Having spent some years in the Network Marketing industry now, I've done a lot of things right and just as many things wrong. I want to share some valuable tips I learned during the past years, so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did. Most of these lessons were learned through trial and error. The other lessons were learned from my mentors. For the purpose of this article, I want to share the top 10 most common mistakes made in network marketing. Some of these things are common sense and other things are a little bit more complex. They are listed in no particular order. Let's get started. #1. Lying to or Hyping Up Your Prospects ❌ Never, ever lie to your prospects. Don't mislead them when you approach them. Never make them think you are offering them a job. Never invite them to a party or event and then have a business opportunity meeting instead. Never lie about how much money you make in the business. Be honest with your prospects at all times, no matter what. Never tell them what you think they want to hear. Do the right thing even if it means you lose some of your prospects. #2 Promoting Multiple MLM Companies at the Same Time ❌ Don't promote two different MLM Companies at the same time. For most people this is not a very good option (there might be a few rare cases where it works). Your prospects and team members will be confused if you promote two different companies at once. Instead, find a good company you are passionate about and focus on that company. I'm not saying you can't have other income streams. You should. But let your other income streams be something different from a second MLM Company. #3 Switching Companies Often ❌ Don't be the person that jumps from company to company every few months. Don't be a MLM Junkie. Find a company you are passionate about and stick with it for the long haul: at least five to ten years. You will be glad that you did. When you jump around you lose credibility and you lose momentum. It's hard starting over. It's hard to rebuild the momentum. Know right now that there is no shiny object or easy company. Building a successful business of any kind is hard work! #4 Buying Leads ❌ In most cases, buying leads is a waste of time and money. Yes, there are a few distributors in our industry who build their business with purchased leads, but for most folks it isn't a very good option (unless you have good phone skills and love rejection). Learn how to generate your own leads. Take the time to study marketing. Learn social media tactics, pay per click, solo ads, newspaper ads, direct mail, and other lead generation techniques. It will be money well spent. Without a constant flow of new leads your business is doomed. #5 Not Working the Numbers ❌ Selling is a numbers game. So is MLM. At the end of the day you have to share your products and business opportunity with hundreds of people, maybe even thousands of people, in order to find your customers, distributors and leaders. If you don't work the numbers, you will fail. Not everyone you talk to will be interested in what you have to offer, but if you talk to enough people you will find enough interested people. Make a commitment to talk to 2, 3, 5, 10 or even more people every day, no matter what. Do that for a few short years and you will have a huge team. Learn more about working the numbers. #6. Trying to be a Lone Wolf ❌ This is another common mistake that I see a lot of network marketers make. Don't reinvent the wheel. Follow your upline's lead. Follow their system. By all means, use your ingenuity, talents and abilities to build your network marketing business. But if you ever have a problem and need help, consult with your upline. You don't have to figure everything out on your own. Remember, your upline works for you, not the other way around. This business is meant to be a team sport, not a one person operation. #7. Trying to Recruit the Wrong People ❌ Don't make the mistake of trying to recruit the people who NEED the business opportunity. Broke, unemployed, and disgruntled people are not your best prospects. They don't want the business opportunity (or any opportunity) and they couldn't afford it anyway. Rather than prospecting your unemployed Uncle Bill, it would be a much wiser idea to prospect successful people, such as successful entrepreneurs, sales people, business folks, realtors and other people who have already achieved success in life. You want people who are accustomed to merit based pay and commissioned based pay. These are your best prospects anyway. These are the folks who are always looking for new money making ideas and income streams. Learn more about your ideal prospects. #8. Not Helping Your Team Succeed ❌ As you sponsor people into the business, you need to take some time to help them get started right. Not everyone will let you help them, but work with the willing. Teach your new members the ropes, so they know what to do and can be functional on their own. Don't be so busy mass recruiting people that people quit just as fast as you sponsor them. There is nothing wrong with recruiting a lot of people AS LONG AS you take the time to help them get started right. Once you have FIVE serious people, spend most of your time working in depth. #9. Treating Your Business Like a Hobby ❌ Most Network Marketers who join the industry don't treat their business like a real business. Most of these folks have never owned a business before so they don't even know what it means. If you ever want to be successful in network marketing, you need to schedule business hours and work your business every single week. If you only work an hour a week, or take a couple weeks off, don't expect much to happen in your business. I like to tell people to treat their business like they do their job. Show up every day, be consistent and work hard and good things will happen. You get out what you put in. #10. Not Being Product Focused ❌ The sooner you realize this lesson the better. You NEED to be product focused. Most folks are not interested in joining a MLM Company, but many of these same folks will become paying customers if they like the products. Lead with the products and you will convert more people into customers and distributors and create more volume in your business. Find loyal product users. This will lead to repeat orders and many of these folks will eventually become good distributors. If you just talk about your business opportunity you won't do very well. Final Thoughts In summary, these are the top 10 mistakes made in network marketing as I see it. Do yourself a favour and evaluate yourself in each area, so you can make improvements in your business. You will be glad that you did.