emails from their downline. This

is a very worrying trend and it violates a very important principle

of network marketing which says that success comes by helping

others succeed. So how come some heavy hitters are successful

without helping the struggling members in their downline? Well,

it has been made possible by the internet and the enormous 24

hour global market it makes accessible, coupled with the vast

number of automated marketing tools.

Unlike the traditional offline network marketing where it was

practically impossible to sponsor someone into a downline

without meeting or speaking with them, the internet has made it

possible for heavy hitters to sponsor hundreds, and even

thousands of people, into their downlines without ever

communicating with them on a personal level.

Autoresponders are the order of the day. Many people join

affiliate programs after seeing ads in google, ezines, classifieds etc

without first exchanging emails with the sponsor. After paying

their monthly subscriptions, part of which the sponsors earns as

commission, for a few months they give up because they have little

or no success and probably never received an email or a call from

their sponsor. Of course the heavy hitting sponsor does not care

much about this because he or she has already earned good

commissions before they quit and can quickly replace them using

their huge automated marketing system working 24-7 to recruit more

people.

It is time internet marketers who have experienced this in the past

took their destinies into their hands and choose their upline or

sponsors instead of the other way round. How can I do that, I hear

you ask? Well, by demanding value for your money. That’s right,

your upline earns a commission out of your monthly subscriptions

so it is your right to receive good service in return. In this case the

service includes training, mentoring and answering your emails. It

is a great idea to receive and evaluate the service first before

paying and that is where free to join affiliate programs are very

useful.

How many of us will go into a restaurant, pay for the food first

and then walk out after waiting for about an hour for the food to

arrive. I dare say no one will and I believe we should see internet

marketing programs in the same way as we do a restaurant.

Receive the service, evaluate it, if you are happy with it then pay

for it otherwise complain and if possible have your bill waived.

So if you are in an affiliate program and you don't receive sufficient

help from your sponsor complain to the company and ask to be

reassigned. Stop paying your sponsors for a service you never

receive.

The great thing about free to join affiliate programs is that you

can really give the sponsor a test drive before you decide to join

his or her downline. Most affiliate webpages have contact details

for the webpage owner, who would be your sponsor after you

join the program. So after you decide you want to join a

particular program, especially if it is not free to join, I suggest

you test your potential sponsor to ensure you will get a good

service if you join their downline. Ask them all the questions

you have and seek all the help you need and if you receive good

and valuable service then you can go ahead and signup.

If you are unhappy with the answers or help given, or you

don't receive a reply then try another affiliate's page. The best

way to do this is by entering the main URL of the company and

in most cases you'll be randomly sent to the website of an affiliate.

Ask the same questions and also note how quickly the sponsor

responds each time because you don't want to signup under

someone who takes one or two weeks to respond to your emails.

Keep trying different affiliate pages until you find a potential

sponsor you know will give you the support you need.

If it is a free program with an upgrade option I suggest you

signup for free initially and continuing testing your sponsor to

ensure you have indeed chosen the right one. Some sponsors

will respond to emails in an attempt to encourage their downline

to upgrade and after they upgrade the help dissipates, but only

the genuinely helpful sponsors will be able to pass rigorous

tests that involve offering lots of help and answering lots of

questions.

Your initial email may receive a good or average response but

after that the sponsor may become impatient and not bother

replying or may send an inadequate reply. That would

obviously be your cue to find another sponsor because you need

a sponsor who will be willing and patient enough to properly

answer your questions and genuinely help you. That is what

Multi-level marketing is about, achieving success by helping

those below you to succeed.

Summary:

1) Before joining affiliate programs send an email to the owner of

the webpage or the ad you saw. Ask all the questions you have

and seek to establish what help you'd receive after joining. Make

a note of the quality of the responses and the times it takes to

receive a response.

2) If unhappy with the potential sponsor go to the company's

main URL and you will be randomly assigned to another

sponsor's webpage. Ask the same questions and decide if

you want to signup under this person. Keep repeating this step

until you find a sponsor you are happy with.

3) Signup. If the program has a free option choose that option

first and continue seeking help from your sponsor. If you are

happy with the service you receive from your sponsor then

upgrade otherwise ask the company to reassign you to another

sponsor.