Product Integrity-Scrutinizing an MLM Product (Part 1)

How to Select a Network Marketing Company Series
Discover the Keys to Scrutinizing, Comparing, and Selecting a Million-Dollar MLM Business

Product Integrity-How to Scrutinize a Product (Part 1)

Your Opinion is More Important than the Expert’s Opinion

Many seminar participants and students have asked how I was able to effectively evaluate and compare such diverse product fields as nutritional supplements, personal care products, household products, and telecommunications services without a specific background in each of these industries. Well, the truth is I do have backgrounds in many of the industries I have studied, although I don’t have any professional credentials or degrees. However, there is something even more powerful than specific expertise in a field of study. I’m speaking of a very special power that is exclusive to the human animal—the power to read, research, and reason.

I have applied these “special powers” in my efforts to find out what to look for in a nutritional supplement, how to analyze a tube of toothpaste, and what to avoid in a bottle of shampoo. I may not be a scientist or a PhD, but I can study and cross-reference what top scientists and doctors are saying. In the end, I find my methodology more effective and objective than the methods used by most top scientists. My philosophy is simple. I call it “research the research.” Then I simply determine what the experts agree on, and what they don’t agree on.

Step One: Researching the Research

If I were to read the top twenty most respected and universally recognized books on the subject of antioxidants, it would be quite clear what points these scientists, doctors, and researchers agreed upon. Any topics that were not agreed upon could be great theories, but there’s really no reason to draw any conclusions from research that is isolated to one scientist. However, if most of these scientists agree that antioxidants can reduce the incidence of disease in the human body, you can be quite certain that this is a true finding.

A great example of truth versus theory is the weight management industry. If you read any book on how to lose weight or shed body fat, nearly every scientist or doctor will agree that reducing carbohydrates, increasing healthy protein, reducing calories, and increasing activity do the trick. However, some experts believe in a diet consisting of mainly protein, while another expert might recommend a strict vegetarian diet. Another still might teach you not to worry about what you eat but to simply count your calories each day. Since there is disagreement and controversy among these theories, they must remain theories until more experts agree upon these ideas.

When you’re selecting a product to represent in network marketing, learn how to research the research. Find several of the best authors and the most credible scientist on the subject and read what they have published. Gathering information from multiple sources will help you stay honest and objective with your decisions.

Step Two: The Acid Test

The next question you must ask yourself when selecting any specific network marketing product is, “If people did not receive any kind of monetary incentive for promoting this product or service, would people still buy this product or service at this price? Would the product still be in high demand?”
In Chapter Six, I revealed the characteristics of high-demand products. As you may recall, I created a statement that will help you remember the acronym for these seven steps. It goes like this: Each Criterion Unlocks The Vault To Success! E.C.U.T.V.T.S

Again, a product needs to be …

1. Emotional
2. Consumable
3. Unique
4. Traditional
5. Valuable
6. Timely
7. Stable

Step Three: Getting Specific

As we learned in Chapter Five, nearly every type of product or service is sold through direct sales. Here’s the list in review.

The A List: Top network marketing product industries
• Nutritional Supplements and Health Products
• Personal Care Products (Skin Care, Hair Care, Body Care)

The B List: Other popular, less profitable/stable industries
• Household Products (if products are very unique and environmentally friendly)

The C List: Alternative MLM industries with some exposure and appeal, but not yet stable
• Telecommunications (residential and commercial long distance, pre-paid cards, cell phones)
• Financial Programs (financial planning, debt elimination, investments, asset protection)
• Travel and Vacation Programs
• Legal Services (identity protection, pre-paid legal services, wills)
• Buying Clubs and Catalog Shopping

The D List: Industries with extremely limited exposure in network marketing

• Computer Hardware and Software*
• Internet Access and Services (hosting, dial-up, marketing)*
• Books, Reports, Newsletters, and Publications
• Water and Air Filters
• Lead Generation Programs
• Jewelry, Gold, Silver, and Collectibles
• Satellites (Hardware and Service)
• Automobile and Auto-Care Products
• Home and Personal Security Products
• Electronics and Appliances
• Grocery and Coupon Programs
• Information Services*
• Clothing, Fashions, and Lingerie

*Up-and-coming industries with future potential, yet absolutely not proven in today’s market

Research reveals that there are only two A-list industries (nutrition and personal care), which make up a vast majority of the success stories in network marketing. I will also cover the one B-list industry (household consumables) since many A-list companies have diversified into household products. Even though it is a limited appeal industry ranking on the C-list, I’ve thrown in an exposé on the telecom industry simply because it was a large part of the last edition of this book. Although the telecom industry is no longer much of a contender, it’s still present.

Nutritional supplements

Even though we narrowed the bulk of our research down to wellness and nutrition products, we still had quite a job in front of us. How can anyone possibly review all of the following products?

Elixors, Pills, Tablets, Capsules, Magnets, Coral Calcium, Nitro FX, Body Balance, Lavie, Primorye, StemCell, VitaOne, Appetizer Diet, Xanthone Factor, Vitale, Magestic Earth™, Immunocal, Transfer Factor, Riovida, Healthy Coffee, Xooma, Vitalee, Fruta Vida, Vibe, Sibu, XanGo, Seasilver, Tongan Limu, Tahitian Noni, Hawaiian Noni, Goji Juice, Calorad, BiosLife, Pyruvate, Pycnogenol, Ambrotose, MSM, Soy Products, Soygenol, Melatonin, DHEA, Blue-Green Algae, Parasite Cleansers, Manapol, Juice Plus, Colloidal Minerals (Dead Doctors), Skintastic, Double X, Chocamaca, Vemma, Ageless Extra, Monavie, Xocia, SeaAloe, etc.

These are just a few examples of over one thousand name-brand products I have in my database. Keep in mind that many companies have more than one focus or flagship product, and new product lines are popping up daily. How can we possibly even begin to sort them all out? Again, we have to apply our “research the research” philosophy and come to the table armed with knowledge so we can intelligently sort and sift through these different lines. Here are some of the principles I discovered as I worked on this process.

Picking a Winning Nutrition Product

While it’s true that over 75 percent of the companies I reviewed were nutritional companies, top economists agree that health and wellness is the most viable industry in direct sales. “Wellness industry products and services have perhaps the strongest legs of any product or service, as people immediately notice when someone has a wellness experience and are anxious to duplicate their results.”20 Paul Zane Pilzer, The Wellness Revolution

With the Baby Boomers entering their fifties, this industry will continue to explode for the next twenty years. It’s important to note that the Baby Boomers are very wise consumers. They demand quality and value, and they are tough to fool. Here are some important points to think about while scrutinizing and comparing nutritional product lines.

About the Author

Daren C. Falter launched his direct sales career in 1990, and has since become a passionate student and advocate of network marketing / MLM. He started work on the first edition of How to Select a Network Marketing Company in 1995 and published it as a paperback for the first time in 1998. Daren is now a top consultant, master trainer, popular convention speaker, and a full-time independent business owner in network marketing. Daren maintains a close connection to the industry and keeps his finger on the pulse of the independent distributor by continuing to conduct daily interviews with MLM’s most successful leaders. He maintains an active downline of distributors numbering in the tens of thousands. There’s nothing he enjoys more than training aspiring network marketing leaders and high-integrity MLM companies. Contact Daren Falter at www.networkmarketingreview.com or www.networkmarketingbook.com.

Reprinting of articles authorized with no additions, inclusions, abbreviations,
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