You Know What The Real Problem with Network Marketing Is!

It never stops amazing me the extreme views that people have on the topic of network marketing and MLM's. Some people are passionate about it in one extreme or the other, and there are even top celebrity authors like Tim Sales, Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki that are either in MLM's or advocating them. Yet, with many people, you might as well commit murder rather than admit to being in a MLM.

If it's not the business model itself that offends people, what is the problem with MLM's or network marketing?
Maybe it's the pyramid structure? But you can't really take issue with the tiered compensation structure—almost every large sales organization in the world has that. Salespeople get commission, and sales managers get overrides or bonuses on top of that, and sales directors on top of that, and VPs on top of that.

Maybe it's the fact that you have to pay to get in it? But that can't be it—that's a standard franchising model. And I'm telling you, the franchise fee of most franchises is much more than the sign-up cost of any MLM program.

Now there are illegal pyramid, or "Ponzi", schemes. This is where all the money is being made off of signing up other people, with little or no real product ever being delivered. But in spite of whatever people may think, the fact is that Amway, Mary Kay, Avon, PrePaid Legal and many others have sold millions upon millions of dollars of products to happy customers, many of whom are NOT also reps. So, there may be a perception problem here, but if so, the perception is out of line with the reality.

The real problem with MLM is not MLM itself, but some of the people it attracts. Network marketing is just a business model. Its upside is that it has a very low cost to join, with the potential for outstanding revenue, and there are many who achieve that.

But those same things that make Network Marketing attractive, also make it attractive to many who are not really qualified or prepared to become business owners.

People who:

• have not done well in their business or profession and have little money saved up to invest
• have no previous experience owning or running a business
• have no previous experience in sales
• have little or no experience developing business relationships other than that of employer/employee/co-worker
• are not satisfied with their current level of income
• have unrealistic expectations of the amount of work involved compared to the revenue realized

Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with any of these things, or that this describes even a majority of network marketers its just that as a result, many network marketers end up:

• inappropriately discussing business in social situations
• focused on new recruits and neglecting existing customers as a result
• over-selling the opportunity
• being either inaccurate or deceptive when talking about their business
• coming across as deserate

Again, I'm not saying that this describes a majority of network marketers, but it does describe enough of them to tarnish the reputation of the rest. To pre-judge someone based on a small minority of people in that group is horribly unfair, but we must realize that most prejudices have some basis in reality, even if it has been distorted out of proportion.

So what's the solution?

There's a first time for everything. And network marketing/MLM is a great opportunity for people to have their first business, their first sales role, etc. My point is this—recognize it for what it is: it's a business, and you are a business owner. And if you've never owned a business before or if you've never done sales before, if you've never networked before, you need to learn about how to do so, not just from the network marketing/MLM experts, but from established experts in those fields. not just swapping tips at your team's weekly or monthly meeting.

Act like a small business owner, and people will treat you like one.