UNDERSTANDING MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING (NETWORKING 101 SERIES - I)

BRIEF HISTORY OF MLM (Networking)

Network Marketing Started in the early 1940’s. It was started by a company by the name California Vitamins, that discovered that most of it’s new sales force coming aboard were mostly friends and family members of their existing sales force. This they discovered was because they were interested in buying at wholesale prices. They also discovered that it was easier to sell more with a large sales force, than a few superstars. They combined these two ideas together, developed a compensation structure and allowed their sales force to make confer representative status on their satisfied customers. The sales force grew exponentially and the company rewarded all the sales reps for the sales produced. That was the birth of Network Marketing. The company later changed it’s name to NutraLite Food Supplement Corporations. Not long after, in 1959, former distributors of NutraLite Rich DeVoss and Jay Van Andel, started Amway Company. Amway became the popular benchmark for Network Marketing.

WHY SO MUCH NEGATIVITY?

One of the reasons for the success of Network Marketing in the 1990’s is that it is based on cooperation, not competition. Unlike in traditional business, career advancement in network marketing comes directly from helping to create success with those that you introduce to the company. Network Marketing is sharing information that results in product sales. People involve themselves because they want to finally be compensated for what their efforts are really worth. They’re involved because somebody cared enough about them to show them the awesome opportunity of network marketing. They get involved because they were ready to make a change.

Why Hasn’t the Truth About Network Marketing Been Told?

·         People resist change and are fearful of what is not fully understood. People are comfortable with what is known and accepted by most.

·         The truth is that most people in power today have an overriding fear of the loss of their own power. Network Marketing is about empowerment of the individual.

·         Newspapers, magazines, radio and television earn their primary profits from their advertisers. Is it in the media’s best interest to say anything positive about an industry that does not advertise? Do you suppose major traditional marketing companies that are receiving increased competition from network marketing companies are excited? Whose side do you suppose the media would take to protect their advertising dollar?

Just as in any business or industry, there are scams and schemes that hurt the industry image. Real estate has had its scams. Banking and Savings and Loans have had their improprieties. Ministries have had abuses for self-serving purposes. The stock market has had its insider trading scandals. Why should network marketing be any different?

Look at the company, the product, its management and their past history. Understand the commitment that is necessary to achieve success and residual income. This advice is just as valid in network marketing as in anything else.

It’s interesting how resistant we are to change. We want to stay in our comfort zones even when we’re miserable. It’s been said network marketing is the next step in the evolution of free enterprise. But there is one thing we can always be assured of: the most fundamental fact of life in our world today is that change is inevitable!