How To Research A Network Marketing Organization
Every network marketing company will tell you that they're the best. It's is up to you to determine which of them really are the best and which are just blowing smoke. To do that you'll have to find information from a source other than your upline, a source with no direct financial stake in your decisions. Fortunately for you, information about network marketing is very abundant, if you know where to look. Try each of these sources:
The Better Business Bureau. They can provide you with information, statistics, and warnings about known network marketing scams.
Contact consumer rights advocates. They're privy to all the ways that consumers can be taken advantage of. They may even investigate a company if you ask them nicely.
Contact any or all 50 states attorneys general. They LOVE uncovering crooked network marketing companies because it's a popular issue which voters will remember when they run for governor.
Talk to folks you know personally. You'd be surprised by the number of people you know that are involved in network marketing or were in the past. Almost everyone has a story about it to tell. Gauge their experiences and learn from them.
Use the internet. An abundance of valuable online information exists about good and bad network marketing companies. Look at neutral sites with an objective point of view. Visit company sites to see how they present themselves. You might also want to visit sites created by disgruntled former members for an opposing viewpoint. There are also thousands of independent websites and newsgroups devoted to network marketing.
Read network marketing trade magazines. These are excellent sources of tips on selling, recruiting, and more. The only problem with most of them is that they fail to address any controversial issues (i.e., incidents of fraud, distributors filing for bankruptcy, etc.). I still suggest that you subscribe to several.
I once asked a woman how she planned to research her chosen network marketing opportunity; she told me she was going to a recruiting meeting! That's not a reliable source of information. A recruiting meeting is nothing less than a commercial. If you were to "research" Mountain Dew by watching their television commercials, you would "discover" that Mountain Dew turns folks into world class skateboarders and skysurfers. That's not a very accurate assessment of their product.
It's very tempting (and easy) for someone to distort facts if it earns them extra money. Your sponsor may not think twice about lying for his benefit. You have to protect yourself from that possibility by seeking outside information from sources that have no direct financial stake in your network marketing desisions.
