Originally Posted by jwillia

First off, let me say that I do believe World Ventures is a reputable company.

However, I think your success will depend upon a) your own initiative and ability and b) your support network. Some people are better self-starters and good at convincing people to join things. For them, signing up people is much easier.

Others, particularly those new to selling and network marketing, need more help – particularly in the beginning. Solid support from their upline is very important.

I fell into the latter category and but didn’t have support from my upline. I got lost in the crowd and, eventually, came to realize I would not have my upline to help me. Because of that, I ultimately decided to leave the company and pursue something I was more passionate and knowledgeable about.

There are two different products. You can just take advantage of the travel packages and not the business building portion. However, for those who choose to do the networking side, the fastest way to do it is by utilizing your existing network of friends, business associates, etc. From that base you build your larger network.

My network of friends has always been small and somewhat eclectic. The people I knew were either turned off by the networking part or interested but not financially able to afford it. Since I hit a wall of resistance rather early during my membership, I needed the guidance/support of my upline to help me move through that. Additionally, a lot of it is the art of approaching people and basically making a sales pitch without making it look like a sales pitch. That takes training and support, particularly when you move out of your sphere of known people and start targeting strangers.

During my four or five months of membership I never heard from anybody in my upline. Part of the reason may be that the person who initially got me in the company quit almost immediately because she didn’t have time to pursue the business. I believe I was signed up directly under her and so that may have created a gap. The person who got her involved was someone I met but didn’t know. Additionally, he had another full time career and it was actually his nephew who was doing most of the work. Even though they were friendly toward me, I always got the impression that it was “outta sight, outta mind” as far as I was concerned.

I did attend one of WV's big sales meetings. Although I was skeptical, I was surprised to come out of it super pumped and ready to build my business. Later, I realized that, like lots of companies, they utilize NLP (aka Anthony Robbins) and other types of techniques to get people motivated. This is all valid but if you need guidance and if your upline isn’t there to support you, then that enthusiasm quickly wears off as the rejections begin to mount.

At the conference, I did witness groups that did have that successful group support. In fact, I sat near one very vocal group and had some short conversations with the leader. She was very involved in helping her network develop themselves. I witnessed her advising and offering help several times over the two day period. In fact, a few of her group’s members were given achievement awards or awards for reaching new sales goals.

I think that element had to have been there in my group because the young man who gave the presentation where I signed up was a high money earner in the company. But for some reason I just didn’t register on their radar. Following the conference, I never heard from anybody. Eventually I decided to pursue something else.

I recently received a voicemail message from the young man mentioned above, presumably to get me back into WV. That’s funny – because it’s the first time anybody from that network has contacted me since I signed up. It’s been a year since I quit. Needless to say, I’m not returning the call.

Last fall I went on to study hypnosis in a one-year training program in L.A.. I actually now have some of the skills I would have needed last year in order to build a successful network business. However, I’m more interested in building a private practice to help people with their issues and to motivate them for success in their lives than applying those skills to network marketing. Maybe I’ll change my mind at some point. But if I did, I don’t’ know if I’d go back to World Ventures.

If you can make it work, then I think that’s great. But if you aren’t sure of your skill or ability, then you need to be certain that the upline will be there for you and not going to take your money and move onto the next prospect.