In todays world of online business and marketing mlm gets a big thumbs up from people like Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, and other well known business people from around the world. If these people are giving mlm a big thumbs up then why is it that many ordinary folk turn cold the moment they hear the word "mlm?" Good question, and one which needs to be honestly addressed.
The problem with most folks is that if you were to draw an mlm's business structure it resembles a pyramid. Now this pyramid structure is not a problem in itself, however, because some unscrupulous people have used the basic mlm business structure to promote their scams mlm has inherited all the negative connotations that are associated with the word "pyramid."
Lets think about a pyramid for a moment. At the top is one person, then on the next level down there might be three to five people, then on the next level down there might be nine to fifteen people, and so on. Now the further you go down on each level the lager the numbers get. This is true both in mlm and traditional corporate business. Yes I did say tradition corporate business.
You see, traditional corporate business also has a pyramid shape to its structure. Lets consider this for a moment. At the top is only one CEO, then on the next level down are your managers (usually two to three), then on the next level down is middle management (can be up to ten or more), then on the next level are the front line supervisors (possibly 20 or more), then last but not least are the company floor workers, which could number in the thousands.
As you can clearly see, corporate business has a pyramid shape to it's employee structure. So then as I mentioned above, the pyramid structure in and of itself is of no concern as far as legitimate business goes.
So what actually is the problem? My whole purpose for writing this article is to debunk the myth that mlm is nothing more than an illegal pyramid scheme.
The problem began when unscrupulous people started creating "business opportunities" that involved recruiting other people for monetary compensation using the pyramid structure to make "false" monetary claims.
Typically the person being recruited is told that whenever they recruit new people into the "opportunity" they will be paid a commission from the new persons entry fee. The more people, they are told, that they can recruit the more money they will make.
Now there are two problems with this. Firstly this kind of activity is illegal, secondly there is no actual product to be seen, only recruitment fees. Eventually this illegal system can not sustain itself and it collapses.
Legitimate mlm businesses, however, have a core product that is sold to both retail customers and members themselves. Although mlm uses a pyramid for its organizational and commission structure, the core activity is distributing product.
Now mlm products also include membership sites. For example, I'm a member of 7Minute Work Out.com which costs me $9.95 per month. For my membership fees I get dozens of videos teaching me how to exercise correctly, as well as up to date nutritional information. Whenever I sponsor a new member into this "membership" site, I get paid a monthly commission. The only fees being paid here those required to obtain the product. This is how every legitimate mlm business is run.
I'm also a member of another mlm company where I have over 2500 people in my down-line. Now this company is free to join and remains free as long as you want to be a free member. However, I'm making some good money from this company because there are over 4300 products both physical and digital which I sell everyday. Actually I don't do any selling because all members are also customers and buy what they want when they want.
As you can see, although mlm is based around a pyramid for its organisational and commission structure there is nothing wrong with using this kind of business structure so long as there is a legitimate product that is being sold.
So the next time you hear the word "pyramid," I encourage you to think of mlm and the word "pyramid" in a new light. There is absolutely no reason to fear going into business with an mlm company so long as you've done your research and you've determined that their product or products are real.
-Paul Beamon
The Christian Affiliate Bloghttp://www.warriorforum.com/plug-profit-site-support-forum/556737-debunking-mlm-pyramid-scheme-myth.html
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