How Can a SWOT Analysis Help Your MLM Business?

Do you have information overload? Between webinars, online research, keeping up with your social media profiles, scheduling and making another three-way call, creating more content, reading and replying to emails, it’s very easy to get lost in the details. And that can be a problem for your business growth.

If you know what I’m talking about, I’ve found a useful solution that helps me stay grounded and better focused on the future.

That solution? A SWOT Analysis. Yep, a SWOT Analysis. I initially came across the application of a SWOT Analysis for blogging as the first assignment in Problogger.net’s excellent "31 Days to Building a Better Blog" program. I saw that a SWOT Analysis can be an extremely useful tool to assess the status quo and future direction of my business.

A SWOT Analysis is a common strategic practice in the business world that looks at the S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats that a business has or might face. I won’t dig into the details of SWOT Analysis here; you’re welcome to Google the term for more information.

For our purposes, the SWOT Analysis isn’t intended to be a "Big Project." Just take 15-20 minutes to write down the following information about your MLM. You may be surprised what you come up with. (If you don’t have an MLM, then apply this to a business you’re currently in.)

Doing a SWOT Analysis

1. Define Your MLM’s Mission Statement and Goals
Before you jump into doing the SWOT, it’s critical that you know what your business’s goals are. And what your Mission Statement is.

Tip for Defining Your Mission Statement:
Be inspiring: Don’t have your "Mission Statement" be something crass like "My Business’s Mission is to Make Money." Have your Mission Statement be inspiring, a call to action, something like "My MLM’s Mission is to contribute to the well-being of Humanity (by offering products that promote health and wellness)." Here’s your opportunity to be inspired by your business, by yourself. Get it?

2. List Your MLM’s Strengths
What qualities or attributes does your business have that will help it achieve its goals? What’s your value-add? What are you good at?

3. List Your MLM’s Weaknesses
What’s holding you back? What do you not have enough of? What’s "broken" that needs fixing? What’s not allowing you to move forward?

4. List Your MLM’s Opportunities
What external things are contributing to your business’s success? What social movements or trends is your business leveraging? What tools and technologies can you incorporate to improve your business?

5. List Your MLM’s Threats
What external things are getting in the way of your business achieving its goals? Who are your competitors? What are your competitors doing or not doing that is impeding your business’s growth?

Tip for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats:
Focus on your business. When I say "Your MLM’s," I don’t mean "Your Company" I mean you and your organization. You’re not necessarily in position to impact Your Company’s Opportunities or Threats, so focusing on your business will empower to you take the appropriate actions.

6. Analyze and Generate Strategies
Think about what you can do about what you’ve written. How can you turn "Strengths" into "Mastery"? How can you turn Weaknesses into Strengths? How can you maximize your Opportunities? How can you minimize your Threats?

7. Create a Plan
Translate your findings into a strategic Action Plan. Then implement it.

Tips for Generating Strategies and Creating a Plan:
a. Be Honest: This is really a tip for the whole process. Be brutally honest with yourself about the state of your business. You’re not trying to impress anyone. In fact, nobody else needs to see your SWOT Analysis. You’re simply trying to get profoundly related to what is actually happening in your business so you can do something about it.

b. Be Specific: When creating an Action Plan, be as specific as possible. "I need to improve my duplication results" isn’t nearly as powerful (or actionable) as "Next month, I intend to assist X members of my downline team increase their number of sponsored people by Y amount ."

Doing a SWOT Analysis periodically will enable you to continually re-evaluate your progress and re-assess the shifting landscape of your market. It will help you cut through the information overload so that you always have a clear path to follow and defined next steps to take, while keeping your eyes on the prize.

Wishing You the Best,
Ben Mapp

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Comments

One Response to “How Can a SWOT Analysis Help Your MLM Business?”

1. 360StudioRed says:

   June 12, 2009 at 11:53 am

   Thanks Ben,

   It was interesting piece of article. We have often read about SWOT Analysis, at various places, but the application methodology you have shown is not only very helpful but also easy to implement.

   Reply