Network marketing gets a lot of flack. Any network marketer who has shared about their business has heard one of the following questions – or both.
“Is this a scam?”
“Is that a pyramid scheme?”
A network marketing business is neither a scam or scheme. Watch the video in one of my posts on network marketing if you’d like more information on what pyramid schemes are and aren’t.
There is a lot of money to be made in network marketing if it is done right. You have to plug into the system and you need to learn to market yourself both offline and online.
Just ask someone who has made a lot of money in network marketing! Ray Higdon went from foreclosure to number one income earner in his company. Todd Falcone has also made a lot of money in network marketing and when someone asks if what he is doing is network marketing he replies with, “Of course it is or I wouldn’t be doing it!!”
Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki both believe in network marketing. They came together to write a book on how people can become rich called Why We Want You To Be Rich and in it they endorse network marketing.
The Benefits of Network Marketing
Leverage – you can leverage your efforts and the efforts of others too. If you start out working 5 hours a week your five hours a week equals five hours of work. Just like any other job. But then you get four more people signed up on your team and they all put in five hours a week too. Now there are five of you working five hours a week, so your five hours a week is bringing in 25 hours of work per week. If each of you bring in another four people who work 5 hours a week then your 5 hours is bringing in 125 hours per week!
Residual Income – Once your business gets going you will eventually start to receive residual income. This means that ten years down the road you could still be getting paid for the work that you are doing this month. Unlike a typical job where you receive a paycheck this week for this week’s work and that’s end of that. Wouldn’t you love to still be receiving checks for the work you do today a decade from now??
So Many Choices! There are many brands and product/service lines that you can choose whatever you are passionate about. You don’t have to go with the first thing that comes your way, you can find something that truly excites you! Though you will definitely want to do your research and know what to look for in a network marketing company.
Another nice thing about all of the choices is that you can support the industry by purchasing the product or service of another network marketing company. Just because you love a product (and there are many to love!) doesn’t mean that you have to sell it.
I personally purchase from network marketing companies that I am not involved with simply because their products are second to none. My favorite skin care and beauty products are from a little-known network marketing company with the most amazing anti-aging line I have ever seen. They were also the very first to create an all-day lip color system – I was using their 8 hour lip colors long before they were available in stores!
I also purchase some very healthy whole-food supplements that I love and have been taking for years since I had cancer. The research of this company goes back decades and many well known doctors promote their products. I have also purchased scrapbooking supplies, candles, kitchen items, and other items from network marketing companies because the products are superior to what I can find in stores.
What do you think – is network marketing a scam or a great opportunity?
To Your Success,
PS: If you enjoyed this post please share on Google + and Facebook!
PPS: If you would like more information on any of the products that I mentioned, just ask! I’d love to share! Or if you’d like to know about which company I promote you can click here.
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Thank you for reading! I'm Stacy, the owner of this blog. You can learn more about me here.
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When I see an MLM or other social venture, I usually look to see if the marketing structure is intended to support the product or the other way around. Doubtless there is always some element of both, but if the venture is more about growing the marketing organization than promoting the product itself, that’s a red flag for me
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Stacy Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:35 pm
Hi Omar!
That’s definitely a good thing to look for because it should be about the product or the service. If being successful in the company relies on bringing in people to do the business rather than selling the products something is wrong.
Thanks for stopping by!
Stacy
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I must say this is a great article i enjoyed reading it keep the good work
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Stacy Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Thank you! Stop by again!
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I am very wary of MLM or even affiliate purchases. I think getting into it can take almost as much work and effort as it would take to build any other business.
But yeah, I usually don’t buy from network marketers, because there are so many scams out there. It’s hard to tell the good from the bad!
Thanks for the great post, though!
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Stacy Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Hi Morgan,
Network marketing IS a lot of work, it is definitely NOT a get rich quick thing. The hard work is in the beginning when the pay offs tend to be low, which is why a lot of people quit in the first year. But once you get the momentum going it can get going fast!
If you are worried about buying from a company you can always check the BBB!
Stacy
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You explained this beautifully Stacy.
I know a lot of people are wary of network marketing but let’s face it, there are a lot of crooks out there both online and offline. That’s just the way it goes I’m afraid.
I think the problem though with a lot of people is that they don’t take the time to understand how this all works. Me personally, I love network marketing and am a part of it. I support it 100% and stand behind it all the way.
There is really no other business you can start for very little money and grow it to exceed your full time income in under five years. So before people go throwing stones, I would take the time to understand it more. It just might surprise you.
~Adrienne
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Stacy Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Hi Adrienne,
Thank you very much! I agree, there will be crooks in every profession.
I also agree that many people don’t understand network marketing. Where else can someone have the earning potential in the millions with such a small investment? It almost seems too good to be true but it’s actually not – because it’s a lot of hard work, not a get rich quick scheme.
Stacy
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I don’t think people really understand network marketing and therefore shy away from it. Until I got started online, I didn’t really know much about it other than traditional companies like Amway and Avon. Now, it’s so strong, and legitimate on the web, it’s a great alternative for starting a business.
Excellent information in your post to help someone decided what to do.
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Network marketing is nothing more than a system which makes it possible for everyday people.
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I am a huge believer in network marketing and the life changing possibility it brings, I have heard the ‘is it a scam?’ and the ‘is it a pyramid scheme?’ Unfortunately people have been scammed with get rich quick opportunities and these filter through society.
Network marketing (with a good company that you have done your homework on) + hard work + good support system (upline/coach/mentor/others with experience) = massive life change that is at everyones fingertips who has a strong enough reason to succeed.
Thank you, great post Stacy
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Hi Stacy,
There are a lot of scams in the network marketing niche so when someone hear about network marketing it’s natural to think that it’s about a pyramid or a scam. Anyone who wants to get involved in network marketing should do a lot of research to find a program that can be trusted and at the same time be profitable for him/her, thanks for sharing your insights…
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Hi Stacy,
I think the biggest problem with MLM and similar models is that the bulk of people who sign up to them, do not have the first clue about how to market or run a business. You tend to find a lot of these MLM sellers marketing their products to their friends and family.
Now that’s a huge generalisation and I appreciate that is not always the case. But in my experience, this is what I have seen.
I can’t count the number of times friends have tried to get me to sign up to whatever it was they were selling.
I think if you set it up right, get your own website, treat it like a business and learn how to market effectively, then yes, one could see some success from MLM.
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Residual Income from Network Marketing sounds great! Happy to know that this is not termed as a Scam. Thanks for the writeup Stacy.
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I like this post. Sadly I think that many people think that network marketing is a scam but that is the furthest thing from the truth.
The fact though is that it is NOT easy…but what in life is easy? Nothing I can think of.
When you put in the work, you get the results…simple as that.
great post.
=-)
-Omar
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Stacy Reply:
April 11th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Exactly! Sometimes people make it sound like it’s going to be easy but it never is! It really is a lot of work and self education!
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Terrific article; really informative and enjoyable. Now I’m going to go hunting for that video on pyramid schemes.
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Network Marketing has been a successful business model for many years. Why? It allows many people to start a business with very little capital with a proven success model. Requires alot of hard work.
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your thinking is realy up to date and i realy agree with your thinking with this matter.please write some more informattion in this matter.great article with useful information.
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Great site Stacy! The interaction you have going with your readers is fantastic.
I myself was sceptical of MLM initially but the more research I did the more legitimate the opportunity became. I guess you need to have confidence in the product you are promoting and the persistence to learn the ropes and build your business for a few years before seeing significant results.
Maybe the people who feel MLM is a scam were expecting to get rich overnight and when this didn’t happen blame the system.
Thanks for the article.
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Hey Stacy,
Great article, here are a few tips that has helped me move forward, maybe they can help some other people as well.
An important tip to consider when it comes to network marketing is that you should consider the usage of auto-responders. This is important because this will give your customers immediate feed back and give you some buffer time to answer their question personally if need be. It will also free up some of your own valuable time.
Don’t overdo your network marketing website. There is such a thing as too much Flash, or too much content. You should have a site which works on all devices, and in every web browser. The larger your audience, the more people who will be potential leads.
Thanks again for the good post!
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