Network Marketing Journey

Network marketing was the brainchild of a company by the name of California Vitamins, during the 1930’s. They realized new sales representatives were all family and friends of their existing employee base and these individuals were interested in obtaining the products at a lower cost.

They also discovered creating a sales force of many distributors who moved small amounts of product was easier than searching for superstars. By combining these two discoveries California Vitamins designed a compensation plan to encourage salespersons to offer customers the chance to become a representative.

In turn, those individuals had the right to bring people into the business and those people could bring people in, causing the sales force to grow by leaps and bounds. The company rewarded them for the sales produced by their entire group or network of sales representatives.

Network Marketing Business Model

Simply put, Network Marketing is about building relationships and direct sales. You could also describe it as a business model in which a distributor/representative “network” is needed to build the business. Typically, these businesses are multilevel marketing by nature and commissions are paid to the distributors on more many level, according to achievement.

The reps are joined with the company in a contractor-like agreement, and paid based on sales results and recruiting efforts.

Network marketing is about leverage. When you sign up with any given company you are taking the first steps towards building a business. The idea behind network marketing is the leveraging of other peoples time and skills to accomplish everyones goals–as a team.

Starting a business, whether it be home based or a traditional business take time, effort and money but more than anything it takes networking. What? You didn’t think people networked outside of MLMs? Of course, they do. A true businessman knows himself well enough to realize he has a given skill set and he cannot do it all.

Network marketing companies are popular among people who are looking for alternative ways to create extra income with a flexible business model. Some of the most notable companies who fit the network marketing model are Amway, Shaklee, and Mary Kay.

Is Network Marketing a Pyramid Scam?

Network marketing is NOT a scam. Unfortunately, MLMs (Multi-level Marketing) have a bad reputation because it can be difficult to determine if a company is operating as a pyramid scheme. Often it is the actual pyramid schemes who are mimicking the network marketing business model–a side effect of the growing popularity of starting a home based business.

As stated in the introduction, network marketing is based on providing consumers with legitimate products they need and/or want for a price AND distributors have the right to build a sales network and reap the benefits of their work.

The individual agents and distributors who find success in network marketing have done so as a result of their hard work and dedication. These businessmen and women have built an organization around the sales of real products and services.

Network Marketing is NOT a Get Rich Quick Scheme

There are individuals who make phenomenal amounts of money in network marketing and do it quickly, however this isn’t the norm nor is it a guarantee. Some people say these individuals got involved at the right time or “They were just lucky!” but there really is no luck in the equation (This way of thinking lends to a type of mindset called the lottery mentality and I’ve address it here).

Then What is Network Marketing?

Network Marketing is a serious business for serious people. The network marketing model is a proven system companies use to harness the power of word of mouth marketing. Because these companies need people like yourself, their plan becomes your guide for success. Just follow the simple and duplicable system the good companies provide.

Aligning yourself with a network company means you don’t have the large monetary requirements hanging over your head,  no required education or skills, and you can build a business anywhere–often the companies have a global reach. I personally know, more than one individual whose organization spans several countries.

Additional benefits include:

• Can offer many of the same tax advantages of owning your own business
• Network marketing is a people-to-people business enabling you to meet new people
• Enables you to travel and have fun
• Enjoy the lifestyle that extra income can provide

Two elements of Network Marketing caught my eye.

First, is the ability to help, mentor and inspire others to create change in their life (one of my personal passions). Secondly, the ability to leverage the time, talents and knowledge of your team to do something amazing to benefit everyone.

For example, I build a network marketing business a few hours each day, with each hour of effort serving as a building block for a long-term business goal. When I sponsor someone into my organization I teach them what they need to know to go forward and create their own success. Some use offline word of mouth methods, while others, like myself have build a internet presence and build their business that way as well.

Lastly, having the right attitude is another key. Manage that attitude on a daily basis by clearing yourself of limiting beliefs and by only associating with positive thinkers and doers. You’re looking for a few good men and women who will in turn do the same.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!