As if we didn’t know!  lol!   Thanks Wall Street Journal!
Well for those who are still seeing the traditional business model as the best way to go,
it may be time to admit that traditional businesses may deserve a better business model.
For those interested in educating themselves about Direct Selling – aka – Network Marketing, this article is for you.

Let’s clarify a few commonly used words for those who are new to the scene.

Pyramid:  ”a shape”!  It’s what people refer to when referring to the organizational layout of a Network Marketing company.

And, … well it’s the shape of every corporation, and government. and school. Take a look.

(Source: http://www.network-marketing-business-school.com/pyramid-scheme.html)

Robert Kiyosaki had this to say about Pyramids.

“One type of pyramid, the traditional type, has its base on the ground; the other type has its base in the air. It’s a pyramid that pulls you up instead of pushing you down. A network marketing business gives everyone access to what used to be the domain only of the rich.”
(Source: http://www.wynman.com/kiyos.html)

“Pyramid scheme” is a word that many people use to describe something they saw on the internet that they are uncertain about. Pyramid schemes are illegal.  A company would be classified as a pyramid scheme if money was being exchanged for no product, or if it was fraudulent.  Network Marketing Companies that have a viable product for sale, are not classified as pyramid schemes.

Pyramid scheme: a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment, services or ideals, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme or training them to take part, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud. Source: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme

Multi-level Marketing - (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Most commonly, the salespeople are expected to sell products directly to consumers by means of relationship referrals and word of mouth marketing. Some people equate MLM with direct selling, although MLM is only one type of direct selling. (Source: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing)

Direct selling: a retail channel for the distribution of goods and services. At a basic level it may be defined as marketing and selling products, direct to consumers away from a fixed retail location. …  (Source:  http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_selling)

Many people mistakenly use the terms Network Marketing, Direct Selling, and Multi-level Marketing (MLM) interchangeably.  Whereas, they are all related,  Network Marketing (word of mouth marketing, or building your market via a network) is the umbrella over Direct Selling and MLM.  Companies are then divided into “Direct Selling”  or “MLM” based on the company’s compensation structure.  Direct Selling is a direct sale to the customer, and is paid out as such, the customer  directly pays the distributor.  In MLM the sale is between the customer and the company, and is paid out as such through the downline, thus creating residuals.

Clearly the most powerful compensation plan you could participate in, have the best of both worlds;  the front end profit, (aka direct sale), plus a bonus structure (aka MLM/residual).

So why is Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Brian Tracy (etc)  and now the Wall Street Journal  so excited about Direct Selling?

In Sunday’s June 26th, 2011 edition, the Wall Street Journal describes Direct Selling as “The Ultimate Social Business Model”!

As you do your research on a Direct Selling company, may I offer these few quick tips:

1. Fall in love with the product.
2. Understand the cash flow of the compensation model.
3. Ensure your upline is authentic, approachable, and someone you can work with.
4. Make the decision to have success.  and you will do it UNTIL you get that success.
5. PRESS GO!  over and over and over again.

For those that like quotes, here are a few relevant ones:

“Network marketing gives people the opportunity, with very low risk and very low financial commitment, to build their own income-generating asset and acquire great wealth.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

“I am often asked if Network Marketing is a Pyramid Scheme. My reply is that corporations really are pyramid schemes. A corporation has only one person at the top, generally the CEO, and everyone else below.” — Donald Trump, Entrepreneur and Author

“The future of network marketing is unlimited. There’s no end in sight. It will to continue to grow, because better people are getting into it. – Brian Tracy, Author and Motivational Speaker

“If you are a person with big dreams and would love to support others in achieving their big dreams, then the network marketing business is definitely a business for you. You can start your business part-time at first and then as your business grows, you can help other people start their part-time business. This is a value worth having – a business and people who help others make their dreams come true.” — Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

“Network marketing is based purely on relationship selling, which is the state of the art in selling today. Small and large companies throughout the country and the world are realizing that individuals selling to their friends and associates is the future of sales, because the critical element in buying is trust.” — Brian Tracy, Author and Motivational Speaker

“Only take the advice from people who are currently building a business.” – Don Failla, Network Marketer and Author

“If I had to do it all over again, rather than build an old style type of business, I would have started building a network marketing business.” — Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

“Network marketing is the big wave of the future. It’s taking the place of franchising, which now requires too much capital for the average person.” — Jim Rohn, America’s Business Philosopher

“Of all the entrepreneurial opportunities available today, one of the most important is direct selling, also called network marketing.” — Paul Zane Pilzer, Nobel Prize Winning Economist and Author

“You only win when you help others win.” – Paul Zane Pilzer, Nobel Prize Winning Economist and Author

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” – Anthony Robbins, Author, Speaker, and Self Help Guru

“In Network Marketing, duplication is what success looks like!” — Michael S. Clouse, Network Marketer and Trainer

“For people choosing to use a network marketing system to build a business in the B quadrant, the price of entry is a lot lower, the risks are lower, and the education and support are there to guide you through this personal development process.” – Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

“In today’s world, working for yourself is actually the safer route, and working for a corporation has become the riskier propositions.” — Paul Zane Pilzer, Nobel Prize Winning Economist and Author

“Network marketing is based purely on relationship selling, which is the state of the art in selling today. Small and large companies throughout the country and the world are realizing that individuals selling to their friends and associates is the future of sales, because the critical element in buying is trust.” — Brian Tracy, Author and Motivational Speaker

“Network Marketing is the fastest growing business model in the world today” – Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

“The rich look for and build networks. Everyone else looks for work”– Robert T. Kiyosaki, Entrepreneur and Author

Sources:

The Business School for People Who Like Helping People, by Robert T. Kiyosaki, with Sharon Lechter, CPA, authors of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

http://moonloh.com/famous-network-marketing-quotes/

Best,