Think you know about multi level marketing history? Some of the things you are about to read may surprise you. The concept of multi level marketing has actually been around for over 100 years.
100 years?! Pretty amazing isn't it? In a nutshell, here's multi level marketing history.
It all started...
With Alfred C. Fuller in 1905. Fuller was a former peddler who started the Fuller Brush Company.
He hired 270 people within the United States on a commission only basis. In 4 years, the Fuller Brush Company had made $1 million in sales.
Then in 1931, Frank Stanley (former vice president of Fuller Brush) started Stanley Home Products with Catherine L. O'Brien.
Stanley and O'Brien had an idea- give people an opportunity to start their own business with a minimal investment.
What kind of business? A business selling products that people use everyday. The party plan was born with this idea.
Instead of doing presentations for individuals, they would do presentations for clubs and organizations. Then home parties were born when they decided to take it into people's homes.
This brings us to 1945 in our multi level marketing history timeline. Earl Tupper created Tupperware.
In the beginning he was selling his products through retail outlets. Realizing that his products would sell better with a demonstration, he launched the Tupperware Party Plan.
I'm sure you've heard of Tupperware. The majority of us have grown up with it. Tupperware is now a billion dollar international company.
Also, in the early 1940's California Vitamins started noticing that their new sales representatives were friends and family of the existing sales force. Why?
Because they all wanted the product at wholesale price.
They also figured out a way their business could make a lot more money.
They'd rather have a lot of salespeople selling a small amount of product each than a small amount of salespeople with a few superstar sellers.
Sounds a lot like today's network marketing idea, doesn't it?
Then in 1949, Nutrilite was born. Rich DeVoss and Jay Van Andel were the founders and distributors of Nutrilite vitamin supplements.
In 1959, Rich and Jay founded Amway- the American way of marketing products. Amway Corporation acquired Nutrilite in 1972.
Mary Kay Ash came along in 1963 and created Mary Kay Cosmetics. She used the network marketing framework as a way to market and sell her products. Within 3 years, Mary Kay Cosmetics achieved sales in excess of $2 BILLION.
The way that people viewed multi level marketing was fairly good till the mid 1970's. But then, since there was no REAL understanding of what network marketing was, people started to question it.
It was in 1975 that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) filed suit against Amway. This changed multi level marketing history forever. The FTC alleged that Amway was an illegal
pyramid scheme.
Why did the FTC view Amway this way? Because they didn’t sell their products in retail stores.
Amway spent millions of dollars and many years to clear their name. Finally, in 1979 it was decided that Amway was not an illegal pyramid scheme.
And why was it decided a legitimate business? Its revenue was generated from the sale of its products.
It was at this point that the FTC acknowledged multi level marketing as a legal and efficient way of distribution. This caused an explosion of network marketing companies thru the next 10 years.
Network Marketing Today...
Multi level marketing's history has brought us where we are today. There are thousands of network marketing companies around the globe.
You will find these network marketing companies in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Europe, South America, and even Malaysia.
Multi level marketing history shows how network marketing has pioneered entire industries (e.g. vitamin supplements, nutrition drinks, household cleaners, and home water filtration).
Did you know that there are many companies that use network marketing to sell their products?
And we're not just talking about full fledged network marketing companies. We're also talking about companies that use traditional sales methods. Some examples are Discovery Toys, Sprint, AT&T, Colgate-Palmolive, Gillette, and Rexall Drugs.
As you can see, even big name companies are getting into network marketing because of the money making potential. Its even true that some network marketing companies are outperforming traditional sales companies.
Did you know that Mary Kay is larger than Johnson & Johnson? Or that Avon is bigger than Estee Lauder? Even A.L. Williams surprised the insurance industry when it surpassed Prudential in just four years.
Multi level marketing history has paved the way for today's $100 billion network marketing industry. Many of today's network marketing companies are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Some even belong to the Fortune 500.
Despite the negative connotations that come along with network marketing, it's very successful and a thriving business to make yourself a part of.
Are you wondering why people think so negatively about it and call it a
scam?
Part of the reason is false expectations given by a recruit's uplines. Network marketing is not a get rich quick opportunity. It is a business. If you want to get rich, you are going to have to work at it.
But people get sucked in with dreams of being rich, only to have their dreams sucked right back within their first year.
A network marketing business is a terrific opportunity, so long as you know what you are getting yourself into.
If you don’t have the drive and determination to succeed, then you are not going to succeed. That's the plain truth.
