1 . By now the conversations you have with upline people should be taking on a whole new outlook. You should be asking different, more involved, more knowledgeable questions than before. You should be able at this point to contribute something. If this is the case congratulations, you are on your way. If it is not the case, if you are still "lost", something is wrong. Get help now. Go back to square one, start asking questions. You need to take action NOW to determine what is wrong.

Remember, you are in business for yourself, not by yourself. Ask some of the upline people you have come in contact with for ideas. If you feel it's a general lack of business experience or knowledge holding you back, contact one or more of the Chambers of Commerce, Business or Professional Associations we discussed earlier and ask about business seminars or other assistance. Most times you can get free or nominally priced assistance. But no one knows you need help if you don't ask.

Thousands upon thousands of perfectly good and growing businesses have been destroyed by owners who wanted much more too fast. Don't be impatient, don't take on more than you can handle. I know of a very large Direct Marketing Company presently tottering on the brink because its partners wanted too much too fast. Build a foundation and your business will last as long as you want, no foundation and it will come tumbling down when you least expect it.

3. By now, if you can afford the time and money, you would probably benefit greatly from Company sponsored seminars or conventions. They will teach you things you did not previously know, introduce new products, promotions and ideas, motivate you, create enthusiasm and in short raise you to a whole new level.

4. By this point you should also have a list of people who inquired about your program and who did not join. Some people are simply "tire kickers"; others procrastinate and never get around to doing anything. Some however had specific reasons for not joining. Go back and ask your downline people what prompted them to join and what they like about the program. Ask them if they had any initial reservations and what they were. Use that information to do your follow-up with the people who did not join. If you feel comfortable, call rather than doing a follow-up letter.

Please, listen to what they have to say. This information will help you sign some of them up AND it will help you modify your future advertising and promotions to cover these questions and concerns. In short you can make your marketing tools more efficient and cost effective by addressing people's reservations up front. Even if one more person out of a hundred leads is converted. That one person was gained at no additional cost.

You may not see 2 members out of 100 as anything to get excited about, but you need to look at the whole picture. Those two members are not "one shot sales"; they are long term continuous sources of income...as long as you take care of them, they will provide you with a small income every month. Nurture them and help them each get two while you get two more and the income will start to multiply geometrically.