The Ugly MLM Truths...

For some people, MLM (Multi-Level Marketing or Download Clubs) is the way to go. I have met a few people over the years that swear by it and even know a few people who've made over $100k a year working their MLM program. The unfortunate part about it is that they were the only one making money. No one on their team was duplicating their efforts. Whether it's vitamins, travel, a gas saver product, lotions, potions, pills, candles or juice beverage products, I have tried it all and I could never make it work. I ran out of friends and family to "harrass" about my new business and had two or three home parties but still I ran out of leads, so I started buying leads in hopes to try to convert some people into believing (and ultimately investing) in my business. That is so much harder than it sounds. Sure I made some sales, but by the time I was getting to the next profit level, the people who I brought in 2-3 months ago were dropping like flies because they couldn't make it work, either. This is why I could never make it to the next big payout level of the commission plan. For some reason, I would always fall short of the next bonus payout or car bonus. Usually, I would fall short of personal volume or group volume or I would have enough on my left side, but not enough on my right side, so I would miss out on the big payouts, month after month.

This got to be the same old stuff you hear about why MLM doesn't work for most people and the only people making money were the people at the top of the pyramid. People with huge dowlines and people that have been in the business a long time and lists of hundreds of thousands of people to market to. For any newbie joining, good luck. I once watched a stay at home mom put $13,000 into a business to quit within a year. Most of us believe we are smarter than that. We quit after a few months and maybe only lost $1000 down the drain, but this person was persistent and did not want to fail. So she kept plugging away until they had no money left and when gas prices went to $3.50, her husband couldn't afford to put gas in the car. So much for helping out.

What has been consistently successful in internet marketing is high commission sales. Beware of affiliate markets that only offer 20% or 30%. You want 100%, but short of that, don't settle for less than 50%. Watch out for low-ticket products, too. Wouldn't you rather sell one item for $1500 than ten, or even 20 or 30, at $39.95? It takes no more effort (or money) to sell the big ticket items than the ones that produce no substantial payout per sale.

I hope this helps your research in determining a company that you can be proud to represent.