Network Marketing Myths

Myth #1:
Getting
in on the
ground floor is the best way to success
in a Network Marketing company.
The truth is, it is the worst time to join. Ninety-five percent of all companies,
including Network Marketing companies, go out of business in their
first five years. Of course, no company is going to tell you that in their promotional
materials. Everyone involved at the start of any company hopes
for it to succeed.
Another risk with a new company is that no company has its best foot
forward early on. It takes years to develop competent, experienced staff,
reliable procedures and efficient services.
The best time to join a Network Marketing company is usually when it
is at least five years old. By then, it has demonstrated a commitment and
ability to:
• Stay in business;
• Grow ethically;
• Honor its distributors and customers.
And yet, this allows you the opportunity to get involved with the company
before they are so well-known that everyone has either already given
them a try, or decided they aren’t interested.

Myth #2:
Network Marketing is an opportunity for
someone who is not doing well financially to make
some money — maybe even a lot of money.
Unfortunately, many of the success stories have perpetuated this myth
with a rags-to-riches theme. Although there are enough people to substantiate
the myth, it is still a myth.
The same skills it takes to succeed in any marketing business are required
in Network Marketing:
• You must have confidence;
• You must be assertive;
• You must be dynamic in your ability to express yourself;
• You must have enough resources to propel yourself through the
challenges.
Those resources should include working capital, contacts, time, discipline
and a positive, crystal-clear vision of where you intend to go with your
business — whether it is easy or not.
The truth is that many people who are struggling financially are doing so
for a number of reasons, including low self-esteem and/or lack of the basic
skills and preparation that allow one to succeed in anything. Network
Marketing is a powerful and dynamic economic model, but not so powerful
that it can overcome people’s lack of readiness or persistence.
The fact is that the people who are already successful in whatever they
do, tend to also succeed in Network Marketing. The great part is, they
are apt to do better financially in Network Marketing because the economic
dynamics are so powerful.

Myth #2:
Network Marketing is an opportunity for
someone who is not doing well financially to make
some money — maybe even a lot of money.
Unfortunately, many of the success stories have perpetuated this myth
with a rags-to-riches theme. Although there are enough people to substantiate
the myth, it is still a myth.
The same skills it takes to succeed in any marketing business are required
in Network Marketing:
• You must have confidence;
• You must be assertive;
• You must be dynamic in your ability to express yourself;
• You must have enough resources to propel yourself through the
challenges.
Those resources should include working capital, contacts, time, discipline
and a positive, crystal-clear vision of where you intend to go with your
business — whether it is easy or not.
The truth is that many people who are struggling financially are doing so
for a number of reasons, including low self-esteem and/or lack of the basic
skills and preparation that allow one to succeed in anything. Network
Marketing is a powerful and dynamic economic model, but not so powerful
that it can overcome people’s lack of readiness or persistence.
The fact is that the people who are already successful in whatever they
do, tend to also succeed in Network Marketing. The great part is, they
are apt to do better financially in Network Marketing because the economic
dynamics are so powerful.

Myth #3:
Network Marketers succeed by being in the
right place at the right time. Luck is a big factor.
Network Marketing is a business; it is not a hobby, a game, a scheme, a
deal or something in which to dabble. People who treat it lightly do not
succeed. People who treat it as a new career, a profession and a business
have a reasonable opportunity to make it pay off very well.
As with any new career, profession or business, you need to:
• Learn what you are doing:
• Practice what you are doing;
• Invest in your education and tools;
• Apply yourself diligently to succeed.
All of this takes time, effort and money. It is not unusual for a successful
Network Marketer to have invested hundreds of hours and thousands of
dollars before profits and Residual Royalty Income start to flow. This is
actually “the norm.”
Myth #4:
The way Network Marketing works is the “Big
Guys” make all their money off the “Little Guys.”
The “big guys, little guys” myth is usually perpetuated by people who define
fairness as “everyone gets the same benefit, regardless of their contributions.”
That is how socialism works, not how Network Marketing works.
In Network Marketing, the people who attract, train and motivate the
most salespeople earn the most money.
There are basically three levels of participation:

Wholesale Customer
This is someone who gets involved just to use the products and buy them
at the same price that higher-volume distributors would pay. This often
requires a little higher minimum order and an annual renewal fee, very
much like being a member of Costco or Sam’s Club. Many distributors end
up just being wholesale customers after pursuing the income opportunity
and deciding it is not for them.
Retailer
A retailer is a distributor who focuses their efforts on just selling the products.
In many cases they do not understand the income opportunity well
enough to sell it as effectively as they can sell the product.
A retailer will earn 20 to 50 percent commission on their own personal
sales, and the upper limit of their income will usually be in the hundreds
of dollars a month.
Network Marketing Leader
A Network Marketing leader is someone who is a wholesale customer, a
retailer and who understands the income opportunity well enough to add
selling it to their mix.
A Network Marketing leader may enroll as many as 100 people to build
with them; sometimes two to three times that many. Out of the hundreds
enrolled, most will just use the product; some will just retail it, and a very
few will actually do what the Network Marketing leader did by enrolling
many themselves.
To be a successful Network Marketing leader, one must be able to enroll
lots of people to sell with them, and they must be able to train and motivate
the group to continue growing. The better one is at these roles, the more
money they earn.

In simple terms, if a person sells a little and enrolls just a few people,
they will earn far less than someone who sells a lot and enrolls, motivates
and trains a group that grows. That’s basic capitalism, which most North
Americans consider quite fair.
Myth #5:
You have to use your friends and family to
make any money in Network Marketing.
The truth is, you do not and you should not. Your friends and family
should only become a part of your business if it serves them to do so. If
it serves them — if they see an opportunity for themselves just like you
did — then they are not being used; they are being served. If you do not
believe your opportunity can serve them, do not offer it to them … and
question whether or not it even serves you.
An opportunity that truly inspires you will most likely inspire them as
well. Offer it to them. If they say no, respect and honor their viewpoint
and do not make a nuisance of yourself.
Myth #6:
If Network Marketing really worked,
everyone would get involved and the
market would soon be saturated.
The truth is, although this is mathematically possible, history has proven
that saturation is not an issue. The largest Network Marketing company in
the world — Amway — has been drawing circles and recruiting sales reps
for more than 50 years. You probably are not a distributor, nor am I, nor
are 239 million other Americans. Yet three million people worldwide, and
more than one million Americans are, which makes for some very, very
wealthy Amway distributors.