Discussion on MLM as a business model. The author shares her view on the real issue behind the "Truth On MLM" question.
Why such strongly opposing views?The Pro MLM voices come mainly from within the industry - while the Anti Multi Level Marketing camp is largely on the outside.
But that doesn't paint the whole picture.
Many of those who are adamantly opposed to network marketing were once in the business themselves...and more importantly - failed miserably. It's also true that many of those with the strongest anti-mlm convictions base their opinions on hearsay.
We've all heard the "My cousin ( friend, brother, uncle ) Bob got sucked into one of those things - he lost a pile of money!" Or "Yeah - MLM is a scam - don't waste your time!"So then what is the Truth about MLM?MLM is simply a method of distributing products to the end user that allows a company to maximize revenues in order to pay commissions out to their sales force. These commissions are paid to individual distributors.
Companies minimize costs and maximize profits using this model. Which explains the potential for the huge commission checks you hear about.
But in order for an individual distributor to make money they must spend the bulk of their time recruiting people into their opportunity. In other words - product sales are not the main focus. Recruiting new distributors who will likewise consume the products is the name of the game - and where the big money's made.
It is this factor that creates the bulk of the negative perceptions about the MLM industry.
But does it have to be that way! What's the real problem?Quite simply - it's this...
A new distributor is told to make a list of his or her "warm market". In layman's terms that means every person within their sphere of influence - from the garbage guy to Great Aunt Lucy.
They're told not to let anyone who comes within 3 feet of them get away without hearing their pitch. Suddenly the new distributor realizes that even close friends and family are avoiding them like the plague. So they try running ads about their "great new opportunity"...
We've all seen those!"Make $20,000 a week while yousleep! Call xxx-xxx-xxxx Today!"They pay good money to place those ads. Their upline assured them it would work - only it doesn't!Most of those distributors aren't intentionally trying to "suck someone in". They're simply following instructions from their upline distributor in order to grow their business. And, if you're thinking - "Oh then it's that upline guy who's the jerk! You'd be wrong...
You see many of those upline distributors have little or no experience in network marketing themselves...so guess what they're doing? You got it! Those poor guys and gals are doing whatever their upline told them...and on it goes.
MLM offers an income generating model that's supposed to allow the average person to reach up and grab their piece of the pie. And - it's precisely because a person wants it so badly and is so emotionally involved in the outcome that they get so upset when it doesn't happen.
For most of the honest, hard-working people who swallow their doubts and fears and scrape together the cash to give MLM a shot - the results are dismal.
They jump in with both feet and flog their opportunity to anyone thats breathing.
Net result? Most new distributors quit in short order because no-one bothered to mention little details like effective advertising and marketing and so they run out of money almost as fast as they run out of people to talk to.
It's a known fact that 95% of all active network marketers make little or no money. The industry attrition rate is appalling which is why MLM'rs are bashing their brains out trying to find people to pitch their opportunity to.
So - does that make Multi Level Marketing a scam?I'll leave that to you to decide...
The real question to my mind is - how do professional network marketers make the big dollars?And the answer is that they target people who are already successful - either within the MLM Industry or in some other field.
Most network marketers fail because they recruit people who know absolutely nothing about MLM - and even less about running a business!If you've been struggling to make a go of MLM - you might want to read that again - it's the missing piece of the puzzle.
So - is MLM a viable business option?In my view - yes but on the proviso that you understand how the game is played and know how to market effectively.
Isn't that true of any business?There's a lot of money to be made in MLM if you're willing to work at it and your message and your target market are well matched.
If you don't know what that means then you need to study marketing.
Bottom line - if you're considering network marketing as a career or you're already involved in the industry and not seeing the success you'd like - don't rely on your upline to either know or be willing to teach you the Truth On MLM.
