In reality it is a form of sales, but somewhat different than what takes place in a store or mall. The word networking describes it to a degree. Networking is: “The exchange of information or services among individuals or groups, or institutions.” In other words ideas and services and products are exchanged or sold through people and groups of people working or networking together.

A companies products or services are sold by large groups of people sharing, by word of mouth, or using many different marketing approaches either offline or on the internet. Whereas, in a store or a large shopping mall, a buyer shops products or services from off a shelf or from a salesperson hired by an employer to sell his products or services.

A network marketer usually works out of his/her home, and is an independent business person, and the products he or she sells are shipped to the home for that person to have on hand to sell either retail, or to people that are introduced to the company, wholesale, by the marketer. In today’s marketing it is not necessary to have a huge inventory of products…the company handles that for their associates and ships the products directly to the associate or his/her customers. The company one works with also handles all the financial dealings and pays the distributor or associate for his/her efforts.

The marketer’s goal is to build a large group of people, or a network,  to work with who in turn do the very same thing, or to duplicate his/her efforts. This is the networking effect, that can grow to a very large business for those that work hard to promote his/her companies products or services. Some marketers can earn large sums of money equivalent to CEO’s, doctors and other professionals, and even more!

This industry has taken some bad raps over it’s history, and some might be well deserved. A person needs to do his research and find a reputable company that has dotted all it’s I’s and crossed all it’s T’s so to speak! There are many companies out there that have great long term reputations….like Amway for example. There are also new companies that have done their due diligence that are very good to be involved with, and that will grow rapidly, making them very great opportunities for network marketers!

I know of one such company called Pyxism, that is fairly new, but has done what’s required to make it one of the best up and coming Network Marketing companies out there!

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As a network and internet marketer, I am always looking for good articles on subjects that interest me, or teach me information that helps me promote my marketing or my primary company. This article by Allen Angela I found well written and so I share it with you here on my blog. I hope you enjoy it also!

Having spent some considerable time in making the decision that you want to work from home it does take some focus to decide which business opportunity to opt for and ultimately how you are going to put your dreams into practice. When you made the decision that you wanted to earn money from home you will have had to make the consideration as to if this is going to be a full time occupation or that you were going to use the new business as a supplementary income. There is no right or wrong way in your decision making; however it needs to be emphasized that any business needs focus and commitment for it to be successful. It’s how you plan and structure your business from the onset that will be the key to your expansion and growth.

From making you initial tentative searches you will have been bombarded with information on many business opportunities, sometimes it can seem like information overload, and this is understandable. Many business opportunities will seem good to be true; but doing your due diligence will usually filter the good from the bad. When claims are made such as “earn money from home with no effort” it is the usual case that it isn’t true. All business opportunities take time and effort to make them work, after all nobody is going to give you something for nothing so in reality these kinds of opportunities need to be discounted as quickly as possible.

So in reality where do you go from here? The choice of opportunities available are considerable and range from a reasonable start up sum right up to big business that will set you off with a few thousand in initial investment. Your first starting block is to seriously evaluate your initial investment capital; you can then start a shortlist from there. Because you want to earn money from home you need to consider as before the commitment level that can be applied to your business opportunity. If you are still in employment you will need to factor in the running costs of the new business; this will need to be generated by your current income or investment from savings etc. this might seem harsh but is relevant in the business process. And this in turn will also determine you time investment; but if you are really excited about starting a new business you will be amazed where you find the time to invest.

You may now be wondering what your available options are? There is scope to earn money from home with affiliate marketing; a really great way of earning an income by working with others. This is where you can really fine tune your business and generate some great business. Finding your niche market can be done when you look at your desires and interests. Spend quality time looking at options that spark you and get you excited. There is no point working as an affiliate on something that you don’t like or have little passion for, it will only make the whole process difficult and will not motivate you. The internet is a wonderful place to work and has the potential to generate some fantastic earnings; again it’s through your own hard work that will see you making the right business opportunity choices and kick start a flourishing career.

By: Allen Angela

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It has been said by many that the Network Marketing Industry,  also known as MLM, has a failure rate of 95 to 97%. I think that is a very large number, and it would be interesting to understand what  the cause is for such failure. I’m certain that there would be many opinions one could find in reviews and blogs from many marketers and non-marketers alike on this subject. I am just one person that has been involved in the industry on and off since 1972, and I would like to present my feelings on the subject in this post.

I think it is important to understand just a little of what network marketing is in order to realize why success and failure occur. In reality it is a form of sales, but somewhat different than what takes place in a store or mall. The word networking describes it to a degree. Networking is: “The exchange of information or services among individuals or groups, or institutions.” In other words ideas and services and products are exchanged or sold through people and groups of people working or networking together. A companies products or services are sold by large groups of people sharing, by word of mouth, using many different marketing approaches. Whereas, in a store or a large shopping mall, a buyer shops products or services from off a shelf or from a salesperson hired by an employer  to sell his products or services.

A network marketer usually works out of his/her home, and is an independent business person,  and the products he or she sells are shipped to the home for that person to have on hand to sell either retail, or to people that are introduced to the company, wholesale, by the marketer. In today’s marketing it is not necessary to have a huge inventory of products…the company handles that for their associates and ships the products directly to the associate or his/her customers.

The marketer’s goal is to build a large group of people to work with who in turn do the very same thing, or to duplicate his/her efforts. This is the networking effect, that can grow to a very large business for those that work hard to promote his/her companies products or services. Some marketers can earn large sums of money equivalent to CEO’s, doctors and other professionals, and even more!

One of the main reasons for failure in the industry is that many people have a fear of selling, and therefore a fear of failing, and would not want to do that for a living. They do not want to try and talk another person into buying a product or service from them! However, many people join MLM’s because of the possibility of making  a lot of money working from home, but then fear takes over and they fail to be motivated enough to learn the mindset necessary to become successful, and they do not stick with it!

What we do not take into account is the fact that we are all salespersons to the extent that we have to sell ourselves in many facets of life. For example, we have to sell our experience, our talents,and our abilities  to a future employer, or a future mate! It is true that some people have a real knack for selling themselves and their ideas…it comes natural to them! This is a mindset, and it can be developed and improved upon with practice and patience.

It would be obvious to the reader that since the industry first got it’s start back in the forty’s, that there have been numerous changes that could contribute to the success or failure of people in the industry! Certainly television, and all the advancements in that media have opened up many companies and therefore opportunities to market products and ideas to vast audiences. Likewise radio has played a big part in the growth of the industry! Without a doubt, the Internet has added a dimension to sales and marketing that has exploded every business in the world…including the MLM industry!

Another reason for failure in network marketing is the lack of training! A lot of the time an associate or distributor is brought into an MLM company and helped for a time by the sponsor, but then is left to grow the business on his/her own. People are told to make a list of family, friends, and to talk with everyone they meet about the new business. When the new person runs out of people to present the business to, they don’t know what to do next. If they don’t receive additional help and training from those above them, they quit! Many in network marketing do not know how to obtain leads, or prospects, that turn into customers or associates!

There is a learning curve to most everything we do in life. That is true of MLM, or network marketing as well!  The internet provides an abundance of information marketers can acquire to help them learn to be successful operating their home businesses. The internet also provides an arena to the whole world to market products and services to people, and to share new home business opportunities with! A new marketer as well as those that are from the old school, can use the internet to grow their businesses through all the media provided on the internet, such as Facebook, YouTube, and  Twitter, to mention just a few.

In conclusion, it is my personal opinion that the reasons for failure in network marketing or MLM are the  following:

1.  Fear of failure, and fear of talking or sharing with others, your business opportunity or product.

2.  Sponsors that do not help new associates under them to succeed.

3.  Lack of understanding, or not learning what’s required to market your product or company.

4.  Lack of leads or prospects to market to.

5.  Not motivated

6.  Do not learn to be persuasive

7.  And the final and maybe most important!  Not marketing to or promoting to your TARGET MARKET…other network marketers !!

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Each of these skills or elements can and should be learned by everyone! There are no “secrets” of success! Talent, family and
luck have little to do with it. Highly successful people know what they want, are very motivated and use their networks, hard work, patience, determination and discipline to achieve outstanding results.  So can you!

1.  Self-awareness.

a.  Understand yourself.
b.  Know your values and goals.
c.  Acknowledge your mistakes.
d.  Be optimistic about the future

2.  Specific Goal Setting.

a.  Write down your goals it really works! Successful people always do it!
b.  Have a plan to accomplish goals … stick to it!

3.  Use Powerful Networks.

a.  Success is the result of partnering with many people.
b.  Find and learn from a mentor … someone already doing
what you want to do!

4.  Be Idealistic.

a.  Want to make a difference in life.
b.  Fulfill a life-purpose, or pursue a dream.
c.  Give value to others … be helpful and unselfish.

5.  Be Intensely Pragmatic.

a.  Use practical tools to help you reach your goals.
b.  Be solution focused.
c.  Use modern current technology, information, and skills.

6.  Be Highly Curious.

a.  Try to learn about everything around you, especially your
current pursuit.
b.  Be up to speed on politics and religion.
c.  Earn your doctorate in “real life”.

7.  Be very Disciplined and Determined.

a.  Don’t waste time, and don’t lie to yourself.
b.  Be precise in your actions and very clear in your
communications.
c.  Don’t allow failure to derail you … keep working at it!

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Social bookmarking websites are becoming more and more popular.  They allow you to save bookmarks online and Tag/Categorize them with keywords instead of saving them as bookmarks in the favorite’s list of your browser. This is particularly useful when your browser based bookmarks have become unwieldy. It’s also helpful since you can access your bookmarks from any computer where you have an internet connection.

A list of Social Bookmarking websites has been compiles from a number of sources. You can find it here: http://www.blogmarketingtactics.com/social-bookmarking/social-bookmarking-top-links.html

Once you have bookmarked them, you can view them, sort them by category/keyword as well as see links from others that have been categorized like yours.

You also establish RSS feeds for each category (tag) that you ‘subscribe’ to. This alerts you to new links in your areas of interest. Your bookmark collection/RSS Feed becomes viewable to others who can also copy your bookmarks to their own collection. So now you can aggressively promote your RSS feed to the RSS Directories and Search engines, syndicate them and make them available to a much wider audience.

Social bookmarking sites also help you to meet other people who are interested in the same topics you are and who may also have knowledge of web resources that you don’t.

On Social Bookmarking sites, you first create an account.  Then you bookmark interesting and useful things in the area of your interest or expertise; by doing so you create a useful Feed. Once you’ve done that you intermittently, (or aggressively), add useful and interesting items, (that could use additional exposure), from your own content.  Make an honest effort to contribute USEFUL information and links. This is all about sharing and exposure. Done properly, you can be as aggressive as you want to be about sharing information. You can share your blog(s), links to your informational/resource sites etc. Think about the fact that when you share links to other’s resources, you’re also effectively promoting their content as well.

This is a way you can aggressively and ethically promote your content and the content of others. I personally have hundreds of gigabytes of my own information and information of others, connected to my notebook. In the final analysis, it’s doing me no good what-so-ever just sitting there. But by organizing it, online, I can help myself, (getting organized, getting my content exposed, etc.) and help others at the same time.

If you spice up your feed with too much sales and marketing related or self promotional stuff, people can and will easily drop their subscription to your feed. And instead of gaining good will and doing a service to the internet community you could get labeled as a spammer and suffer the consequences.

So while being aggressive is possible and acceptable, being careful to consider the best interest of the community is certainly warranted.

Balancing being ethical and providing a useful service to others while promoting your own content enables you to be as aggressive as you like. But remember, in the final analysis, others will make the decision on whether it’s ethical and useful or spam.

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The last two years have seen a lot of what the American people consider Idols; things or people of prestige, rock or fall completely! What are those that I might be referring to, you ask? General Motors, one of the greatest automobile companies, bankrupt! Taken over by the Government! Lehman Brothers, a giant in the banking industry, bankrupt! AIG, I didn’t even know what it was until it fell, and then it was propped up by our tax dollars! There are many more, to numerous to mention in this post.
Political leaders, religious leaders, movie stars and athletes have been in the news almost on a daily basis. Whether it is Steroids and sports idols, or infidelity among the entertainment stars and politicians; the idols are rocking and falling before our eyes!!
And then there is the man that had us all believing he was beyond error…Tiger Woods. Who would have guessed he would take the fall that has shocked the world!!

This writer has come to realize that money and fame can cover a lot of mis- deeds, sins, call them what you will; and especially if you hire the right PR firm!
I have admired Tiger Woods from the very first I ever heard his name mentioned. I saw the relationship with his father and mother as inspiring and wonderful. His marriage and his children were all credits to him as a person of growing fame and fortune, both from a human viewpoint and from that of an avid sports fan.

What does all of this have to do with anything? I guess what I am getting at is this. There is really very little a person can really count on in today’s world to be stable and enduring! This to me is very sad, and if I let it, could be discouraging or even depressing.

The government wants us to rely on it for everything from cradle to grave! I believe the only solid thing or person we should count on is…our self! If we give up on ourselves then we become slaves to whomever or whatever comes into our path. It is my opinion that we are responsible for our choices and our actions in this life, and no one else!!

It is my hope that every person will avail themselves of the wonderful opportunities that are still available in America. That we will not let the fallen idols influence our lives for the worse, but take from these examples of what not to do, and commit to do good for ourselves and for others.

One opportunity that is definitely flourishing in America and in many other parts of the world is network marketing. It has been stated by an unknown source to me, that in the next three years, there will be 79,000,000 people looking at working for themselves at home in network marketing businesses. That industry is already growing rapidly due to the economic situation we face here and abroad.

This is an industry that I am very involved with, and I enjoy helping people interested in learning about and pursuing a future being their own boss and working form home. Anyone reading my blog and this article, that is wanting to better themselves, have more time freedom and enjoy their families more, is welcome to contact me…I want to share and to help!

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In 1972 I was a 26 year old living at that time in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I really hadn’t heard much about the Network Marketing industry. There were two companies that I had heard about…Amway and Shaklee, and I really didn’t know much about them. I also was aware of a company called Avon, and that because my wife was approached by a door to door sales person, which was always a woman selling cosmetic products.

I learned from research on the Internet that network marketing originates back to the 1940’s where a company trading under the name of “California Vitamins” discovered they could make more sales when they had a lot of sales representatives selling a small amount of product each, compared to the traditional business model…selling large volumes of products in stores and markets. The company changed its name to NutraLite, and true network marketing was in the developing stages and started gaining in popularity.
In 1956, NutraLite was joined in Network Marketing by Dr. Forrest Shaklee to gain a broader distribution of the food supplements he had developed, and the name was changed and called after him. Not long after, in 1959, former NutraLite distributors Rich DeVoss and Jay Van Andel founded the company Amway which was an abbreviation for the term “the American way”. Amway from day one was based on the same network marketing concept. Over 50 years later Amway is still a well established network marketing company operating in more than 80 countries around the world and with more than 3 million business operators.
In 1972 I was approached by a representative from a new company called Royalite. It was being marketed as a direct competitor to Amway, and distributed soap products that had been developed to compete with Amway soap products. The company had a general cleaner called RC, which to me is better than any I have ever used…even to this day! They offered an excellent carpet shampoo, that rivals any on the market today, and a very good mild cleaner for delicate fabrics called Super Satin, and a hair shampoo.
I was intrigued by this opportunity, and joined the company as a distributor of these great products. I was what was called a direct distributor, and could buy the products wholesale and sell them for the suggested retail price established by the company. It was part of the compensation plan to invite others to join with me as a partner or downline member.
There were several ways a person could become a distributor by purchasing products, although they weren’t required to if they only wanted to use the products themselves. If you wanted to make the big bucks you bought a garage full of soap and could sell them retail, or wholesale to frequent customers. If you signed up others to become distributors who also bought a garage full, you would earn a percentage of the money paid to the company for their product purchases. I’m only kidding about a garage full, but it was certainly a number of cases of each of the products!!

You could advance in the company to higher distributor levels where you would earn even greater percentage and also bonuses. These were: Senior distributor, regional sales rep. and Area rep. over several states. The money one could make was very exciting in those days just as it is in today’s Network or MLM companies. Although then as now, success depended on your mindset and desire, and your work ethic!
I was advancing very well and working very hard at my marketing of the company and of the products, which I really believed in! I became a presenter, a regional rep. and held meetings in Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, Pocatello, and other cities nearby. I did product demos, and became very good at promoting Royalite. I remember receiving a check in the mail for $4000, which at that time in my life was an amazing amount of money!!
Then, when all was going soo well for me and for others that were really working hard, we were devastated to learn that the Founder and the VP closed down the company and disappeared with the money and the formulas for the products. A very many people were left with garages full of soap, and only the prospect of trying to sell them on their own!
This was to me a terrible tragedy and a real loss, not only because the opportunity was gone, but because the products were the best you could buy!! I have actually kept some of those soaps and use them sparingly, because they are so very effective and good!
Since those days I have seen hundreds and even I am sure thousands of companies come and go. Many of them fail for lack of funding, or they don’t have a product that is really appealing to the public. Some dissolve because they are not legal or haven’t met FTC standards, or the requirements of the Attorney Generals of the states if they are American based companies.
Some companies like Amway, NuSkin, to mention just two, have been around for a good long time and are still doing well. I’m certain there are many more that would fill a long list, but it is not my intention to name them here. What I do want to say is that network marketing is a very viable industry in which motivated people can make as much or more money than many in the medical, dental and other well paid professions!!
The industry has taken some very bad raps from uneducated individuals and even by government agencies over the years. Some is perhaps warranted due to the nature of some people out there that don’t care how they can hurt the public, and are only interested in making a pile of money. Even Amway had to fight to prove they were not a pyramid scheme as they were labeled in the early days and years of their existence!
When all is said and done, it is my feeling and opinion that MLMs or Network Marketing businesses are a very good option for people to make a great living and especially in today’s economy when we cannot seem to count on traditional business models. With downsizing and outsourcing to foreign countries of Americas manufacturing, and other industry, home based MLM and Network Marketing opportunities are really providing for many an excellent way to make a living!!
I am involved and very excited about network marketing still today, and now the internet has added a dimension to the industry that has caused it to become a world wide amazing success story! If you’re at all curious about what I am doing, look me up on Facebook, or email me at Fewlsf@hotmail.com. For those that are truly serious to know how to market their company or product.. Check this out: http://www.winningatnetworkmarketing.com

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