Thoughout the years Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) has turned into a bad word by many people even a curse word to some. Whatever your thoughts I want to explore the reason why so many people refuse to get involved in MLM and explain why I feel it’s a valid marketing system.

The strongest objection to Network Marketing I hear is that it’s a pyramid scheme. If that’s true then so is every corporation and business structures out there. Let me explain.

Every corporation has a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Director. The larger ones have Vice-Presidents in charge of divisions to make the organization more efficient. There’s only one President who’s responsible for running the business. Everyone else is in a support role to him or her.

In a traditional business’ there’s a sales force to generate revenue. That sales force has managers, regional managers, and most likely a Vice-President. Okay, I know business 101 but it’s to support my position. Doesn’t the structure appear as a pyramid too? The only difference is that we have all been taught that that’s the only — traditional - way of doing business.

I contend that the only difference between standard corporations and Multi-Level Marketing is the sales force. A traditional corporation has employees and MLM uses distributors as independent businesspersons. Each has rules and regulations to follow and the earnings power varies on the aggressiveness ones efforts.

Another reason many think it’s a pyramid scheme is how monies are paid out. Most corporations have incentive pay where managers from the top down share in the profits from the levels below them. Even the basic sales person often gets a larger share of sales depending on their volume of sales.

Now contrast that to MLM where instead of Vice-Presidents and other levels of the sales force there are independent businesspersons responsible for their own marketing and everything else for that matter. Okay they use terms like “level” making it sound like a pyramid but isn’t the hierarchy of President, Vice-President, Regional Managers… est. too?

So as I see it, there’s no difference between the traditional model of doing business in a corporate structure or through the use of a Multi-Level structure.

In conclusion, the difference between the corporate structure and Network Marketing is the structure of the sales force. The corporations use Vice-Presidents, Regional and local Managers, and salaried employees. The Network Marketing system uses independent business persons to make the sales.

Even Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki recommend network marketing!