When I was browsing through the Internet today some business opportunity ads drew my attention. Not because they were more attractive than others, not because they had nice headlines, and not because they offered some good deals. The words in those ads that looked a little offensive to me said: “No MLM”. So I decided to give it a thought and analyze people’s perception of these three plain letters and figure out why MLM or Network Marketing causes negative reaction.

       MLM stands for Multi-Level Marketing. It has a variety of other synonyms like Direct Sales, Affiliate Marketing, etc. But what scares people to death when they hear “MLM” or alike?

       The first conclusion I came to is the reputation created by some fishy MLM companies who compromised themselves through various pyramid schemes. There are victims now on both sides of the front line – distributors and their prospects; distributors who failed in this business and prospects who, thanks those distributors, decided not to have anything to do with MLM that is nothing but scam to them.

       The second reason why people don’t like MLM is the marketing system applied by the majority of distributors – the marketing system of hunting and chasing. How many times did you see people at your door trying to sell magazine subscriptions, stain removers, all kinds of different products? How many times did you buy from them against your will? I bet you received some phone calls on a hard day’s night when you wanted to think about nothing but your family and a fast-speaking head offered you something to buy. How nice were you at the moment? Didn’t you feel like you were about to be shot if you did not make a decision fast, right there?

       Of course after such attacks the majority of us started thinking of MLM as of a pile of stinking garbage that poisons our lives. How can people treat this as a business if some newbies in the industry are ashamed of admitting to their friends and family they’re in the MLM business? Why? Because they know that their family and friends will treat them as hungry sharks whose business is to attack and chase them down.

       Nevertheless, behind the scenes of the “bad” side of MLM, billions of dollars are being made by huge corporations that use the network marketing model to promote their goods and services. The majority of us are even customers of such companies and we never complain, and we never question whether they are legitimate or not. Their business experience proofs them to be such. Some of the companies that use the network marketing model are as follows: Microsoft, AT&T, Citi Bank, IBM, MCI, Toyota, Xerox, Coca-Cola, and many more. Why don’t we treat these companies the same way we do some distributors? The answer is on the surface – because they do not chase us, they do not ask us to buy their goods or services against our will. They attract their customers in different other ways that do not spoil our family dinner. They don’t barge in unexpectedly into our homes with their products. Instead, we go to them when WE need.

       If the majority of current network marketers don’t understand that there are better, prospect-friendly ways to attract prospects, the network marketing business will be treated the old way. And it is logical. If you, an MLMer, approach me with your old-fashioned aggressive sales tactics, do not expect me to treat you in a new, more favorable manner. For your aggressiveness I will pay rejection to make you even angrier and find ways to overcome my rejection. So, if you are that dumb, work hard on me. And I’ll enjoy how you sweat during another sales pitch of yours. And when I turn you down, blame yourself, blame your old shark upline who told you to chase people and close them. If you close them, they will close you.

       If you as a network marketer don’t want to overcome rejection, do not cause any. Stop working in a new, more modern way. Chasing is not fashion any more. Attraction is. Attract people, and you will be proud of what you do, of who you are as a network marketer, MLMer. Then MLM will not be a swear word any more. It is the MLMers’ task to give a new image to MLM industry people will be attracted to. It’s hard, but possible.