For an Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company to remain stable in an ever-changing market, it must have a strong sense of mission — and be able to communicate that mission to its manufacturers, employees, distributors and retail customers.
A company can have it all together — visionary leadership, competent management, adequate funding and a powerful product line. But without a cause, without a worthy and credible mission, without a banner for their distributors to follow, the company will eventually fade into mediocrity and ultimate failure.
You see, it is that intangible system of belief that makes Direct Selling and Multi-Level Marketing different from traditional business.
The MLM distributors who embrace a company's mission will many times develop a missionary-like zeal. When properly nurtured and supported, this zeal bonds the distributor to the company and to its products helping maintain that distributor's loyalty even during the financially lean times.
So before any product is packaged and presented to the public, before all the literature is printed, and before the ranks of distributors begin to swell, your company must first have a clearly defined mission. Once thought out and formalized, this creed should become as much a part of your company as its products, its compensation plan or its personnel. This credo should serve as the behavioral guide to every person in the company - from the founder to the newest distributor.
Over time, a company culture comes to reflect the organization's formalized mission. Every action, every decision should be based on this philosophy. It may not be read out loud every day, but it is there standing as a point of permanence. And no matter what is happening in the market, no matter what competitors are doing, no matter what the hottest new product on the market is - the mission statement remains the same. It is the soul - the center of the company.
Elements of a Mission Statement
So, how do you go about defining your mission? How do you clarify the primary purpose or features that distinguish your business from other companies? Your mission statement should do more than just name your primary product or service and identify the needs your company will endeavor to meet. No matter what the nature of your business, your mission statement should be carefully considered.
To insure those results, you must indeed look into the future. As you lay the groundwork for your Direct Selling or MLM Company, ask yourself these questions:
What do we want our company to become?
What do we want our organization to believe?
What is our area of expertise - what do we do best?
What is our product or service?
Who are our customers?
What is our market?
What words would we like to hear people use to describe our company in five years?
The answers to these questions will help you identify your driving force - the catalyst of your company.
