Are you considering joining a network marketing company (aka: multilevel marketing)? Are you already involved in one and things are not going as you hoped they would after months of effort? This article was written to share some things you need to know and consider about network marketing before you dive in or dive too deeply. Let’s discuss the truth about network marketing.

Let me guess. You were like countless thousands of other people (perhaps millions) that just wanted to get out of the daily grind and the “rat race.” You did some Google searching on “work from home business opportunities” or “work for yourself,” or perhaps “make money online.” I know. I have done the same thing MANY times. Perhaps you found countless opportunities to opt-in with your email in order to get a FREE e-book or video series telling you how to make thousands per month in some awesome network marketing company. You read the e-book or viewed the videos with interest only to find out the information was very generic and useless. Then, to make matters worse, within the e-book you were constantly hit with several pitches to “click here” for the real information. That click took you to a website where you could join the network marketing company, on the fast track, for a mere $597! Hopefully you were smarter than me and did not join.

Maybe you signed up to sit in on an “awesome big money webinar” hosted by some dude claiming to earn $30,000 each month on the internet. Yes, just two years ago he was a homeless drug addict with 4 kids from 3 different women. But today he is bringing in the BIG money! So, you sat in for almost 2 hours only to find that at the end of the webinar you were offered an exclusive “today only special offer” to purchase his training course. The course was ONLY $497 (or MUCH higher) and would virtually guarantee you that if you followed the steps and principles you would be making huge money in just a month or so.

Hopefully you didn’t buy it. But the hype on the webinar was so tempting that maybe you did buy. I did. Many times on many “opportunities.” I lost literally thousands of dollars over a 7 year span. Yes, this is why I call myself “the once-upon-a-time dumbest man in network marketing.” Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, these internet gurus teach for $497 or more is available for FREE on YouTube. YouTube.com is the place where people are happy to teach anything literally for free. But I was once too dumb to realize this! You just have to know what to search for.

Maybe neither of the above scenarios happened to you because, thankfully, you got to this article before you made the mistake that I (and countless thousands) have made. Be happy about that! Your finding this article has possibly just saved you many thousands of dollars (and HUGE discouragement).

You may be reading this because a caring friend has been talking to you about his or her business opportunity. They’ve asked you to consider partnering with them in their multi-million dollar company. Because you are smart, though, you are doing some research into whether or not network marketing (aka: multilevel marketing) is a good fit for you. Good call!

A Brief History of Network Marketing

Network marketing basically started out decades ago as a business opportunity in which friends invited other friends to their homes for a meeting. Once the meeting started some exuberant associate /distributor would draw circles on a grease board and explain how the circles represented people. Every circle under YOU meant BIG money to you. This high-pressure approach put friends in uncomfortable positions. Most people just wanted to sneak out graciously while others were too kind to do that so they joined just to help the friend that invited them. They purchased a kit and a few products and never did a thing beyond that. Of the thousands upon thousands of people who joined these business opportunities over 95% never earned a dime. They hated having to invite their friends to these meetings and so they were doomed to failure. It’s no different today. People do not want to invite their friends and family to a network marketing meeting. And no matter how awesome the opportunity is in your eyes, over 95% of the people you recruit will never invite anyone to these types of meetings. That’s how it was then and it is how it is now.

Consider the Products:

Most companies that market their products through distributors have quality competitive prices. On the other hand some companies are way overpriced have questionable values and are absolutely unsafe.

Practically every service or product that can be sold through multilevel marketing, which includes health, beauty, fitness and other products that aren’t available on store shelves. Requires you to be very skeptical before buying or selling their products that are advertised as super ingredients or have guaranteed results. Most of these quick fix solutions are unproven, and marketed fraudulently because they are basically useless. In many cases they could be very dangerous. You should always check with professionals before using any of them-or selling them.

If you decide to join a program and promote the products, you must be sure that the network marketing information is truthful and that there’s good evidence to back up the claims You are making. This means that before using any claims and repeating what the company has said about a product verify that there’s competent and reliable research to back up their claims.

Learn More about the Company:

Study and research the company’s track record conduct a progressive Internet search with the name of the company using keywords like review, scam, or complaint. Scan several pages of search results. Also research the company in newspapers magazines and other areas.

It’s extremely important to find out:

• Has the Company Been Sued for Deceptive Practices

• Do They Have a Positive Reputation for Customer Satisfaction

• How Long Has the Company Been Active

• What’s the Word on the Street about the Company’s Product on Blogs and Websites

Search for information with the state attorney general’s office for complaints about any company you are considering even though a lack of complaints doesn’t always guarantee that a company is legitimate.

Evaluate the Plan:

Never sign a contract or pay for anything at an “opportunity meeting”. Consider your options take time think about your decision remember real money is involved in your investment, so don’t rush into it without doing some research first. Don’t feel pressured!

Go to the person that is sponsoring you in that network marketing business and ask about the terms and conditions of the plan, which include:

1. Future Costs

2. How the Compensation Is Structured

3. Evidence for the Statements about How Much Money You Can Make

4. Precise Name and Contact Information of Company Representatives Able to Answer All Your Questions

Make sure you get everything in writing. Never join any program where the reward for recruiting new people is more than that for selling the product. The latter is a tip off to a pyramid scheme! Not a true network marketing company.

Always remember that when you recruit new distributors to your marketing organization, you are responsible for the claims you make about how much money they can earn. Always be realistic and honest. Because of your promises fall through, you will be held liable. This is the case even if you are repeating claims you read in a company brochure or heard them from another distributor.

If something is unclear, always ask for more information until it is crystal clear to you. The network marketing information from your sponsor and other distributors in the organization should answer all of your questions. Your sponsor and others above your sponsor’s level make money if you join the program. So it’s imperative that you take your time resist the pressure to join. Never rely on hearsay references about payments from the company or distributors that pretend they were successfully earning money through the network marketing plan.

Research Refund Policies:

Make sure any refund policy is in writing, includes information about returning unused products, restrictions and penalties. You might think you’re minimizing your risk if you can return a product but some policies differ on whether you’ll get a full refund and how long it might take. Some network marketing companies require that you buy network marketing information on training or marketing materials possibly asking you to pay for seminars in order to get discounts or to create your own network distributors. Ask other distributors how much time and money they have spent on their training, network marketing materials, and seminars on network marketing information when they joined. Ask whether you are required to participate in periodic training programs and what happens if you decide not to.