Is the MLM business model ever sustainable in the long-term?
An MLM is basically a business model where you are paid to retail products and recruits distributors who can sell products, or also recruit more distributors.
Multi-level marketing can also be known as network marketing, direct sales, MLM, home business and referral marketing. There are literally thousands of MLM companies out there, most of them being health and wellness.
For the most part, multi-level marketing businesses are sustainable so long as there is a product or service involved that people would buy anyway. Even if there isn’t a business opportunity side to things, the product or service sold should hold a lot of value.
On the flip side, once you find an MLM company you can earn an income by both selling products you’re passionate in, and by referring others to a company that has great ethics.
The thing that people forget, however, is that they treat this business differently to other businesses. Although you’re not having to hire a building or employees, it still doesn’t mean you can avoid doing the work without things catching up on you.
You get out what you put in with any business, and network marketing is no different. At the start, you may have to show up daily to see results, and it can take a long time to see results especially if you are inexperienced as a business owner. A lot of people talk ‘smack’ about the industry because they weren’t patient with it and gave up to soon.
To succeed in this network scheme, one will need to treat this business model in the same way as any other business, with solid management and planning. The distributors must be monitored and given strong incentives and encouragement to fulfill targets efficiently and do what it takes to make a profit and increase the value of the company.
It is also easy for MLM to come close to be a pyramid scheme as it happened to Herbalife. Especially when the business is based on the recruitment side of the business rather than the selling of the products. The distributor should be supervised closely so that they do not get engaged in fraudulent and deceiving actions to recruit people and MLM should follow a proper plan to be a viable business model.
Final Word
There is no such thing as a get-rich-quick business — such claims merely work from home scams. While many people have been successful working for multi-level marketing companies, many of them are those who join the business early and have a large sales team underneath them so they can earn a commission from those associates’ sales. If you are considering joining a multi-level marketing company, do your research carefully. You may find that multi-level marketing is not right for you.
Have you ever had any experience working for a multi-level marketing company? Would you recommend it to others?
For a complete guide on MLM/Network Marketing businesses, you can join and participate at the Global Direct Sales Conference 2020, Euro-Asia’s biggest direct selling summit.
