Network Marketers cannot turn around without seeing someone else standing there with advice about the training they need to get. I have collected some of that advice, in the form of various quotes and I'm going to share it with you and comment on it.

QUOTE #1

If you believe that you already know everything you need to... you will fail. If you are unwilling to invest a few hundred dollars into your personal education to learn how to get prospecting results... you will fail. If you believe it's too risky to invest a couple of hundred dollars a month into promoting your business... you will fail. - Andre Vatke

Vatke is someone to pay attention to. He is a long time network marketer and founder of Leaders Club.(Google it if interested.)

My comment: OK, you are surrounded with a surplus of advisers pointing this way and that. If you collapse in confusion, you've lost. True, not all of the advice is helpful. In fact there are a lot of bum leads out there. But good grief, get on your feet and let's think this whole thing through!

Vatke is right - training is essential. No one starts out in MLM / network marketing knowing what to do correctly. And often the advice from your MLM company may not be helpful either. You wouldn't do yourself much harm in checking out the Leaders Club. The advice there is balanced and useful. Yeah... you will have to spend some money beyond the free materials! But you jumped into the business of network marketing expecting some overhead. Didn't you??

What? You are just going to wait until the cloud of your doubts blows away?

Fine. I don't know who said it, but here is ...

QUOTE #2

If you wait until you are sure, you may never get started. - Unknown

My comment: 'Nuff said.

QUOTE #3

Learning everything you need to know before doing it will tie your brain into little knots. It's just not possible to fully prepare yourself for what's to come. - Jordan Adler

Jordan Adler is another long time network marketer who tells his story in a book he wrote called Beach Money. He is currently (at this writing) the top distributor at Send Out Cards.

My comment: What he said is absolutely true; you can't learn everything ahead of time. Most things you learn as you go along.  In other words, get going!  Experience a few MLM tasks.

Still, that does not mean to skip training. And if he or any other traditional MLM marketer thinks that networking skills come naturally or easily to people, he is mistaken. I have written extensively elsewhere that people are different and the same marketing system does not work for everyone. [See my hub Network Marketing Systems - Not Everyone is Suited for the Same Marketing System.]

Plus, even traditional network marketing, once the warm list has been finished, requires meeting new people, and that is not something the average person does readily. Hence, training will be needed.

But not all on the first day.  No, first of all, get started.

You will need to ask yourself: "Do I want to be completely dumb about this? How will I ever gather a team (aka "downline") if I don't know anything about this industry?"

QUOTE #4

Your education never stops. Increasing your value to the world never stops. Do you want to make seven figures in the next three years? Go spend $10,000 to $30,000 on courses and consulting as quickly as you can during that period. Doing so guarantees you'll hold more value than 99% of the people in this industry, turning you into a "people magnet" in the process. - Mike Dillard

Now, Dillard is also a top distributor in his MLM company. But he has a tad stronger feeling about getting training. Don't misunderstand - Dillard has clearly said elsewhere that you should not sit around on your hands all this time.

My comment: Hey, purchasing Dillard's entry level book called, "Magnetic Sponsoring" won't cost you much and you get to see several of his video presentations, all of which have great value. Reading Dillard will open your eyes to a lot of things about MLM that you have probably never thought about. You will see that his passion for learning is justified.

NOTE: My website contains links to a variety of training materials, including Dillard's books.

Well, perhaps you need to clarify- do think you need a business trainer, business mentor, or business coach? Not sure?  Let me keep this simple (again I have written about this extensively elsewhere also) -

• If you can identify the specific tasks and skills you need to learn, you need a business trainer. (A lot of training today is available in online tutorials at designated MLM Training sites. Examples: Leaders Club, Magnetic Sponsoring, Renegade Professional, and The 90 Day Marketer. Bits and pieces can be found for free when you look for it.)
  
• If you have studied how to perform specific tasks or skills, and have implemented some of these tasks in your network marketing efforts, but need feedback on how well you did and advice on what to study next, then you probably need a business mentor. (Most online MLM Training sites do not include mentoring or feedback... unless you pay extra, and not all sites provide it.)
• If you are at a point where you just don't know which way to turn - your goals are unclear, you are not sure whether to continue with MLM or take up another business concept, you lack confidence but don't know why - then you probably need the help of a life coach or business coach.

Great!  Hope that helps.  And now...

QUOTE #5

Instead of waiting for someone to take you under their wing, go out there and find a good wing to climb under.  - Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's restaurants

My comments:  Don't expect your upline, crossline, or downline to come running to your rescue! It is YOUR home business. Seek out the trainer, mentor, or coach that can help you.

No problem. And, coincidentally, I was planning to share a description of a kind of training you might relate to....

QUOTE #6

What Mike Klingler had done was created a systematic training program that took the most inexperienced beginner and not onley showed them step-by-step how to become a lead-generating customer-magnet, but literally forced them to become one. I don't like to use hype, but I will say that I've never seen any other training on earth like it. - Ann Sieg

Possibly you know that Sieg is the author of the controversial eBook, "The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing." You know, Anyone can do this is one of the "lies" she wrote about. And it's not true that anyone can do network marketing. As you well know, everyone is different and different people start with different sets of skills. In other words, anyone with time, money, interest, and right training can do this.

So that brings me to her quote. Who is Mike Klingler? He is the developer of The Renegade Professional, one of the MLM Training sites mentioned above.

My comments: I have personally looked at four different online MLM / internet marketing training sites. [By the way - I don't recommend doing that, but I couldn't help myself. Poor self-control and all that. It is very distracting and causes one --OK, me-- to lose focus and tread water.] The Renegade Professional gets my highest rating for -

• Most comprehensive coverage of tasks. As of this writing there are over 200 video tutorials.
• Easiest to navigate.

Sometimes it feels like the tutorials go too slowly for me. (Yet others are delighted that they do go slowly!) I've gotten pretty good at skipping to the parts I really needed. I also learned that some things that seemed "beneath me" were critical to success.

Bottom line: Signing up at the Renegade Professional may be just what you need if you want to do your MLM business online.

That's right. Why? Sounds like a lot of work?

Well, sure! Here's the thing, network marketing IS a lot of work, and especially after you have played the company video for your friends and family and have run out of people on your "warm list." See a common thread in these phrases? ...

• Work at home
• Home business
• Working your business

That's right - a business is work. But here's the good news...

QUOTE #7

You can't do it all yourself. Don't be afraid to rely on others to help you accomplish your goals. - Oprah Winfrey

This is how network marketing is a step above many other businesses. You will have a team to help you reach your goals.

In the meantime, do what it takes to create a team of support. Get yourself the training, a mentor, and a coach. Get someone to keep you encouraged. And get your show on the road.