Multi-Level Marketing - What it Is

The term multi-level marketing has been around since the 1800's. The two names you might be familiar are Henry Heinz and Asa Candler. Heinz sold ketchup and pickles, while Candler sold a cola syrup. Both men began building teams of other sales people, paying them a commission to go out and sell these products. The more men they recruited to sell, the more volume they created and the more money everyone made.By the early 1900's, three companies were started: Watkins, Fuller Brush and Avon. All three companies are still around today and still helping people like you and I become independent business owners in the world of multi-level marketing. Today, there are hundreds of companies out there and new companies being started each and every year. While I am very aware that today there are also many scams out there, this article refers to legitimate multi-level marketing with a true product and true sales involved.It is this very question that can help you answer whether something is legitimate or possibly a scam. What does it take to make money? If you recruit one hundred people who never bought or sold anything, would you make money? If the answer is yes, you might be looking at a scam. Thinking back to the 1800's, no money was made unless ketchup and pickles were sold. That same concept is still true today. No money should be made by anyone unless a true product is sold to an end use consumer.Looking at the three companies I mentioned from the early 1900's, you have true products being bought and sold. Watkins sells a line of seasonings and spices, Fuller Brush sells a line of household cleaning products and Avon sells a line of cosmetics. Real people shop for and buy these products every day.J. Paul Getty was known for his quote "It's better to have the opportunity to make 1% of one hundred peoples' efforts then 100% of your own." This is true in multi-level marketing also. Think of a grocery store. The manufacturer sells the product to the grocery chain. The manufacturer makes a profit. The grocery store then sells the product to the consumer. The grocery store now makes a profit on this same product. In some cases, say a Little League concession stand, the Little League now takes this very same product and they too make a profit by selling it to the game watcher. One product, three different groups making a profit.This is what multi-level marketing is. A company manufactures a product. That company sells the product to the sales distributor. That sales distributor then sells the product to the end user. In multi-level marketing, the distributor also has the opportunity to build a team of sales people. In return for building a team of sales distributors, the company will pay the original distributor a small stipend for bringing in more sales to the company through their team.In a true legitimate MLM set up, the recruiter should be training and mentoring their team to help everyone create more sales. Multi-level marketing has been around well over one hundred years. It's a legitimate way to earn money as long as real products are being bought and sold.