You might be hearing about people that have tried it and failed, about the huge failure rate that haunts the industry, about harassing people and other predatory recruiting methods, about schemes and scams, but on the other hand you also hear about people that succeed in it and are now making a great living without working any more. In the end you get confused of all the noise and examples you hear or read and you don't know what to believe anymore.
Well, the truth is that actually all of them are true. Yes there are scams and unscrupulous marketers out there presenting themselves as opportunities trying to steal your money, and yes there are members of legitimate multilevel marketing companies that don't hesitate to lie and hype in order to recruit. And of course who would deny the 95% failure rate of distributors.
But things like that aren't exclusive to our industry. You can always read in newspapers for the latest corporate scandals, SEC violations and other schemes trying to defraud investors. Investors that put their hard earned money there for their pension trying to secure a better leaving, or survival in many cases, upon retirement. And I am sure you learned about mortgage salesmen lying to unsuspected people and manipulating them to give them loans at unfavorable terms. Loans that would never be able to repay only for some people in the chain to get their fatty commissions.
Unfortunately fraud and crime are part of the human society from the very beginning, otherwise we wouldn't need courts and police. But what someone can do is to educate himself about these things before he gets involved in order to be better protected.
As about the failure rate, everyone who tried to start a traditional business, whether he succeeded or not, is aware of the big failure rate that also exists there. Some estimates put it at the 90% range.
The truth dear reader is like any other field in life network marketing has its own share of negatives and no one can deny that. But that doesn't mean that it's dangerous and futile to pursue a future in that industry. There are legitimate companies that operate for years if not for decades and decent people involved in it that truly make a living from it without using snake oil salesmen tactics, but genuinely offering value in the market and in their communities.
MLM is a unique business model, but it doesn't stop to be a business model. As such you have to put the necessary time and resources in it in order to make it work and give you results. It's not the hardest thing in the world but is not a push-button opportunity that can make you rich without doing nothing.
To your advantage, there is always a training program from the company and you always have your sponsor, the person that introduced you to the opportunity and is here to coach and help you as his income depends on your performance among other things. But you have to do your part, too. You have to attend the seminars or listen to the conference calls and always follow the advice of your sponsor.
Education is the key. Not only after you join a company, but before as well. Learn whatever you can about network marketing before you commit to join. Ask your potential sponsor about the business, the way he works and what he can teach you. There are no silly questions only silly answers. So don't hesitate to ask about whatever troubles you or you don't understand. You need to have a clear understanding of the whole thing to be able to take the right decision if, with whom, and which company you should join.
From what you saw it is clear that everybody can make a living from this industry if he has the determination to get in and keep working without leaving details to distract him. I does take work and you shouldn't be afraid of it. You should always keep in mind the end result that you want to achieve, cause it would give you strength to continue as it outweighs the present difficulties that you may experience by far. Down the road, in a few years form now, your life and your financial position would be so much improved that you won't be able to recognize yourself.
