Are Network Marketing Opportunities All Scams?

No! Network marketing opportunities are real. People are making lots of money with network marketing businesses. At its best, I think it represents 'The American Dream". Where else could JQ Public (either Jason or Jessica), with no special training and usually very little investment, make as much money as quickly as it's usually said to be possible? It sounds so simple. All you need to do is-

• Chose a product or company to join as a distributor or associate.
• Decide how much money to invest or or which product to purchase.
• Share the product with your friends and family, who will fall in love with your widget, just like you did.
• Sign them up to use and sell it like you did.
• Do this again and again and you're guaranteed to make money.

Did someone share their network marketing opportunities with you? If so, they probably told you something like “you just need to recruit two people. Then sit back and let the money roll in." But will working this system really make you tons of money? In a perfect world, yes. But this isn't a perfect world, is it? Lets start at the beginning.

Learn about network marketing-

First, before joining ANY company, take time to do research. There's lots of information online about network marketing opportunities. You need to learn

1. What is network marketing?
2. What are warning signs of scams?
3. Can I really succeed?

Don't go to network marketing company websites for this info. Those sites are for recruiting. Instead, try-

• Wikipedia is a great place to start your research online. It's a good source of objective information about network marketing opportunities.
• You can lurk and learn in forums. Remember when you're online, to take what you hear “with a grain of salt.” But you can learn a lot by listening to what people already in the business are saying.
• Look for MLM watchdog sites like consumer protection sites, government sites and more. You must learn how to recognize warning signs of a network marketing scam. So take time now to learn about the MLM industry. That will save you time, money and trouble later.

If you've already done your homework and are anxious to get started, what's next? Do you have a company in mind? It's time to learn as much as you can about about that company. Here's a list of 12 questions to ask about your prospective company before you sign up.

Well, did you find a MLM company to join? Good. What's next... where's the money? Slow down, you're still learning the basics. Next thing you need to learn is how to be a team builder. This is real work... just like building any business. Now you'll learn that “passive residual income” is anything but passive at first!

You're a network marketer now!

You need to build a “downline” of business associates. Your sponsor will help you make lists of people you already know to share your network marketing opportunities with. Those people (family, friends, anyone you know or ever knew!) are your warm market. Showing them your network marketing opportunities is how you'll build your business.

If you've never done sales before now, it will feel awkward at first. But it's important to learn how to do it well. Network marketing is selling... yourself, your product and your business opportunity.

Once people begin to join your group, you'll need to learn to work with your team. Now you have to be a leader. The main thing we learned about network marketing opportunities is that the LEADERS are the ones that make the most money. You must develop your leadership skills. If you don't have those qualities, you'd better learn them.

Successful network marketing is all about managing people... both the people you sponsor and those in the company before you joined. To build a thriving network of business associates, you need to be able to teach them do what you did, to duplicate your efforts.

The longer I've been involved with MLM's and team building with my "warm and cold markets", the more I wondered why network marketing wasn't being done online. "Inter-network marketing" is still a controversial idea in most companies. But the different kinds of person-to-person social media makes it possible now.

There's excellent money to be made in network marketing... for the right person. The right MLM can become that source of passive residual income you've heard about. You can learn skills that will help you succeed. So keep an open mind about a business that you may have laughed about before. Don't let network marketing opportunities pass you by!

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