A Brief History Lesson of Multilevel Marketing (MLM)

Multilevel Marketing (MLM) has become a dirty word intrying to recruit your own sales team, and if you can
America. (Yes, I know - it is technically a phrase, butnot alleviate their fears, you have lost a potential
just go with me on this one). When someone saysrecruit.
"MLM," people instantly think of illegal pyramid schemes- Second, you need to establish your credibility. It is just
and shy away from you. The new politically correctas important as establishing the product you are selling,
term is "Network Marketing."if not more important.
However you want to say it, it is all the same thing:- Third, it is critical to your own success to NOT get
You make money by recruiting a network of teamcaught up in a pyramid scheme - you have a greater
members to sell your company's product. The realchance of losing money than actually making any.
incentive is in attracting more members to your teamSo how do you tell the difference? Susan Ward, a
because you not only make money from selling thepartner in Cypress Technologies, an IT Consulting
product yourself; you make money off your teambusiness, providing services such as software and
members' sales. The more people you have selling fordatabase development, in her article "Is It MLM or a
YOU, the more YOU make.Pyramid Scheme?" offer the following advice:
Why has network marketing become the evil empire"The big difference between MLM and a pyramid
of the business world in the minds of manyscheme is in the business' operations. The entire
Americans? Because of pyramid schemes, which arepurpose of a pyramid scheme is to get your money
now illegal. It is important to distinguish between theand then use you to recruit other distributors. The
two. Why?entire purpose of MLM is to move product.
- First, because you are going to face this barrier in