The Problems with Network Marketing

Network Marketing, or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a very legitimate business model. And a solid way to generate income for yourself.

But the industry is plagued with false promises and mis-representations, that leave a bad taste in the mouths of distributors, and the people they try to sell to.

The main problem with Network Marketing, is the old-school approach that states: "Anyone within 30 feet of you is a prospect".

Hunh?

It seems that the really successful network marketers are those with huge numbers of recruits (known as their down line). And so, a lot of network marketers focus on recruiting. They try to recruit friends. They try to recruit neighbors.

Also, network marketing companies want more people selling their stuff - so their training programs often emphasize things like: "HOW TO GET 30 PEOPLE IN 30 MINUTES!" They emphasize the distributors who build their down line very rapidly. They skew their compensation plans, so that as a distributor you make a lot more money from recruiting than you do from simply "selling the product" to customers.

What does this lead to?

Most people new to network marketing feel overwhelmed. They have uncomfortable conversations with people close to them (because its really tough to sell to random strangers)... and people start avoiding the poor network marketer!

Others do have the personality to approach random strangers, talking about their product. The challenge there though, is that it can be awkward / transparent to transition from a small talk conversation, to one where you're selling! Most of us don't like being hit over the head with a sales pitch.

Thus, the challenge of network marketing.

My wife and I have attempted a few network marketing companies over the years. Here's how it went:

1. Pre-Paid Legal Services: GREAT product. We used it for a couple of years, and got good value for our monthly fee. However, we weren't quite comfortable pitching to strangers on the street, or to friends (unless it came up naturally in conversation). The result? Though we were good customers for Pre-Paid Legal Services, we didn't make much of anything in terms of building an organization for ourselves.

2. DVD Monster: Soon after we signed up for this company, THEY CLOSED SHOP! Great.

3. YTB Travel: We signed up for this at a period during which we were organizing a lot of cruises. Good product, and easier to talk about (since we enjoy traveling, and talk about it a lot anyway).

4. Melaleuca: Very reputable company. However, I didn't enjoy the fact that I was forced to purchase a certain dollar amount of product every month, as a customer... and when I didn't place an order by a certain day of the month, I was sent a default order. This would have been okay if Melaleuca had product that I would have otherwise purchased elsewhere, and was simply transfering the source of that product. Instead, I found myself stocking up on the few products that I enjoyed (-ex- their soaps)... but not using them all up within a month.

I recently discovered a lady by the name of Ann Sieg, who seems to have turned the old-school Network Marketing approach on its head.

• It's not true that everyone is your prospect!
• It's not true that you don't have to do any sales... that you're just sharing products with people!
• It's not true that anyone can do network marketing!