Let me,
first mention the history of the MLM/networking industry.
Networking was founded on the principles of great products and the
sharing of such. In fact, the oldest direct sales company in
America is now a network marketing company based on the sales of
products and sharing the concept of retailing products to make money,
but through a strategy of networking in order to find others who will
do the same.
The answer to the “Which Comes First” question really rests with the
business opportunity seeker based on how he wants to build his
business. What I am about to share with you may help you determine
the kind of networking company you may want to align yourself with.
Let me start by saying “the face of the network marketing industry
has changed drastically in the past 15 years.” With the emergence of
computer technology, network marketing has taken on a new look in
terms of what is on the “front door” as you come knocking. With the
introduction of the Internet as an additional medium for networking,
the whole MLM industry has seen a new emphasis.
PRODUCTS, PRODUCTS, PRODUCTS!
Just to give you an idea what I am talking about, 20 years ago a
prospective sponsor would sit down across the kitchen table with you
. .pull out his catalog of products … show you some sample
products or may even have a small home meeting demonstrating the
excellence of their product line and then tell you how you can make
money, not only selling the products, but having a distributorship.
In so doing, you could set other people up with a distributorship
which would allow you to retail products AND earn commissions from
the products sold by your distributors you signed up under you. In
other words, they led with the products first. There are companies
that continue to use that approach today and with certain companies,
that is a necessary approach to take and certainly makes sense.
HOW ABOUT A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY?
In the eighties we started seeing an emergence of “business
opportunity” in the headlines as a way to attract people to MLM.
This emergence led to a new approach in network marketing …
“Mail Order.” No longer was it necessary to have local meetings
or to meet across the kitchen table with people. Simply send out
a mail piece and sign people up. Companies had the ability to manage
databases of people and to run commission checks so “business opportunity”
became the lead-in rather than products. Although these type companies
were backed up by products, the emphasis on products was not the same
for some companies . . . and in fact . . .brought on certain companies
that were “here today and gone tomorrow” because the products were not
good enough to keep people involved. Remember, it’s the sale of products
that generate commissions for the distributors.
LET’S MAKE SOME MONEY!
In the early nineties, the personal computer became so popular that
it was possible for “John Doe” to start up his own program . . .right
from his own kitchen table. With this came on the “Make Money” approach
to MLM. Many times the word “business” was not even mentioned. It was
about making money regardless of the products and in some cases illegal
MLM schemes were developed with the intention of going out of business at
some point . . .even being put out of business due to attorney general
probes or postal regulations. It was this phase of MLM that started giving
MLM a questionable name because the good, the bad, the ugly were all
grouped under MLM . .even if they were illegal pyramid schemes or ponzi
schemes.echange perfectmoney