One of the things that tells you that you are succeeding in your online marketing efforts is an increasing number of emails from negative people, saboteurs, and people who are just plain rude.

I recently received one from an IT expert who was well off on his own thanks to stock options and profit sharing. He derided MLM people as “bottom feeders” and said, “I deride MLM as a business model.” Probably very easy to do when loaded thanks to stock options etc. I just hope his company doesn’t go the way of Enron!

To be honest, I scoff at most other business models as an inefficient and sometimes unethical way of doing business. Example One: A small family in China produces components for a larger company for a small margin, the large company then sells products to a wholesaler, the wholesaler then sells to a foreign wholesaler who then sells to a retailer who sells them to the consumer. Now this is a basic model: sometimes the intermediaries can be much more numerous. Either way, the original producer is screwed and the consumer is screwed thanks to the number of intermediaries. This is even worse in the agricultural industry. Go to a farmer and ask him how much he earns for a liter of milk, a ton of potatoes, etc. It will surprise you! They get a pittance off the final shelf price. For farmers to continue to trust large multinationals to do right by them is a seriously flawed business model as they continue to be pushed against the wall. I BOTHER ABOUT TRADITIONAL BUSINESS MODELS.

The largest MLM in the world is the international market for illegal drugs, although they trade in evil and death, they are a vast network of people, from poppy fields in Afghanistan to street vendors in Western cities, the highest estimate is that the world industry is $500 billion. A lot of money for what an MLM is. Should MLM continue to be mocked as a business model?

Multi-level marketing and network marketing are found throughout the business world. Realtors, dealerships, and many other “traditional” businesses often have reward levels based on the number of sales, the sellers under you, etc. The internet abounds with affiliate programs that have various levels to reward affiliates not only for product sales, but also if they bring in new affiliates.

Why is MLM so hated by traditionalists? One represents a threat. It means one more load of competitors. It puts profits from products in the hands of consumers. It means fewer sales bonuses for them and fewer margins for intermediaries. It means that the rich may lose control of the markets they once dominated. Who would be more scared: another multinational with a sales team of 100 people, or an MLM with 100,000 non-professional salespeople? Genuine people power has always frightened those who control both power and the strings of the stock market. Why would you give the profits to the consumer instead of to the shareholders? Of course, it shakes its cage, it threatens its very existence. Instead of a CEO making millions for doing nothing, he would actually have to go out and prove that he can sell a product to be successful. Terribly scared that someone is relying on their titles and their old network of ties to get ahead.

Network marketing and network marketing are also hated by traditionalists because they free people from the slavery of a forty-hour work week. They love it when people have credit card debt. They love that people HAVE to go to work to survive. They love people who have big mortgages. They love that people are CONSUMERS. They do not want consumers to become producers. Spoil the party. They don’t want people to be freed from the “traditional” work (slavery) model.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the naysayers say about MLM, the only thing that matters is whether you can be successful in MLM.