The Sheffield Launch Program > Phase 1

Phase 1: Get Ready

This Phase answers the four key questions you face as you prepare to launch. Is the concept viable? What will it cost? What needs to happen? And what is the compensation strategy? The program is divided into two steps: Flight Plan and Marketing Action Plan.

First, we’ll guide you through developing the overall trajectory of your upcoming launch. This program begins with a discovery session, supported by your completion of a detailed questionnaire, to help fast-forward our understanding of your vision.

The Flight Plan step includes an insider’s “crash course” on the direct sales industry, in a series of informative online video trainings presented on the Sheffield Dashboard Learning Center. This self-study program provides a series of TEN educational presentations, each guiding you through a critical aspect of your new business:

What’s Hot, What’s Not? —  Your guide to the choice and development of a winning product or service for our industry.

MLM Marketing Overview – An overview of marketing fundamentals your company will need to master as you begin to grow your business.

Compensation Plans 101 — An eye-opening guide to the engine that will drive your growth, presented by Mike Sheffield, the acknowledged master of compensation plan design.

Distributor Dynamics — Based on decades of research, a guide to the complex patterns of distributor behavior that you must understand.

Branding Your MLM Company — What it takes to craft a winning brand for your direct sales operation, from the industry’s leading brand expert.

Organizing for Success — The secrets to creating an operational infrastructure that can sustain rapid geometric growth.

Financial Roadmap Part 1 — A detailed and thorough introduction to the financial systems you will need to develop.

Financial Roadmap Part 2 — Your guide to the financial planning required prior to a successful launch.

Financial Roadmap Part 3 — The financial know-how you will need once your company is launched and generating revenue.

MLM 101 – A detailed overview of what MLM is and its value as a business model, including the key components of a successful launch.

This education program positions you way ahead of most startup entrepreneurs in knowledge and understanding of the direct sales industry.

The next step in the Get Ready process is to translate your vision into a Marketing Action Plan (MAP), which will form the basis of your major decisions. The core of the MAP process is a day of face-to-face consultation with our team at Sheffield’s Scottsdale offices, with a follow-up phone conference.

The MAP strategy session will be a transformative experience for your startup team. Make no mistake, this is a demanding day for all involved — consultants and clients alike. This process gives you the entire MLM launch process in compressed form. Here are the typical questions we address during your packed hours at the Sheffield offices:

“Is our product viable for the MLM market?”

“What are the upside opportunities, and the hidden dangers, of pursuing an MLM launch?”

“What compensation plan concept will best suit our needs?”

“How will we recruit our initial high-performing distributors?”

“How much is the launch likely to cost?”

“What revenues can we realistically expect, and in what time frame?”

And perhaps the single most important question we address:

“What should we be asking that we don’t even know how to ask?”

Within the first hour, we will construct an agenda tailored to your specific needs. This will guide our work together for the rest of the day. We’ll also begin introducing you to our Strategic Partners — the adjunct consultants and strategic allies that we coordinate to launch great new companies. With Sheffield, you not only work with the industry’s top MLM consultants, you also have access to the very best in every specialty needed for your launch.

We include a branding expert to assess your image and positioning and a financial expert to help determine the anticipated budget for your project.

We can also provide introductory telephone conferences with experts in legal, software, website design, merchant accounts and front-end marketing/CRM/social networking programs.

We conclude Phase 1 with a follow-up phone conference, where we review our time spent together and the business model we have created.

During this process we will accomplish the following:

• Define the broad vision and purpose of the enterprise
• Describe the current status of your company relative to the target market and its needs
• Determine your general market positioning and core message
• Determine your product configuration
• Analyze your product(s) costs and perceived value – establish pricing strategies
• Review Compensation Plan Dynamics
• Determine your basic marketing strategies
• Understand basic dynamics of distributor organizations – develop strategies to build within those dynamics
• Examine the operational structure required to implement and support your MAP
• Examine financial structure and tools needed
• Discuss a plan for development of distributor sales tools
• Understand the basic legal requirements of the industry – choose the right MLM legal team
• Develop a rollout strategy and timeline

When you’ve completed this process you’ll clearly see and understand your business vision and its potential for the MLM market. You’ll be equipped to decide whether MLM is the right channel for you, and if Sheffield offers the resources you seek to execute your launch. If you decide to work with us, we will give you our recommendations of where to go next, and you may then choose the level of involvement you require from Phases 2 and 3 of our initial launch services.

Click the Phases below to learn more: