Network Marketing: Good or Evil?

So many people have abused this system of selling that it is mired in confusion and misinformation.

We will take a look at the good and bad aspects of this type of business model.

Mark Yarnell is at the top as a network marketer having sold his Nuskin business back in the 90’s. For network marketers his training videos are a godsend. He writes extensively on network marketing and is one of the formost experts on the subject.

Yarnell says a pyramid is the best system

It is the system that corporate America uses. He is right it is the same system they have been using for years and he is wrong it is not the best system. A Collaborative Model where everyone wins and has a place is even better. And that is what network marketing should be all about.

But often this is not the case. Many times people are drawn in by the carrot of great wealth and little work. This is a fallacy. Only five % make it to the top. And there is a lot of work and training that must go on just as with any business.

Telling people to go out and hit up friends and family and canvas the neighborhood is ridiculous. When you start a business you have to train and learn and put in some time at first. When I started my web design business I did not hit up my friends and family. I went to business people who needed web sites.

You don’t have to reach the top to play

There is nothing wrong with supplementing your income with a network marketing product. If you have a list of customers that already buy products in a specific niche why not offer the best products you can find no matter what the source? But to me the emphasis should be on serving your customers not on being a loyal clone to a network marketing company.

Network marketing companies seem to know little about other types of marketing like affiliate or online marketing to a niche market so they will put you down or will try to dissuade you from selling more than one line of products. Affiliate marketers can make passive income just by selling $100 a day from ten sites or sales pages. Once the sites are up they can automatically generate sales for years to come.

Sales takes a tough hide

Sales is a not an easy field, and not everyone wants to do it full time. And that is what it takes to reach the top in many network marketing companies. It takes guts to face the numerous rejections you must go through to find the right customers, and not everyone is natural at it but everyone can learn. It does a great disservice to tell people it is easy and that anyone can do it.

Some people are born sales people

I have known people who thrive on the challenge of meeting quotas and pushing themselves to talk to more and more people. But those people are rare. Most of us do sales because we have to. If you have ever gotten yourself hired for a job or If you run any kind of business, be it healing, or food preparation or cleaning you must know how sell to a certain extent. All of us have learned to sell ourselves and our services or we would not have survived this long.

The beauty of network marketing

The beauty of a good network marketing company is that you can start your business part time or incorporate the products into your present business and make extra income.

Another great perk is having access to people who want you to succeed and who have made a lot of money and know how to do it. This is not always the case with every network marketing company. But if you find one that has not reached critical mass you have a gem that is small enough that you can rub elbows with the owners of the company and the top earners.

If you are in a group that is motivated to truly help the world it can be very nice to be around these people and form a team or tribe but there can be drawbacks to all thinking alike and using the same jargon day in and day out…

The bad part about network marketing is the religious cult mentality

There is a disturbing cult like aspect to Network marketing companies at times. In order to fire up neophytes the training often encourages people to get really over-the-top excited and go out and “share” with everyone. This is unpleasant for the “sharies” and does not get the results that are needed.

Don’t say the word “SALES”!

People are encouraged to never use the S” word but if you are in a network marketing company you are in sales and why not be proud of it? This is a business and people are often encouraged to pretend like it isn’t and this is the wrong approach. Since the industry is dominated by women it has been marginalized and ridiculed. Well, it’s time to become serious business women (and the 20 percent who are men can get serious too!)

Treat your network marketing business with all the seriousness you would treat any other business. There is no need to be sneaky or ashamed of being a sales rep or consultant. People are not stupid and they will know you have the intention of selling them something so be forthright and honest at all times.

Your real estate agent, or car dealer or hairdresser don’t pretend to be simply “sharing” information or skills with you because they are your friend. They are there to provide a service with the end goal of being paid so they can continue to live in a money driven economy just like everyone else. Why should network marketers pretend they are not part of the same business world the rest of us are part of?

Hype smells like hype

You run out and tell everyone that your product is the best product! It is  the only product! it will cure everything from autism to car trouble!

The hype and exaggeration and emoting that goes into the monthly speeches and pep rallies gets people going for a little while but like a suntan it fades.  The day to day work of running a new business sets in and most people just give up at this point because they were not trained and warned that building a business of any kind is work. It can be fun and rewarding but it is going to have ups and downs.

When you have worked yourself into froth and put up signage on every street corner and stuck pamphlets in every car window within 100 miles and waited for random strangers to call you may grow tired and give up. Yes, maybe your upline got you to buy $2000 dollars worth of product that is now stored in your closet or garage but you become another casualty. Now they have to keep using up more and more people to amass their monthly quota. It is better to train for a business than to expect some miraculous pile of cash to fall in your lap without any effort.

The pork chop mentality

The problem with a lot of networkers is they see everything as a means to an end. Instead of getting to know people and find out if this would be a good business for them they see dollar signs on every person’s forehead. Every one becomes not just a human being to enjoy for who they are but a possible source of money in your pocket for many network marketers.

The answer to the madness?

Research the company thoroughly and make sure there are no skeletons in the closet

Try the products and make sure they really work

Access whether this is in alignment with your own life purpose or are you just drawn in by greed?

Once you find something you want to incorporate into your existing business or launch as a new business

• Join networking groups and local chambers just like other businesses
• Find pertinent trade shows, fairs and festivals
• Present your products and business just like a real business
• Join business groups and build relationships
• RBN
• BNI
• Meetup.com
• NAWB for women
• Consider selling on line with affiliate marketing models and web 2.0  sites as another outlet

If you decide to cold call professionals in the right fields of business figure out who is in your market and treated this just like any sales rep would treat calling on a potential customer. Do not use hype and awe but respect and patience and dignity with a product that is relevant to that demographic.

Good resources on the subject

How to Sell Without Being a Jerk by John Klymshyn learning to build relationships

Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin using the internet as part of your marketing campaign no matter what you do

The Holy Grail of Network Marketing by Mark Yarnell