NETWORK MARKETING:
The Sales Strategy of the Future
Network Marketing (also known as "Multi-Level Marketing" or "MLM") continues to achieve newfound acceptance as preferred method of distribution. Through the efforts of industry trade groups committed to establishing a code of conduct - as well as the impact of the accumulated body of legislation, regulation and rules - an environment now exists in which legitimate network marketing players no longer are looked on as "pyramid schemes."
Network Marketing has emerged as a strong factor shaping the face of American retail. New technologies - such as computer directed distribution and realtime processing and communication - have sparked an explosion of network marketing since 1980. Hundreds of new companies have entered the arena and now account for a domestic sales force approaching nine million people, exceeding 24 million worldwide, with sales of $100 billion. This distribution method is being used by some of America's largest companies - including AT&T, Avon, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Rexall - to only name a few.
Advanced network-marketing companies today stress simplicity above all. They use computers, management systems and cutting-edge telecommunications to support and make life as easy as possible for the average associate. These innovations have opened multi-level marketing to a larger group of people. In addition, professionals - including large numbers of doctors, lawyers, CPAs, stockbrokers and corporate executives - are joining the industry every day.
Corporate America has already felt the advent of MLM's as a successful sales method. In the future, as consumers continue to be bombarded with an abundance of advertising, network marketing will be the most effective way to pierce the cocoon of consumer apathy. The influence of network marketing will be felt in every household and corporate boardroom.
In addition to the well-known success stories of long-established MLM companies such as Alticor and Shaklee, more recently established companies such as Primerica, Nu Skin, and Herbalife have demonstrated the potential for success using Network Marketing. Typical experience shows that the large associate base of a successful network marketing company with a good product usually uses products to a considerable extent in addition to making retail sales to other consumers.
Network Marketing is designed to attract, retain and motivate associates to sell products and recruit others to do the same. It gets the product into the hands of consumers without the significant advertising and promotion expenditures associated with more traditional forms of marketing. Companies successfully utilizing a Network Marketing approach typically achieve impressive growth rates once a critical mass of independent associates is developed.