What Should Your Staffing Requirements Look Like?

What should the initial staff requirements of your new multilevel marketing company look like?

I consult with a lot of different companies that are usually start up companies, every week. One of the things that companies are always asking me is, “What should our staffing requirement look like?” Well, if you’re launching a network marketing company, you’re going to wear a lot of different hats. In fact, of the things I’m going to talk about here, most of them you’ll be doing yourself at some point unless you’re well funded.

1. You need to have a National Sales Director

If you’re launching a network marketing company it’s probably either because you were successful in another network marketing company, or you saw the model and thought ‘this is a really good method of distribution for our products and services’. Basically, you want to be the salesperson. While I run through these other things you’re going to realize, you can’t be the salesperson you need to find someone who understands your vision, your vision plan and vision statement, where your company is going, and empower them to be your National Sales Director.

Your National Sales Director is responsible for your marketing. recruiting, meetings, events, conference calls and getting your vision about the opportunity and products out to the public.

2. Customer Service Manager

You need a Customer Service Manager, NOT an answering machine. Your customer service should not consist of customers calling you and going straight to an answering machine. These days with technology, you can outsource your phones. In fact, we have a company in Colorado that we outsource to when all of our representatives are on the phone and for about $150 a month, they answer the phones 24 hours a day if we’re not available. Spend a few dollars and give a good impression.

Your customer service manager and representatives need to be well spoken and friendly. When they answer the phone, make sure they do it with a smile on their face. You can literally hear the difference in someone’s voice when they smile as they speak.

They need to be able to properly manage schedules and have really good time management methodology. They also need to be really familiar with your MLM software and your back office because they’re going to be getting calls from distributors and customers asking a multitude of different questions about it. They need to understand how to set up your products, your enrollment options, work on your menu, pages, content, etc.

3. Compensation Plan Manager

Most company owners think that because they designed or decided upon the Compensation Plan, that they’re going to be the Compensation Plan Manager. Here’s the thing, your distributors are never going to call if/when they’re overpaid, but when you start getting distributors calling asking why they didn’t rank up, or receive their commissions, are you going to be the one wearing that hat? Along with all the other hats and tasks that you’re responsible for?

You’re the President or the CEO, or Both. You’re not going to have time to do everything. You need a good compensation plan manager that understand the ranks, the requirements, and the rewards for those ranks. That understands how to look at the products and set up the commission value, the bonuses associated with those products, understands how people achieve ranks, be able to look at and determine why someone received a rank or didn’t receive that rank. Most importantly, they need to understand how to run commissions and how to close those commissions and get them paid.

4. Warehouse Products and Service Manager

If you’re doing digital products, you’ve probably integrated with a third party for delivery and less concerned about warehousing, but you can’t be the president and answering the phones, and working on the website, and doing the compensation plan, and shipping out the products.

Your warehouse manager needs to be able to work with product fulfillment, they need to be able to pull your product sales and data reports, they need to be able to work with the chosen shipper; whether that’s FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc. If you’re working with a 3rd party shipping company, they need to understand that shipping software. The need to be able to confirm most importantly when orders have been picked up or shipped and delivered to your customers and distributors and work with orders and returns.

Your warehouse manager needs to be able to work with product fulfillment, they need to be able to pull your product sales and data reports, they need to be able to work with the chosen shipper; whether that’s FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc. If you’re working with a 3rd party shipping company, they need to understand that shipping software. The need to be able to confirm most importantly when orders have been picked up or shipped and delivered to your customers and distributors and work with orders and returns.

When you reach that point of maturity for a Multi Level Marketing Company you’re going to have a lot more than just these 4 key people. But as a startup company, you should really be looking for these 4 key roles first.

They could be friends, family, investors, they don’t even need to be full-time initially. They can be part time roles until the job grows and requires someone full time.

I’ve been helping launch MLM and Network Marketing companies for over 20 years and I know a lot about this as well as a lot of other things that can lead to the success or failure of your company. If you think I can give you some value, give me a call or shoot me an email.