Multi-level marketing (MLM) has been the biggest growth industry worldwide since the early 1980's. Huge companies have been built on the back of MLM. Companies like Amway, Shaklee, Mary Kay and Hebalife. These MLM companies have brought huge incomes to hundreds/thousands of ordinary people and has been termed as the last true rags to riches opportunity available in North America today. In fact it has made more new millionaires than any other industry, and it fast becoming the single most popular method of bringing products to the end user.
The first multi-level companies sprung up in the 1930's, but they were dinosaurs compared to modern marketing strategies. It wasn't until the mid 60's that MLM gained international prominence. In 1985, it is estimated that $5 billion worth of new products will be sold by this method.
MLM is a business that can be operated by just about anybody with half a braincell. It is generally a business that can be started for less than $50 and can return hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each month. The earning potential of an MLM opportunity is basically unlimited, it is only restricted by the limits of the marketer himself, i.e available time, energy, persistence and faith in the product and company. The next MLM superstar need only be a caring, sharing person, who is highly motivated and full of energy. Some of the most succesful people in MLM have been bored housewives or hard up people with no previous marketing or sales experience.
Sponsoring new people into the business is the root of any MLM opportunity, much the same as any agent finds new retailers to sell their products. Some of the huge organisations like Amway or Mary Kay have literally thousands of distributors nowadays, but they both started with just one or two highly motivated individuals, who sponsored more and more motivated individuals into the company.
The ultimate test of an MLM company is the quality, price and reusability of the product. A good firm is usually founded on products with rapidly expanding popularity, day-to-day use in the home, and a regular repurchase required. They should be better quality and at least as competitively priced as the same goods bought in stores.
The basic mechanics of MLM:
1. The majority of people that get involved with a MLM company are already aware of it's products as they have purchased as a customer in the past and know the quality of the items.
2. Because the products are good, you tell others about them.
3. Rather than send these people to your distributors, you become a sponsored distributor yourself for these new people. And if these people, let's say there are five, know five other who will buy the product, you have 25 people buying products through you.
4. If these 25 each know five people, you have 125. If those 125 know five people, you have 625 at the fourth level buying through you in a distributor's network you built from only five people. If these people purchased only $30 month worth of products, that would be $300,000 in gross sales, and you could expect to earn at least one quarter of that figure, probably much more.
5. Commission and bonuses vary with product and company, but most go through four to eight levels, and have two or three levels at which substantial higher commissions are paid. This encourages new distributors to build those levels.
6. Some of the networks-inside-of-the-networks will end at certain levels with people buying but not sponsoring new people. And some will involve more than five people. Distributors will always be your best customers and biggest moneymakers.
7. The best companies are the blue chip firms offering a wide range of products such as Amway and Shaklee. New ones emerge all the time and some of the faddier MLM companies die quickly. but they can still make good money quickly for distributors with established "downlines".
Choose your product line carefully, recruit heavily and always expand your business education as you grow. MLM is a big field with big rewards for anyone, absolutely anyone who can commit themselves to success at any cost.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Reasons to Shop through Shop to Earn
By: bwritr | 14-07-2008
What is the advantage of shopping through someone else's Shop to Earn web portal? For example, if someone who shops online anyway did not want to own a website or otherwise invest in Shop to Earn, what would motivate them to shop through my site rather than just shop as they do now?
How many people are involved with Multi level ...
By: B | 11-06-2008
How many people are involved with Multi level marketing?
Good article but I was hoping to get some ...
By: smartipants | 09-04-2008
Good article but I was hoping to get some technical step-by-step info about how to create a lead capture page. Is a lead page just a web page with data entry fields?? Can you refer me to a site that provides all the technical details?? That would be great. Thanks and keep sharing your knowledge!
I found your page through someone who visited ...
By: runningman72 | 29-11-2007
I found your page through someone who visited http://www.findcash.tk so should I signup?
How can i pay $150 as iam an INDIAN, and one more ...
By: ramakrishnak31 | 15-10-2007
how can i pay $150 as iam an INDIAN, and one more important thing is HOW CAN I GET PAID.
Are the products of MLM are similar to the market ...
By: shanti | 10-10-2007
are the products of MLM are similar to the market products?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Marketing Articles
Are You Making Money With Adsense?
By: Anthony Harriis | 24/07/2008
There are teenagers, still in high school, making a substantial income with Adsense each month. There are all types of individuals, ranging from stay at home parents to retirees, with little computer experience, now making a living from publishing websites or blogs with Adsense ads.
There are all sorts of testimonials...
Guaranteed Ways to Make the Most With Adsense
By: Anthony Harriis | 24/07/2008
Google Adsense is one of the most talked about money making programs on the internet. Everyone knows the profits that are possible with this simple to use advertising program and most website owners understand that the greatest profits come from specific keywords with relatively popular, resulting in a higher payout....
How A PR Firm Quotes Project Rates
By: Amy Nutt | 24/07/2008
There are several elements factored into a quote from a PR firm. There is also the fact that no two quotes will be the same because every individual seeking out a public relations firm needs something a little different. The PR firm provides a number of different services that benefits each and every business that seeks out what they have to offer.
Have You Started Work on Your Fall Book Promotion Yet?
By: Marsha Friedman | 24/07/2008
Even though it seems like the fall season is eons away, it will be here before you know it. With that in mind, have you thought about how you are going to get your book out there and known by the book buying public? Read on to find out how!
A Review of the Janglefish Income Opportunity
By: Brian Garvin | 24/07/2008
If you are looking for interesting opportunities in terms of network marketing, you'll soon find that opportunities with unique products will catch your eye. With the now-defunct company Janglefish, that was streaming music online. Janglefish was an opportunity that allowed users to download their favorite songs for a...
A Review of the IMAN Beauty Income Opportunity
By: Brian Garvin | 24/07/2008
IMAN has a cosmetics and skin care product for women of color, especially for African-American women. African-American women have such a broad range of skin tones that finding the right shades of color are difficult to do. For this reason, Iman Beauty has come up with a wide...
A Review of the Immunotec Income Opportunity
By: Brian Garvin | 24/07/2008
Immunotec is a health based company offering products backed by science and opportunities for distributors to create financial freedom. Founded in 1996, Immunotec has grown tremendously with over 15,000 distributors throughout the United States and Canada. The company has managed to remain debt free since its inception with major banks...
A Review of the Inetekk Income Opportunity
By: Brian Garvin | 24/07/2008
If you are involved in network marketing, you are already aware of the fact that one of the things that you have to really invest in is tools that will help you build your downline and because of this, you will need to take a good look around at the...
More from Steve W Sharpe
The Top 15 Internet Marketing Questions Answered - Part 1
By: Steve W Sharpe | 23/05/2008 | PPC Advertising
As online marketers we regularly get asked the same questions time and time again, so we decided to answer in the most succinct way possible the top 15.
How to Design Your Web Site for Maximum Profit
By: Steve W Sharpe | 26/04/2008 | Marketing
When a customer visits your website, you have roughly ten seconds to capture their attention before they click any or hit the back button. So you better think carefully about what you want to include on your front page.
Traffic - Paying for Your Traffic is a Smart Move
By: Steve W Sharpe | 16/03/2008 | Marketing
Like Neo, traffic is “The One”. Without traffic, all your effort would just go to waste. Every business needs customers, without them you wouldn’t have anyone to sell your products to. In the internet world traffic is the walk in customer. The more traffic you have the more people would be able to sell your products to.
Click Fraud - Ways to Identify and Tackle it
By: Steve W Sharpe | 12/03/2008 | Marketing
Identifying and tracking examples of click fraud is the first step to eradicating the problem. Click fraud is an enormous drain on the resources of advertisers operating on a national and international scale, estimated to occupy around 30% of all pay per click advertising spend. With so much at stake, its no wonder the search engines are investing so much time and effort into devising solutions.
Adsense is for Everyone
By: Steve W Sharpe | 28/02/2008 | Marketing
When Google's AdSense appeared, there were a lot of people who doubted Google's idea would be marketable and actually generate any profits. Yet as we stand here today it's probably the most well known pay per click venture in the world.
Pro Blogging: Making Money From Blogs
By: Steve W Sharpe | 24/02/2008 | Marketing
A weblog (or simply blog) is a website that 'publishes' or features articles (which are called 'blog posts', 'posts', or 'entries'), written by an individual or a group that make use of any or a combination of the following:
Start Up an E-commerce or Affiliate Marketing Business Today
By: Steve W Sharpe | 15/02/2008 | Marketing
The creation of the internet and the mass production of computers in the late 80's changed everyone's lives forever. Now, everyone has the potential to be their own boss whether you are a stay home mom or a manual laborer.
Affiliate Money Making Tips
By: Steve W Sharpe | 07/02/2008 | Marketing
Affiliate marketing is all about getting paid for selling products you don't own and not going to jail for it. Someone else goes through all of the trouble
to develop software programs, services, or digital content products. They'll do all the work then you collect the money!
Marketing 
