Newbie Coming Aboard?
All new Network Marketers have one significant weak point. They lack experience! Some of them also can't afford, literally, to wait six months or longer to start breaking even or showing a net profit. In the remainder of this article I will briefly examine some of the main signs new marketers want to look for in the programs they join.

Forums
Just about every program I look at these days connected to Network or Affiliate Marketing has a member's forum. This can be a definite plus, but not automatically so. Ask yourself good the quality of the forum is to you. Is there a broad enough range of topics covered in the posts you view? Does a strong impression or sense of "community involvement" strike you? How helpful and clear are the individual entries you have viewed, in your opinion? Finally, here is something to look for that many people don't. How many posts do you see by the forum's Administrator, Moderator, or even the company's owner or owners? Do these posts show a personal involvement by these people and also the senior members to help shorten your learning curve?

Just Email Me!
Can you contact the owners directly through a Private Message (PM) or email? If the answer is yes, how quickly do they answer you and do they take the time and effort to really listen to and help you? It isn't that you can't or won't ever be able to ask for and get help from anybody else. It IS a very good sign, though, when the person or persons at the top have their "door" open for you.

Website Assistance
Can you get any kind of assistance with having your own web page to advertise the product or service you are marketing? This is a big plus, especially with companies that offer you a well-designed, professional looking website to boost your sales efforts. An effective website is one tool you can't do without if you are serious about succeeding.

Other Tools
Does the program or company you want to join have any other features to help you, like video tutorials, flash presentations for prospects to view, Keyword Lists, and contributions from marketers who are at the top of their game? Don't forget to actually take a close look at these to see if you can actually use them for your benefit. And remember one last key thing. When you are attempting to convert a prospect to a paying customer or client, YOUR personal credibility is on the line! Lose that prospect's faith or trust in you, and do yourself real harm.