Have you ever had someone look at you like you must be a
crook - or someone to be pitied - because you are a network
marketer?

A lot of people feel that way and unfortunately it's because most
don't know any better. There's a suspicious, sneering, turn-up your
nose attitude toward network marketing that came about as the
result of some pretty rotten network marketing companies. And of
course there's the mistaken belief that network marketing or MLM
(multi-level-marketing) as it is also called, is some kind of pyramid
scheme.

But in reality, Network Marketing is nothing more than a system which
makes it possible for everyday people - like YOU and ME - to obtain
unbelievable levels of financial freedom and personal rewards through
persistence, concentrated effort, determination, and yes I'll say it -
hard work.

It gives you the opportunity to build your own successful business
without all the entanglements of traditional business: employee
problems, payroll, overhead, etc., etc.

I'll be the first to admit that in the past there's been some pretty
shady characters in network marketing. But over the last few years
multi-level-marketing has grown into a legitimate and most effecient
way for a company to distribute their products or services. And many
network marketing companies are now being traded publicly on
NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. To do so they must
establish AND maintain high standards of business practices and
be open to the security and control of the SEC (Securities and
Exchange Commission).

THEY'RE JUST PYRAMID SCHEMES

Let's talk for a moment about pyramids. Do you know that the
pyramid is the strongest structure known to man? Are you also
aware that almost every company you do business with is built
on the geometric shape of a pyramid?

Your bank, grocery store, gas station - they're all pyramids.

You can also include Coca Cola, McDonalds, Proctor & Gamble,
Nabisco and hundreds of other companies that you purchase
products from everyday to those that are built in the shape of a
pyramid.

HOW?

Well, you have the CEO at the top. On the next level you might
have one, two or three Vice Presidents. Then comes the Management
Team, of which there could be dozens and finally but certainly not
least, is the Everyday Work Force.

However in a MLM company, instead of having a CEO at the top
of the pyramid there's YOU. All those who join the business through
your efforts are placed under you, that is, they become members of your
downline. Those who join the business under your downline are also
placed under you, but your direct downline member (the person you
personally sponsored), now moves to the top of their own pyramid.

PAY STRUCTURE

Another difference between traditional business and network
marketing is the pay structure. In traditional business will the
assembly line worker earn as much income as the managers?

NO.

And the management team will not earn as much as the vice
president(s). The vice president will not earn as much as the
CEO. Each person's level of income is based on their posistion
in the company's structure - the pyramid.

In network marketing, each person has the opportunity to earn
more income than the person above them. For instance - depending
on the strength of YOUR efforts in working your business, you
could end up earning a higher income than the person who sponsored
you. Someone that you sponsor could possibly surpass you in
earnings based on their efforts. No other industry that I know of gives
you the opportunity to earn income based on your own efforts and
those that you train - instead of your posistion or title in a company.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

But what makes all of the above named companies and network
marketing different from an illegal pyramid scheme?

Products and Services!

An honest and legitimate MLM company has a product(s) or service(s)
that they offer to the public through their distributors - and will place
the most importance on selling the products.

If you are approached by someone who tells you that you can
make money just from the number of people that you sign
up...Run for the Hills!

Earning income strictly from the number of others you can
recruit into a program is illegal! That's not to say that a legitimate
network marketing company won't give you the opportunity to
receive a bonus or incentive on those that you sponsor, but the
main focus is still on the Sales Of Products Or Services.

DISTRIBUTION METHOD

Essentially what makes network marketing different from Coca
Cola or Nabisco is the Method of Distributing Products or Services.

That twelve pack of soda or package of cookies you bought the
other day went from the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer
to you. In network marketing we cut out the middle men. The product
goes from the Manufacturer to the Customer. And instead of spending
millions of dollars per year on advertising, network marketing companies
depend on the efforts of their individual distributors to spread the word
about their product.

YOU DO IT ALL THE TIME

The network marketing industry is based on the simple word-of-mouth
recommendation of products or services. And I'll bet that you and your
friends do network marketing all the time - you're just not aware of it.

Have you ever tried a new product and liked it so much that you told
someone about it? The person you told then bought the product, tried it
and liked it also. They then told someone else about it - who bought it,
liked it and told someone else about it, and so on and so on.

But ask yourself this, who made money from YOUR recommendation
of that product? It wasn't You!

Now let's use the same scenario with your own network marketing
business. When you told your friend about that great new product
that you found and she bought it - YOU would have earned income.
Then when she told her friend about the product and they bought it,
YOU and YOUR FRIEND would have earned income - and so on
and so on.

In a Nutshell - That's Network Marketing! It is driven by the
word-of-mouth recommendation of PRODUCTS and SERVICES,
not by chain-letters or recruiting people to pay for absolutely
nothing except the chance to recruit more people to pay for
absolutely nothing.