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Slide 1: ==== ==== Having Trouble Talking with Prospects? Click here for the solution http://mmhalbers.blackbeltrecruiting.com ==== ==== There are a number of people who say that network marketing and MLM is a dying business model. There are a number of reasons why they claim this is the case. Some people believe that with the internet there really is no need for a person to person sales model that these business models offer. Others believe that because of the heavy focus on recruiting. Still others believe that the business model is really a cover for an illegal pyramid scheme and that it will eventually be shut down by the government. So that leaves the question. Is network marketing and MLM a dying business model? Claims of the death of the business model are certainly not new. In the 70's the Federal Trade Commission took a look at Amway, one of the largest network marketing and MLM companies at the time. Based on the FTC ruling, they determined that Amway was NOT an illegal pyramid scheme. Here is what the Federal Trade Commission said about Amway's business model... "...the company's sales plan was not an illegal pyramid scheme. Amway differed in several ways from pyramid schemes that the Commission had challenged. It did not charge an up-front "head hunting" or large investment fee from new recruits, nor did it promote "inventory loading" by requiring distributors to buy large volumes of nonreturnable inventory. Instead, Amway only required distributors to buy a relatively inexpensive sales kit." (ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm#N_19) What this ruling effectively means is that there is a significant difference between network marketing and MLM which is a LEGITIMATE business model and an illegal pyramid scheme which is an ILLEGITIMATE business model. Regarding the internet, the internet has been around for more than a decade. Despite the continued growth of the internet, it still only accounts for a small percentage of overall retail sales. What this means is that there is still a desire for people to purchase items offline. Therefore as long as that trend continues and there's no data that shows a significant decrease of people refusing to purchase items offline in favor of online, there will always be an opportunity for legitimate network marketing and MLM distributors to earn an income offline. In addition, there are many network marketing and MLM distributors embracing internet network marketing MLM strategies that allow them to make sales and recruit distributors over the internet. So even if there is a mass increase in purchases over the internet, many network marketing companies and individual distributors are well positioned to take advantage of that trend. Regarding the focus on recruiting, a recruiting focus doesn't necessary make a business model destined for failure. There are a number of companies that hire or contract recruiting firms to help
Slide 2: them hire the right talent for their organizations. The individuals and companies that recruit for these companies have a complete focus on recruiting. However, no one ever accuses a traditional company of being destined for failure because of a recruiting focus. Franchising is another example. Every major franchise in the world has a significant focus on recruiting more franchisees for their business. Since it is the franchisees that sell the products and services the company offers, their entire revenue is based on their ability to sell more franchises and help their existing franchisees sell more of the company's products and services. Yet no one ever claims that franchising is a dying business model because they focus on recruiting. If anything, if you look at the data, it shows that network marketing and MLM is GROWING and not dying by any stretch of the imagination. Year end 2007, Amway reported over 7 billion dollars in sales revenue, it's 6th consecutive year of revenue growth. Pre-Paid Legal, a direct sales company in which the majority of its memberships are sold through network marketing reported 15 consecutive years of increasing membership revenue. Avon, the largest network marketing company has almost doubled in size since 1999 according to its 2007 annual report. So for all of the detractors that claim that network marketing and MLM is dying, I have two words for you... You're wrong! Would you like to learn more about how to build an unlimited flow of network marketing prospects using the power of internet marketing? Roosevelt Cooper offers a free report that will teach you exactly how to do this. Visit us at http://www.web204mlm.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roosevelt_Cooper ==== ==== Having Trouble Talking with Prospects? Click here for the solution http://mmhalbers.blackbeltrecruiting.com ==== ====