Saturday, July 04, 2009

MLM Success: High or Low Ticket Items Best?

Which best raises your chance for MLM Success?

It's interesting. I just read two opposite requests . . .

This was in a recent forum post at BetterNetworker.com:
  • "I Want To Join An MLM That Sells High-Ticket Items"
And, I got this emailed to me, as the editor of MLM-theWholeTruth.com, this morning ...
  • "I am looking for something that is affordable for everyone and or can save them enough money that would entice people to join. Plus it has to have a good pay plan so you can make some good money with the program."
Interesting? Both say they are looking for the opposite criteria. But do they both have opposite goals?

It started me wondering about the best way to respond to my subscriber.
So I invite your comments.

Here are some starter ideas that may get you thinking:
  • Which is better, high or low ticket items, and why?

  • What do you think are the underlying goals that each is trying to achieve and will their stated criteria help them reach their goals?

  • Are there other criteria that are even more important in light of their goals?
Lou Abbott
Founder
The MLM, Network Marketing Super-Site

P.S. I appreciate your comments without blatant, one sided plugging, please.

14 comments:

  1. A poor product/price plus great pay plan equals success. Yet, a great product/price plus bad pay plan equals failure.

    Great compensation is the key. And, great compensation includes consumables. And, consumables are not big ticket items. Money motivates people to move almost anything. A uni-level, stairstep with compresion and no breakage paying eight levels that actually pays over 70% of company gross revenue to the distributors is the best I have ever seen. Add a product that is the most consumable product on the planet behind air and water and you have a winner.

    Chuck Dalton
    Platinum Distributor
    Menage Innovations, Inc.
    www.chuckdalton.com

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  2. I prefer to market low cost item because it appeals to a larger group. I like volume even though it takes a larger group to make and sustain income.

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  3. You need a range of products. Just like Toyota makes the Camry for the mass market and Lexus for the higher end consumer.

    As time goes on you need a trade up product line.

    The flatter the organization the better.

    MDP

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  4. I think that theoretically both can be good money makers and I definitely know of people doing well in both types of companies.

    It comes down to what YOU are comfortable investing in and promoting. Logically, it seems to me that the low investment/good compensation/good residual income plans would appeal to more people and thus gives you a better chance at success.

    However, the high-ticket items might be good for those who can afford them and like the higher risk. However, the ones I've seen are "mentality changing" workshops and that is not going to appeal to everyone and some(that I know of) have no residual income.

    Either way, you must verify it is an ethical company with a high quality product. (I have found this hard/impossible to verify beforehand with the workshop/high ticket programs and thus there's a bit of "secrecy" that seems to occur, which I personally don't like. I want to see/touch/feel/taste everything upfront so that I know exactly what I'm getting into.

    My preference is the former.

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  5. Nice comment, Debbie. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "Can I make money this way" question that we don't even think to ask, "Should I?"

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  6. I do both. I gross a lot more from #1 but it cost a lot more to promote and maitain. I gross a lot less from #2, but the cost is almost zero and I wind up netting a significanr higher persentage, and even more real dollars. I'm loyal to both but if I had to choose I'd have to go with #2. Of course I'm biased because I'm the founding Distributor of #2.
    Gavman

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  7. There are people finding success with every kind of product, every range in cost of product and every style of comp plan. Those who are successful see something that continues to "call their name" into action. If the company and or the product no longer call your name, figure out the cause. If where you are is not a good match for you and you have done enough time and you are actually following the company’s business plan then maybe it's time to look for another company. The trouble is the grass is really no greener elsewhere because where ever you go there you are.

    The other solution is to do a mirror check from the neck up. I believe there are two ways to network. The retail, peddle products, approach or the business approach.

    The ‘peddle a product’ approach is looking for people who could be interested in what you are selling. Convince them to try or hopefully buy a sample. Pray they have a significant product experience and at some point, a month or more later sneak in the business opportunity. 'Hey find a few people and you can have your products for free!' Is anyone having success leading with this model? I will define success as earning over $100K/month and the answer is no. Few have a serious interest in doing this it does not duplicate because of it.

    The business model is share your companies vision, participate at all levels and find a mentor in your company. The mentor should be someone who is making ten times or more the income you have ever made ever doing anything. Do whatever they say you should do for at least the next twelve months. If that doesn’t call your name you have not found the mentor that does.

    Michael Eisbrener
    GoBeGreatNow.com

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  8. Generally speaking, "what does it cost" is rarely the real reason that people choose not to get started with something. Simply put, if someone honestly believes in the opportunity they're looking at -- and can see clearly that they can create a large income from it -- then they'll do whatever they need to do in order to get started.

    That's not speculation. It's an opinion derived from experience. The primary product I market is $1,500. And I have the same percentage of people telling me "I can't afford it" as I did when I marketed a $500 product....as when I marketed a $150 product....as when I marketed a $50 product.

    In other words, we tend to afford what we want to afford.

    With that said, I think there are certainly good arguments for either side of the debate. On the one hand, we can say that it's "easier" for people to get into a business with a lower-priced product. But that's also balanced by the fact that their EARNINGS will necessarily be lower, too.

    Conversely, if you have a product that pays a $1,000 profit....it might take a bit more effort to get involved in that business as a product user....but you'll certainly be able to reach a six-figure income much more quickly.

    In the end, the best solution is probably a combination. Offer people an opportunity to get into a high-profit business with a good-sized ticket item.....and if getting started at that level is too far outside their comfort zone than they're willing to go....then you can always offer them a position that is more accessible to them. As long as they understand that the pay plan is affected by that decision, as well.

    It works for me!

    Tony Rush
    http://www.tonyrush.com

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  9. For me, it depends on whether the item you are selling is set up as recurring, or non-recurring.

    If a sale is non-recurring, then I prefer larger ticket items. The reasoning is that even though there won't be as many sales, the ones that you do get will be larger, and thus lead to larger commissions. (If not, then it might be wise to look at other companies with better compensation plans.)

    On the other hand, if a sale is recurring, then it makes more sense (to me) to sell smaller ticket items. The reason I say this is that it is generally easier to sell small ticket items, so you can get more recurring sales (which is what you would want in this situation) with the same amount of effort. Also, if you subscribe to the "multiple streams of income" mentality, it would be better to have many smaller streams, than to have a few larger ones.

    Patrick Howard
    The Biz Tutor

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  10. In my opinion, it is better to start with a lower ticket item for those who are new in starting a business. The higher ticket model seems to cater to those who have establish leadership with their downlines.

    If you promote the higher ticket model to people who doesn't have a good understanding of business and network marketing, I believe it is a recipe for disaster, generally.

    If you teach the beginners the fundamentals of networking marketing and sponsorship, chances are that their success on the smaller ticket will scale up to the higher ticket eventually.

    Newcomers will give up easily if they could not get any production with the high ticket item.

    And in most business, the sales funnel which starts with the smaller items that lead to a higher ticket item seems to be the one that stays in business.

    And statiscally, most networkers start their way in the business just to start a part time income and not a full blown business right away.

    So if you teach and train them well with smaller items, I believe they will eventually scale themselves to the higher ticket items eventually.

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  11. Perhaps this is more about 'the company you want to keep' than the company you choose to serve.

    One person would like to work among people who are willing to afford higher priced goods. Among those customers they may also find recruits who like doing business at a peer to peer level.

    The other person prefers the 'everyone' approach. They will probably build a good customer base but may find they need to do more training to bring recruits up to the mindset needed for running a business.

    Depends on the skills of the 'founder', surely?

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  12. The more I read and the more I am involved in the MLM industry I find that both would work under the right circumstances. Skills are very important but also very important is the fact that you must be willing to have a mindset that will convey you to success. Getting five people is not a real answer to success but getting two or three good people is.
    Cal

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  13. Too many so called "MLM" compainies sell worthless high ticket products online and that hurts the industry. I said "MLM" since many of them are not really mlm they are just trying to rip of people who doesn't know how to investigate a concept line MLM.

    These companies are here today and gone tomorrow, and the people behind them often start company after company with slightly different concepts all selling the same worthess junk to desperate people who think that joining will solve all their mney problems.

    As an editor of a popular ezine running since 1999 I see their ads all the time.

    I never see ads for regular network marketing companies, which is very strange, since people does not need to mention product names or the name of their company i ads in order to generate visitors to their squeeze page.

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  14. Network Marketing is about three things:
    a) Finding People to talk to—Prospecting.
    b) Talking to the people you find—Presentation. c) Teaching others to do the same—Duplication.

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