My Network Marketing Horror Story! What Can Be Done About This Pesky Old Business Model?

Here's the drill. If you have been involved with Network Marketing or Multi-level Marketing(MLM) for awhile or have been exposed in the past, some of this may be painfully familiar to you. What I'm about to share with you is my parents business experience and my brush with this business model.

Shortly after I was married my parents started an mlm side business with a Network Marketing company called Shaklee. My father was working full-time in banking (not Lehman Brothers), so for him mlm was part-time. Shaklee has excellent products and I believe at the time excellent marketing materials. Their line of cleaning products were eco-friendly long before it was vogue.

The Network Marketing companies or their products are not the problem!

Here is a truth... some who may have been exposed to mlm companies in the past only peripherally, do not know. In other words they really did not know about the company or its products. The truth is, companies like Shaklee are in business to sell products. Like Shaklee, many companies have excellent and valuable products.

Here is the show stopper. The difference and the sticking point with mlm is the delivery method. When companies use the mlm or Network Marketing business model, there are perceptions that have been developed in the general populous that do not reflect the company or its products.

However, as you may have experienced has everything to do with the people that are selling for them. I've seen some pretty shady stuff.

More on that later...

Amway, is a very good example. I've had some Amway products in the past. They have some excellent products that can greatly enhance the cleaning and maintenance of your home. However, if you mention this company to most people, what is their first response? Pyramid scheme. Am I right? Opportunity meetings and little circles on a marker board.

I recently called my mother to get her take on her experience with Shaklee. My parents had achieved what Shaklee called the "supervisor level" at the peak of their business. They went to grand meetings in San Francisco and on cruises once they reached the supervisor level. All great stuff right! However, once they got there... in order to remain there, they had to keep the volume of sales up.

So, according to the current teaching, they had to keep contacting their names list and continue to attempt to recruit in presentation meetings at their home. One of my mother's customers told her... "I told you before, If I need anything, I'll call you."

Before long my mother said she would get upset because they had to pay out of their own pocket to retain their "supervisor" status. You see with the business model they were taught, they were unable to move the product and keep the volume up. They were taught by their upline that they are merely sharing not selling products. Simply share your experience with the product and that's the way to the top.

It wasn't long before my parents stopped paying their way and gave us some of the product that they had stored in their garage.

You see if you get into this business just to share a few products, like Tupperware or Mary Kay, you're not in business. You are simply sharing a few things. When you want to become a professional, then you're getting into business. I should add that you can build a profitable home business with Tupperware and Mary Kay.

Let me continue with my experience.

When I had my first mlm experience, I was looking for drop shippers to come up with an idea for a product to sell on web sites. You see, I started off with web sites to build a business around. That's when I had a co-worker tell me that her brother on the west coast was doing some kind of home business.

So, I called to see what he was doing. As it turned out the business was a large nutritional mlm company that will remain nameless. I could name it... but because of my experience, I'll protect the company and its product. Because, again... it's not the company or the product, it is the people and their methods ; so that you understand the two are distinctly different.

I said I've seen some shady stuff, and boy was this some kind of embarrassing to be a part of. Talking to my upline on the west coast wasn't bad and everything he told me seemed alright. Then he sent me to some local training meetings here where I live. People he had no oversight or connection with.

Mistake number one. Having some supervisor experience in organizations myself, I later thought this a huge mistake on his part.

So, my first meeting, I arrive a bit early because that's who I am. Only to be there by myself. Shortly one and then two folks showed up rushing around putting up samples of a company drink product for attendees to sample. Gradually, more of what appeared to be regulars began to show and a small number of us newbies.

As it turned out, it was a pretty small group. After some brief intros from local distributors, they had a "guest" speaker from another state introduced as some high level company man. Well, as I recall what he said was not as embarrassing as what he attempted to do once he was finished with his presentation.

We were asked to stand and the speaker with all the regulars started what could only be described as some type of victory chant. We were all encouraged to chant along but I and many there could not. Here's the thing, most of us were brand spanking new to Network Marketing. We had no clue at this point much less a reason to be jubilant. And after that experience did not want to get a clue from this group.

I guess we were supposed to be injected with enthusiasm for service. I attended one more meeting out of commitment and to see if the previous meeting was an aberration. Same thing, only no special speaker, just locals. They had someone who had achieved a certain level of sales speak and then the same attempt at fake enthusiasm.

Among the products sharing advice we were given, here was a sales tip for the group. We were to order a large amount of samples. With those samples we were to walk about town or a mall and offer the samples and talk to everyone we could. As if everyone was a potential customer. The mantra went something like, when in doubt, blurt it out.

This was not something that I wanted to be associated with or teach anyone to do. Over time I took down all the products that I'd put on my web site and turned toward affiliate marketing. I plan on using the Network Marketing model later as my web sites progress.

With those two stories in mind,Network Marketing is a good business model. The Network Marketing or MLM business model is one of the quickest ways I'm aware of to gain leverage for business growth. My area of interest is in the area of nutrition, the topic of a second web site I've started recently. This will be the area that I'll seek out products to sell.

So, what's the point of these two tales you say. Here is the short version and the topic of another article. Network Marketing is all about sales period. Moving the product provides your income and the rewards from your company. But not the irritating car salesman type of sales. There is a way for you to sell your product that just about anyone can like to do. It's called attraction marketing or sales.

Join any Network Marketing company today and you will be given marketing materials. These materials can be websites, emails, sales letters, and more. Ann Sieg calls marketing...salesmanship in print! The only difference is the medium. Telling is merely the face-to-face form of marketing. In the attraction sales model, your customers or people who either are interested in your product or joining you in business, come to you.

You can learn this method of growing your business. The attraction model is sweeping the Internet as the new and ultimate model of conducting this Network Marketing Business. Begin learning here with a copy of Ann Sieg's eBooks, The Attraction Marketer's Manifesto" and The Renegade Network Marketer".