80% of MLM Still Offline

Paul & Sarah Edwards:

Network marketing, also known as multilevel marketing, or MLM, appeals to people for the following reasons:

1. Most people find the business opportunity an alluring way to make ends meet, particularly when earnings are cut back, they lose a job or they’re trying to launch a new business.

2. Some people are so turned on by a product (like one that enabled them to lose weight or restore their health) that they want to share it with others.

3. Some people imagine MLM as a quick and low-cost way to get rich.

The fact is, few people get rich; some make a part-time income. Those who do best work hard, stick with it.

The internet does play a role in network marketing, but the most recent statistics from the Direct Selling Association indicate only 5.5 percent of direct sales are made over the Internet. Almost 80 percent of sales are made face-to-face, the customary way of making direct sales and recruiting people into a downline.