eLoadXpress: MLM Facts and Figures

Network Marketing: A Growing Industry, Hard Facts and the Future

http://mlmattorney.com/blog/2012/06/21/network-marketing-a-growing-industry-hard-facts-and-the-future/

An Emerging Giant – What is the Difference Between Direct Selling and Network Marketing?
Network marketing – also called multilevel marketing (MLM), person-to-person marketing, and one-on-one marketing – is a form of direct selling. You may already know about direct selling. Avon, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Fuller Brush… these are just some of the direct selling companies that have been household names for decades. Since the 1980’s, new network marketing giants have emerged, including Nikken, Herbalife, NuSkin, Maleleuca, and Prime America.

Direct selling companies market goods and services through networks of thousands of independent distributors. These distributors either buy products from their companies and then resell them to consumers, or they sell products on behalf of their companies for a commission on retail sales.

Network marketing gives direct selling a new spin. In both types of companies, distributors make money by selling products directly to consumers. But in network marketing companies, distributors can also make money by building their own sales organizations and receiving commissions or bonuses on the sales generated by the distributors in the organizations. The term “multilevel marketing” springs from the fact that distributors receive commissions on multiple levels of their organizations. Most direct selling companies today are structured this way.

Much of the power of network marketing springs from the fact that most people tend to seek advice about products, services, and even business opportunities from their friends and relatives. Moreover, they generally trust that advice. In fact, a poll by the Roper Organization revealed that the advice of friends and relatives carries even more weight than the advice that comes from strangers with impressive credentials. The poll showed that for every person who seeks financial counsel from a financial planner or stockbroker, three go to friends and relatives for advice.

Network marketing allows people to put that trust to work in a positive way that can improve the lives of those who give the advice, as well as those who take it.

Hard Facts and Demographics About a Growing Industry from 2006
(These facts are constantly changing but are reflective of the immensity of the direct selling industry)

Every week, more than 55,000 people in the United States alone sign up as network marketers – 150,000 per week worldwide.
In excess of 13 million people in the United States alone are distributors for network marketing companies; one in ten households have a direct seller.
Throughout the world, there are approximately 50 million network marketing distributors.
In the United States, sales in the network marketing industry are in the $30 billion range. Worldwide sales approach $90 billion.
The world leader in network marketing is the U.S. with Japan in close pursuit in the $20 to $30 billion range. Countries with at least $1 billion in sales include the U.K., Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Taiwan. Business is booming in the new frontiers as well: Eastern Europe, Russia and the People’s Republic of China. In fact, Amway in 2004 is headed for $2 billion in China, country only on the brink of formally allowing the reintroduction of network marketing.
Seventy-five percent of all network marketing distributors are women. Men account for 25 percent. (These numbers likely reflect the demographics of long-dominant companies like Avon and Mary Kay. Recent growth in the industry has been among newer companies that have a more even balance between male and female distributors.
Approximately 80 percent of networkers are part-time and 20 percent full-time people who work 30 hours a week or more in their business. For the vast majority of networkers, it is a “second job,” with the hope of $300 to $500 per month in auxiliary income.
About 3 percent of all networkers will make more than $35,000 a year; 2 percent will make more than $50,000; 0.5 percent will make more than $100,000 annually; and about 0.1 percent will make more than $150,000.
About 13 percent of direct marketers are African-American; almost 5 percent are Latinos; 1 percent are Asian; and about 0.5 percent are Native Americans.
Approximately 66 percent of distributors are between ages 25 and 44. Another 14 percent fall into the 45 to 54 age bracket. Seniors over the age of 65 account for about 5 percent of direct sellers.
About 8 percent of direct sellers have physical disabilities.
Over two-thirds of all network marketers have high school degrees or some college education, and 25 percent have a college degree or beyond.

The Future is Up
So, where is this business going? The answer is “UP.” During the next decade, the Direct Selling Association projects that network marketers will recruit more than 200 million new distributors into the business worldwide. Asian markets are expanding rapidly, including India. In fact, even during recessions, the direct selling industry proves to be rather resilient. That’s not bad for a cottage industry that started with potions and lotions. Many will be along for this ride. “Going Up!!”

The Facts On MLM and Network Marketing

http://corbie7.hubpages.com/hub/The-Facts-On-MLM-and-Network-Marketing

Are You Stuck Like 90% of The Population?
If you took the average individual and kept a record of them thru out their whole lives here is the trend you would see:

They Go to school for 20 years of their lives
They work for 40 years of their lives
They retire for 5, on 40% of what they could not afford to live on in the first place.

This is the exact system that most of you are in. This system is broken! It simply makes no sense! We have a universal system that teaches you how to be a worker drone in the collective! You go to school and get an education, then you get a job working peanuts for someone else on the 40 year plan, living for retirement and when it finally shows up you retire and live your golden years depending on other people. What a wonderful concept!!

Let's explore this a little further. The majority of people live in what is known as the - TIME FOR MONEY TRAP. The more time you give your employer the more money you make. The less time you give your employer the less money you make. You work for nine hours you get paid for nine hours. You work four hours, you get paid for four hours. If you are not there working you get nothing, it is LINIER income.

People have a misconception that having a job is a security. The fact is there is no security with a job! And on top of it you probably don't even enjoy it. Even if highly paid professionals are stuck in this time for money trap, except at a higher level!

If this sounds familiar keep reading......

So What Is The Answer?

FACT: There is an exciting industry on the market that is creating more millionaires than any other industry in history. It is a growth industry that is on its way to surpass any other in sales.
It did over $100 Billion in sales last year in the most cutting edge, sexy and exciting products and services.

What is this industry?

Network Marketing. You may say, "Oh no not MLM again!" and roll your eyes but ask yourself these questions:

Do I really know anything about this industry?
Am I completely satisfied with my lifestyle today and does it provide me with the opportunity to work part time (10-15 hours a week) and earn a very healthy six figure income, while enjoying life as it was meant to be enjoyed?

If the answer is NO then I recommend that you take a serious look at this industry.

So what is Network Marketing really?

It is basically a method of moving products and services from the manufacturer to the end consumer without the middle man through the most powerful method of advertisement: "Word of Mouth". Whether you realize it or not, you are already involved in the mlm industry. What do you do when you have seen a good movie? You tell all of your friends!! Now, what would happen if you were paid a royalty commission every time someone you told goes and sees the movie, you would tell more people about the movie!

That is ALL we do in this business!

Is this not Pyramid Selling? Lets end this one now!!

A resounding NO!!

The MLM Industry is no longer on trial! It is excepted by ALL credible business sources as a very profitable and legitimate business model!
Pyramid selling or Ponzi schemes have been illegal for many years!
Pyramid selling is related to scams where people were encouraged to join a money game with no legitimate products for large sums of money, usually thousands of dollars. And the money being made was from the joining fees of the victims who entered them.

A Pyramid Structure:

As for the structure EVERY business is built on a pyramid structure!
Take a typical corporation you have the CEO or President at the top, then they have their first line of directors, the directors have all their first line managers, and the managers have all their supervisors, and the supervisors have a bunch workers who are doing all the work!
Who is making the most money in that organisation? The People at the top!!
This however is not true of the MLM industry, what makes it so powerful and exciting is the guy at the bottom can earn more than the guy at the top, Unlike traditional corporations!!!

I ask you... Who's way is better?

How does a MLM company work?

In a typical mlm company you are encouraged to build a network of distributors who have the same opportunity as you to make the same or even more money than you.
Therefore, not everyone at the top necessarily makes the most money. This is a marketing system where you can start from the bottom and go to the top and become a top achiever within a company by building your own business.
Promotion usually comes from encouraging distributors within your own organisation to achieve promotion, totally opposite from the corporate world where promotion usually threatens the higher positions within the company.
Therefore you are in WIN-WIN situation for all parties involved with a network marketing company.

This Might Surprise You

The Distribution Revolution - Network Marketing credibility.

Network Marketing is quoted in Success magazine as the "Most Powerful way to reach the consumer".
We now have companies like Coca Cola, Microsoft, AT&T, IBM, SHARP, TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, Gillette, Colgate-Palmolive distributing some or all of these products through the Network Marketing channels.
These companies are firm testament to the industries success and credibility. And you will see over the next ten years this industry distributing more and more products and services to the end consumer.

It Simply Makes More Sense!

What Does This Mean To You?

Lots!

To start a complete transformation in your lifestyle!
With consistent effort the network marketing industry model can give the average person wealth in 2 to 4 years.
If you have a Network marketing business working 7 to 10 hours a week you can double, triple or even quadruple your income inside two years.
You can produce residual income where you get paid forever for work you did in the past. If you are willing to trade a 45 year retirement for a 2 to 4 year one then this business is for you!
One of the major benefits of this business is you can have unlimited income potential.
Yes UNLIMITED INCOME! Complete financial independence from the Rat Race as we know

So What Is This Residual Income?

If you had a Million Dollars in the bank right now paying a generous 5% interest that million pounds would pay you a measly $50,000 a year. Yes I do mean measly.
How big is your pension fund then? If you are making $50,000 in a job you would have to have a Million dollars in your pension to retire on the same income at 65.Shocking isn't it!!
I bet most don't even have much beyond $5000 by 35 let alone a million!
Alternatively if it took you two years to build a Network Marketing business that pays you $5000 a month in PASSIVE RESIDUAL INCOME you could proudly say, "I have a Million Dollar Business" and you wouldn't need to lift a finger to make that income flow in!!

So How Is The Money Made In MLM?

You can make money in two ways:

The first is the small business model, where you professionally market the products as a small business to residential and businesses. This is basically a retail model.
The second is the really big model. Where you build a big business of distributors and you get residual income from the royalties of your network.

Your income comes from the up and coming business builders in your groups that are leveraging each levels efforts.

Leverage.... The Real Power of MLM!

What is the maximum amount of time you could possibly work in a week?

If you work six days a week for 24 hours a day you would achieve 144 hrs of productive work. That is heavy!!
Let’s look at it another way. If you had 50 distributors in your organisation all working part time for 7 hours a week you would have 350 hrs of productivity going into your business every week.
That is 206 hrs more than you could achieve working six days a week 24hrs a day!!! Does that seem fair?
It is absolutely fair. Cause this is what the wealthy know and implement!!
John Paul Getty the billionaire is quoted as saying, "I would rather have 1% of the efforts of a hundred people rather than 100% of my own effort"
He understood this concept of leverage! And this is what we do in this business. We leverage the efforts of lots of business builders to create residual income from all the people we bring into the business.
These incomes that are being produced are very lucrative and very profitable. There are distributorships that are literally producing 80 and 90 percent profit margins.
They can literally be worth tens of millions of dollars when built up as profitable business and can be sold as that. There are distributors all over the world literally producing high 5, 6 and even 7 figure monthly incomes!! You say, "7 figures a month!" That's a Million!
Even though that is quite exceptional it certainly is not unprecedented.
My recommendation to you is to get into this industry right away and learn the ropes. Study the great players of this fabulous business and learn what they have done!

The Coming MLM Boom!

http://worlddealcenter.com/MLMboom.htm

For the first time in history there are solid, logical, verifiable, explanations for you to believe in an upcoming Network Marketing boom. In fact, there are eight reasons, any one of which could result in a significant expansion of Network Marketing in the U.S. alone over the next few years. And these eight factors will soon be coming together creating a "perfect storm"- the convergence of several powerful economic, demographic and psychological factors all hitting at the exact same time and place. Finally, you and I can honestly make the claim there really is an upcoming MLM Explosion. It absolutely will happen, and here's why:

Eight Solid Reasons You Can Believe in The Coming Network Marketing Boom!

Reason Number One - The Economy.
What's bad economic news to most people is good news to network marketers. And there's a lot of good news.

Reason Number Two - Demographics.
Not only is the pool of eligible prospects increasing at unprecedented levels, but the segment of society most ready, willing and able to pursue MLM is also exploding.

Reason Three - Wall Street.
Securities investors look for companies and industries that are about to rise up fast, and thousands of analysts are looking closely at Network Marketing right now.

Number Four - Supply and Demand.
The greatest inhibitor of MLM growth the last few years, has been a huge supply-side glut of Networking opportunities. That's already changed.

Number Five - New Blood.
Our entire industry is about to go into momentum for the same reason individual MLM companies enter momentum- a massive influx of folks who've never been in Network Marketing before.

Reason Number Six - Positive Media Exposure.
If the mainstream media were to find a way to make money from this industry (that typically doesn't advertise) they'd have a much greater incentive to promote the positive side- yes? They've found a way.

Number Seven - Federal Regulation.
I know it sounds scary, but it's not. In fact, more and better laws will be the #1 legitimizing catalyst to the MLM explosion.
Last, and certainly not least;

Reason Number Eight - the current, positive and powerful Growth Trends of the Network Marketing Industry itself.
Interesting...? Exciting...? You bet!
Let's look at each of these Eight Solid Reasons in specific detail, starting with...

Reason Number One - The Economy.

What's bad economic news to most people is good news to network marketers. And there's a lot of good news.

I've always had the belief the U.S. economy did influence Network Marketing, but not significantly. I mean, was there ever an economy where people didn't want more money and free time? B ut when I began to do some digging to support my contrarian position, I soon discovered I was wrong. That one of the strongest growth phases in Network Marketing history occurred between 1990 to '92 and coincided with the last economic recession should have been a clue. And there was so much more.

When we compare the popularity trends of Network Marketing to unemployment rates, on a semi-decade basis, there are some very exciting revelations.

Although MLM was born in the 1930s - in the midst of The Great Depression - it began in earnest in the 1950s. Network Marketing was far more popular in the second half of the 50's than the first. Not a single company of consequence launched from 1950 to 1955.

However industry giants Shaklee, NeoLife, and Amway all started between 1956 to 1959. The unemployment rate the first half of the decade averaged 4%, and was the second lowest in U.S. history in 1953 at 2.9%. However, it averaged 5.3% the second half of the decade reaching its highest level since the Great Depression in 1958 at 6.8%. Translated into today's numbers that would mean almost 6 million more people became unemployed between 1953 to '58.

The first half of the 1960's all types of direct sales continued to flourish. Mary Kay Cosmetics started in 1963, and Avon, Fuller Brush and Tupperware all achieved momentum. Although the industry continued to grow from '65 to '69, it was not nearly at the same pace. The unemployment rate the first half of the decade was significantly higher than the second half when 2.5 million unemployed people went back to work.

Jumping ahead to the 1980's, Network Marketing was thriving the first half of the 80's while unemployment continued to rise. In fact, in 1982 unemployment was at its highest level in 40 years at 9.7%. During the second half MLM "slump" unemployment dropped considerably, and by the end of the decade the number of those out of work was almost half of what it was at the beginning of the decade.

The 1990's saw perhaps the clearest distinction between halves of any decade with more major company launches and more companies going into momentum than any other time in history. There was also more wealth being created by way of MLM from 1990 to 1994 than any other 5-year period. The second half wasn't exactly the best of times for Network Marketing. If there ever was such a thing as an MLM recession, we had one from 1996 through 1999. Why? The very high unemployment rate from 1990 to '94 and the sharp drop during the second half of the decade where it hit a 30-year low at 4.2% in 1999.

The only exception to this half-century long pattern is the 1970's, but that was an exceptional decade.

Remember the last half of the 60's industry growth slowed as unemployment dropped to a post-war low. During the first half of the 70's Network Marketing started rocking as unemployment rates jumped. Unfortunately, all that started rocking some boats, and the result was over five times as many MLM related law suits from 1970 to 1974 than all of the 50's and 60's combined, and in 1975, there was a federal action, which essentially questioned the legality of Network Marketing itself.

Fortunately, one company, Amway, had the financial ability to defend themselves and the entire multilevel marketing industry. This case lasted until late 1979 when the court ruled in favor of Amway. As a result there was, for the first time, a clear delineation between illegal pyramids and legitimate Network Marketing companies. There was a pretty dark cloud hanging over the industry the last half of the 70's and there wasn't a lot of expansion in spite of the even higher unemployment rate.

The last and arguably greatest MLM growth phase began in 1990, the same year the U.S. went into our last economic recession.
1980 to '84 were boom years for Network Marketing and we experienced recessions in 1980, part of '81 and most of '82.
1970 to '74 were also boom years, and our economy was in recession almost all of 1970, and 1974.

Remember how the last half of the 50's and into the early 60's were years of great MLM expansion? We were in recession from '57 to '58 and most of 1960.

Now, most recessions last 12 to18 months, but the end of a recession doesn't mean that's the end of a slumping economy or high unemployment rates. We've had eight recessions in the last 50 years, and during the 12 months immediately after the "end" of the recession the unemployment rate went up! Every time.

Strong evidence. And we're only on Reason Number One. Let's talk about an even more powerful justification to believe in a coming Network Marketing explosion.

Reason Number Two - Demographics.

Not only is the pool of eligible prospects increasing at unprecedented levels, but the segment of society most ready, willing and able to pursue MLM is also exploding.

There were about 76 million babies born between 1946 and 1964, which at the time accounted for almost one-third of the entire U.S. population. Since then, it has been glaringly obvious exactly where this giant bubble in the population is at any moment in time by simply looking at what products are most popular. And when in comes to charting the market size for what most Network Marketing companies offer, we're not even half way up the curve yet! The market for products that will make us look and feel younger is going to continue to expand most dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years as the boomers reach their 50s and 60s.

But this baby boom is exciting for another completely different reason. Virtually all Network Marketing companies require distributors to be at least 18 years old. Well, guess what happened about 25 years after the baby boom? Those 76 million boomers had about 75 million babies. And about 41 million of them will turn 18 over the next 7 years. At no other time in history, other than the original baby boom itself, have this many people been added to the body of eligible MLM prospects in this short a period of time.

Of course, the people eligible to join are not as important as the number who actually are joining.

The Direct Selling Association (DSA) conducts an Annual Survey of salespeople in the industry. (Keep in mind two-thirds of these direct sellers are Network Marketers.) According to their analysis, there was a net gain of 400,000 direct sellers from 1997 to 98. A 600,000 net gain from '98 to '99, and a 700,000 distributor gain from '99 to 2000. Not only is the number of people increasing, but the increase in the increase is increasing!

If we do nothing more to extend this current figure forward for another 10 years, we end up with 4.7 million additional network marketers.

To put that in perspective: It took MLM over 50 years to grow to 7.5 million, and we're conservatively projecting adding another 4.7 million in just the next 10 years! (By the way, that means the average networking organization will be 37% larger!)

And as far as demographic reasons for believing in an upcoming MLM boom, we haven't even discussed the very best one!

According to Gallup Polls, the average age of all Americans when they first decide to invest in a residual income-producing vehicle, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or perhaps in a business venture, is 42. The average age when we invest the most into such devices is 47. If we were to graph the number of 42 to 47 year olds in the U.S. we'd find that starting about 1988 the line begins to point upward at almost a 45º angle as the boomers started turning 42 - and that line continues to rise at a level never before seen in history all the way to the year 2009.

We are barely past the halfway point of that dramatic upward curve!

Does this really benefit us as network marketers? Are 40-somethings more open to MLM opportunities?

Well, the average American is 36 years old. According to a MarketWave survey of over 6,000 network marketers from 1990 to 2000, the average network marketer is 38.6, and that number has consistently risen over the years. An exceptional number of those over 40 do participate in Network Marketing, and this segment of the population which is most ready, willing and able to invest in a residual income business venture is going to continue to increase dramatically for another seven years!

Reason Number Three - Wall Street.

Securities investors look for companies and industries that are about to rise up fast, and thousands of analysts are looking closely at Network Marketing right now.

Professional investors are a pretty savvy group of people. Based on their due diligence they eventually invest their funds in companies whose growth (and profits) they expect to go up. So, what do they see when they turn their magnifying glass on Network Marketing companies?

There are over 20 publicly traded Network Marketing companies, but the bottom third are so small I'll focus on the top 12 well established companies. If you were to chart their stock price over the last 5 years, starting with December 1996, in almost every case you'd see a line that looks a lot like the path of an airplane - coming in for a landing. With few exceptions, MLM company stock values flattened at their all time lows and stayed there for about two to three years. Clearly, Wall Street wasn't impressed with Network Marketing's growth potential the last half of the 90's.

What do they see now? Well, the benchmark S&P 500 reached its peak in September of 2000, but by mid-December 2001, it was down by 23%. Over the exact same period our index of the top 12 Network Marketing companies was up by 8.2%! And all of a sudden, in the last 12 months, these

Network Marketing companies are outperforming the overall stock market by over thirty percent.... That level of performance really gets investors attention!

Number Four - Supply and Demand.

The greatest inhibitor of MLM growth the last few years, has been a huge supply-side glut of networking opportunities. That's already changing.

Anyone who got even a C in Economics 101 could tell you about Supply and Demand: An industry booms when demand dramatically increases. When there is a tremendous increase in supply, it results in a down-turn. And sure enough, during the massive proliferation of

MLM companies the last half of the 90's, we had a deep industry slump. Based on a survey of MLM company software suppliers over 4,900 MLM companies opened from 1994 to 1997, and there is anecdotal evidence to show that there were about 3,600 start ups in 1998 and 1999 alone. What's even more troubling is that perhaps half of all MLM start-ups don't go to the major software houses, but rather hire in-house programmers. Therefore, it's possible that the actual number of start-ups could have been double these figures.

As many as 13,000 Network Marketing companies may have launched from 1994 through 1999. There were at very least 8,000- but we only had a net gain of about 600 companies, from 900 to 1,500. Have you ever heard the claim that 95% of all MLM companies fail in their first two years? I thought that was just a scare tactic spread by older companies, but these surveys say that's true!

Now, during this same time period the number of network marketers in the U.S. increased from only about 5 million to 7.5 million. That means the number of distributors went up about 50%, but the number of companies increased by three times that much!

If you do the math, you'll learn this means the average networking downline shrunk by 40%. There is no question that the supply of MLM opportunities far exceeded demand the last half of the 90's.

So, what's the good news? Well, some very encouraging things began to happen in the year 2000.

It's very clear that the number of start up companies has declined significantly since the beginning of 2000. This, along with the increasing number of company mergers and acquisitions, will only make the industry stronger. As more and more companies entered the market the available distributor base was spread thinner and thinner. The result was smaller downline organizations, higher attrition, and generally far fewer success stories. But think about it: if there were just as many distributors, but half as many companies, the average downline would be twice as big- yes?

I'm not suggesting the number of companies will contract to half, but any reduction in supply will certainly help increase demand, which will then expand the number of those men and women getting into profit and reaching their income goals. The more success stories we have, the more motivation and less resistance we have to building our organizations even larger- and the cycle continues upward, rather than down or flat as it has in the past.

Reason Number Five - New Blood.

Our entire industry is about to go into momentum for the same reason individual MLM companies enter momentum- a massive influx of folks who've never been in Network Marketing before.

Almost every Network Marketing company today would like to think they are about to go into momentum. Momentum, as it applies to Network Marketing, is the stage in a company's growth cycle where sales volume begins to increase geometrically and the company doubles, triples, and perhaps even quadruples in size in a very short period of time. Most momentum phases last about 6 to 24 months.

Much like buying a stock right before it goes up in price, most networkers want to attach themselves to a company right before it explodes. Thus, practically every distributor will try to make a case that their company is "about to go into momentum." How do they know?

They don't. No one knows exactly when the momentum phase will kick in, but much like stock picking, we can look for clues- historical trends and patterns to help us make better guesses.

An analysis of all the successful major Network Marketing companies shows that every momentum phase in MLM corporate history was facilitated by massive numbers of people moving into the opportunity - either as reps or customers - who havenever been involved in

Network Marketing before. Momentum is never the result of people moving from one company to another. Momentum is ONLY caused by a massive injection of new blood.

Where is this new blood going to come from?

There are a little more than 7 million people participating in Network Marketing in the United States. That means there are about 270 million who are not involved! And that also means that there are literally tens of thousands of success stories just waiting to be written.

So, how are we going to expose those massive numbers of people to our products and opportunities that we've never been able to reach in the past? (How many you saw this coming...?)

The Internet.

You may be thinking, yeah, yeah... but the Internet's been around for years. Well, the Internet may have been around in 1990, but it didn't come into it's own until after 1995. By 1998 the number of people on the Net had almost tripled. Today over 60% of adults are on-line and many predict that virtually all Americans will be using the Internet in some capacity by the year 2010.

And it wasn't until around 1997 or so that the Network Marketing industry really began to use - or a better term might be "abuse" - the Internet. There are exceptions, but for the most part MLMers got a little over zealous with this amazing new technology. Rather that use the

Net to help us build our downlines and sell our products, it was used in a magical-mystical attempt to have it build our networks for us. The result was big recruiting numbers, but very little sales volume and overwhelming attrition...

The Internet was also abused in other ways. Like so many other dot.coms there were a lot of failures. Some were ugly. There were numerous legal abuses resulting in several well-publicized closures. The Network Marketing industry painfully cut its Internet teeth from about 1997 to early 2000. And now, as the smoke clears, what is beginning to emerge are the remaining responsible, visionary companies that knew all along the awesome power of the Internet was not in having it do all the work for us, but rather having it help us present our products and opportunities faster, less expensively, and to far, far greater numbers of people. New people, who've never been exposed to Network Marketing before.

The Internet is a sales, training and prospecting tool with unimaginable potential. And it's an industry that itself looks to expand by 100 million users domestically over the next 10 years. As this happens, Network Marketing will soon go into momentum the same way everyone of it's post-momentum companies did- by a mountainous wave of new blood.

They say a rising tide raises all boats, and this Internet tidal wave could even cause an unprecedented event in Network Marketing history - the "secondary momentum phase," where large, post-momentum companies actually achieve momentum again!

But the Internet isn't the only reason I believe we're on the verge of massive "outer circle" recognition. Another fact that's hugely compelling is...

Reason Number Six - Positive Media Exposure.

If the mainstream media were to find a way to make money from this industry (that typically doesn't advertise) they'd have a much greater incentive to promote the positive side- yes? They've found a way.

Radio, television, magazines and newspapers all exist primarily on advertising dollars. But Network Marketing is an industry that doesn't advertise in the mainstream media. After all, we're the "word of mouth" business. Not only has the media had no financial incentive to promote MLM, it actually has a financial incentive not to...

Well, that too is changing. The mainstream media is just now discovering how to cash in on Network Marketing. The first big step in this direction was back in 1994 when Success magazine published a front cover focusing on Network Marketing and a lengthy and extremely positive feature article about our industry and its people. Sure, the companies that knew they were going to be mentioned ran big ads, but that's not where Success made the most money. The people of this credibility starved industry sold out the entire run of that issue and

Success magazine broke their all time single issue sales record by almost double! The result was a lot more positive portrayals of Network Marketing companies in future issues. But even this isn't where the greatest promise lies in terms of positive media exposure.

Let's say, instead of paying for an advertisement, a network marketer worked out an arrangement where he sponsored the publication itself, got the ad for free and the resulting sales volume and downline commissions that were generated from the ad went to the magazine?

They could potentially make far more income from overrides than from ad fees, even long after the ads stop running. It's more than just a win-win scenario- we get the positive press and the media gets even more money than if they charged us for the ads. But would this work?

It already is. Slowly, quietly, such a movement is taking place. I know for a fact that there are currently over 100 radio stations in the U.S. attempting this, and some are succeeding, big time. Yet, virtually the entire Network Marketing industry is oblivious to the fact this is even happening. It's simply a matter of time until the media grapevine picks up on this phenomenal ad revenue resource.

And let's not overlook the public image boost we're getting from the various athletes, celebrities, political figures and medical authorities Network Marketing is attracting like never before. And not all are paid endorsers. Many of them have careers that are based on their reputation and positive image and they've openly and willingly attached their good names to Network Marketing. We've also got well-respected mainstream authors and keynote speakers such as Richard Poe, Paul Zane Pilzer, Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracy and Robert Kiyosaki, extolling the virtues of Network Marketing. This kind of powerful, third party validation has never happened before. It's just starting, and it's growing fast!

And finally, in the recessionary wake of the dot com disasters with high-techs at all time lows and the fears of finding yet another Enron- or three or four-do you think the media can continue to ignore all those corporate and individual Network Marketing success stories? They can't. And they aren't!

Number Seven - Federal Regulation.

I know it sounds scary, but it's not. In fact, more and better laws will be the #1 legitimizing catalyst to the MLM explosion.

Earlier I showed you that in the first half of every decade MLM outperformed the second half- and that's been the case for the last 40 years. But there were more than just economic reasons for this. The regulatory climate has also effected the performance of the industry. The most obvious example being the previously mentioned federal actions back in the 70's.Legal attacks by state or federal authorities on high profile Network Marketing companies do occur from time to time. Curiously, they seem to peak in pre-election years (but that could just be a coincidence:-). Most of those larger companies, by the way, not only survived the attack, but also are considered today models of legality whose policies and enforcement systems are emulated by younger companies.

Yes, there have been many situations where pyramid schemes have been shut down, and typically the action is described as "the Network Marketing company was shut down because it was an illegal pyramid scheme."

It drives me nuts when I hear someone make a statement like that. It's like saying, "A really honest man was exposed as a liar." Well, then he wasn't an honest man was he? Either you're an illegal pyramid scheme, or you're a Network Marketing company. You can't be both.

I want to make this very clear before we go any further: Illegal pyramid schemes often try to disguise themselves as Network Marketing companies, because they want to appear legal. Unfortunately, when the press reports on illegal pyramid schemes, we all suffer guilt by association. And that does have an effect on our ability to retain good people and acquire new ones, at least temporarily.

The good news is that the last few years we've seen really no significant legal attacks on Network Marketing companies, and several closures of illegal schemes. Not only does this make the industry stronger due to a smaller, higher quality pool of legal opportunities, but it also increase our ability to build businesses because we don't have the negative public stigmas creating greater resistance toward the industry and its opportunities. It also demonstrates a greater ability among regulators to delineate between pyramids and legitimate MLM programs.

This is especially encouraging and comforting to those networkers who've built substantial incomes in "high profile" opportunities, or those who intend to.

Once again, I've saved the best news for last. There is active, professional lobbying going on right now by the Direct Selling Association (the DSA) and others, to enact legislation that will create federal regulation of Network Marketing. As it is now, operating a Network

Marketing company in the United States is kind of like trying to do business in 50 different countries. Each state has it's own set of laws pertaining to business opportunities, some specifically about MLM, and all have statutes pertaining to pyramid schemes. Although, for the most part, each state's definition of an illegal pyramid is consistent with the other 49, the interpretation and implementation of those laws has been somewhat haphazard and arbitrary over the years. It's true that there was a significant legal precedent created by the federal court's decision in the Amway case in 1979, but still, enforcement actions have been inconsistent not only between state and federal precedent, but from state to state, and sometimes even from case to case within the same state.

Many of these cases involve judicial opinions as to whether distributor's personally consumed products by should be recognized as legally commissionable sales. This the focus of the federal legislation currently being proposed and several states, including Texas and California, have already recognized such volume as bona fide.

Not only will unified federal regulation create a clear, consistent path for all Network Marketing companies and state regulators, to follow, but also, much like the federal regulation of franchising back in the 60's, it will eventually require true and full disclosure. If this does come to pass, and many believe it will, it would absolutely be a good thing- very good. Not only will it tremendously strengthen the industry by weeding out the bad apples; it will cause the massive turnover rate among start up companies to drop to a fraction of the current level. They won't start up in the first place. And the ones that do launch will have to be serious players with solid backing. So not only will more distributors be involved in fewer companies, but those businesses will be only the highest quality opportunities. Federal regulation will also greatly increase the respect and credibility of our industry. This will create a tremendous boost to all established U.S. based MLM companies.

There are some people who are still apprehensive about the prospect of federal regulation. They fear regulators may throw their entrepreneurial baby out with the legal bath-water. Not a chance. Not only are there over 1,500 Network Marketing companies in this country, employing tens of thousands of tax payers, and generating literally billions in sales and corporate tax revenue, there are about 5 million MLMers who are also registered voters. That may not be a big percentage, but as the 2000 presidential election clearly demonstrated, it's enough to make a huge difference in who has the political power in this country. I've heard the argument made that back in 1963, congress came within 11 votes of outlawing franchising. Not only didn't they, but the post regulatory era of franchising created an industry that now moves over one-third of all the goods and services in this country! Federal regulation was the catalyst to the biggest boom in entrepreneurial history.

Not only do I not fear the concept of federal regulation, I find the vision of this new era of Network Marketing to be absolutely exhilarating!

Last, and certainly not least;

Reason Number Eight - the current, positive and powerfulGrowth Trends of the Network Marketing Industry itself.

Since the top twelve publicly traded MLM companies provide the most reliable information, and they make up the majority of the largest, most well established companies, I'm again directing my analysis towards them. (Although an informal survey of un-audited data provided by private MLM companies reinforced these results.)

From 1990 to 1995 annual industry sales growth averaged about 16%, and some years was as high as 30%. However, if we track the growth of these public companies - based on U.S. revenue only - the average annual sales growth from 1996 to 2000 was 8.7%, with a low of just over 6% from 1999 to 2000. And the entire direct selling industry's growth rate dropped to a 10-year low of 4.5% around this same time.

Based on this information it would seem that industry growth was about to come to a grinding halt - yes?

But instead, the growth rate of these companies from 2000 to 2001 was 14.6 percent - more than double the previous year's rate!

Without question, the slowing trend has reversed. This is by far the strongest signal of impending momentum, when there is not only an increase in growth, but the rate of growth is also accelerating dramatically.

Now, one year of doubling growth rates certainly does not guarantee a boom, however, one thing is certain - every company momentum phase throughout MLM history began with that first exciting period of doubling growth rates. What do you think the chances are the same phenomenon holds true for the entire industry, as well...?

There you have it folks. Not one.... Not two.... But eight solid, powerful, verifiable reasons for finally believing in an upcoming Network Marketing explosion. No one knows exactly when it will happen; it could be next month.... It could be next year.... It could be anytime in the first half of this decade, before 2005.

All I know for sure is, if you get involved now, and stay involved, you will be there when it happens. Gold at $43 an ounce. So hop on, strap yourself in, and get ready for the ride of your life. It's gonna' be a blast!
Leonard Clements has concentrated his full-time efforts over the last 12 years on researching and analyzing all aspects of Network Marketing. He is a professional speaker and trainer, and currently conducts Inside Network Marketing seminars throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Len is the author of the controversial book Inside Network Marketing (Random House) and the best-selling cassette tape Case Closed! The Whole Truth About Network Marketing. He is a successful Network Marketing Leader.

Network Marketing Industry Statistics

http://thebalanceyouneed.com/life-force-international/network-marketing/network-marketing-industry-statistics/

Ever wonder how many people are actually in the Network Marketing industry and are succeeding? I mean, do a lot of people actually think this thing works? Let’s look at why the Network Marketing industry is exploding and the numbers that explain it.
The Great American Dream is gone. Official U.S. government reports point out that more than 3.5 million jobs have been eliminated in the past 10 years. This includes over 2,000 jobs per day last year alone. More frightening; an estimated 55% of all jobs created in the next 10 years will be near minimum wage. Currently, 90% of all the people in North America earn less than $40,000 a year and today’s two-income family are not living as well as their parents did. As well as what has been just stated, check out these economic facts:

At age 50:

75% of the population has less than $5,000 in the bank for retirement.

At age 65:

45% of Americans depend on relatives.
30% depend on charities.
23% are still working (most can’t afford to quit and work until they are no longer physically capable).
Only 2% are self-sustaining.

At the current time:

It is impossible to support a family of two working full time at minimum wage.
For the first time in history, the current generation is averaging a lower standard of living then their parents.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also states:
Out of 100 people that start working at the age of 25, by the age of 65:

1 is wealthy.
4 have enough money to retire.
63 depend on social security or charity.
29 are deceased.

One of the most disheartening statistics is this:
-95% of people, age 65 and over cannot afford to retire and work until they die.

Well isn’t that great news? There is a solution though. Since the beginning of the MLM industry in the 1950’s there has been six recessions in the United States of different degrees. With each recession the MLM industry has experienced significant growth because as the economy goes, Network Marketing goes the opposite. Currently our economy is just coming out or going into another official recessional period, depending upon who you ask. Once again, indicators are showing that the MLM industry is beginning another growth trend here in the United States. Many MLM companies, large and small, have experienced record growth in overall sales and sponsoring in the last year. Furthermore, with the start of the New Year many of those same companies are seeing even greater growth from month to month.

So why does the Network Marketing Industry increase during down economic times? Simple; because there are more people looking for another stream of income. There are more potential business partners in a recession because of the uncertainty of their current and future financial situation. Many have lost their jobs, had their wages or overtime cut back or simply are concerned that they may be next in line for being laid off or cut back. For those that are financially stable, they are realizing that they may no longer be safe and that additional income wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The MLM Industry gives the average person the ability to create residual income, the king of all income, meaning that it comes in, month after month, for work that one did once in the past. It also provides this opportunity with a much smaller investment than what it would take to build a “brick and mortar” business. There are many that are able to build a large income in the MLM Industry that provides full financial freedom, but for most people, the average bonus check is between $500 and $1,000 per month which equates to supplementary income for mass amounts of people.

Because of this ability to generate extra income for the average person, there will be a rush into this Industry over the next several years. People will need alternatives.

So you can see for yourself, the following are the current Network Marketing statistics that are going on around you (Direct Selling Association & U.S. Census statistics):

Someone starts a new home business every 10 seconds (U.S.).
15.8 Million people working from home full-time (U.S.).
Another 38 million or 12% of the total population working from home part-time (U.S.).
8,493 new home businesses open every day (U.S.).
Increasing by over 600,000 people per year (U.S.).
82% of distributors are female and 18% are male (U.S.).
By 2015, it is estimated that 50% of homes will be involved in the MLM Industry (U.S.).
$28.56 billion in Direct Sales (Network Marketing) in 2010 (U.S.).
23% of all Network Marketing sales are related to the Wellness Industry (U.S.).
Average work from home income $59,250 per year (U.S.).
20% of home based entrepreneurs said that their business grossed between $100,000 and $500,000 last year (U.S.).
Home based business wage earner’s success rate is over 85% compared with small businesses like retail shops and restaurants, at about 95% failure rate after 5 years.
84% recommend working from home to others (U.S.).
29% work at home with other family members (U.S.).

If you thought the United States Network Marketing statistics were good, the World-wide MLM statistics are even more explosive!

Final Thoughts
If you are looking at the Network Marketing Industry to increase your cash flow, the most important decision you will make is choosing the right MLM company to join.

We sincerely hope that this opened a door for you into the world of owning your own home business. Remember, in J. Paul Getty’s book “How To Get Rich”, his first rule for success is; “You must be in business for yourself. You will never get rich working for someone else.”

No action means no change. The choice is always yours!

The Real Problem with Network Marketing and Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)

http://entrepreneurs.about.com/cs/multilevelmktg/a/problemwithmlm.htm

(HINT: It's not the business model itself)It never ceases to amaze me the extreme polar views on the topic of network marketing and MLM. Some people are passionate about it in the extreme, and there are even top celebrity authors like Robert Allen, Mark Victor Hansen, and Robert Kiyosaki doing it and advocating it. Yet, in many circles, you might as well declare yourself a leper as admit to being in network marketing.

So, what is the problem with MLM and network marketing?
Maybe it's the pyramid structure? But you can't really take issue with the tiered compensation structure—almost every large sales organization in the world has that. Salespeople get commission, and sales managers get overrides or bonuses on top of that, and sales directors on top of that, and VPs on top of that.

Or maybe it's the fact that you have to pay to participate in it? But that can't be it—that's a standard franchising model. And I assure you, the franchise fee of most traditional franchises dwarf the sign-up cost of any MLM program by comparison.

Now certainly, there are illegal pyramid, or "Ponzi", schemes. This is where the money is all being made off of signing up other people, with little or no real product ever being delivered. But in spite of whatever perceptions people may have, the fact is that Amway, Excel, Meleleuca, PrePaid Legal, USANA, and many others have sold millions upon millions of dollars of products to happy customers, many of whom are NOT also reps. So, there may be a perception problem here, but if so, the perception is out of line with the reality.

But surely the bad reputation MLM'ers has some more basis in fact than the occasional illegal pyramid scheme?
The real problem with MLM is not MLM itself, butsome of the people it attracts. Network marketing isjust a business model, and it really amounts to "micro-franchising". Its upside is that it has a very low cost of entry, with the potential for exceptional revenue, and there are those who achieve that.

But those same things that make it attractive make it attractive to many who are NOT really qualified or prepared to become business owners. The salient characteristics of MLM make it attractive to people who:

have not done well in their business or profession and have little money saved up to invest
have no previous experience owning or running a business
have no previous experience in sales
have little or no experience developing business relationships other than that of employer/employee/co-worker
are not satisfied with their current level of income
have unrealistic expectations of the amount of work involved compared to the revenue realized

Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with any of these things, or that this describes even a majority of network marketers—only that it describes a disproportionate number of network marketers, and that many of them never do anything about it.
As a result, many network marketers end up:

over-selling the opportunity
inappropriately discussing business in social situations
coming across as desperate
over-focused on new recruits and neglecting existing customers as a result
being either inaccurate or deceptive when talking about their business

Again, I'm certainly not saying that this describes a majority of network marketers, but it does describe enough of them to tarnish the reputation of the rest. To pre-judge someone based on the basis of a small minority of people in that group is horribly unfair, but we must realize that most prejudices have some basis in reality, even if it has been distorted.

So what's the solution?
There's a first time for everything. And network marketing/MLM is a great opportunity for people to have their first business, their first sales role, etc. My point is this—recognize it for what it is: it's a business, and you are a business owner. And if you've never owned a business before, if you've never done sales before, if you've never networked before, you need to learn about how to do so, not just from the network marketing/MLM experts, but from established experts in those fields.

Network marketers who are serious about building a business should be reading and learning about business fundamentals, the latest sales and marketing techniques, strategies for networking and business development, etc., not just swapping tips at your team's weekly or monthly meeting. Act like a small business owner, and people will treat you like one.

MLM Philippine Facts- The thin line between Legitimate MLM and Pyramid Scam

http://onlinemlmexplosion.com/online-mlm/2012/12/03/mlm-philippines-facts-thin-line-between-legitimate-mlm-and-pyramid-scam/

While pyramid scams are not new, it seems like Philippines mass media is riding the popularity of the pyramid scam especially after the exposé of Aman future pyramid scam. Where lots of hard earned money of ordinary people as well as government officials are suddenly wash-out. This is not the first time it happened, if you remember Multitel of Rose Baladjay, FrancSwiss, etc… People never learn that’s why they always make the same mistake again. Here are some facts about legitimate MLM and pyramid scam.

Pyramid Scam is in fact widespread compared to legitimate multilevel marketing. Most of them change their name frequently, well enough that you must be cautious with them. Most of them appear to be legitimate but they have the intention to fool or to mislead anyone. Generally this kind of business always has a bad objective of alluring anyone who has the dream of becoming rich. They always offer a quick rich business or double your money reward. They will tell you that you could have much more income by continuing signing up more new members. The reality is that these kinds of people in pyramid scheme will push your newly joined members to buy high priced services or materials. They promise to help them but the truth is that they looked at them as a mere money making machine. Always think of what they can gain.

They also do not present you with a service or product that is genuine. They are not really centered on product movement. In a nutshell, there is really no product. So therefore, their earnings are primarily based on getting new members on the system that also convinces other people to join the system. There is absolutely nothing of any kind of value that they can present. At this point, if absolutely nothing of value is presented, the capability to maintain the pyramid structure will certainly crumble, break down, and collapse. This can lead to all those at the bottom totally lose the money they invested. Therefore it is really important to investigate the quality of the services or products of a potential opportunity before engaging in this kind of business. The idea is usually that the more money you put and the more new members you sign up, the bigger your earnings.

For many people, the assurance of high returns in a short period of time is really tempting. That is why they are enticed to invest their money or to put much more money on the top of their actual invested. In addition or much worse, they convinced their family, relatives and friends to invest their money in this pyramid scheme. Soon, their desire for more usually takes in and so they begin imagining foolishly. Now, they believe that higher returns are certainly within their reach and they continue to hold on to these pyramid scheme believing that they will be rich soon without putting a lot of work. Sad to say, before they reach the pinnacle of success, most of this pyramid scam would suddenly announce bankruptcy and will leave their investors with damaged relationships, broken dreams, and in most instances the loss of all the money they invested.

While a Legitimate multilevel marketing has a successful reputation and is handled by trustworthy people. People behind in this kind of business is usually has a proven track record and has a genuine care for the benefit of their members.
They also have proven marketing plan which give anyone reasonable possibility of really making a passive income. A marketing plan intended for those people who believe that in order to be successful they have to work themselves up. They also have marketing strategy in position to back up the program.

Most of the legitimate MLM will cost you a small percentage of exactly scammers usually demand. They might require just a small amount for kit, catalogues and info guide. And most importantly, their products are consumable. It means that in order for anyone to have a monthly passive income, the products that they have to offer should have a repeat order. That is reason why they have a quality tangible services or products in which members are paid for whenever sales are created. They also earn from the people they recruit based from their sale of a product or service. The idea is that bigger your network of distributors and the more products you are able to market, the bigger your earnings is going to be.

Lastly, they also have an excellent framework for development and growth for their members. That is why most mentors in this legitimate MLM help other people to get free from financial debt, to know their purpose in life, what they made of, and allow you not just to be successful but also to make a difference. They also inspire other people to take risk, try something new, face failure and learn from it. They believe that the more leaders they create the more profitable and stable their company.
I hope that this article give you some kind of idea on how to deal with pyramid scams and legitimate MLM or Network Marketing opportunity.