Sunday, May 9, 2010

A brief history

Nobody knows exactly when MLM began, because it really evolved over a number of years, prior to World War II. Most observers agree that Nutrilite – now an Amway subsidiary – was the first true MLM company. In addition to being the founders of network marketing, they were the founders of the vitamin and food supplements industry, way back in the 1920s. So the historical connection between MLM and nutritional products dates back over most of the twentieth century – a fact unknown to most people (especially those who think that, somehow, MLM companies are johnny-come-latelies to nutrition. Most of the major product breakthroughs in that industry have been pioneered by MLM companies, in fact.)

What is MLM??

Multi-level marketing (MLM), (also called network marketing, direct selling, referral marketing, and pyramid ) is a term that describes a marketing structure used by companies as part of their overall marketing strategy . The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduce to the company, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation in the form of a pyramid.

The products and company are usually marketed directly to consumers and potential business partners by means of relationship referrals and mouth publicity.