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By Dennis W. Gaddy
Network Marketing Consultant
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What Exactly is Network Marketing?
Who actually pioneered this business? When did network marketing actually start? In 1945, Carl
Rehnborg was known to be the first person to introduce a compensation plan to market his nutritional
products. His company was originally called the California Vitamin Company, but later renamed as
Nutrilite Products Inc. Using a multi-tired plan, it allowed any Nutrilite distributor to get a 3 percent
commission from a downline on top of the regular commissions from his own sales. With this system,
Nutrilite achieved stunning success compared to the old “direct-selling” method. In 1959, two good
friends- Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel- started a new company called Amway Corporation selling
biodegradable all-purpose cleaner. By using a network marketing compensation plan, the tiny enterprise
achieved remarkable success with a sales force all over the United States. Dr. Forrest Shaklee did the
same with nutritional products in 1959 with Shaklee products. Over the years, network marketing has
evolved and diversified into a wide range of products and services as more companies have adopted
this marketing method.
As a network marketer, you do not work for the company; you work with the company. The business
relationship is a tangible and dynamic partnership where the company provides: the products and
packaging, research and development, capitalization, financial management, legal and regulatory
compliance, data processing, administration, order taking, purchasing and production, quality control,
product satisfaction guarantees, warehousing, shipping, creation and production of marketing materials,
and so on. So even though you are in business for yourself—you are not in business by yourself.
Just imagine you’re a salesperson in a large department store and each of your customers becomes a
salesperson for the product you are selling, and that you are able to get a percentage of what they sell
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wherever they go after leaving the store. In a traditional business organization, this would never happen.
In network marketing, this is exactly what happens.
Or again, if you are like most people, when you like something, you love to share it with others. How
many times have you told people about a movie you really liked? Maybe you told 10 people about it,
and those 10 people told 10 people each about it, and those 100 people told another 10 people about it.
That’s 1000 people that went to see that movie because of your referral. Wouldn’t it be nice if the movie
theater paid you a percentage for each person you referred? Here again, in traditional business, this will
never happen. Yet, this is exactly what takes place in network marketing.
By referring people to the company, you will be entitled to receive commissions. In the above examples,
those customers leaving the store would be sponsored as distributors by you and would be placed in your
organization. Likewise, all those people going to the movie would be sponsored by you, or by someone
you sponsored, and be placed in your organization.
The power of network marketing is in the duplication process. The geometric progression can be really
astounding. This incredible multiplying effect can build a group of hundreds or thousands of distributors,
each one earning commissions from not only their efforts, but also from the efforts of others. No matter
when you join a network marketing organization, you are always the head of your own company. Unlike
conventional corporations with one Chief Executive at the top, in network marketing, each person is the
Chief Executive of his or her own independent organization.
Is This a Pyramid?
One of the most misunderstood concepts of network marketing involves the term “pyramid”. Pyramids,
by their very nature represent strength as evidenced by our government, traditional business models, and
the family structure- all form a pyramid shape. When the question arises (“Is this a pyramid scheme?”)
the underlying question really is –whether or not the company is operating legally. Unfortunately there
are bad apples in every bunch, and there have been abuses of network marketing, just as there have
been with franchising, real estate, the stock market, and every other form of business. With the proper
application, however, network marketing provides an opportunity to become financially independent by
showing and helping others to do the same.
How does network marketing differ from a pyramid scheme? According to Professor Charles King,
marketing professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and co-author of The New Professionals: The
Rise of Network Marketing as the Next Major Profession: “Pyramid schemes make virtually all their profit
from the fees new recruits pay to sign up and not from commissions on the sale of products or delivery of
services. Because they are illegal, pyramid schemes usually seek a legitimate ‘cover’ by offering a ‘line
of products’—but usually the products are not worth the value of what you pay for them. A legitimate
network marketing company, on the other hand, pays the distributor a commission based on the sale of
legitimate, value-based products—not for recruiting anyone. The sign up fee is low, typically in the $40-
$100 range. While most companies encourage distributors to buy a small amount of product to become
familiar with what they are selling, a money back guarantee is generally offered for all unused product if
the distributor decides to drop out of the business.”
Illegal pyramid schemes try to disguise themselves as network marketing companies because they want
to appear legal. Unfortunately, when the press reports on illegal pyramid schemes, we all suffer guilt by
association and that does have an effect on our ability to retain good people and acquire new ones. Legal
attacks by state and federal authorities on high profile network marketing companies do occur from time
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to time. Most of those large companies, not only survive the attack, but also come to be considered
models of legality whose policies and enforcement systems are emulated by younger companies (Len
Clement—“The Coming Network Marketing Boom”—Networking Times, June 2002).
The Direct Selling Association, DSA (www.dsa.org) is an active professional lobbying group, based in
Washington, D.C. that is a major force on overseeing that the integrity of the network marketing industry
is preserved. The DSA is currently working on legislation that will create federal legislation for network
marketing.(Note: In 1963, Congress enacted laws regulating franchising. The post regulatory era of
franchising created an industry that now moves over one-third of all the goods and services in this
country. Federal regulation was the catalyst to the biggest boom in entrepreneurial history—(Len
Clements—“The Coming Network Marketing Boom”—Networking Times, June 2002).
While network marketing has seen it’s share of unethical people and practices, it’s still the most brilliant
marketing system ever devised. When an honest company, with a great product or service recruits an
organization, everyone wins…especially the end user.
Average and Ordinary” People can Participate; Low Start-Up Cost; Tax Benefits
The network marketing opportunity is available to anyone, regardless of education, background, or level
of finances.
Traditional business investments can range from $100k-$1million or more! In network marketing, for an
investment of $500 or less, you have the ability to start your own business, and work it as much or as little
as you see fit.
By owning your own business, you have the ability to take advantage of the benefits that are only
available to business owners, and you are able to legally write off many of the expenses working from
home.
If you can push ‘play” on a tape/CD recorder, refer others to a website or 1-800#, you can succeed in this
business. Previously, network marketing tended to work best for aggressive, sales oriented
entrepreneurs. Today new technology offers the every day non-sales type person a realistic promise of
financial freedom. Through new systems and technology, the average man or woman—not just the super
salespeople—can enjoy the fruits of entrepreneurship while avoiding many of its hardships.
Advancements in technology have streamlined the way network marketers do business. This new
technology takes away the need for extraordinary sales people, which in turn levels the playing field for
ordinary people looking for an above average opportunity. The system simplifies, standardizes, and
automates the most difficult aspects of the business. No longer do distributors need to stockpile inventory
and keep track of all the paperwork. Most companies have you simply direct customers to a toll-free 800
number or company website. The company fulfills the order, credits the distributor for the sale, and
generates a computerized commission check and detailed report at the end of the month. What makes
network-marketing work is the division of labor between distributor and parent company. A good company
takes care of everything except sponsoring. Network Marketing has evolved so that the distributor
functions mainly as a human contact through which the company’s communications or information stream
is channeled. Someone who doesn’t have strong communication skills, strong selling skills, or strong
management skills can still prosper. The idea is “you do what you do best, and the company will do the
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rest”. Voice mail, fax machines, electronic mail, Internet, videotapes, satellite links, and conference calls
have made communication rather simple and effective, which allows each distributor to focus on learning
and growing the business.
Ironically, some of the same technologies that have allowed traditional business to cut millions of jobs are
also allowing an innovative marketing method to offer hope and opportunity to people from all walks of
life. Network Marketing uses this technology to support people, rather than replace them. As computers
take over more and more of the work that people used to do, they free us up to focus on those things that
people do best—to dream, plan, strategize, solve problems and interact with other people.
Leverage
Most people are trapped in a system of wage slavery. They trade their labor for a fixed wage or hourly
rate tied directly to the amount of time they spend on the job. This is called “linear income”. Network
Marketing, on the other hand, can be defined as a method of marketing that allows independent sales
representatives to sponsor other sales representatives and draw commissions from the sales of those
who are sponsored. This is called geometric or “leveraged income”.
Author W. Clement Stone once wrote that the best sort of money to use in a business endeavor is –Other
People’s Money (OPM). Network Marketing goes two steps beyond that—(1) OPT (Other People’s time,
talent, and technique), and (2) OPE (Other People’s energy, education, and enthusiasm). In short,
“People Power”—other people are the greatest resource in network marketing. In many other
professions, you’re paid only for your own efforts. However, in network marketing, you get to utilize the
age-old advice of J. Paul Getty: It is better to make one percent of 100 people’s effort, than 100% of your
own efforts. Building a network marketing organization allows one to do just that. It is as if, instead of
being a one or two income household, you’re a 500 or 5000 income household—and that’s just
incredible.
Not only will the total result almost always be a lot more with leverage, but your income is not dependent
on only one person. If your income is produced by the activities of many, and something negative or
unexpected happens to one or more of those people, it only has a minor effect on the total production.
That translates to real job security.
Leverage Your Time—Enjoy Time Freedom and Potential for Unlimited Income
Nothing in life equals the joy of spending quality time doing the things we most enjoy with the people we
most love. The major problem with the “rat race” and the 40-year plan (average working years from age
25-65) is the lack of time allotted to us for ourselves, time with our families, time for church and civic
responsibilities, as well as time to be a good human being. The 40-year plan is the best that most folks
can hope for in traditional business. By the age of 25, most people have an idea of what profession they
will enter. But 40 years later, out of a typical 100 people, 5 are still working, 36 are dead, 54 are dead
broke (or at least earning less than they were when they were employed), 4 are well off, and 1 person is
wealthy. Thus the 40-year plan means that for four decades, most of us go back and forth from home to
work, back and forth…and yet at the end of this time, only 5 out of 100 persons can retire in dignity.
The baby boomers (those born between 1945-1964—about 70 million strong) and their children are
beginning to discover that the road to riches promised by their parents has ended without warning on the
brink of disaster. Too many boomers are facing old age without adequate retirement benefits.
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Everyday, more stories circulate and speculate about when social security will “run out of gas”. Without
doubt, what worked for their parents will not work for boomers or their children. Now many boomers will
be forced to work into their seventies. Unless their children chart a different course, they may be destined
to follow the well-worn and rutted road of despair. The rat race allows time only for being a good worker.
Life has to be more than that. Network Marketing provides the key.
The concept of leverage is one of the most exciting aspects of this business. It allows you to generate
income not only from your own efforts, but also through the efforts of others in your organization. Even if
you can only work a few hours a week, you could receive a second paycheck without quitting your job. If
you don’t have a lot of time, you can still find people who do and still capitalize on the opportunity. If one
works diligently in network marketing for 3-5 years, building an income based on honest movement of
products or services, the dream of financial freedom can become a reality. Network Marketing is the
ultimate in freedom—the freest of free enterprise. There is literally no ceiling, no limits on earnings. A
lawyer can only bill so many hours in a day, and a doctor can only perform so many surgeries in a day.
Some great people working in traditional business haven’t had a raise in years. In network marketing,
you have the option of creating a raise for you and your family everyday if you so choose.
In the competitive workplace, when you work for someone else, and you do a great job, you can become
a threat to others around you. Or if you gain knowledge about that specific business and teach that to
someone else (duplicate yourself), many times that person may “take your job” or leave your company
and start one of their own— in either case, what you have essentially done is “trained your competition”.
In network marketing, when you duplicate yourself, and those who are working with you make money…
you make money. When they win…you win.
Zig Ziglar says, “I believe that you can get anything in life you want, if you will just help enough other
people get what they want”. Network Marketing is a fun business. It’s the only business in the world
where by going out and helping others get what they want, and changing the lives of others for the better,
you can get what you want in the process. The saying goes it’s lonely at top, but that’s only true when
you have to step on other people to get there. Yet that just isn’t the way to do it—the best way to
succeed comes from helping others, and network marketing allows you do just that.
One of the major advantages of network marketing is the personal growth training that you get from the
positive, self-help books, as well as ongoing company trainings. Some of the more important real-life
personal development subjects include: an attitude of success; leadership skills; communication skills;
people skills; overcoming personal fears, doubts, and lack of confidence; overcoming fear of rejection;
money management skills; accountability skills; time management skills; and goal setting.
Only 3% of Americans have written goals, and the art of getting along with others was never taught to us
in our school curriculum. This is unfortunate, as success principles should be “taught”, rather than
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“caught”. Because network marketing is based heavily on building relationships, the “personal coaching”
that one receives is worth it, even if a person decides not to pursue network marketing as a business.
How far we have come from the golden age of Madison Avenue! A generation ago, advertisers ruled the
roost. Captive audiences sat helpless before a barrage of televised images. Ad agencies funneled their
messages, at will, straight into the consumer’s mind. But now the roles have reversed. It is the consumer
who controls the information flow, while the advertiser resorts to ever more desperate means to seize
his/her attention. The average person today is exposed to 145 commercial messages daily—a 36
percent increase since 1960. But the chances of any one advertiser making an impact have plummeted.
Armed with remote controls, today’s consumer now flips from one cable station to the next, bypassing all
commercial stations. As the number of media outlets proliferates—from cable TV to the Internet—
advertising messages are lost in the ever-widening data streams.
Channel surfing is only one of many ways that people today protect themselves from commercials. To
the alarm of advertisers, more and more people are adopting a fortress mentality toward psychological
intrusions of any kind. Consumers pay premium subscription fees for non-commercial cable stations.
They withhold warranty applications, lest they wind up on mailing lists. They fast forward through the
promotions on rented videos. They delete commercial e-mail messages without reading them. They
screen out unwanted calls with their answering machines. Nearly one out of every seven American
households today have an unlisted phone number. It’s all part of the cocooning trend, foretold by
marketing consultant Faith Popcorn (The Popcorn Report) more than a decade ago. “Americans are
retreating into cocoons”, says Popcorn, because they are overwhelmed by the frantic pace and social
chaos of the information age. They are seeking a quiet, private retreat, where they do not have to see,
hear, feel, or do anything except by their own choice. Cocooning is about insulation and avoidance, pace
and protection, coziness and control—a sort of hyper-nesting. (Popcorn Report, p. 37)
If there is one urgent business lesson marketers need to learn, it is finding ways to reach the cocooned
consumer. No marketing method does this better than network marketing. Even the most elusive
cocooner will still lend an ear to people they know and trust—a friend, relative, associate, or co-worker
who recommends a particular diet supplement, investment plan, or Internet service provider. Word-of-
mouth marketing penetrates the thickest psychological defenses. Network Marketers are going right into
the cocoon—they know how to invade the cocoon, without being thought of as invaders. The twenty-first
century will see profound changes in shopping habits. Instead of going to the store, the store will come to
us. In the future, we will be looking at network marketing the way we look at regular marketing today.
(Popcorn Report, pps. 39-41)
Residual Income
Residual income is recurring income that continues long after the work you have done to produce it has
ended. There are lots of ways to produce residual income. But many people don’t understand it. Others
have never thought about it or been exposed to it—and unfortunately, many ways of producing it are out
of the reach of average people. Successful authors, actors, musicians, and insurance agents are some of
the more familiar occupations that produce residual income. Probably the best example of residual
income is interest earned on money in the bank. It gets paid to you without you having to produce any
additional effort, or invest more time.
The same concept of residual income holds true for network marketing—and the wonderful thing, it is
“within the reach” of the average person. The network marketing opportunity allows anyone, without prior
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experience, special skills, or large capital outlay, to build long-term residual income. As you build your
network marketing organization, you are essentially building an asset that has the potential to continue to
pay you down the road after you have rested from the business.
But like everything else in life, residual income has a downside. The biggest one is it normally takes time
for the “magic of compounding” to work. Residual income is designed for the back-end, not the front.
Many people have a hard time understanding this fact and mistakenly chase false promises of quick or
easy money. Successful people ignore this. Naïve or greedy people usually get burned.
Residual income is not about getting rich quick. If you are especially talented or have the time and
money to invest, you may have some success in less than a year. But without a major investment of time
or money, it takes most “typical” people a year or two of part time work to generate a decent income. But
achieving success within 2-4 years of part-time effort beats the widely accepted “standard” plan of
working 20-40 years for someone else at a job that statistics indicate 56 per cent of people find
unsatisfying.
A critical component to building long-term residual income is offering high quality, high demand, value-
priced “consumable” products or services that people use and re-order month after month.
Such notable companies as MCI, Sprint, Colgate-Palmolive, CitiGroup, Coca-Cola, and Berkshire-
Hathaway (Warren Buffet) are among those who have some of their family of products being distributed
through network marketing channels.
The University of Illinois-Chicago is the first major university to offer a certificate seminar in Network
Marketing. The course is taught by Professor Charles King, who states: “Our goal is to set the standard
for professional education in this field, and offer course work that confers credibility and professionalism
on the network marketer.”
Conclusion
Most Americans still don’t know that network marketing exists, nor do they understand how it is
destined to change the way we live and work in the years ahead. Never before has there been a
business model that is “within the reach” of the average person. Just to review some of the benefits:
▪ There is training that needs to be done, but it’s a lot less than running
a McDonalds, and much more beneficial.
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▪ Allows one to help other people succeed, and to
experience personal growth training
▪ Time Freedom
Let’s face it, in the year 2005 things are not like they were when our parents grew up. Our parents
focused on job security and company loyalty—many times working all their lives for one company. The
term “job security” has become an ideal from a distant past in this fast paced ever-growing business
market, complete with downsizing, right sizing, mergers and acquisitions. The only “job security” today
comes when you make the decision—when you are the company. Network Marketing offers a chance to
do just that.
There is no free lunch, however. It’s like riding a bike—in order to coast downhill, you first have to ride
your bike uphill, and be willing to get back on when you fall off. But once you start, you find yourself
enjoying the exercise and additional benefits of improving your strength, endurance and health. The
same is true in network marketing—you must “climb the hill” (learn the business), before you can coast.
Many people learn to enjoy the process of becoming better people, helping others, and improving much
more than just the financial part of their lives. (Mike Duffy—Why Network Marketing)
Please take a look at network marketing and see if it will provide you the security and freedom you
need to capture and keep your American Dream. You have nothing to lose—and you may have
everything to gain.
The most fundamental fact of life in our world today is change. As a rule, people are reluctant to change.
We resist it, we like to stay within our comfort zone of what is known and accepted by most. THIS IS
HUMAN NATURE.
But it's true that what you resist will persist, especially when you resist a better method whose time has
come. In almost every field of endeavor, the arts, sciences, medicine, and business, most new ideas
have always met with resistance and rejection at first. The more unique and revolutionary the idea, the
louder and stronger the opposition to it.
People have always been afraid and even ignorant about ideas and methods that may result in change.
Fear of change caused ridicule of Christopher Columbus, Louis Pasteur, Thomas Edison and Albert
Einstein. There are other examples of how fear of change had effects on progress.
In the 1800's, people bought what they needed at small, family owned shops. Then a man named W.T.
Grant had an idea that created change. What if we combined all these separate, little shops by making
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them individual departments under one roof, in one large store? A new and better way of doing things.
Customers loved it.
The individual merchants who owned the old-fashioned retail stores saw their businesses decline. The
shopkeepers fought back politically. There were thousands of them with thousands of votes, and they
lobbied for their right to do things the same old way.
They finally got the local and state governments to outlaw Grant's department stores. Eventually, Grant's
department store won out. If there is a better way it will persist. In the early 1960's franchising was a
revolutionary new technology in business, and it was also met with resistance. Newspapers and
magazines wrote what a scam and rip-off franchising was. Stories of people who lost their life savings to
some franchise were everywhere. There was a strong move to make franchising illegal. In fact,
franchising actually came within 11 votes of being outlawed by Congress.
Today this so-called scam is responsible for over 34 percent of all retail sales in North America.
Franchises sell nearly 800 billion dollars worth of goods and services today. Every industry goes through
an evolution similar to this. Chiropractors were considered quacks in the 1970's, the stock market was
considered shady and a form of gambling, and the first newspaper in British North America, The Public
Occurrence (1690), was suppressed by the governor of Massachusetts. Now, we almost can't do without
these industries.
The Pioneers
Like all-powerful concepts, Network Marketing has also met resistance due to a lack of understanding.
There is no mystery to Network Marketing. It's just another form of sales and distribution. Network
Marketing is 50 years young. In the early 1940's a company by the name of California Vitamins
recognized that all their new sales representatives coming aboard were friends and family of their
existing sales force, primarily because they wanted the product at wholesale cost. They also discovered
that it was easier to create a sales force of a lot of people who each sold a small amount of product than
it was to find a few superstars who could sell a lot of products. So they combined those two ideas and
designed a sales compensation structure that encouraged their salespeople to invite new representatives
from satisfied customers, most of whom were family and friends, who each had the same right to offer the
product and representative status to others, which allowed the sales force to grow exponentially. The
company rewarded them for the sales produced by their entire group or network of sales representatives.
Network Marketing was born! A few years later, the company changed its name to NutraLite Food
Supplement Corporations.
In 1956, NutraLite was joined in Network Marketing by Dr. Forrest Shaklee to gain a broader distribution
of the food supplements he had developed.
Not long after, in 1959, former NutraLite distributors Rich DeVoss and Jay Van Andel started the Amway
company as the American Way of marketing products. Like many truly innovative breakthroughs, the
development of true network marketing was an accident.
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Abuses of exponential growth haunted network marketing for years and it is still misunderstood today.
One of the first abuses of the concept of exponential growth to generate income may have been the
chain letter craze that swept the U.S. after World War I. The letters promised great profit if you would
send a dime or a dollar to the person at the bottom.
The chain letters spread as far as Europe, and by the 1930's the U.S. post office estimated that 10 million
letters were being mailed each day. Postal Authorities and law enforcement agencies battled the
fraudulent schemes and the chain letter phenomenon began to subside in the early 1940s. Unfortunately,
this scam spawned schemes which came to be known as pyramids, where money was given for the right
to involve others, as no valid product which was being purchased from the company.
In 1974, Senator Walter Mondale declared such companies to be the nation's number one consumer
fraud. Law enforcement agencies moved quickly to clean up the abuses. In the mid 1970's, with no clear
understanding of what constituted a legitimate use of network marketing, the Federal Trade Commission
and state agencies across the nation turned their eyes to almost all network marketing companies. In
1975, the FTC filed suit against Amway, alleging that the company was an illegal pyramid and that its
refusal to sell its products in retail stores constituted a restraint of trade.
Amway spent four years and millions of dollars in legal fees to clear its name. In 1979 the FTC (Federal
Trade Commission) ruled that Amway was not a pyramid, that its revenue was generated from the sale of
its products, and the FTC acknowledged network marketing as a legal and efficient distribution system.
Network Marketing exploded in the next decade.
Today there are thousands of Network Marketing companies operating throughout the United States,
Canada, Mexico, South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Japan and
the Pacific Basin. Little Malaysia alone has more than 800 active Network Marketing companies. Network
Marketing is reported to be a $100 billion dollar industry, internationally, made up of FORTUNE 500 and
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) companies.
In 1993, Amway was the fastest growing foreign company in Japan with sales over $1 billion. Discovery
Toys markets their products solely by Network Marketing, with sales figures in excess of $100 million.
Sprint, MCI and AT&T make their long distance phone service available through Network Marketing
companies. The A.L. Williams Company utilized Network Marketing and astounded the insurance industry
by outselling Prudential, a giant in the industry, in four short years.
Traditional sales method companies such as Colgate-Palmolive and the Gillette Company have Network
Marketing subsidiaries. Rexall Drug is now utilizing the Network Marketing method of distribution with its
subsidiary, Rexall Showcase. Network Marketing companies such as Melaleuca outperformed Liz
Claiborne, The Limited and John Paul Mitchell while Nu Skin bested the likes of Maybelline, Dow
Chemical and Matrix. Mary Kay is bigger than Johnson & Johnson, Amway is bigger than Revlon, and
Avon is bigger than Estee Lauder. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart is quoted as saying, "I'd rather
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run a profitable business in an unconventional industry than an unprofitable business in a conventional
industry."
Network Marketing has evolved in other ways, as well. Companies that began as direct selling
companies are now utilizing networking marketing compensation plans. Some examples include Avon,
the $3 billion cosmetic giant, Watkins Products, which had been direct selling for nearly 100 years before
it converted to network marketing, and Encyclopedia Britannica.
One reason for the decline of direct selling is that beginning in the 1970's, distributors making calls on
people found that no one was home. Women, long standing as the customer backbone of direct sales,
had entered the work force, leaving few at home during the day. Companies watching these societal
trends moved quickly to revise their marketing plans to network marketing, which allows for more informal
methods of sales and greater compensation.
Network Marketing Companies have actually pioneered entire industries: natural vitamin supplements,
nutrition and diet drinks, concentrated and environmentally friendly household cleaners. One network
marketing company almost single-handedly created the billion dollar home water filtration business.
Why are so many companies utilizing network marketing as their chosen method of marketing? Simply
stated, it's more efficient! They do not pay for marketing, distribution or sales until after the sale is made
and the product is delivered. Compare that to traditional marketing where a company can spend millions
of dollars on advertising, as well as all costs associated with an employee based sales force, such as
benefits, support staff, communication, travel and office, before any product is sold. Charles Givens,
financial expert and best selling author of Wealth Without Risk, points out that 80 percent of the cost of
getting a product to consumers today is the result of marketing expenses. Companies are looking to
move their cost as close to the point of sale as possible. Network Marketing companies replace traditional
advertising and marketing costs with sales commissions to the independent representatives, paid after
the product is sold.
In her best selling book, The Popcorn Report, Faith Popcorn explains additional societal trends driving
the success of Network Marketing. Her book describes consumers as having a desire to cocoon and stay
at home. She believes that they wish to avoid crowded malls and traffic jams, and are looking for the
convenience of direct delivery of the product that Network Marketing provides. Advertising Age magazine
states that the recommendation from a friend is the most powerful form of advertising; that is what
Network Marketing is all about.
The changing work place has demonstrated that there is no security in the traditional corporate structure
and career path. In the United States over 3,100 jobs are lost each day due to downsizing. Automation
and technological advances are streamlining business and changing entire industries. Millions of people
will be out of work searching for the same kinds of jobs their former employers just eliminated, in another
company that just hasn't yet streamlined. This is postponing the inevitable; In fact, 47 percent of the
companies that made up the Fortune 500 in 1980 are no longer in operation today, which represents a
net loss of more than five million jobs!
Technological advances affect the work forces of entire industries. One example is the vinyl record
business. In 1985, vinyl records supported a $24 billion a year industry. Today it is all but extinct, having
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been replaced with producers of cassettes tapes and compact discs. The steel and copper industries
have suffered with the advent of new plastics and alloys. The functions computers are able to execute
have caused the replacement of millions of workers. Robotic technology similarly has taken its toll in the
workplace. One robot can replace twenty human workers and extinguishes the need for companies to
pay exorbitant amounts in employee benefits. Man Power Inc., a temporary service, is now one of the
largest employers in the world because companies are finding it less expensive to hire temporary
employees and thereby avoid paying benefits to permanent employees.
Marketing on a part-time effort can provide a financial cushion of residual income to protect oneself from
such events. A recent Wall Street Journal survey found that 80 percent of the work forces want to own
their own business and 40 percent surveyed would like to work at home. This is exactly what network
marketing provides. People are searching for ways to build a future that develops leadership and
provides a balance in their lives for their families and each other, without sacrificing their sanity in the
process.
In network marketing, you share information and develop personal and professional contacts. You are
rewarded for sharing information that results in product sales. Network Marketing empowers you to build
your own networking sales organization from your personal and professional contacts, which also
empowers everyone to do the same, creating exponential growth of your network. You can earn income
from the successful efforts of your network of business associates. Unlike conventional Corporations with
one chief executive at the top, in Network Marketing everyone is the CEO of his or her own independent
organization.
A network marketing company supplies the product. Then they join in partnership with a network of
independent representatives, each one in business for themselves. The company takes care of the
research and development, finances, management, public relations, production, warehousing, packaging,
quality control, administration, shipping, data processing, the accounting and payment of representative
sales commission checks.
One of the reasons for the success of Network Marketing in the 1990's is that it is based on cooperation,
not competition. Unlike in traditional business, career advancement in network marketing comes directly
from helping to create success with those that you introduce to the company. Network Marketing is
sharing information that results in product sales. People involve themselves because they want to finally
be compensated for what their efforts are really worth. They're involved because somebody cared
enough about them to show them the awesome opportunity of network marketing. They get involved
because they were ready to make a change.
People resist change and are fearful of what is not fully understood. People are comfortable with what is
known and accepted by most.
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The truth is that most people in power today have an overriding fear of the loss of their own power.
Network Marketing is about empowerment of the individual. Is it really your best interest they have at
heart? Remember what happened with W.T. Grant, franchising, and the first newspaper? Most new
concepts have always met with resistance and rejection at first.
Newspapers, magazines, radio and television earn their primary profits from their advertisers. Is it in the
media's best interest to say anything positive about an industry that does not advertise?
Do you suppose major traditional marketing companies that are receiving increased competition from
network marketing companies are excited? Whose side do you suppose the media would take to protect
their advertising dollar?
A few years ago a network marketing company that sold personal care products became the attention of
the media and several state Attorney Generals. Their sales were approaching $500 million dollars. These
sales were being taken away from companies such as Revlon, Max Factor, Estee Lauder and others in
the health and beauty aids industry. Do you believe the competition was pleased with the success of a
network marketing company that was not spending multi-millions of dollars on advertising as they had
traditionally done? Furthermore, network marketing companies were bypassing the department stores
and malls and going direct to the consumer's living rooms with sharing, caring service and time saving
convenience. What if you were one of the brokers, retailers, wholesalers, media people or any other
person whose job or businesses were being threatened because network marketing was a new and
better way of doing things? What would you do?
If you had a friend in the State Attorney general's office would you call them? If you or your company had
contributed to any industry lobbyist, political action committee or had media contacts might they be
contacted, too? What if, in fact, your job were in jeopardy either as the VP of Sales or as one of the
executive staff who might have to answer to stockholders and explain why your market share was being
taken away by some network marketing company and your position, your power and your income were at
stake? Do you suppose these strategies are ever used against a competitor? How many votes do you
suppose an Attorney General would risk by focusing on a network marketing company that employed
many people and paid a great amount of local and state taxes - in a different state? Just as in any
business or industry, there are scams and schemes that hurt the industry image. Real estate has had its
scams. Banking and Savings and Loans have had their improprieties. Ministries have had abuses for self-
serving purposes. The stock market has had its insider trading scandals. Why should network marketing
be any different? Look at the company, the product, its management and their past history. Understand
the commitment that is necessary to achieve success and residual income. This advice is just as valid in
network marketing as in anything else.
There are many myths about the industry of network marketing and the companies involved. It is true that
many recognized traditional companies have started subsidiaries, such as Gillette, Colgate-Palmolive,
Rexall and thousands of other companies that are using network marketing as their preferred method of
distribution, creating sales of approximately $100 billion dollars. It is often stated that Coca-Cola,
Goodyear, IBM, Firestone, and General Motors are involved in network marketing with their own
divisions. Actually, these companies are suppliers of products to companies that utilize network
marketing, such as Amway. MCI, U.S. Sprint and AT&T supply long distance service to network
marketing companies that are rebillers. Due to the high cost of real estate for showrooms, Toyota of
Japan uses direct sales to market directly to the consumer, but not network marketing.
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Network Marketing is the new way to financial freedom. You'll never create residual income and freedom
from the traditional job. Even professionals are trading their time for money; if they are not seeing clients
or patients, they are not getting paid. Most income is temporary and it is easy to determine if your income
is temporary - just stop working for 90 days. If your income stops or slows down, you have temporary
income.
In network marketing you can stop trading time for money. Once you develop a solid network of sales
representatives, you will create ongoing residual income. This can give you the freedom to do what you
want when you want to.
It's interesting how resistant we are to change. We want to stay in our comfort zones even when we're
miserable. It's been said network marketing is the next step in the evolution of free enterprise. But there is
one thing we can always be assured of: the most fundamental fact of life in our world today is that change
is inevitable!
It's probably bad form to begin with a quiz - but just for fun, let's do it anyway. Now, don't worry. This is
really easy - and it's multiple choice, too. Listen to the following statement, then choose the correct
answer from the list of choices at the end: 'In most Americans' minds it's a 'scam' and a 'scheme' -
questionable or unethical at best, immoral and illegal at worst. Many own-your-own entrepreneurial
hopefuls have been hyped into turning over their life savings, only to see the company go out of
business, taking their dreams down with them. Politicians, regulators and the media (especially the
media) cry 'foul' whenever its name comes up.’ Newspapers, magazines and television news and talk
shows regularly expose it for the 'flim-flam rip-off it really is.' Major corporations who get involved go out
of their way to avoid any appearance of doing so. There is even a move in Congress to outlaw it
altogether!'
The truth is, it's a trick question. The right answer,’d) None of the above,' WAS correct - nearly 40 years
ago! Back then, that's exactly what people were saying about a revolutionary new business concept
called Franchising. In the 1960s - before Ray Kroc and McDonalds, before Seven/Eleven, Subway, Pizza
Hut, and all the other successful franchise companies established franchising as a legitimate industry -
all of those negative things were being said and done about franchising. Yes there was even a move in
Congress to outlaw franchising.
And today…?
Today, many experts say the franchising industry is responsible for more 50 percent of all the goods
and services we buy and sell at retail in the United States - One Trillion Dollars worth! Not bad for what
just a few years ago was labeled 'a scam and a scheme.'
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Let's take a closer look at franchising. Franchising truly was a revolutionary business concept - and it still
is. Take a look at your alternative: 80 percent of all small business fail in their first year. 80 percent of
those that make it don't survive to see year five - and of those that do, even fewer will last another five.
Think about it: how many companies do you do business with that have been around 10 years or more?
Not very many.
Franchising is a way for the small business entrepreneur to boost the odds of success. A franchise takes
the guesswork out of building a business from scratch. The franchise company creates a 'turn-key
opportunity' - a ready-made business, complete with products or services, training, vendors, policies and
procedures. Virtually anyone with the desire and start-up capital can climb into this vehicle, turn the key,
and drive off down the highway of entrepreneurial success.
You don't need to know all there is to know about building a franchise to own one. The franchise company
has done all that work for you. You simply pay your franchise fee, build or rent your location and furnish it
with the equipment the company has already designed and successfully tested for you, hire your people,
and then pay the company a percentage of your sales and profits.
According to its critics, the truth is about one third of all franchises fail. Another third break even and only
one third make a profit. In fact some franchise veterans say you can't make money in franchising today
unless you own five individual franchises units or more! Still, that's a much better average than the 80/20
failure/success rate of conventional small businesses.
Ahh, there's the rub. Franchises fees range between $1,000 and $500,000. The average fee today comes
in at around a cool $100 grand. You can get a Molly Maid or a Thrifty Car Rental franchise for a fee of
$17,500. Sir Speedy is $25,000. And the big guys, like McDonalds..., well even if you could find one-
Forget It! It's millions......The really bad news is that's only the fee. You've still got to pay for the
building,
equipment, initial inventory, etc. - all of which can run into the millions or more. The average investment is
$250,000! Not quite what the average person can afford. PLUS, most franchise company's take a
percentage of your sales- not just profits, SALES- as their royalty! It's tough to start a franchise today. It's
not like it was back when the industry was young and unknown. As in real estate, the stock market or
most other opportunities, the real money is made by those who get in early. There's a higher risk, and a
higher reward. Once anything is a sure thing, it seems everybody's doing it. Today franchises are proven
profit centers. That's one reason why they're so expensive. You pay for having less risk than a
conventional business start-up - and you pay for being a Johnny-come-lately, as well. But there is a way
to have the low-to-no-risk benefits of a proven, duplicatable business system like franchising, and still
enjoy the rich rewards of a ground floor opportunity.
Frankly, most Americans don't have the extra $250,000 or more that it takes to own their own franchise
business. But almost every one of us can afford to have the next best thing. And that's exactly what I'm
telling you about here: The NEXT...BEST...THING. and that's Network Marketing. Network Marketing has
taken the concept of franchising - providing independent entrepreneurs with a ready-made, low-risk,
proven, turn-key small-business opportunity - and made some remarkable improvements on it.
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How much money do you need to become an independent Network Marketer? There is usually no fee
required to start your Networking business. You'll typically commit between a few hundred dollars to a few
thousand dollars for your sales kit, training and sales materials, and all your initial product inventory if you
even need it.
For most participants, Network Marketing is a home-based business, so you don't have the high
overhead of a retail or office location. The equipment you need to begin your Networking operation can
be as simple as a telephone, desk and file cabinet. And the potential tax advantages of owning and
operating a home-based business represent one of the last forms of tax relief available to the average
American today.
As a Network Marketer, you are an independent contractor - the CEO of your own businesses. You have
no 'employees.' The men and women with whom you'll work are also CEOs, running their own
independent Networking businesses. In Network Marketing, you don't simply 'own your own job' - you
own your own business. (And unlike most entrepreneurs, your business does not own you!) You are truly
in control of your work - and your life.
Every Network Marketer is a volunteer: You don't 'have to' do anything. You're free to work the days and
hours you want, where you want, doing what you want - and perhaps most important of all, you're free to
choose the people with whom you work. Although the majority of Networkers work their businesses part-
time, more and more men and women are pursuing Network Marketing as a full-time career. Some work
exclusively from their homes; others enjoy traveling to other cities and even to other countries, building
their businesses on a world-wide scale.
In Network Marketing, you're in business for yourself - but not by yourself. Your Network Marketing
corporation's success depends on your success - they're your business partner, so they give you all the
support possible, every step of the way.
As a good franchise company would do, a good Network Marketing company provides you with the
product or service to market, plus an R & D department, new product development, field training, sales
and marketing literature and promotional materials, a distributor service department, and more. And today
every Network Marketing company is Internet Friendly. You and your company are truly partners in a win-
win opportunity.
Sound incredible? It is - but there's more. There's another very special reason Network Marketing is the
next step beyond franchising. Which is why it's sometimes called...
'Franchising²'
When you buy a franchise, you acquire the right to market the product or service provided by your
company. It's much the same in Network Marketing, except that you don't have to pay a franchise fee nor
the same huge startup and overhead costs, have retail location and/or elaborate equipment, hire and
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manage employees or have geographic restrictions on your marketing territory. You also don't have to
pay a percentage of your sales back to the Network Marketing company, as you do in franchising. What's
more, you are an independent contractor - you work for you - not for 'the company.' And as if all of that
were not remarkable enough, a Network Marketing company does one more truly revolutionary thing for
you. They give you the ability to offer the opportunity to build a successful business to others, too! In
Network Marketing, you not only get to earn income from marketing your company's products or services
(like a franchisee), you can also earn income from the sales generated by people you enroll into your
own Network organization - people who, just like you, own their own independent Network Marketing
businesses. That's why we call it Franchising².
And that's what creates one of Network Marketing's most powerful and and profitable features: it allows
you to leverage your time, talent and energy to earn commissions from the sales made by all the other
people you bring into the business. Andrew Carnegie once said,’ I would rather have one percent of 100
people's efforts than 100 percent of my own.’ And that's just what Network Marketing enables you to do.
This explains why so many 'ordinary' people can achieve extraordinary success in the Network Marketing
industry. Conventional sales and distribution methods depend on a few, select high-performance sales
superstars, who each do a huge amount of sales volume. Network Marketing is just the opposite: it's
based on a lot of people - doing a little bit each.
Network Marketing powerfully combines all the income-building benefits of being both a 'franchisee' and a
'franchise company' at the same time - while cutting out the major stumbling blocks of both.
• And finally, there is still the opportunity for you to be one of the first to enter an industry
- an industry that has just begun its dramatic growth curve… an industry that is creating
a revolution in the way the world buys and sells everything!
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There has never been a better time than now to take a serious look at Network Marketing. 'The People's
Franchise' is an extraordinary concept whose time has come - today! Now is the time of best investment
for greatest returns in Network Marketing. It's like having the chance to buy gold again at $49 an ounce!
Make the time today to check out the benefits of building your own Network Marketing business. It's a
straightforward and simple, low-risk investment - and it promises to return the most remarkable rewards
you can imagine.
Thanks for your willingness to take a look at Network Marketing - The People's Franchise.
JMF
15 Principles
-of Personal Growth and Leadership to Take You From Where You Are
-to Where You Want to Be
Our thoughts are the only thing we have complete control over; based on the universal principle of sowing
and reaping; you must be the gatekeeper to your mind; understand the power of affirmations.
Be a person that keeps their word; establish the habit of doing the right thing; if you have integrity, nothing
else matters, if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.
Give love, kindness, respect, and compassion to every human being on earth; take time daily to seek
spiritual guidance and understanding; be forgiving; as much as possible, live in peace and harmony with
all people.
Principle # 4: Develop and Maintain a Pleasing Personality and a Positive Mental Attitude
Become a person that others want to be around; consist of tone of voice, expression on your face, etc.;
always look for the good in people, and all situations; keep an open mind; if you develop the ability to
skillfully get along with other people, you may not need any other skill-however, if you don’t refine this
characteristic, it will not matter what additional skills you possess.
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The starting point of all achievement; goals represent “your vision-for your future”; write your goals; have
short and long range goals; correct and adjust to life’s challenges; become an efficient time manager-if
you can’t plan 24 hrs, you’ll never plan 24 years.
Principle # 6: Spend Quality Time with Family and Those that Mean the Most to You
Balance your work with time for family and friends; set family goals and have regular family
meetings; utilize “teachable moments”; if you are only interested in what money can buy, you are
subject to lose what money can’t buy.
Budget! Budget! Budget!; establish a relationship with your money-know exactly what is coming in and
going out; establish a systematic savings plan; adequate life insurance/up to date will; live beneath your
means; if your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep becomes your downfall.
Exercise regularly; eat right and supplement with vitamins; relax, and get proper rest.
What is worse than not having read a book in the last 90 days? Answer: not having read a book in the last
90 days-and thinking it doesn’t matter!; read at least 15-30 minutes/day; get a library card (they’re free!!);
keep a dictionary close by; if you empty your pocketbook into your head, no one can steal it; one who “will
not read” has no advantage over one who “cannot read.”
Laugh and have fun-don’t be so serious all the time; laughter is healing; letting go and letting your hair
down occasionally will do you good; happy people carry their weather with them.
Give love, kindness, appreciation, and praise; giving goes beyond just money; must be sincere;
understand the “Dead Sea” principle-if all you do is “take”-and you never “release”, you will become dead-
even while you live; keep prosperity flowing; real charity doesn’t care whether it’s deductible or not.
Do all things in moderation and nothing in excess; enthusiasm is only an asset when properly harnessed;
seek balance in your life; utilize counseling if necessary.
Establish and maintain the joyous habit of continuous and never ending improvement; get quiet and
exercise the power of your imagination; keep an open mind; learn from those who have succeeded and
from those who have failed; keep a journal-use your mind for creativity-not storage; any problem will give
up the secrets to its solution if you study it enough and have a burning desire to solve the problem.
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Leverage allows ones effort to be multiplied into a greater power or consequence; lightens the load
by doing the “heavy lifting”; allows one to work smarter-not harder; Compounding-starts small and
builds momentum over time-can “fake you out”-unless you understand the principle ahead of time;
Chinese bamboo- 5years to reach ground level, then grows 80 feet in 6 weeks
You’ll never master what you don’t measure; evaluation serves as a report card-How am I doing?; Where
do I need to improve?; allows one to “detect neglect” at an early stage; reflection time will applaud you if
you’ve done well, or should prod you if you haven’t done so well.
Success doesn’t happen by accident. The habits of success must be learned and practiced until they
become permanent. Developing the ability to communicate will change your life for the better-
FOREVER!!
-Harvey Mackay-
You can find out more about Network Marketing by using the following Resources:
www.richardbrooke.com
www.mlmresources.com
www.successinaction.com
www.marketwaveinc.com
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www.brilliantcompensation.com
www.taxreductioninstitute.com
www.profitclinic.com
www.clubrhino.net
www.mlm.com
www.success.org www.jimrohn.com/default.asp?
kbid=4585 www.mackay.com
www.zigziglar.com
www.personaldevelopment.com
www.selfgrowth.com
www.josephsoninstitute.org
www.charactercounts.org
www.jamesamps.com
www.characteru.com
www.powerhomebiz.com
www.appleseeds.org
www.bluinc.com
www.keithharrell.com
www.gutenberg.net
www.lineone.net/~cornerstone
Dennis W. Gaddy
Executive Director
Community Success Initiative
PO Box 61114
Raleigh, NC 27661
919-614-2369
[email protected]
www.communitysuccess.org
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