Network marketing or MLM - what it is in simple words and an overview of a project with real passive income. About network marketing - Myths and reality Knowing your own character
To be honest, it hurts my tongue to repeat the same thing over and over again. But I will still repeat it every time this issue comes up in some heated discussion. As, for example, now - in the discussion of a very sad article by Leysan Shagalieva “I am leaving network marketing” (on the first link - a discussion on Subscribe.ru, on the second - the original with comments).
Why is the article sad? Besides the fact that in principle it’s a pity when a person is disappointed, it’s especially a pity that a person for 4 years thought that he was doing “network marketing” and was mistaken! And now a sea of negativity is being dumped on this innocent type of business, the only reason for which is the delusion of this person (and not only him, unfortunately) about the essence of this business!
Okay, so what is the essence of this business?
Think about the meaning of these words - “network marketing”, “MLM” (multi-level marketing). This phrase consists, as you can see, of two words: “network” and “marketing”.
What does "network" mean? Oh, everyone understands this perfectly well. This means that instead of sending the product to supermarkets, the manufacturing company releases it into a network of consumer-distributors (“distributors”). This network is self-developing, and each network participant is financially interested in developing their section of the network.
What does "marketing" mean? For some reason, this word reveals that many people have insufficient knowledge of English. More precisely, many simply do not notice this word! Like, it’s enough that we are “networkers”, and marketing is not our business at all, it’s the lot (and a heavy cross) of linear businessmen, and in general, what does this have to do with MLM?
My friends, stop playing ostriches. First, let's take a look at Wikipedia.
If we translate this into normal Russian, then Marketing is a set of actions to promote a product from the manufacturer to the final consumer. In this case, “product” means a product (the result of the production process) of a network company with which a specific person (networker) cooperates.
So, what mistakes in understanding this term are typical for modern networkers?
1. By “product” we mean not the company’s products, but the personality of the networker, his “brand”. There is no problem promoting your brand as a product, but keep in mind that you will have to pay for such promotion the author of the product, that is, you. The manufacturer of the product always pays for product promotion, this is an axiom. If you want to receive checks from a company, promote the company's product. The company will not pay for promoting your brand!
It's another matter if you want to receive money from your personal clients. Then, really, you need to promote your brand. But what does this have to do with SM?
2. By “a set of actions to promote a product” we mean eating the products of one’s own company. It doesn’t have to be there, you can lubricate it or pour it into the gas tank, or another good option is to store it in the basement. Depends on the specifics of the marketing plan and assortment :)))
The distributor must be aware that he is paid from the turnover he creates. Accordingly, if trade turnover is created only inside his apartment (by moving goods from corner to corner), then he will receive interest only from his personal purchases, which will undoubtedly make the products cheaper for him, but that’s not why he came into business? Or for this? We need to decide on this.
3. Other extreme: “You need to be a salesman, be able to influence, have the gift of persuasion, etc.”No need. Moreover, this usually ruins the networker’s business. People with such qualities either do not stay online or embody the type of “non-duplicate sponsor”, a person who cannot teach others what he can do himself. Therefore, he must continuously recruit newcomers (to replace the collapsing structure) and is actually engaged in linear business, carrying the entire load on his shoulders.
3. “Every beginner can effectively combine a network business and an information business, earning money for promotion.” Can not. When a person begins to master a new area, he must focus on one thing. Those who start making money on a website or blog, or on their training courses, drop out of network marketing and become linear businessmen (even if they continue to “eat” the products of their company and are actually listed in it). I'm not saying it's bad. It's just not SM, and don't try to make it look like SM.
4. “In this business you need to constantly pretend to be something (successful, healthy, rich, knowledgeable, etc.), in fact, lie.” No need. Although, indeed, there are those who pretend, and if this is your sponsor, you are out of luck. If they ask me how much I earn, I answer that the question is asked incorrectly. A serious candidate's question should be: "How much I can earn money by the end of such and such a period, if I work in such and such a way?” Anyone can answer this question objectively really working a distributor with minimal experience, without pretending to be anything. If your own experience is not enough, the answer may well be based on someone else's experience or simply on statistics.
But in the information business, unlike the network business, “impersonating yourself” is critical for promotion (for beginners) and is completely legalized. Who will buy your training courses and click on your affiliate links if you don’t pose as an expert, even if you just started doing it yesterday? The only question here is who does it skillfully, inconspicuously, and who clumsily (“Nikolai Latansky is with you, coach No. 1 in the Russian-speaking space”)
In network marketing, only those who engage in “posing as themselves” doesn't do anything more useful for your business.
5. A special pearl - a phrase from Laysan’s article: “A leader’s paycheck is made up of many people’s failures.” Quite the opposite! How much money have you, Laysan, earned from distributors who were unable to create a structure? A couple of hundred rubles (one-off) from their starter kit? And how much did you earn from the turnover created by successful distributors? Or are there none? In the latter case, you are a handicraftsman churning out recruits, and your disappointment is understandable. But what does SM have to do with it?
One more thing needs to be clarified here. What does the sponsor guide its new partners towards? If for active consumption of products, or for spending a lot of money on promotion on the Internet, even if the partner objectively cannot afford it, Leysan’s claims are justified, and such a sponsor actually profits from the inexperience or trust of his newcomers. But it must be said that this injustice is very quickly balanced out, because the partners of such a “leader” soon realize that this is not a business and cancel the bank order or stop buying. And then the sponsor may exclaim: “Oh, what a bad business! I invested so much in these people, and they left!” But I don’t feel sorry for such a sponsor, just as I don’t feel sorry for those newcomers who were clearly explained what to do, but they didn't do it. Everyone receives according to his deeds.
6. The best “target audience” is networkers. There is a lot of truth in this statement, but conceptually it's a lie. Why? Ask yourself two simple questions: 1) am I a networker? 2) how do I feel when they try to recruit me? And analyze the answers. Much has already been written on this topic in detail.
7. The sponsor is obliged to help his partners with everything they ask (and partners sometimes behave ungratefully). Why on earth? The sponsor must provide the newcomer with standardized initial information and connect him to the team's communication and training system. Everything else is personal relationships that arise between people in the process of work. If a sponsor does more than what he is obliged to do for his distributor, it means that he enjoys it! And it’s stupid to complain about it! (True, there are also sadomasochists...)
Network business is first and foremost business. This is a business relationship. And they cannot be one-sided by definition. And each person bears full responsibility for his own business, and not for the business of someone else.
In conclusion, I would like to quote the only golden paragraph from Leysan’s article. I quote in full:
Have you not noticed that when webinars about mlm and trainings are held, no one says that they will teach you how to create turnover. They talk more about affiliate programs, blogging, and social networks. They show how many subscribers they have. Or registered people in the company (a free subscription does not mean that there is a turnover). And who will teach how to do turnover, because in MLM we get checks for this!
Good girl, Leysan! Alas, in order to understand this, you spent 4 years and used up your entire reserve of psychological strength. And now you are leaving SM. Don't be upset - what you are leaving is this is not SM, and you do not betray your own and other people's hopes.
What is SM? What do you need to do to succeed in this business?
So, the 10 commandments of a networker:
1. Make sure that the company you choose is reliable, does not let people down (at a minimum - it uninterruptedly supplies basic goods to your region, and the delivery cost is acceptable for you and your potential partners). Do not listen nightingale songs of motivators about the “temporariness” of problems.
2. Make sure that your company’s product is suitable for effective marketing: competitive in price, quite unique, valuable for the consumer. It’s easy to determine this: would you like to buy this product yourself if you weren’t promised mountains of gold from participating in the network?
3. Try the product for yourself and make sure of its quality.
4. Give information about the product to your immediate circle. Recommend it to those who we think need it. Do not insist if the person we have chosen does not show interest. Thus create minimal local trade turnover.
5. Provide information about the business to those who are interested in it.(and not everyone!). Generate interest from relevant candidates.
6. Look for “your” way of reaching a wide audience(outside the circle of acquaintances), one that uses our personal strengths.
7. Having found your way, launch it into the system. Make a plan and work through statistics.
8. Learn to connect new partners to team communication and learning. There is no need to solve all the problems for them - they are independent businessmen. But it is the responsibility of the sponsor to provide tools for work and training.
9. Create an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual assistance in the group(within reasonable limits).
10. Never betray your goal. Do not confuse the goal with the means to achieve it.
Naked truth and naked numbers
The whole truth about . Who and how to make money very quickly in the MLM business?...
The truth of MLM business No. 1
You won't get millions. Unless you are at the origins.
So who really makes money in the MLM business? And these are networkers who began their activities a long time ago. They worked a lot - they acquired connections and acquaintances in MLM.
When a new and promising MLM company is planned to be launched, or comes from abroad, these connections are included. The proposed structure is drawn up on paper. Even before the start, ranks and checks are planned.
This is how the money machine starts.
Therefore, it is difficult to create a thriving business from scratch, without having networking friends.
It is unwise to try to convince yourself of this and blow bubbles for other beginners - unless your tool is outright deception.
Truth of MLM business No. 2
MLM is not a get rich quick scheme - it is a serious and complex business. Business - not a club of interests. Therefore, only professionals earn serious money in MLM, as in any business.
The experience of experienced networkers says that it is possible to achieve significant income in a period of 2 years.
Truth of MLM business No. 3
Success in the MLM business depends not only on the distributor, but also on the MLM company.
Therefore, you need to study and carefully consider the choice of MLM company where you are going to invest money.
First of all, carefully study the product offered by the company. If the company's products do not correspond to the stated characteristics, or are even completely useless rubbish, it is obvious that you are dealing with a financial pyramid, and the product serves only as a cover.
Truth of MLM business No. 4
Your chance of success in MLM business is 5%.
General business statistics, including MLM business, are as follows:
- 80% of entrepreneurs starting their business fail in the first year of their activity.
- In a traditional, linear business, 9 out of 10 new companies cease to exist within 5 years, i.e. only 10% survive. The same thing happens in the next 5 years.
- after 10 years, only 1% of surviving companies remain.
The reasons are different, but the essence is the same: only a small number of new companies survive in the long term.
The personal qualities of the entrepreneur play a significant role here. As with any activity, most people are not successful. And in sports and in business and at work.
Why such sad statistics? There are many reasons, but the main one is the lack of knowledge, experience and business skills, and the personal factor.
From here:
Truth of MLM business No. 5
95% of MLM distributors who sign up make no money at all or make very little money on the side. They benefit the company and enjoy products they like at a discounted price.
Truth of MLM business No. 6
When you are told about promising passive income in a new MLM company, in 95% of cases you are unwittingly or quite deliberately deceived (even if this is not a specially created binary scam).
- all for the same simple reason that 95% of companies cease to exist in the first five years.
Truth of MLM business No. 7
According to Pareto's immutable rule, 80% of people will refuse any offer you make, no matter what you offer.
Truth of MLM business No. 8
According to the same rule, 80% of the people you manage to sign are people who want to buy products at discounted prices, and only 20% want to make money.
Truth of MLM business No. 9
Of the 20% who expressed a desire to start a business and make money, only 5% will succeed.
Those. According to statistics, for every 100 people who subscribe to you, only 1 person will remain on the team who will be able to develop their business in the company.
Truth of MLM business No. 10
Let's summarize: to get one current member of your team, you need to make about 500 offers - and you should be prepared for this.
Fortunately, the MLM system also has its undeniable advantages, which should be used as fully as possible when starting this difficult, but interesting and exciting type of business.
Hello, dear friends!
Today it is quite difficult to find a person who has not heard anything about network marketing. There are quite a large number of MLMs on the market - companies offering certain products or the opportunity to earn money. Network marketing, as an opportunity to earn money, has acquired a significant amount of various gossip, both from haters and from its fans.
After reading this post, you will be able to understand what MLM is, whether it is possible to make money through network marketing, how best to do it, and let’s look at the myths about network marketing.
About MLM
A large number of people are sure that Network Marketing or in other words MLM (Multilevel Marketing) is an illegal financial pyramid. But the truth is that employees of such companies, called distributors, distribute products through various methods and receive commissions for this. Their income depends on sales volume.
By its nature, network marketing is a way for independent distributors to sell goods or services.
Due to the fact that distributors are independent employees, the opportunity to earn money is unlimited. True, in practice, not everyone can do this. This was one of the reasons why MLM was surrounded by so many rumors and gossip.
Let's start with the rumors invented by network marketing detractors:
1. MLM is a scam or a financial pyramid
This rumor arose due to the fact that many pyramid schemes pose as legitimate MLM companies. You need to understand: network marketing is a type of business, and a financial pyramid is a scam.
How do you know where is a financial pyramid and where is a normal network marketing company?
This can be done by analyzing the initial contribution and the possibility of earning money without attracting new participants (the basis of financial pyramids is the constant attraction of new people). Of course, network companies are also based on a referral system, but unlike financial pyramids, there is the opportunity to receive money for the created group turnover based on personal consumption of products.
It is worth considering the cost of the actual product. If it is symbolic - a training course, blog, website, status, then in most cases this project is a pyramid.
2. MLM – selling goods and pestering people
Today there are still some companies and individuals who do just that. Let it remain on their conscience. At the same time, many people do this business in a civilized manner in offices, create websites and sell goods or services via the Internet. There are as many methods as there are people. If you like to engage in active sales - go ahead, if you don’t like it, choose a different method. Nobody limits you, you have complete freedom of action. So, as we see running around with bags, it is simply impossible to call it anything other than a myth.
3. MLM is a sect with zombie elements
People who, no matter what, strive to achieve their goals, stand out from the general crowd floating with the flow. This happens everywhere and network marketing is no exception.
4. It is impossible to make money in network marketing
This fairy tale was invented by people who collaborated with network companies, but for various reasons nothing came of this idea. In most cases they are losers. If you do not belong to the category of such people, then you are unlikely to listen to them.
To be objective, it should be noted that some rumors are started by networkers themselves, with the sole purpose of attracting as many people as possible to their organizations.
1. Network Marketing is the greatest opportunity in the history of mankind, it is the future
Over the 70-year history of MLM development, not a single network company has made it to the list of the 500 largest companies in the world. Also, if you analyze the turnover of network companies, you can confirm the groundlessness of this rumor.
2. MLM is creating your own business
In MLM companies you shouldn’t shout about your own business, since the rules are the same for everyone, and they were not written by you. Even if you are a TOP leader, you will have to take into account the overall strategy, otherwise you may be excluded from the list of distributors.
3. MLM is wealth, success and recognition
In network marketing, less than 2% of people achieve an income exceeding $1000 per month. The majority of distributors use this type of activity as an increase in wages. In order to earn decent money you need to work day and night. But this is not a guaranteed fact either. You need to be prepared for the fact that network marketing will only bring you losses financially.
How can you make money in network marketing?
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P.S. Friends, if you are building a network business using the Internet, then sooner or later you will encounter a situation when you need to deliver goods to a specific buyer. And here a logistics company will come to your aid. You can find out all the details on the website asstra.ru
We're going to tell you what MLM actually is, so take almost everything you've heard about network marketing out of your head. Multi-level marketing, also known as MLM or network marketing, is a specialized sales niche that has the potential to earn you very large monthly income, but only if you understand it and your marketing approach is serious.
The fact is that most of you have already heard about network marketing. And many of these are misconceptions, which were promoted by recruiters and some of his detractors. Below are five of the most common myths about network marketing.
1. Is network marketing nothing more than a pyramid scheme?
Pyramid schemes are illegal investment schemes that are not associated with a product - or more accurately, the investment schemes are themselves a product. Network marketing, on the other hand, is a way of selling a product through word of mouth. As with any business, the more people work for you selling the product, the more money you will make. Your network, as it develops, will build its income, but only if you are based on a high-quality, good and useful product that people want to buy.
2. Network marketing is a get rich quick scheme.
Few people can get rich quickly without working hard. Like any other home-based business, a network marketing business takes time to grow. You won't see those five-figure incomes in the first month you're in this business. You will have to spend a lot of time growing your network and building your successful sales team before you start seeing a consistent stream of income.
3. Network marketing is so simple that anyone can do it.
If this were true, then network marketing would not have a 95% failure rate. The truth is that network marketing requires hard work, dedication and the development of specialized skills in both sales and management - then you will really start to see real money as you lead a successful sales team and effectively manage your staff.
4. The only way to succeed in network marketing is to sign your friends and neighbors.
If you rely on "warm prospects" - your friends, neighbors and acquaintances - your prospects will melt away pretty quickly. The only way to make real money online or MLM is to expand your marketing network and also learn how to generate leads.
5. You can make a lot of money in network marketing without selling.
Whether we like it or not, if you join an MLM, you will sell. It's a question of what you're actually selling. The biggest mistake most new network marketers make is focusing their efforts on building downlines before creating a market.
Look at it this way. With a reputable MLM, you will have at least two income streams. The first one will be a commission on sales itself. The second is residual income from sales made under your command. This second thread will increase if and when your team members start forming their own groups. When you first start a network marketing program, your most significant income stream will come from your own sales commissions. As you build your team, more and more of your income will come from the second stream - and the size of that stream is up to you. From how you can teach those under you how to sell the product and train others to sell the product. How can you teach your team members to do something you haven't already done yourself?
Of course, you can make money in network marketing. If this were not the case, the MLM scheme would not be so widespread. The key to success in network marketing, as in any other job, is effort. This is the only true path to success.
If you do not want to become victims of scammers, then you need to know exactly what an MLM business really is. Because it is too easy to fall into the trap of a financial pyramid and end up without money.
In this article we will look at how to distinguish a real MLM business from financial pyramids. And is it really possible to make money in MLM?
And first, let's figure out what the essence of the MLM business is, and why it is so disliked “by the people.”
What is MLM business in simple words
The name "MLM business" comes from the English MLM - "Multi-Level-Marketing" (literally - "multi-level marketing"). Other names for this same phenomenon are network business, network marketing and the new “fashionable” name - “network marketing.”
This designates one of the options for organizing marketing - a distribution scheme for the company's products. A classic business is when there is a store where people come to buy our product. A network version of a business is when many people take our product and distribute it among their friends.
That is, in MLM we do not hire employees on a salary, we do not rent stores. Our task is to recruit as many volunteers as possible who will distribute our products themselves, receiving a percentage of sales for this.
In addition, these volunteers of ours will recruit their own volunteers. And then they will already receive a percentage not only from their sales, but also from the sales of all their “recruits”.
Who invented MLM?
MLM as a type of marketing was invented, of course, in America. The first organizers of online companies realized that people are much more willing to buy certain categories of products when they are recommended to them by their friends. These are products such as floor cleaners, shampoos, cosmetics (note that almost all of these are products “for women”).
And, in principle, it turned out to be a good thing. The goods of network companies were usually cheaper because there were no expenses for renting premises and salaries for employees. And in quality they often surpassed analogues from stores. Thus, networkers were able to bypass the fiercest competition in the household goods market.
But here's the question. Why do “the people” dislike this same MLM and network business so much?
Why do they dislike MLM so much?
If you don’t believe that MLMs are not loved, look at the advertisements they advertise in newspapers and on websites. They will never write directly - they say, we are recruiting people for a network business, come to a meeting at such and such a time.
No, everything will always be hidden there and disguised as “opening a branch of the world’s largest company” and under “need an assistant to the head of a business, I’ll teach you everything, salary from 50 thousand per month.” Why such secrets and enticements? And because if you directly write that you are recruiting for MLM, no one will come to you. Because they don’t like MLM =)
And there are two main reasons for this.
Reason #1 - Destruction of the foundations of relationships
Have you ever wondered why we (people) recommend anything to anyone? Why should we tell our work colleague where they make delicious sushi? Why should we advise a friend which car is better to buy? After all, this, in fact, does not concern us.
But nevertheless, we really want to come running from the other end of the city, if someone needs our recommendation, and at least force him to listen to us. What is the reason for this behavior?
You might think it's because you're such a kind and nice person who just wants to help everyone around you as much as possible. But actually it is not. We are ready to recommend with pleasure, because in this way we dominate those to whom we recommend something.
Judge for yourself - we have a certain Knowledge. which the person opposite us does not have (be it knowledge of where you can eat sushi without getting poisoned, or knowledge of which car has better characteristics). And by sharing this Knowledge, we show that we are better. Yes, yes, we are better and higher and smarter than a person who does not possess this Knowledge.
And the higher the result a person gets on our recommendation, the stronger our dominance will be. Accordingly, we sincerely try to recommend only the best. And the one who asks us for advice subconsciously feels all this, and therefore believes our recommendation.
MLM should be based on this principle, but here money spoils the whole thing. When a networker we know recommends something to us, we always have a suspicion that he is doing it solely for his own monetary gain. Even if he really likes the product and would recommend it for free. But an unpleasant aftertaste remains.
Thus, MLM interferes with the fundamental set of unspoken laws of human relations (it is also called the “social contract”). And this destroys friendships, friendships and even family relationships. And that's why people don't like him.
Reason #2 - Overmotivated Zombies
If you have ever met a real “networker”, then of course you understand what I’m talking about.
The basis of MLM marketing is strong training and strong motivation of network participants. People by nature are very lazy and timid creatures. Getting them to sell something to strangers and people they barely know is not an easy task.
And therefore, every new recruit undergoes intensive training, where the emphasis is on motivation. They are brainwashed with promises of huge profits. They are told that they are the chosen ones, and everyone else is only jealous of them. And they are also very convincingly told that their product is almost the most ingenious invention since the light bulb.
And people are gradually losing their minds. Can you imagine what it’s like to be the only one who knows the whole truth (that the best job is a network business, and the best cream is Oriflame), but no one believes you and shies away from you like the plague?
As a result, it becomes very difficult to communicate with networkers. All they talk about is the network business and their product. All they do is try to pull everyone they meet into their structure, to the “light side”.
Again, this leads to rifts in friendships and family relationships. That's why they don't like MLM. In people's minds, getting into MLM is the same as getting into some kind of sect. And those who fall into the “trap” will soon begin to sign over their apartment to some of the next “Herbalife witnesses.”
But there are, of course, positive sides. If you don’t lose your head, then an MLM business can be an excellent development option for you. You will keep your friends and find new ones.
How much can you earn in MLM?
Networkers love this joke:
A man comes to the city and sees that on one side of the street all the houses are large, beautiful, well-groomed. There are expensive cars next to the houses, and all the people walk around cheerful and happy. And on the other side of the street the houses are small, dirty, dilapidated. All the people are in rags and eat rats.
He approaches one of these dirty houses and asks a passerby why the houses opposite are so beautiful, but here they are so bad.
The passerby replies: “Oh, there live networkers across the street who are involved in MLM.”
The man asks, “What are you doing?”
Passerby - “We don’t believe them!”
The joke is funny. But, unfortunately, as in any other type of business, most people involved in MLM do not have any income at all. A very small percentage of networkers have an income comparable to the usual salary of a qualified specialist. And only tenths and hundredths of a percent of all millionaires make really big money.
How to develop in MLM correctly?
Yes, you can earn money in MLM, and even a lot. But only on condition that you really work. And to earn money, you will mainly be engaged in recruiting people into your structure, and not in selling the product itself.
If you want to develop in network marketing, you need to conduct a huge number of personal meetings every day. And we also need to ask our friends to organize parties at their home, and bring their friends - for whom we could hold an “impromptu” presentation of our product and business.
And most likely it will take you several years to build a large and loyal structure with which you can have large incomes. Therefore, please do not be fooled by promises of quick money. Like everywhere else, you have to work here.
And most networkers eventually understand that MLM is not the option to which they would like to devote their entire lives. Therefore, they go into other types of entrepreneurship. But they retain the skills they acquired while working in MLM.
And today there are projects that masquerade as MLM, but in fact are something much worse.
How to distinguish MLM from a financial pyramid
If you haven’t noticed yet, today there is a huge offer on the Internet to participate in some super innovative projects. As a rule, we are talking about decisions that will change the whole world in some area. In the field of housing, in the field of transport, in the field of the Internet or in the field of telecommunications.
The only problem is that this ingenious solution is still under development and cannot be used yet. Or you can use it, but it is so inconvenient, crooked and weak that it loses even to free analogues.
And you are offered to either buy a share in this project, or buy a product and pay for it every month. And people do it, and with great joy. The question is - why? And then, they can attract new members who will also pay every month, and you will receive some percentage from their payments.
Almost like MLM, but with one difference - there is no specific product that you could use. That is, you pay not for the product, but for the opportunity to receive money from those who are below you in structure.
And such an organization is possible precisely due to the “virtuality” of the proposed product. It does not need to be transferred or stored. You don't have to use it at all. The main thing is to attract more and more new participants “for yourself”.
How financial pyramids collapse
All these projects always end the same way. One day, people who can be attracted to the pyramid simply run out. And then the participants in the “lower layer” stop paying their monthly fees. Why should they pay someone if no one pays them (because there is no one below them)?
Then the penultimate layer stops paying because the last one does not pay them. And so on until the pyramid burns out to the very top.
Some pyramids appear and disappear in a couple of weeks. Some last for years. But the main thing is that they always have the same ending. And if you are offered participation in some kind of “network business” where there is no product, or it is very complex (too innovative for a mere mortal to understand its idea) - most likely you are being lured into a financial pyramid.
Here are some more indirect signs of a financial pyramid:
- Promises that there will be no need to sell anything or recruit anyone.
- Mandatory monthly payments.
- Inability to personally check the quality of the product (or poor quality of the product).
In general, it is the quality of the product that distinguishes a real MLM in the first place. Recommendations are certainly good. And your friend will probably buy something from you one day if you recommend it to her. But for her to pay you a second time, she needs to really like the product.
Therefore, pay attention to indirect signs and do not fall for scammers. Otherwise, they feel like fish in troubled waters on the Internet. Is it really possible to do a real network business via the Internet?
Is it possible to do network business via the Internet?
This is the golden dream of any networker. You don’t need to go to any personal meetings, you don’t need to recruit anyone. Stay at home, spread links to your product on social networks and websites - collect the cream.
But it seems to me personally (and this is just my personal opinion) that network business in its original understanding cannot exist on the Internet. There are two main reasons for this:
- MLM business is a business of recommendations. We recommend the product to our personal acquaintances, and they recommend it to their acquaintances, and they recommend it to their acquaintances. This is how the structure is assembled. And if we recommend a product to everyone, then this already becomes ordinary advertising.
- MLM business is based on a high-quality physical product. That is, you can touch it, try it. And you definitely need to give the buyer the opportunity to “touch” it before buying. Accordingly, there is no escape from personal meetings.
And if you really don’t want to go to personal meetings with anyone, but work via the Internet, then it’s better to engage in affiliate programs. This is the same as MLM, but you simply advertise a product and receive a commission on sales.
That is, MLM via the Internet is possible. And it’s called “earning money from affiliate programs.” Look at my article and a lot will become clear to you.
By the way, there are also multi-level affiliate programs. That is, you can also earn money there by attracting new partners, and not from personal sales. Watch my video about how I make money from affiliate programs (opens in a new tab).
Conclusion
I in no way want you to get the impression after reading this article that I am against MLM business. In fact, I'm a big proponent of people starting to take responsibility for their own income, and trying to provide for themselves through their own efforts, rather than relying on someone else.
And for starting an entrepreneurial career, network marketing is a very good option. You will gain experience, make your first bumps, and learn to resist public pressure. The main thing is to approach everything head-on and look at things objectively.
Otherwise, there is a high probability that you will be disappointed in ordinary MLM, and instead of using the acquired skills to open your own business, you will get bogged down in financial pyramids and financial bubbles.
Don't forget to download my book. There I show you the fastest way from zero to the first million on the Internet (a summary from personal experience over 10 years =)
See you later!
Yours Dmitry Novoselov
