Blog Post #5 - Things I've Learned (Part 3)

DSA

What I'm about to share with you in this blog post is something I learned from the founder of my current company. His name is Tyler Norton

and he is probably the most brilliant businessmen I have ever known. He had (and continues to have) a long, successful career in the traditional business world and he brought a lot of that knowledge and experience to the world of network marketing when he helped start ASEA. I remember sitting through a presentation he gave shortly after I started working as an employee at ASEA. The presentation blew me away and had a lasting impact on me - it is something that I have applied to my professional life in a variety of ways since hearing it. The title of his presentation was a 3 letter acronym: DSA. He explained that anytime you are considering investing in a business opportunity, it must meet the DSA criteria. DSA stands for Differentiated Sustainable Advantage. Let me break that down and explain...

Differentiated. When looking at a business opportunity - and this definitely applies to network marketing business opportunities - you need to make sure it is differentiated from any other opportunity out there. The company must offer something that no one else has. For example, in the world of network marketing, people should be looking for a company with a very unique product line.
If you join a company who has tons of competitors with similar products then you are going to run into some major obstacles. First off, you'll constantly be trying to convince people that your product is better than the competitor's. That will get old really fast. In addition, if there are several other network marketing companies out there with similar products then the perceived value of your products will drop. If your customers can get your products from other mlms then why should they buy from you? Lastly, if your product line is easily copied then guess what? It will soon begin showing up on shelves in Walmart or other big box stores. I see this sort of thing happen all the time with network marketing companies. As a matter of fact, we have a super successful network marketing company in Utah that has grown extremely quickly over the past few years. Just the other day I walked into my neighborhood Walmart and saw  rip-offs of their products on a beautiful display right smack dab in the middle of the store. And even though I'm sure those rip-offs are much lower quality I guarantee there are a lot of people that buy them simply because they are cheaper. If there's one thing I've learned about business it's this: if people can copy your products then they will. Always. You want to partner with a company that has something completely unique that can't be copied.

Sustainable.
The company you join should have a sustainable business model. Does the company have a lot of debt and investors that it's constantly trying to pay off and keep happy? If so, do they have a strategic plan that allows them to pay back their investors while also doing what's best for the business long-term? Does the company manufacture their own products? If so, do they have the facilities and infrastructure in place to support growth? Are they planning far enough into the future to assure they are capable of handling the increased demand for their products? Are the products created easily enough that they'll never run out if the company grows quickly? For example, if the company's product revolves around an exotic berry found in the amazon, are there enough of these berries to support the demand when the company grows? A company must have solid plans in place in order to sustain growth in all facets of the business. Sadly, there are many mlms out there that don't have the infrastructure to support growth and that often plays a part in their downfall. Sustainability is key and is something you should investigate before agreeing to any business opportunity.

Advantage. This one's simple. Does a company provide products or services that provide a clear advantage to its consumers? In other words, do the products give real results to the people that use them?

Do the products provide a clear advantage over supposedly similar products in the industry? In the world of network marketing, your long-term success and residual income depends on whether or not people continuously purchase the products so it is extremely important to make sure the product provides real results. If a company's products provide a clear, powerful advantage then you may just have a terrific business opportunity on your hands.


Any time you are considering investing in a business opportunity make sure it fits the DSA criteria. It may just save you a lot of time, headaches, and money.

Comments on my blog are always welcome. However, if you'd like to reach out to me privately my email address is kalfreedomgroup@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!