MLM Systems – Isn´t It All Just Pyramid Selling?
Ros Bott
June 18, 2009
You may know that MLM stands for multi-level marketing. What you may not know is what the difference is between MLM systems and pyramid selling. Quite often, when people hear the term, MLM, or network marketing, they immediately switch off because they associate it with pyramid selling. This is an unfortunate misconception, so I hope to address this misunderstanding in this article.
The first thing you need to understand about MLM is that it is a valid business model that allows people like you and me to earn money by working on the internet. At the same time you are helping other people to do the same thing. It is very much about team effort and duplication.
To be successful with MLM you absolutely have to be interested in helping others. If you are not interested in helping those who sign up with you to build their own business and make money, you will not last very long. Multi-level marketing is about teamwork and communication.
How does this work? When you start, you have to learn a great deal about internet marketing and website promotion. As you go along, you pass this knowledge on to others who sign up under you as affiliates. The more successful they are, the more successful you will be.
Very often people do not realize how much work is involved when they join an MLM program. This is because they confuse it with some way of getting money quickly. This, in fact, does not happen very often. If people were becoming millionaires overnight, there would be far more rich people in the world! The truth is, many newbies fall by the wayside because they are not prepared to do the work that is necessary. Like any other business, you have to build it up over time.
People worry that MLM is about scamming people for money. It is sadly true that some people have created scams that look like valid programs. However, it is quite easy to avoid these. Never believe any program that tells you that you will be rich for not doing anything, and do not pay any money before you can see what you are getting into. Make sure that the company you are signing up with has a good product or service to sell alongside the business opportunity.
Most multi-level marketing business opportunities are easy and inexpensive to run, which makes them extremely good business models for most people who have access to a computer. Do not listen to anything negative you have heard about multi-level marketing until you have researched it properly yourself.
Pyramid schemes are completely different. To start with, they are not valid businesses and are illegal in most countries. They do not involve teamwork, and they are basically just an exchange of money that may make the people at the top rich, but tend to peter out, leaving those who have joined at the bottom out of pocket. They do not involve any valid product or service, which most good mlm companies do.
If you are interested in finding out more about mlm systems and starting your own business, you need to ask yourself whether you enjoy helping other people, if you are good at teamwork and whether you are prepared to learn all you can about internet marketing. You will need some patience, and the determination to achieve your goals. Above all, get rid of any thoughts you may have that mlm has anything to do with pyramid selling.
The first thing you need to understand about MLM is that it is a valid business model that allows people like you and me to earn money by working on the internet. At the same time you are helping other people to do the same thing. It is very much about team effort and duplication.
To be successful with MLM you absolutely have to be interested in helping others. If you are not interested in helping those who sign up with you to build their own business and make money, you will not last very long. Multi-level marketing is about teamwork and communication.
How does this work? When you start, you have to learn a great deal about internet marketing and website promotion. As you go along, you pass this knowledge on to others who sign up under you as affiliates. The more successful they are, the more successful you will be.
Very often people do not realize how much work is involved when they join an MLM program. This is because they confuse it with some way of getting money quickly. This, in fact, does not happen very often. If people were becoming millionaires overnight, there would be far more rich people in the world! The truth is, many newbies fall by the wayside because they are not prepared to do the work that is necessary. Like any other business, you have to build it up over time.
People worry that MLM is about scamming people for money. It is sadly true that some people have created scams that look like valid programs. However, it is quite easy to avoid these. Never believe any program that tells you that you will be rich for not doing anything, and do not pay any money before you can see what you are getting into. Make sure that the company you are signing up with has a good product or service to sell alongside the business opportunity.
Most multi-level marketing business opportunities are easy and inexpensive to run, which makes them extremely good business models for most people who have access to a computer. Do not listen to anything negative you have heard about multi-level marketing until you have researched it properly yourself.
Pyramid schemes are completely different. To start with, they are not valid businesses and are illegal in most countries. They do not involve teamwork, and they are basically just an exchange of money that may make the people at the top rich, but tend to peter out, leaving those who have joined at the bottom out of pocket. They do not involve any valid product or service, which most good mlm companies do.
If you are interested in finding out more about mlm systems and starting your own business, you need to ask yourself whether you enjoy helping other people, if you are good at teamwork and whether you are prepared to learn all you can about internet marketing. You will need some patience, and the determination to achieve your goals. Above all, get rid of any thoughts you may have that mlm has anything to do with pyramid selling.
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