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 ...

To Your Success,

Sharon Bray-McPherson
JanRon Publishing Digital Products
http://www.janronpublishing.com

About the Author

Watch and Listen to this FREE Video as a Top Network Marketer shares tips and strategies on how to take your MLM business to the next level as soon as possible. http://www.go2sbm.com/janron/videooct02.html