This is a special type of business in which you can earn a lot of money, help a large number people and at the same time have a blast.
It's just a very meaningful and logical business.
Understand this profession. Understand what you can get from network marketing and form your own informed opinion.
What is the essence of MLM business?
In network marketing, as in any other business, your main task is to create a network of consumers. People buy products from the MLM company you cooperate with, the company pays you a percentage of the amount of their orders.
But if the whole business came down to personally attracting clients, it wouldn’t be so interesting. This would be a regular affiliate program like in many online stores - bring a client, get a commission.
The main strength of a multi-level business is that you can look for not only clients but also partners. And in the end, you create a network of consumers not alone, but with a team.
I'll give you an example that literally fascinated me at the beginning of my networking career.
An entrepreneur I know, who by my standards earned a lot of money in MLM, told me the following:
“Andrey, look. Let’s say in the first year you find only 5 smart partners who decide to develop business with you. In the second year, they find 5 partners - and you have 25 new key partners on your team.
In the third year you have 25*5=125 new partners on your team. In the 4th year, 625 partners already come. And after 5 years, 3125 people join the team.
You didn't invite them personally. Your partners brought them. But you get your percentage from the entire turnover created. And since people order groceries every month, you get your check every month.”
After that conversation, I couldn’t sleep for several nights. I decided that I could connect five people in any way possible in a year. This means that sooner or later I will succeed.
Of course, in real life this scheme does not work as simply as I described. Of course, not all those invited will be involved in business. Someone will remain a client. And someone will leave the business altogether and will not even buy products.
But one way or another, over the past 5 years in my current company I reached an income of about 8,000,000 rubles. in year.
How MLM business works in the 21st century
Previously, many people perceived the MLM business as follows: “A. Well, you have to run around with bags, catalogs and sell.” In the 21st century, such working methods are no longer relevant. Nowadays, many MLM companies work with clients through an online store.
Customers order products directly from the company's website. The company (not you!) brings them the products. And they pay you a percentage because the client bought on your recommendation. Thus, there is no need to run around with the catalog now.
Our task is to fill the store with customers.
Moreover, you need to find a client once, but you earn money from each of his orders.
Benefits of Network MarketingWhat are the pros and cons of network marketing. Let's start with the positives.
1. You don’t need to invest money in creating a product warehouse.
Your online store is filled with goods by an MLM company.
The company is engaged in production, delivery, logistics, monitors the availability and expiration date of products, organizes marketing campaigns, and keeps records of remuneration.
Please note: you are not spending money on all these tasks. These are company expenses, not yours.
Compare this situation with a classic business, where an entrepreneur must pay for rent, accounting, purchasing products and pay salaries to all his employees. And this is before he even started making money.
There are no such headaches in network marketing. And essentially you need to solve one problem: organize the flow of customers to the online store.
How to do this is usually taught by the team you join. Or rather so. I can’t speak for all the teams - in our team we teach this.
2. You can combine an MLM business with your main occupation.
There is no need to quit your job, give up your main business, or give your children up to a nanny.
You can grow your business by investing as much time as you have.
This is a plus and a minus at the same time. Because most people absolutely do not know how to plan and manage their time effectively. Moreover, if the boss with a stick doesn’t push you from behind.
3. This business gives you freedom. You can develop it from almost anywhere in the world where there is Internet.
For example, my wife and I travel a lot. Therefore, I am very inspired that my business is now located in my mobile phone. And I can develop it equally effectively both from my apartment in Moscow and while living in Thailand, where we usually spend the winter.
Watch this video from minute 13 to find out how network marketing differs from classic business.
4. No risks
Even if this business doesn’t work out for you, what are you risking?
The cost of failure in network marketing is ridiculous. This business does not require much money. Basically, you invest time in an MLM business, not money.
Moreover, the main point of investing time in the MLM business is this: you invest time and effort now in order to receive in the future passive income from the created network of consumers.
Just in case, let me clarify that passive income is income that comes to you regardless of whether you work or not.
What do you need money for in MLM?
At a minimum, you start using your company's products. But let's think logically. Changing some Head & Shoulders for shampoo from your network company is not a risk. Or, for example, replace a breakfast of omelette with fried sausage with delicious and healthy protein shakes - you will still spend this money on food.
Cons of Network Marketing1. Very low entry threshold.
Usually, to start a business in network marketing, it is enough to order products for $50-200. This is both good and bad.
Good, because you essentially don't risk losing a lot of money.
It’s bad because it allows people who are hoping for a lottery ticket to get started in business. This means that at the first difficulties, beginners often lift their paws and say, “Well, okay. It doesn’t hurt that I need to earn more. I'll go do something else."
Compare this to buying, for example, a McDonald's franchise for half a million bucks. Yes, a person who has spent so much money will not sleep at night, gnaw the earth with his teeth, but he will make sure that he succeeds. Waste that kind of money?! No way.
2. There is often no quick money in this business.
For entrepreneurs, this is not a minus, by the way. In classic business, people are happy if they break even in 2-3 years.
But for those who are accustomed to receiving a salary for the time spent at work, and not for results, this situation may be a surprise.
You start earning money online only when you have mastered the necessary skills. Has the team started to grow? Are there more clients in your online store? Great. You start earning good and stable money.
But this could easily take a year. And people without experience have even more.
If this shocks you, fuck it. Perhaps network marketing is not your type of business. And it would be better to remain employed until the end of your days, for example.
3. You will face advice and negative opinions from other people.
Many people do not understand how legitimate network marketing companies differ from financial pyramids.
How to explain what network marketing is to a person with brains
They will tell you that you are doing some kind of bullshit.
Newbies leave the business because someone told them that network marketing is bad.
The newcomer himself did not have time to study this profession. He didn't understand it. I don’t have a reasoned opinion. So if 10 people tell you that you are a fool and your business is a fool, you will quite possibly believe it.
Many believe and leave.
What to do?
Make sure you get to know the profession better. Read a couple of books, watch a couple of smart films about MLM, meet your sponsors, go to training.
The higher the level of confidence in the profession, the stronger the partner’s armor. The more likely it is that he will stick to his opinion, and not fall under the opinion of other people who essentially don’t care about his future.
If you depend heavily on the opinions of other people, you will have a hard time in network marketing. But what is there... Not only in network marketing.
SummaryLet's finish where we started.
Network marketing is a special type of business in which you can earn a lot of money, help a lot of people and at the same time have a blast. It's just a very meaningful and logical business.
This is a business without risks. A business that gives you the opportunity to get both money and free time.
Understand this profession. Understand what you can get from network marketing and form your own informed opinion.
MLM business, or network marketing, began to conquer Russian market back in the 90s of the last century, and still remains in trend, attracting new entrepreneurs to its ranks. Thanks to this form of sales, we distribute all kinds of additives, cosmetics, detergents, dishes, etc. According to the Direct Selling Association, 43.5% of the market is occupied by personal care products, 29% by products that promote healthy image life. 11.2% - clothing and accessories, 9.5% - household chemicals, 5% - household goods and others. But, despite the fairly high demand for goods, and the growing turnover of companies engaged in network business, our attitude towards MLM is very ambiguous.
- What is attractive about MLM business?
- Why people don't like MLM: 3 reasons for distrust of business
- How to start a business from scratch in MLM
- How to choose the right company to work for and start earning money
- 3 tips on how to make money with network marketing
- Internet network marketing: a second wind for business?
- MLM business trends 2018
- How to develop a business mindset using MLM
On the one hand, hundreds of thousands of people come to the MLM business who want to earn money and build a career: at the end of 2017, 3.8 million people were engaged in network marketing. On the other hand, they try to avoid network marketing and often do not consider it as an opportunity to make money, preferring stable work with a stable monthly payment. The thing is that often people have no idea about true face network marketing. Let's try to figure out what MLM business is today, what positions it occupies in Russia, whether it has prospects and what awaits it in the future.
What is attractive about MLM business?The name MLM comes from the English multilevel marketing, that is, multi-level marketing, sales. Network marketing - certain type sales of goods and services by independent distributors. Each of them can not only engage in sales, but also attract new partners, and they, in turn, attract their own. Thanks to this approach, a “network” is formed, each participant of which can receive interest both from their own sales and from the sales of people they attract. How more network distributor - the higher his income.
Let's say you have a store that sells cosmetics. You can only make a profit when buyers come to you. Opened - earnings will also depend on its customer attendance. Network marketing will provide completely different opportunities. People themselves will order the necessary goods, buy them and distribute them among their friends. It is for this reason that it is so attractive to companies producing certain products. Market “dinosaurs” such as Avon, Mary Kay, Oriflame, Amway do not have worthy competitors for the simple reason that their products are often sold out almost immediately, even at prices that are many times higher than “store prices”. Sales through stores are fraught with competition and unnecessary problems problems that can be solved through network marketing. The manufacturer does not need to spend money on advertising, renting retail space or incurring other expenses. But for networkers, the big plus is that companies not only earn money themselves, but also give everyone the opportunity to earn money - those who like their products.
In network marketing you can:
- have a free work schedule;
- get by with minimal financial investments;
Make a career;
- create passive income;
- transfer the contract by inheritance or sell.
But despite all the advantages, not everyone manages to achieve success in MLM.
Millions on MLM: how American multi-level marketing differs from RussianAmerican MLM marketing differs from Russian only in the attitude of representatives of two nationalities towards it. Americans most often consider network marketing to be a side hustle or second job. They are ready to devote some time to it, but not their whole life. If things are going well, and there is not enough time to manage a multi-level company, a few leave their jobs and engage only in MLM business. Some people can actually become millionaires through MLM. But this is only the top of the pyramid, at the foot of which there are thousands of less successful entrepreneurs.
In Russia, newcomers often try to invest all their strength and resources into a new business and constantly run around with friends and strangers, offering a product and trying to sell it at any cost. To build own network, many lack the skill or desire. Beginners mostly see only a system of bonuses and bonuses plus the opportunity to purchase goods cheaply.
Network marketing today, like any other business, requires a reasonable approach and a clear plan of action. And one more thing: if abroad the times of trials of network companies are a thing of the past, and business has become completely legal and profitable, then in Russia the possibility of encountering fraud still exists.
Everyone Have a good day! Today we will tell you about what network marketing is and how you can make money from direct sales.
From the article you will learn how to choose the right company for cooperation and not fall into the hands of scammers.
We will also analyze all the pros and pitfalls of such a business, and you will be able to assess how suitable this job is for you and whether it is worth trying yourself as a distributor.
What is network marketing in simple wordsWe all know that the very concept of marketing involves provoking consumers to buy a certain product. As a rule, advertising is used for this on TV, in magazines, on the Internet, and so on.
It often happens that “world-famous” brands spend millions of dollars on advertising annually and this, of course, is reflected in the price of the product. That is, if we didn’t watch videos on central television every 30 minutes about the benefits of Gerber baby food, each jar of this product would most likely cost 30-40% less.
The most popular companies in Russia are Oriflame, Amway, Mary Kay, Faberlic...
If the business is handled correctly, such cooperation is beneficial for all three parties.
The company saves money on advertising, renting retail space, paying salespeople, etc. A distributor, depending on the volume of his sales, has a pleasant increase in his basic salary, or a serious income that allows him to lead a decent lifestyle. The consumer receives the desired product at a reasonable price, which is delivered to his home or office.
Network marketing originated in America in the 20th century, when entrepreneurs realized that this method of sales would allow them to reduce the final cost of the product by saving money on advertising, get rid of brand counterfeits, and organize the delivery of goods directly into the hands of the consumer.
It often happens that people confuse network marketing with a financial pyramid. The only similarity between these systems is that in both cases the participants must attract new clients. But the goals of such attraction are different.
A pyramid scheme is most often a scam and requires you to pay a fee to join the system. As a rule, we are talking about serious amounts here. For example, a person joined a pyramid scheme by paying $1,000. Then he brought ten more “victims” who also paid a fee, and received a percentage of this money. Over time, such a structure will collapse, and most of its participants will suffer losses.
Network marketing, in turn, operates within the framework of the law. Here entry fees are minimal. And you don’t just pay money, but use it to purchase a distributor’s starter kit. At the same time, your profit depends not on the number of people subscribed, but on the sales they make.
Thus, we identify the main difference between network marketing and a financial pyramid. In the first case, the sales of products is at the forefront, and in the second, the number of people involved who have paid entry fees.
Moreover, network marketing, as a rule, is structured in such a way that the system works as long as possible, to the mutual satisfaction of all interested parties.
It also happens that financial pyramids hide behind the mask of well-known network companies. It is not difficult to identify such scammers. If they ask you for money, practically do not talk about the product and do not offer to organize sales, refuse cooperation.
Once in my life I had the opportunity to attend a performance by the owners of the pyramid. They spoke beautifully and in detail about how you can earn a lot of money by joining their ranks. In addition, the speakers stated that this is not a pyramid scheme and they have an information product. Thus, they hid behind network marketing a pyramid scheme, where the main goal was to attract people and get money from them, and not to sell a product! MLM and pyramids are two different things.
Network Marketing Workflow SchemeThere are three entities involved in this business:
- manufacturer;
- distributor;
- consumer.
The manufacturer has a factory where the product is manufactured. These products are supplied from the enterprise to warehouses and distributed through direct sales. Part of the funds saved on advertising goes to rewarding distributors, becoming their net profit.
Most often, cyclical goods are sold this way, that is, those that a person must buy at a certain frequency. Mainly cosmetical tools and household chemicals.
That is, a consumer who once became a client of the company and was satisfied with the quality of the product orders it again and again. Thus, it provides regular profits to both the manufacturer and the distributor working with him.
At the same time, any client who has reached the age of majority can join the ranks of sellers himself. This will give him the opportunity to receive additional profit or purchase goods for himself at a discount.
As for distributors, income here can be divided into active and passive. Active is catalog sales. Passive – a percentage of sales made by people you involve in the system.
Theoretically, you can “grow” ten strong distributors and then rest on your laurels, receiving an impressive amount every month. The income of people “under whom” many effective sellers are subscribed can amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
Building a business in network marketingThe main advantage is this entrepreneurial activity the fact that you can start it with virtually no financial investment.
However, be prepared right away that you will have to wait for the first serious results from six months to three years. This is why many distributors combine network marketing with their main job at first. Five steps to making money with network marketing:
- 1 step. We are looking for a partner or company
Choosing a company with which you will cooperate. Give preference to manufacturers who are already widely known and have been operating on the market for at least five years. Pay attention to the price factor. If almost everyone you know earns a very modest income, you are unlikely to be able to successfully sell Mary Kay cosmetics, which have impressive price tags. In such a situation, it is better to give preference to the more democratic Oriflame or Avon.
- Step 2. We choose a consultant.
The efficiency of your work and your level of income at first will directly depend on the integrity of your supervisor. Try not to subscribe to the first person who invited you to the company. Meet other distributors and choose one who is truly willing to work with you and teach you the basics of direct selling.
- Step 3. "Inclusion in the system."
Many companies offer novice distributors various starter kits, which differ significantly in price. Carefully study all the conditions and try to avoid unreasonable expenses.
- Step 4 We are looking for a sales market.
Now, due to the active development of the Internet, the main work of many distributors takes place online, where they look for clients on various forums, on social networks, or even create their own websites with contextual advertising. These methods allow you to reach a huge number of potential customers with a minimum of time.
- Step 5 We create our own network.
Having mastered sales techniques, begin to build your team, attracting proactive and active people you know.
Pros and cons of network marketingThe positive aspects of such work are obvious:
- The freedom of action;
- Purchasing goods at a good discount;
- Communication with a large number of people, active lifestyle;
- Good income;
- Opportunity for professional growth;
- Receiving passive income;
- Managing your time.
At the same time, working in network marketing also has its disadvantages:
- The need to often listen to refusals;
- Wasting time and money attending various training seminars;
- A long wait for serious profits, which will appear only after several months of hard work;
- Spending money on purchasing various distribution products (catalogues, booklets, samples...).
And remember the main thing: a free work schedule does not mean absence of work. In network marketing, as in any activity, to achieve serious results you will have to invest a lot of time and effort into your work.
Now you know how you can make money in network marketing. Try to understand how suitable this field of activity is for you.
Such work will make happy a sociable, active person who is able to listen to dozens of refusals and at the same time not lose faith in his abilities and in the product he is selling. A distributor with such a character really has every chance of achieving success in network marketing and earning good money there.
If you are quite reserved, prefer solitude to noisy companies, and any said “no” upsets you, then you most likely should look for another activity for yourself. Of course, you can try yourself as a distributor, but don’t rush into this pool headlong.
With this, I say goodbye, and I wish each of you to find a job that will bring not only joy, but also good money!
Why did I choose a cautionary title for this article? Because, unfortunately, in Lately I come across deplorable stories of people working in network companies and having the same deplorable results of this very “work”.
Network marketing (or multilevel marketing; English multilevel marketing, MLM) is a concept for the sale of goods and services based on the creation of a network of independent distributors (sales agents), each of which, in addition to selling products, also has the right to attract partners who have similar rights . At the same time, the income of each network participant consists of commissions for the sale of products and additional rewards (bonuses), depending on the volume of sales made by the sales agents they attract.
Network marketing originated in the 1940s. The dawn of the network company industry occurred in the 80s and 90s. One of the founders of the industry was the well-known company American Way Corporation (Amway).
Myth No. 1. Network marketing is my business.
Do you seriously think that this business is yours? What if you think about it? Have you thought about it? No! Network marketing in 99.999% of cases is not your business. Network marketing is a business only for those (very smart and enterprising) people who founded it. Dot. This is the business of those people who speak to you at company seminars once a year and make motivating and “grand” speeches from the stage.
What's the problem here? But the problem is that those newcomers who come to the network company are “explained” from the very beginning that he will be engaged in BUSINESS. Yes it is. But not all newcomers clearly understand whose business they will be involved in. Understand that a business is yours only if you have the authority to make key decisions about how it is run. Can you make such decisions in “your” network company? Can you change the price of products? Can you change the range and suppliers? No. You only RESELL the products yourself or through attracted new sales agents. You are forced to obey and comply with all the conditions and rules of doing business that its founders dictate to you. Even if you have registered an enterprise or company and are engaged in selling the products of “your” network company, you have very limited freedom of action, unlike a full-fledged entrepreneur.
Understand that if you work for a network company, then this is NOT your business. In this case, your activity can only be called an alternative to working “for someone else” and self-employment, but not a full-fledged business, in the true economic sense of the word.
Myth No. 2. There is a lot of money in network marketing and you can get rich quickly.
Of course, the most the best option- this is, of course, to try and look at the result. But, as many years of practice show, big money in network marketing NO. Sometimes there is no money there at all, let alone much. How can this be, since network companies make billions in profits? Yes, they do. The founders and those who head these companies and are personally close to the management receive it. Ordinary mortal distributors are content with small checks that barely allow them to make ends meet. You may object that you can become a leader! You're right. You can also fly into space. The whole question is who “will not vomit” on the way to this space, who will not lose consciousness and how long to fly to this “space”. And in general, do you need this space?
All that an employee of a network company does is search for those who would sell more and those who would sell more and who would be looking for the same thing.
People involved in network marketing (may they forgive me) are just intermediary sellers. Just INTERMEDIARIES. Of course, intermediaries can sometimes make good money, but the main profit goes to the owner.
There is no big money for an ordinary distributor in network marketing, it simply isn’t there. All the golden mountains that your “mentors” and leaders draw for you are a farce and clean water motivation with profanity. Getting rich in network marketing is very difficult. I won't say that no one has made a fortune selling detergents, toothpastes or super horseradish cutters, but the pictures that are drawn to you are radically and sharply different from the harsh reality.
Think of Network Marketing as an Alternative regular work(and then carefully), as an additional source of income, but not as an easy and short path to wealth. I repeat, of course, there are people who, as distributors, became leaders and made a fortune for themselves. But these are tough, unceremonious people with pronounced leadership qualities, these are people who have gone through fire, water and copper pipes in this business, devoting a good part of his life to it. There are one such “lucky” distributor in a million. Want to try your luck? That's your business.
Myth No. 3. My mentor is my friend, he will help me with everything, teach me everything and explain everything.
Hell no! Well, whoever, your mentor is definitely not your friend. Friends don’t bother each other month after month by constantly reminding them that they need to qualify this month and buy three and a half more super horseradish cutters for future use, they say. Friends do not benefit materially from friends, at least the good and true ones.
Your mentor is the one who is most interested in your success, eloquent people told you in seminars and meetings, he will teach and guide you. So it is so, but what is the problem in this situation? And the problem is that the wards begin, under the yoke of their “beloved” mentor (who, by the way, should have been sent into the dense forest long ago) to commit actions that contradict the actions of a person in a bright mind and good health. Such wards begin to take out loans, get into permanent and hopeless debts, and begin to make deliberate decisions that are not their own and not their own. This often leads to very unpleasant consequences that the mentees themselves have to sort out, without the “help” of mentors and leaders.
In general, in our lives we are constantly influenced by other people, whether we want it or not, and very often there is no awareness in our actions and decisions. In network marketing, distributors who are dependent on other people’s opinions, listening to the mentor’s motivation and looking at his painted pictures of golden mountains, lead their lives downhill (in a very bad case) without knowing it. This is sad.
Your mentor may be a good person and he may indeed be your friend, but this is in very rare exceptions and only if he is not very interested in your results in the network company, respectively, like his own. Understand that a boss will never have a true and sincere friendship with his subordinates - this is nonsense and is contrary to business.
Mentors, seminars, educational and entertaining group events in network marketing - their actions are mostly aimed at brainwashing, retaining distributors in the company and increasing the company's profits. They didn’t care about you, your life or your problems. Remember this. The first leaders of the company will never share with you the secret knowledge they have, since they are not interested in your growth to their level. They give you exactly the information and knowledge that you need to increase sales, nothing more. They are not interested in your true growth and reaching your potential.
Let's summarize.
Of course, there are quite a few positive aspects to network marketing. Working in network companies, a person learns a lot, goes through an excellent school of sales techniques and learns a bunch of interesting things. In the process of work, he can radically (possibly in better side) change your lifestyle, can start traveling if you haven’t traveled before, communicate with interesting and successful people, can reveal a new side of himself and so on. There are definitely advantages. But you don’t need to rely on MLM companies as if this is the only occupation worthy of you, that it is Goldmine and some unknown Klondike.
I repeat, you can consider working in a network company as a means and starting point for unlocking your potential, as a sales school, a school of communication and interaction with people. But those myths that you read above should not be forgotten. As one says good man and coach Ildar Zinurov: “There is no happiness in the network business.”
Yes, in network marketing you can earn money for a living, you can study, you can travel while working as a distributor, but the happiness that you are told about at the first and subsequent presentations is definitely not there.
We often do wishful thinking. You need to look at the results and draw conclusions. You need to use your precious tool as thinking. Use it! Think with your own head. Trust facts and results, not the words and pictures of your mentors and leaders. If nothing has changed for you for several (or even decades) years, then it is not prudent to believe that by continuing to do the same thing (for example, working hard in a network company), something will change for you and you will start shoveling money. You won't start.
P.S. Who am I to talk about working in network companies like this?
I have a direct connection to working in network companies. I had the good fortune to work as a distributor Chinese goods, and not really simple version- wandering around organizations with a bag at the ready. I was engaged in cold sales. I consider this the most aggressive and difficult form of network marketing. I had a sales system, like in all similar companies, I had a mentor (and more than one), there was a lot of “washing” of my then still virgin brain, and so on. I went through all this and realized (fortunately quite early on) that this is NOT my business, that mentors are NOT friends, and that everything is NOT as sweet as they tell me. Plus, I have many friends and close people who are involved in network marketing in one way or another (some for more than 10 years). So I more than know what I'm talking about.
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.”
The name "MLM business" comes from the English MLM - "Multi-Level-Marketing" (literally - "multi-level marketing"). Other names for the 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 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?
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 relationshipsHave 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 ZombiesIf 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 to know the whole truth (which is the most best job- this 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”.
And again, this leads to a split 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 is, of course, positive sides. If you don't lose your head, then MLM business can be for you excellent option development. You will keep your friends and find new ones.
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. Close to houses expensive cars, 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.
If you haven’t noticed yet, today a huge offer has appeared 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 collapseAll 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 behave like fish on the Internet muddy water feel. Is it really possible to do a real 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 across social networks and sites - 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:
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).
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 most fast way from zero to the first million on the Internet (extract from personal experience in 10 years =)
See you later!
Yours Dmitry Novoselov