When I first heard Donald Trump was starting a multi-level marketing company I thought, "here we go again, Donald Trump is going to prey on a bunch of simple, naive people who will buy into all the hype and probably end up getting burned. We all know Mr. Trump likes to make "money, money, money, money!" So, I'm thinking, what is his plan with this Trump Network launch? He must be just promoting this company, or letting them use the rights to his name for a certain period of time for a big pay check, or some type of royalties. Is he really entering the MLM world??
The answer is an astounding YES. Anybody that has read all of Donald Trump's array of books or been to an event where he was a guest speaker, then you would probably know that he has always been a big admirer of network marketing. He was actually giving a speech 5 years ago and someone in the crowd asked him what he would do if he had to start all over, and he said "I would get into network marketing." Of course that brought a few chuckles from the crowd. Then do you know what he said? "A few of you might be laughing, but you know what? That's why you're down there and I'm up here!" True story.
Donald Trump has never been politically correct, and he has also never been someone who gets to the show late. He has made many risky moves over the years that has had people cringing down at him thinking he was crazy. But in the end most of his moves have ended up making him look like a genius. He has literally helped transcend areas of New York City with some of his "risky" real estate moves, arguably the most powerful city in the world.
After hearing about Mr. Trump entering the MLM industry I did a little research and found out that the Direct Selling industry is a $32 Billion industry in the U.S., over $100 Billion worldwide, and not ONE company has more than 5% market share!! Not even Amway! What does this mean? This means that there is a serious opportunity for a company to come in and take over a large portion of the market. In almost every industry there is usually a few major players who dominate the market and build barriers to entry for its competition. There's Ford, GM, and Chrysler. There's Nike, Adidas. There's General Mills, there's Proctor and Gamble, there's Microsoft, Dell, Apple. I could go on and on
The one thing there has never been in the network marketing world has been a brand name. Anyone that understands true marketing understands that branding is EVERYTHING. Once you build an influential brand, bringing new products to market is a completely different game than it is for the company that does not have that "brand presence." That other company must spend MUCH MORE money and time promoting their new product or service in order to have a successful launch.
I don't think anyone in the world could mobilize the network marketing industry, give it the credibility and the exposure that Donald Trump could. The MLM industry is a very competitive industry and that is the main reason why there is so much bad press out there, but when you look closely at it, all the companies in MLM have different products or services, but they all have ONE thing in common: they are promoting an opportunity to earn an income building an organization of people selling that company's particular product or service. So who better than Donald Trump to be marketing a new business opportunity that anyone can get involved in and have unlimited earning potential? When you really think about it MLM companies are selling the ability to become an entrepreneur and own your own business. And Donald Trump is a worldwide icon of Capitalism and the poster child of an Entrepreneur.
I know that Donald Trump is VERY protective of his brand so I would be willing to bet that he did some serious investigation before taking the leap into the MLM world and putting that brand at risk. According to some executives over at the Trump Network, Mr. Trump and his team looked closely at 26 companies before they chose to partner with Ideal Health and re-launch as the Trump Network. Ideal Health is a twelve year old company that specialized in one main product line for ten years: customized nutracueticals based on metabolic functional testing. They use the premier metabolic functional testing lab in the world, Metametrix Labs, based in Atlanta, GA. Yes, they are another health and wellness company, BUT they have a unique line of products that are actually priced much lower than you would be able to get them through a natural path doctor or nutritional specialist. The master plan is to launch many best of breed products over the next few years that fall into the "Trump" criteria of quality.
The most compelling reason however, that I believe the Trump Network will end up taking up some significant market share is because of this new Wealth Creation System they are launching in the middle of May, 2010. They have created a system that I believe will transform the network marketing industry forever. This will not be an industry where the only people that can be successful are people with a huge power of influence and/or a huge database of people to tap into. The most difficult part about this business has always been getting enough people exposed to your opportunity, and being able to invite those people to take a proper look at the business so they can make a sound decision.
Donald Trump and the Trump Network have created a system called The Wealth Creation System that will give the average person, who may not have a huge network of people to talk to about the business, the ability to get massive exposure - and funnel those exposures into a professional sales funnel that gives professional presentations and plugs new marketers and customers into a training and education platform seamlessly.
The reason I know this system will work and will explode peoples' businesses is because of one thing and one thing only: The Trump Brand. Because of this new system, getting enrolled in the Trump Network will be more like buying into a franchise, instead of rolling the dice and spending your time and energy in a typical network marketing company with no brand recognition. I own multiple franchise locations with two separate successful franchises myself, and the reason we were able to be profitable right out of the gate was because we had a strong local brand already established, so when we opened our doors people recognized our name and came in. But more importantly, when we send out direct mail pieces and do radio and TV campaigns, our potential customers open the mail, or listen to our ads, because they know who we are. This is why several "mom and pops" have closed their doors around me over the past 6 years. They cannot compete.
Most people that are involved in the network marketing or direct sales industry do not understand the power of branding and marketing. Even if they have been successful and have huge organizations - they have built these organizations with serious dedication, hard work, and a lot of time. The reasons I have outlined above are why this company will dominate the MLM world and become a powerhouse - people will build organizations in one to two years that took several years to build in other MLM's. Do you realize how much time and money has been spent on opening up different countries as these other network marketing companies have gone international? MASSIVE AMOUNTS. As the Trump Network expands into other countries, the marketing strategies will be so simple compared to other MLM's it is almost laughable. Trump is heavily branded in 18 countries and he is revered as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. When this company goes international toward the end of this year - GAME OVER. I just hope all the people out there who are smart and savvy, but might not quite yet understand the power of branding and marketing, don't miss out.
