What Is Network Marketing?

Ask someone, “What is network marketing?” and it seems to be a simple enough question but the answers can be pretty widely varied depending on who you talk to.

If you ask someone who joined a network marketing opportunity, actually took the time to learn the ropes, and then took action to build a successful business that pays them a solid six-figure, even multiple six-figure annual business and you’re likely to hear a response that goes something like this:

Network marketing is the single greatest opportunity
for the average person without a lot of experience or
available capital to create financial freedom.

Talk to someone who has bounced around between a few different network marketing companies over the years but never really took the time to learn the business or do the actual work required to build a business and they are more likely to say something like this:

That network marketing stuff just doesn't work. The only
people that make money are the people who get in early.

So which one is right?

If you look up “network marketing” on Wikipedia, you will find a definition that reads like this:

“Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit. This recruited sales force is referred to as the participant’s “downline”, and can provide multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include pyramid selling, network marketing, and referral marketing.”

I don’t know about you, but for me, that doesn’t really answer the question, fully.

What is Network Marketing?

For me, it comes down to a few simple realities that many of us come to in our lives, such as:

* You aren’t going to get rich working for someone else.
* You’re never going to have time freedom working for someone else.
* You can’t take advantage of tax breaks working for someone else.
* You can’t set your own hours working for someone else.
* You can’t just give yourself a raise by being more productive when you work for someone else.

If you are anything like me, you start asking, “Why in the world would I want to work for someone else?

You decide to investigate network marketing as a possible solution.

You find that you like the idea of ….

* Picking the people you work with.
* Setting your own hours.
* The possibility of actually becoming financially free.
* Getting an increase in pay through tax breaks.
* Living a life you truly desire.

The overall concept of network marketing appeals to you because of the low start-up costs associated with getting your business started, the training and support available, and of course … the potential income.

But when the meetings are over and you are left with your own thoughts, what are you really getting yourself in to?

Network marketing is simply a distribution model. Companies that provide products and services are looking for people like you to operate as independent distributors. Your “job description” will simply come down to helping people make a decision about the product, service, or opportunity offered by the network marketing company you are working with.

Here’s something you probably haven’t thought about: You probably already are doing network marketing whether you realize it or not. Think about it.

Any time you refer someone to a book you read, a movie you saw, a restaurant you enjoyed, you are doing what network marketing professionals do, every day. The biggest difference is, the professionals get paid to do it.

Has a friend, neighbor, or co-worker ever asked you for a recommendation? Maybe they want your advice on a good mechanic, a good steak restaurant, a fun place to take the kids. So you give them your advice. They take you up on it and that company makes money. Did the company share any of those revenues with you? Did they even send you a thank-you card? Probably not.

Network Marketing professionals understand the power of referrals and the power of leverage because they get paid when they make that kind of referral.

Now, imagine finding other people like yourself that recognize the power of this distribution model and they want to get involved with you. This is when leverage starts to come in to play and the professionals know that the key to making those 5, 6, or 7 figure monthly checks comes from leverage.

Imagine you get paid $20 every time you sell Product X offered by your network marketing company.

And let’s say you put in 40 hours a week on your business and you are able to sell 100 units each week. Your sales commissions would total $2,000 for the week. ($20 x 100 = $2,000).

You could work more hours and/or sell more units to increase your income, right?

But what if you build a team of people like yourself that are also business minded and the company paid you $10 commissions for every unit your team members sell?

In addition to your own $2,000 in sales commissions, you would earn $10 on each sale of the members of your team. If you build a team of 100 people who are matching your own sales volume, that adds another $10,000 to your monthly income.

10 team members each moving 100 units weekly means your team is moving 1,000 units each week in addition to your own 100 units. At $10 commission for each unit sold by your team members, that represents an additional income of $10,000 per week. (10 team members x 100 units = 1,000 units. 1,000 x $10 = $10,000).

This is the sort of leverage J Paul Getty was referring to when he said, “I would rather have one percent of the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent of my own efforts”.

Now here is the reality of network marketing:

If you want to be successful and create the type of income that you keep hearing about, you will need to master the art and science of sales, marketing, and leadership. No matter how you slice it, network marketing is a form of “direct sales” and nobody makes a dime until products and services are sold. Guess what, this is true in every other business, too. If nobody is buying the product or service being offered, nobody is getting paid.

Beyond asking what is network marketing, the next question should be: what is the key to becoming successful in network marketing?

Find someone who is living a lifestyle you would like to have. Find out what they are doing. Be willing to LEARN and DO the same things they are doing. This may require that you learn a few new skills. A good leader will take the time to teach you the skills you need.

The real question is: Are you ready to learn and master the skills required to succeed?

Feel free to browse this site and our advertiser listings. You may just find the right fit for you to start your own home based business!

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