Multi-level marketing (MLM) has been the biggest growth industry worldwide since the early 1980's. Huge companies have been built on the back of MLM. Companies like Amway, Shaklee, Mary Kay and Hebalife. These MLM companies have brought huge incomes to hundreds/thousands of ordinary people and has been termed as the last true rags to riches opportunity available in North America today. In fact it has made more new millionaires than any other industry, and it fast becoming the single most popular method of bringing products to the end user.

The first multi-level companies sprung up in the 1930's, but they were dinosaurs compared to modern marketing strategies. It wasn't until the mid 60's that MLM gained international prominence. In 1985, it is estimated that $5 billion worth of new products will be sold by this method.

MLM is a business that can be operated by just about anybody with half a braincell. It is generally a business that can be started for less than $50 and can return hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each month. The earning potential of an MLM opportunity is basically unlimited, it is only restricted by the limits of the marketer himself, i.e available time, energy, persistence and faith in the product and company. The next MLM superstar need only be a caring, sharing person, who is highly motivated and full of energy. Some of the most succesful people in MLM have been bored housewives or hard up people with no previous marketing or sales experience.

Sponsoring new people into the business is the root of any MLM opportunity, much the same as any agent finds new retailers to sell their products. Some of the huge organisations like Amway or Mary Kay have literally thousands of distributors nowadays, but they both started with just one or two highly motivated individuals, who sponsored more and more motivated individuals into the company.

The ultimate test of an MLM company is the quality, price and reusability of the product. A good firm is usually founded on products with rapidly expanding popularity, day-to-day use in the home, and a regular repurchase required. They should be better quality and at least as competitively priced as the same goods bought in stores.

The basic mechanics of MLM:

1. The majority of people that get involved with a MLM company are already aware of it's products as they have purchased as a customer in the past and know the quality of the items.

2. Because the products are good, you tell others about them.

3. Rather than send these people to your distributors, you become a sponsored distributor yourself for these new people. And if these people, let's say there are five, know five other who will buy the product, you have 25 people buying products through you.

4. If these 25 each know five people, you have 125. If those 125 know five people, you have 625 at the fourth level buying through you in a distributor's network you built from only five people. If these people purchased only $30 month worth of products, that would be $300,000 in gross sales, and you could expect to earn at least one quarter of that figure, probably much more.

5. Commission and bonuses vary with product and company, but most go through four to eight levels, and have two or three levels at which substantial higher commissions are paid. This encourages new distributors to build those levels.

6. Some of the networks-inside-of-the-networks will end at certain levels with people buying but not sponsoring new people. And some will involve more than five people. Distributors will always be your best customers and biggest moneymakers.

7. The best companies are the blue chip firms offering a wide range of products such as Amway and Shaklee. New ones emerge all the time and some of the faddier MLM companies die quickly. but they can still make good money quickly for distributors with established "downlines".

Choose your product line carefully, recruit heavily and always expand your business education as you grow. MLM is a big field with big rewards for anyone, absolutely anyone who can commit themselves to success at any cost.