Discover Truth - My Story

Discover Truth In Network Marketing
Perspectives On Multi-Level Marketing

My Network Marketing Story
by Mitch Turner

Hindsight Is 20/20

I've been involved with network marketing since 1994 when I was first introduced to TEL3 (then called NeTeL). I didn't know much about network marketing other than having a bad impression about it and thinking it was related to Amway – whatever Amway was.

In retrospect, I didn't have the business acumen or experience necessary to objectively evaluate a home business opportunity. I knew I didn't know the facts about Amway or network marketing, so I approached the TEL3 business opportunity with an open mind. But I was uneducated and inexperienced when it came to business, and especially network marketing. This is a very common experience for people who have been exposed to network marketing.

When I started TEL3, the company had a straighforward compensation plan and excellent services to sell, which made it easy to recruit new distributors. Over a 3 year period my network grew to over 2,700 people. Unfortunately, not having had the business sense to evaluate the company leadership and an understanding of compensation plans, when the company began changing its products and commissions for the worse I was really let down. My downline distributors were not using the services themselves because of the gimmicky fees added by the company, and it became impossible to sell the business opportunity because it turned into a fast-buck scheme (so my commissions, which should have been in the thousands, were a few hundred dollars per month and dropping). Having made a large investment of time and effort to build a network, it was hard to break with the company. It was made easy when TEL3 filed for bankruptcy.

Most people get into network marketing because someone recruits them. They get "sold" rather than making a business decision. The decision to join a program is usually emotional and based on heresay and second hand stories. Additionally, prospective network marketers are rarely given the full story on what the business entails, nor are they taught how to make an objective business decision. Recruiters are "selling the dream" of residual income and a jet-set lifestyle with very little focus on the practical side of creating cash flow.

The Power Of The Dream

Amway's top distributors can "sell the dream" better than any group I've encountered in the entire network marketing industry; working in Neways for a couple years showed them a close second. At meetings both regularly parade the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" top earners in front of the entry level distributors. It is a powerful carrot-on-a-stick. Top distributors (Diamond level and higher) make huge money. They even have celebrity status within the network marketing world. It becomes very hard to be objective when you're pumped up by their excellent motivational presentations.

The most powerful seminars and training sessions you might ever experience are quarterly distributor events for companies like Amway and Neways. These professionally run super-seminars feature top quality entertainment, famous key note speakers, and motivational speeches by the top achievers. The "Diamond Dream" is instilled at emotional and patriotic mega-events. It all appears very wholesome, at least on the surface.

Cash Flow Blues

Based on recommendation by a trusted friend who was in Neways, we joined Neways because of their excellent health products and with the hope of at least making enough money to pay for our Neways product. Unfortunately we still didn't know the story on compensation plans. I knew the Neways plan was very complicated, but having received the Amway presentation from two different reps and having seen many long-distance plans as I researched a TEL3 replacement, I assumed that most plans were that way, and pushed that feeling aside.

After almost 2 years of monthly orders to maintain commission status, we still had no monthly income to even offset the cost of the products (which were excellent but not cheap). When we had nibbles on the business opportunity, they never went far once the compensation plan was the topic. It was just too complex to convey without even thinking to myself that it sounded a little shaky!

Lessons Learned

My "experiences" in TEL3 and Neways were valuable learning experiences both personally and professionally. TEL3 made it easy to break by going bankrupt – and that forced me to do the research I should have done the first time around. In researching the opportunity we are presenting here, I was surprised to see that a compensation plan CAN be straightforward and still provide excellent income. I was, frankly, shocked to discover that the plans I was involved in previously were not designed to make me successful unless I was a "heavy hitter" on the fast-track to Diamond. In other words, they were biased against part-timers making any significant income anytime in the near future.

Before joining a Network Marketing company, make sure the company shares your values and has a compensation plan designed to make ALL the distributors successful.

I thought ForMor International met all those criteria. What really set ForMor apart was its pay plan, which is designed to quickly build commissions to get a new distributor cash-flow positive. The founder of ForMor, Stan Goss, seemed to have a vision for a family-run business that would have a compensation plan that worked for the part-time network marketer as well as the heavy hitters who build networks of hundreds of people. My sponsor even went out to the ForMor plant to meet the people involved and see if it was a solid business. Unfortunately, those running the company decided to make changes to the pay plan that seemed more like the failed plans I have seen before. The highest money earner in ForMor (over $25,000/month - yes, per month) told his downline (of which I was a part) that he had concerns about how the company was being run and the changes in the pay plan, serious enough that he was no longer going to promote ForMor.

During the 3 years I was in ForMor, I was able to recruit almost a dozen distrbutors, but found that like many people they were not able or willing to invest the time and effort into selling a business opportunity for a health product line that was not inexpensive. So even with a good company and pay plan, you can expect many challenges in finding motivated people to work with you in a business. That is reality, since most people don't have a strong sales personality or drive, and they have many other competing pressures.

Debunking Scams and Schemes

One of the most enlightening discoveries is the realization that there is no real difference between network marketing and MLM. The difference is in name only. The term "MLM" is frequently misapplied to any downline building program regardless of the ethics or legality of the program. Pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes, and selling schemes are all distinct types of illegal and/or unethical systems, but they are frequently called MLM. Chain letters, money games, and gifting programs are just a variation on these schemes. However, none of these are truly MLM or network marketing.

You gain some useful insight by learning how to debunk the scams and schemes. The line between legal and illegal isn't that hard to discern if you ask the right questions; however, the line between ethical and unethical can be much harder to discern until you know your own ethical boundaries. Sadly, the deceitfulness of wealth tempts many people to engage in the scams and schemes even when the participants know they are involved in illegal or unethical programs.

You will see legal programs that are unethical, and ethical programs presented with false promises and lies by unethical recruiters and sales people. The line of demarcation between the legal vs. illegal and ethical vs. unethical ultimately becomes a matter of discovering the truth.

The Problem with Network Marketing (a.k.a. MLM)

Let's face it. Network marketing has an image problem. Due to the vast number of illegal and unethical money games that are mis-classified as MLM, the term MLM is associated with the scams and schemes more than the legitimate business ventures. The rapid turnover of start-up companies using network marketing distribution and the fact that many people have tried it and lost money also contributes to the poor image.

The hucksters and unethical parasites on the network marketing industry purposely blur the line of legality to make their scams and schemes appear legitimate. Unfortunately, most people who get involved fail to educate themselves about the program they are joining or the industry in general. Due to the deception and a lack of sound business thinking, some people have been completely disillusioned or hurt financially by scams and schemes falsely promoted as legitimate "business opportunities" and this casts a shadow of suspicion on the rest of the industry.

Any program where you build a downline to distribute products and/or services is properly called MLM or network marketing even if you toss in a clever term like "Netweb Marketing." (Pretty slick marketing ploy, isn't it?)

The Religion Of Success

You may have met "MLM junkies" who hop from one opportunity to the next always hoping their next "fix" will be the holy grail of success. Many people get so involved in MLM that they abandon family relationships and long time friendships. This is unfortunate, but workaholics and success addicts can be found in every kind of business and from every walk of life. This problem is not limited to network marketing.

People also get caught up in the hype of Y2k, religion, sports, hobbies, activist groups, and a variety of other activities, not just network marketing. Passionate, driven people get out of balance when their passions run wild. And, if there is a lot of money to be made, greed and selfishness tend to creep in regardless of the industry.

In my opinion, these aren't reasons to reject network marketing as a viable business, but reasons why people need values and priorities in their lives to maintain balance. It would be throwing out the baby with the bath water to discount network marketing as a business concept due to these human frailties. The solution is to discover the truth and act accordingly in balance with your own values and priorities. If network marketing doesn't align with your values and priorities, then don't get involved!

The Network Marketing Solution

Network marketing is a business, not some magical path to riches. It requires work like any other business in spite of the hype some recruiter might lead you to believe. However, network marketing is a business that allows ordinary people with above average goals and motivation to generate extraordinary income with a low initial investment. That is why network marketing can work. It gives the "little guy" a chance – not a guarantee – to make it big with very little capital.

Unfortunately, many network marketing programs are oversold and promoted in a variety of deceptive ways by overzealous participants. Most network marketing veterans know better, and some still do it anyway. New participants caught up in the emotion and excitement unwittingly engage in the sensationalism as well. Emotion sells better than facts, and belief can be more powerful than the truth.

The theory of network marketing is compelling, and people really do make money in network marketing by helping others in a win-win manner. I believe in the theory of network marketing, and that this incredibly powerful business methodology can be leveraged in a way that will help other people without sacrificing my ethics or the truth.

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Discover Truth In Network Marketing
Guided Tour • Netweb Marketing • Our Story
Realities of MLM • Success Factors • Get Started
Debunking Scams • Pyramids • Selling Schemes • Ponzi Schemes

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