THE TRUTH ABOUT MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING PROGRAMS 

Multi-level marketing is a fancy name currently being used by some 
companies in an effort to do two things. 

The first objective is to move products from their warehouses, and 
thus increase their sales volume. The second objective is to recruit 
"an army" of commission-only sales people. 

Make no mistake about it! After you've stripped all the hoopla and 
falderal away from these "super money-making opportunities", the 
bottom line remains the same - you make money from commissions 
allowed from the sale of products. 

Generally speaking, very few people have any "real" sales 
experience, and thus, if offered the opportunity to take a job as a 
commission-only sales person, they'd run from it like the devil. 

At the same time, most commission-only sales positions are "direct 
selling" opportunities. And, the definition of direct selling begins 
with an explanation of what a door-to-door sales person does. 

Don't get me wrong... A lot of personal fortunes have been amassed 
by commission-only sales people... For sure, when you attempt to 
sell by mail, you're almost always involved in commission selling, 
and direct selling. 

What I'm saying is that most people are "duped" into joining 
multi-level marketing programs without understanding that it is 
commission sales and at least a form of door-to-door selling. 

Worse than "duping you into joining their programs..." Almost all 
multi-level marketing companies subtly encourage you to break the 
law, and run the risk of huge monetary fines, long terms in prison, 
or both! 

This is done by at least, "inferring" that if you will find a 
number of people to duplicate what you're doing, and in turn 
encourage each new enrollee to keep the system going, everybody will 
get rich! 

No so, my friend! That's a "Ponzi Scheme", and if you don't really 
understand what a Ponzi Scheme is - allow me a moment to explain: 
Such a scheme is any kind of money-making opportunity where you get 
paid by recruiting, enlisting or soliciting other people to follow 
your lead and continue a chain of events. In other words, you'll be 
paid a commission from the people you recruit -1; from the people 
they recruit -2; from the people they recruit-3; and on into 
infinity. 

This is the "secret" impact that most multi-level marketing 
companies use to induce you to buy into their program. Such 
practices are illegal, and subject to federal laws which could 
destroy you. So called, bi-level marketing plans are the same thing, 
as are chain letters, and people-helping people clubs. They're all 
based upon the Ponzi Scheme. If you have any doubts, take your 
money-making opportunity and sit down with your local postmaster and 
discuss it's legality. 

These things are illegal because if - as in a dream world - they 
really worked, by the time one person had attained level number 
five, he would have "signed" everybody on the face of the earth with 
only the first two levels receiving any of the money. There would 
be nobody left for the third, fourth and fifth levels to sell to... 

Multi-level marketing companies get around the law by stating 
within their by-laws that it is strictly forbidden to promote or 
attempt to sell the program by mail. Then, when the postal 
inspectors come calling on the little guy, the MLM company says: He 
did it - we don't do such things - here, look at our by-laws. 

The bottom line is as old as the hills: you can do anything you 
want - legal or illegal - so long as you don't get caught - but when 
you do get caught, you'd better be prepared to pay the price. 

Besides the terrible mess multi-level marketing has gotten a lot of 
normally law-abiding & moral people into, it has "foisted" upon 
these people personality changes that man of them do not like. 

To make any money selling a product or service on a commission-only 
basis, you have to have the ability to sell like the proverbial 
"used car salesman". It's all hard sell, and more often than not, 
involves "forcing" the prospect to buy whether it's good for him or 
not. 

Anyone who has ever attempted to succeed in commission sales, knows 
that it takes a product in great demand - a great deal of sales 
calls, advertising and persistence - at least a little bit of 
failure - and a tremendous amount of "total business moxie" to make 
any money at it. 

There's nothing wrong with commission selling - and if you're good 
at it, you're good at it, you can make a lot of money if this kind 
of selling - but remember that multi-level marketing is commission 
selling - the way "distributors" are recruited is very illegal, 
with the authorities closing down more MLM companies every day - and 
it takes a special kind of personality to succeed at it.