Pandora’s Box has been opened and we will never be able to close it.

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Incest. A finite group of people who are traded like cattle from one company to another every 9 to 12 months. They were once called junkies, but the infection has spread to people above that description. Network Marketing has become obsessed with “timing”, “pre-launches”, and “the next big thing”, but the cause behind that obsession is what truly scares me. I’ll explain why shortly, but all you need to realize is that… Pandora’s Box has been opened and we will never be able to close it. Why? What’s causing this gruesome condition? The Answer Is Simple… The number of new people coming into MLM each year is now drastically out of proportion with the number of new company start ups. Thousands of new MLM’s launch every year thanks to the internet. You can literally start your own company from your bedroom if you want. But there are only so many people to go around. Welcome to the world of the Pre-Launch. A company’s only chance to catch the attention of networkers, and steer them away from their current opportunity with the promise of “getting in on the ground floor.” Before you know it, the game has started AGAIN. This time around a company that promises to be the biggest and best with their new patented Wonder Vitamin 2000 that will change the world. Networkers inevitably flock to it by the ten’s of thousands trying to “get in on top”. And if they don’t, it doesn’t matter because another shiny new MLM will launch in about 9-12 months, and when it does, and the music stops, the people at the bottom scramble to find their seat in the chain, destroying their old company from the bottom up in the process. This has resulted in a vicious cat fight between these companies over a dwindling supply of warm bodies, complete with name calling, back-stabbing, and an endless supply of lawsuits. Make no mistake about it… In network marketing, people are the commodity that is traded, and YOU are very valuable. The “B-Zone” is Gone and Took Your Residual Income With It! Before the internet, organizations and companies were protected by an information buffer zone which shielded them from this onslaught of people, opinions, competitors, and ads. It’s this buffer zone that allowed relationships to be built, skills to be learned, and loyalties to strengthened. But the internet destroyed it in the blink of an eye. It happens all the time... You're sitting pretty on top of a fairly large organization. You think you've finally found that "residual" pot of income gold at the end of the rainbow. You're making about $20,000 a month. You quit your job 5 months ago, bought a new house, that new sports car you've always wanted, and paid off all your debt. Life is good... Then one day, the company changes their compensation plan just a little bit. One of your leaders is NOT happy about it. They decide to move to another company, and with one click of a mouse... With one single email to his list of a few thousand recipients upline, downline and side-line... He basically destroys dozens of people's businesses, cutting their checks in half or even worse... Including yours. The income you're relying on to pay the mortgage, invest for retirement, and put your kids through school literally vanishes overnight. If something similar to this scenario hasn't happened to you yet... It will. It's a sobering thought when you realize that your lively-hood in an MLM business is completely dependent upon strangers you've never met. You don't know their long-term plans. You don't know about their family problems, and you don't know what they'll do next, yet your check is dependent upon them and thousands of others just like them because you simply cannot earn a full-time living on your own personal efforts with an MLM compensation plan. It's not designed for that. This wasn't a problem in the past, but it is today. You see, the internet is a tool that allows communication at a level that has never been seen by the world before, where opinions, rumors, promotions, and advertisements can now spread across the globe faster than you can blink your eye. Massive revenues can be gained or lost in days for a company with nothing more than a well placed negative opinion report on the search engines. Downlines can be destroyed overnight by false rumors or leaders who jump ship. Distributors have instant access to an endless supply of tools, systems, leaders, training, opinions, and sales pitches which continuously plant seeds of doubt, and distract them with promises of better, faster, and easier. Competing ads can be flaunted on the very door-step of a company’s search engine results. And There’s Nothing You Can Do About It. The very moment your new distributor feels frustration… Feels trapped… Feels failure… He or she will instantly open up to the endless supply of alternatives filling their inboxes on a daily basis with the very thing that will cure their pain – and ‘poof’, they are gone. There is no long-term commitment because networkers are only as loyal as his or her options, and thanks to the internet, their options are now endless and one click away. If you’re a leader in the industry, you know exactly what I’m talking about and from this point forward, it’s never going to stop. For better or worse, this is the new reality of network marketing. How The Game Is Played Today: The first and most critical observation to note is that the very economics of MLM are changing. The cost of sponsoring a new rep in the cold market continues to spiral upward, while the actual return and “life time value” of that rep continues to decline. We are faced with the fact that… * Full page ads in an industry magazine that cost $500 eight years ago, now costs $3,000. * Email marketing is dead, and the ability to advertise in a massive, targeted, and affordable way died with it. * You will be forced to recruit everyday for the lifespan of your business just to combat the constant attrition that will plague your organization. * The all important practice of retailing has become taboo, putting 90%+ of the focus and attention of the business on recruiting instead of customer acquisition which is where the long-term, stable money is found. * The industry holds less and less appeal to the white collar business professional who has a hard time seeing how he/she’s going to quickly replace a six-figure income peddling vitamins and fruit juice. * Systematic team training has become next to impossible as new systems pop up from different leaders within the same company every 30 days, which promise to be the answer for the struggling newbie. * Instead of focusing on the development of personal skills and a single system, an “I’ll try this for a few weeks”, lottery mentality for lead sources, websites, and magical tools that will “build the business for you”, has taken over. ----------------

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Listen More than You Talk

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Forget Your Competition It is really important to think about your competitors when developing strategy and trying to develop a unique differentiated position for your products and services. But when you’re selling – actually communicating with customers – thinking about your competitors, or even your differentiators, can be a huge mistake. What customers are primarily interested in, of course, is what you can do for them: the end results or benefits they get. But when you think about your competitors your focus turns instead to yourself and what you do – and how it’s different from what they do. Your communication begins to move away from being customer-focused, to being seller or product-focused. In fact, in the majority of cases, the best way to differentiate yourself is not to think about your competitors; but instead to focus purely on the value you bring to your customer. If you can really understand that value – and communicate it clearly to your customer – then 9 times out of 10 you’ll be the only one doing so. And that in itself will be a huge differentiator.

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The Internet.

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The Internet. Do you realize that you're living at a time of incredible change and opportunity? Change always brings opportunity and the Internet is responsible for some of the most incredible changes in the history of mankind. Perhaps you've heard the 21st Century referred to as "The Information Age". Information has always played an important role in human history, so why is it that information is just now moving to center stage? Two reasons... computers and the Internet. A computer is a powerful tool used to process information. If you unplug your computer from the Internet, you can still use it as a word processor, as a calculator, and to perform certain other programmable functions such as to balancing your checkbook or cataloging your collection of baseball cards. But when you connect your computer to the Internet, it becomes something very different. Just as your computer is a powerful tool used to process information, you can think of the Internet as the world's MOST powerful tool to gather, organize, archive, and distribute information. The Internet... and the language of the Internet... enable millions upon millions of computers to instantly communicate with each other without regard for such physical barriers as mountain ranges, oceans, or vast distances. That means that people can communicate freely without regard for barriers of time and space. The exact same technology that's fueling globalization is opening doors for you that you may not even be aware of yet. To fully understand that potential, you must first realize that while the power of the Internet comes from its ability to connect people and manage information, the value of the Internet... the potential of the Internet... comes from the sheer number of people connected to the Internet. If the Internet was limited to just you and your neighbor, there wouldn't be much value in it, would there? But with over a billion people connected to the Internet, it becomes VERY valuable. Not only that, but it's growing faster than anything in the history of mankind. Recent studies indicate that the Internet is growing at the rate of 7 new users every second! So... you have the most powerful tool ever invented and you can use that amazingly powerful new tool to communicate and share information with over a billion people all around the world. The question is, what will you do with it? Network Marketing. Whether you call it Network Marketing, MLM, or Direct Sales, a business model that allows a person to start and run a business from home with very little start-up cost, virtually no risk whatsoever, and huge income potential is just what you and millions of other people need... now and in the coming years. In one form or another, Network Marketing has been around for over 60 years. It's withstood court challenges, charlatans, legitimate business failures, media bias, and the test of time... to emerge as what could be the ONLY remaining option for the average person to own , operate, build, and succeed in a business of his or her own. For the vast majority of people, traditional "brick and mortar" businesses are simply out of reach. Most people are not in a position to sign over their house as collateral so they can borrow tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy or open a business... and then walk away from a career and a retirement to work 20-hour days in a business that may or may not succeed. Network Marketing eliminates all the risks and pitfalls associated with traditional businesses. To start a Network Marketing business, you don't need a huge business loan, so you don't have to risk losing your home. You can keep your "day job" and build your business in your spare time. Through sponsoring, you can leverage the time, efforts, and energies of many other people to grow your business without the headaches and expense of hiring employees. Because you're able to keep your expenses very low and not give up your primary income, any additional income from your Network Marketing business can be used to pay off debts, fund special savings accounts (such as for education or retirement), or re-invest to make your business grow even faster. These are just a few of the many reasons why Network Marketing has become so popular with so many people just in the past few years. And as Network Marketing becomes more popular among consumers, it also becomes more popular with manufacturers. If you still associate Network Marketing with little-known companies that only sell household cleaners, vitamins, and make-up, you're in for a big surprise. Today hundreds of major companies utilize the Network Marketing business model to market many or even all of their products. In fact, if we were to look at the Network Marketing trend it wouldn't be unreasonable to predict a time in the not too distant future when dollars are taken from advertising and instead funneled into pay plans designed to lure Network Marketers and their groups to use and promote products as diverse as groceries, home mortgages, insurance, travel, medicines, and many other products. How would you like to get paid a small percentage every time anyone in your group of thousands buys groceries, makes a house or insurance payment, takes a vacation, fills a prescription, or makes some other normal, everyday purchase? But wait! Isn't Network Marketing basically a "flawed system"? Isn't it true that throughout the history of Network Marketing over 95% of the people who tried to build a successful business have failed? Why would we think that Network Marketing could achieve such success in the coming years when it has done so poorly in the past? Here's the one-word answer... Internet. Compare Network Marketing BEFORE the Internet to what Network Marketing is TODAY... Before the Internet Today People had to be able to sell. Most people hate to sell. The website does the selling. People had to do the presentation. Most people hate speaking in public. The website does the presentation. People had to get a babysitter ($$) and physically go ($$) to another person's home to present the business or to sell the products. Nobody has to go anywhere. Because of the time and money it took to travel to people's homes, most people were limited to promoting their business close to where they live. The website is available to anyone anywhere in the world. That usually meant talking to their friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances... and that usually meant rejection. Zero rejection. People either like what they see or leave the website. Once they got past their friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances... people had to learn how to approach strangers. Most people hate talking to strangers. Nobody has to talk to anyone. People had to spend time delivering products that had been shipped to their home and stored in their garage. Products are delivered instantly over the Internet. People who lived in a small town might reasonably feel that everyone in their town had already decided whether or not to participate in that business... local saturation. No matter where a person lives, he can still put his website in front of millions of people around the world. Training was generally done in person... meaning more time and money spent, and more public speaking. Training is done entirely online. The only time a person's business could grow is when he was talking with someone about his business or product. The website works to build your business 24/7, whether you're sleeping, at work, or relaxing with your family. On and on it goes. The Internet has completely eliminated everything about Network Marketing that people found distasteful, uncomfortable, inconvenient, costly, or limiting. Not only that, but since everyone has access to the exact same website, the newest Member can be as effective in recruiting as a seasoned Member... practically right out of the gate! As you look at it, you might be tempted to ask yourself, "Could Network Marketing over the Internet be the ideal business model?" And the answer to that is a resounding YES!!! Unless you're already wealthy, Network Marketing over the Internet is and will continue to be the BEST... and probably the ONLY... way to protect yourself and your family from a life of poverty in the future.

Network marketing vs. multi-level marketing

Are You Just A Glorified Sales Rep...in Network Marketing or MLM?

As there are myriad cases in which the term "network marketing" is used interchangeably with "multi-level marketing" the true meaning of the two terms becomes misunderstood.In many cases a multi-level marketing structure is used in combination with a network marketing strategy, so it is possible to refer to one particular company as using network marketing as well as multi-level marketing; however this is not always the case.

It is important to make the distinction that the term "network marketing" describes a particular marketing strategy, while "multi-level marketing" is a specific characteristic that is a large part of, and speaks to an overall business model. While the two are often seen implemented within the same company business plan, they need not be and in many cases one is used without the other.

It is possible confusion arises from the hierarchical structure created in a multi-level system: because of its nature, the system itself results in the formulation of a tree networkstructure of the company; it is a description of the nature of the strategy used to market the company products. In other words, the "network" adjective is not referring to any company-related attributes; it refers to how the marketing itself takes place: through the social networks of individuals. Put yet another way, network marketing is not marketing which necessarily creates a network within a company, it is marketing that is performed through the social networks of independent people. within the scope of the company. The term "network marketing" however is not in reference to the

Multi-level marketing

Main article: Multi-level marketing

A typical MLM binary tree structure. The blue individual will receive compensation from the sales of the downline red members.

What gives multi-level marketing it's name is the unique compensation structure. In such a company independent sales representatives (individuals who market company products) are contracted by the company in what is more or less a subcontractor position (however the company usually has no general contract with any client). Because of such a relationship, the sales reps are not employees of the company, they are independent from it. (An example of this in the United States would be in any situation in which IRS Form 1099 is used.)

What makes a structure qualify for the term "multi-level marketing" is the specification in the contract between the company and the representatives that the representatives will receive compensation (also called commission) for their own personally generated sales of company products as well as for sales of other promoters they introduced to the company. This ability to receive constant remuneration from the efforts of others creates an incentive for the representatives to personally recruit teams of other sales representatives (who will ideally do the same), thus creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy consisting multiple levels

The requirements for earning the ability to receive such compensation can differ widely between companies and are specified in each company's compensation plan document.multi-level structure the company utilizes. In other words, there are many different ways to set up the structure and specify how individuals are compensated from downlines, but the principle stays the same: an individual can receive renumeration from the efforts of those he recruited (and those recruited by his recruits, carried out to a specified level). These specifics of requirements needed to receive different kinds of compensation and exactly what the compensation amounts are are essentially what determines the type of pay plan is involved.

The Direct Selling Association

The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is the national trade association of the leading firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers. Approximately 200 companies are members of the association, including many well-known brand names. The Association's mission is "To protect, serve and promote the effectiveness of member companies and the independent business people they represent. To ensure that the marketing by member companies of products and/or the direct sales opportunity is conducted with the highest level of business ethics and service to consumers." The cornerstone of the Association's commitment to ethical business practices and consumer service is its Code of Ethics. Every member company pledges to abide by the Code's standards and procedures as a condition of admission and continuing membership in the Association. This is a great site to check out online business prior to joining them.

What is Direct Selling

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Direct Selling is the sale of a consumer product or service, person-to-person, away from a fixed retail location. These products and services are marketed to customers by independent salespeople. Depending on the company, the salespeople may be called distributors, representatives, consultants or various other titles. Products are sold primarily through in-home product demonstrations, parties and one-on-one selling. DSA's 2000 Direct Selling Public Attitude Tracking Survey, conducted by Burke Marketing Research, assessed public attitudes toward the direct selling industry. This study updates the findings of an earlier DSA study conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide (1997). Data from both surveys indicate that direct selling remains a vibrant marketing method that engenders considerable loyalty among its representatives and customers. Recent marketing innovations such as use of the Internet and mall kiosks, while less prevalent than traditional direct selling approaches, are gradually increasing in importance. Some particular points of interest include: The direct selling industry has touched a majority of adult Americans. •The direct selling industry has touched a majority of adult Americans: In 2000, 55 percent of American adults reported having, at some time, purchased goods or services from a direct selling representative. This represents a slight increase over the Wirthlin figures. •In the 2000 survey, one in five American adults (20%) reported they are now (6%) or have been (14%) a direct selling representative. •Among direct selling customers, three out of four (77%) have attended an in-home demonstration or party. The market potential for direct selling. •Thirty-eight percent of adult Americans surveyed in 2000 have some interest in purchasing a product or service in the future via direct selling, but only 27 percent had actually made a direct selling purchase in the past year. Both figures are about the same as in the earlier survey (Wirthlin Worldwide, 1997). •With public interest in purchasing through direct selling (38%) exceeding those who have purchased (27%), these recent figures suggest there is an opportunity for growth! Are America's shopping patterns changing? •As reported in 2000, the 55 percent of American adults who have ever purchased by direct selling is exceeded only by the percentage of those who have ever purchased via retail stores (96%) or through mail order catalogs (83%). •The percentage of American adults who are somewhat, very or extremely interested in using the Internet as a method of purchasing products and services in the future has increased from the 30 percent of American adults reported in the 1997 survey to the 50 percent reported in 2000.

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7 Tips For Choosing a Network Marketing Company

These seven tips will help you when trying to choose a network marketing company to join. No two companies are exactly alike, so know what you are looking for when making your selection. 1. Direct delivery to your customers. Make sure you will not have to deliver products to your customers, unless you want to. Direct delivery will save you time and money. 2. No inventory requirements. Join a company that does not require you to keep boxes and boxes of inventory in your garage or home. You will be expected to purchase and use the products, and that only makes sense. You should be your own best customer. However, you don't want to end up with a garage-full of inventory that you are unable to sell. 3. Free online ordering. Your customers should be able to order directly from your online store, and the only cost should be shipping and taxes. People appreciate the convenience of being able to order from the comfort of their own homes, any time of the day or night. 4. Support from your upline. Your upline should be available to help you. If you make money, they make money. It is always in their best interest to help you along the way. If your sponsor does not help you, go up the line until you find help. This is not usually a problem because everyone knows that if their team members do well, it helps them, too. 5. Low-priced membership. Joining a network marketing company should not break the bank. There are many companies you can join for under $100. If the membership fee is high, it could mean the products are over-priced, too. Fair prices draw team members and customers. 6. No sponsoring requirements. Network marketing companies who set sponsoring requirements have a hard time keeping associates. No one can be forced to join, so sponsoring can be sporadic. 7. No sales quotas. Consultants should not be forced to meet sales quotas. This puts pressure on people and no one wants to join a business that brings on stress. You should be able to work your business in your own time and at your own pace. Consider these tips when searching for a network marketing company to join. Don't get yourself into something you will not enjoy because you can't keep up with the requirements.