Good question. The purpose of this post is to tell you a few things:

• Why MLM has been dubbed as a “scam”
• How to Spot an MLM scam
• How you can make MLM work for you

Why has MLM been labeled as a scam?

There are 2 main reasons for this:

• There have been scams in the past
• Unsuccessful reps complaining

The expression, “Enough bad grapes can spoil the rest.” really sums up the answer to this question. There have been some MLM scams in the past. Luckily, the federal government works hard to shut down any business that is unethical or unlawful.

Keep reading and I’ll tell you how to spot an MLM scam.

Unfortunately for a lot of us network marketers, we deal with people calling our industry a scam all the time. At first for a new rep, it can be quite discouraging. Have confidence that what you’re doing is moral and ethical.

There is a ton of hype in MLM and lots of people are getting sold on the “get rich quick” mentality. If anything, it’s a get rich slow program- or as my friend always called it- a build wealth program.

It’s a natural thing for us human beings to push the blame onto someone else. Many people have been unsuccessful in this industry, and as a result, many of them have said that MLM doesn’t work or… that it’s a scam.

I’ve made quite a bit of money in network marketing. And helped a bunch of other people make money too.

How to Spot an MLM Scam

Another thing we hear a lot is the word “pyramid scheme”. Those have been associated with the network marketing business model, when in reality they are completely different.

For example:

In a pyramid scheme, reps are paid to recruit other people into the company. That’s it. There’s not a product or a service being given in return for being a part of the company.

That’s how you detect a scam. You’ll want to ask yourself this question:

Do they sell products or services?

If you answer yes, then you’ve found a potential company to build a business with.

Just to be safe, I always recommend to people that they find a company that’s been in business at least 5 years. That’s usually a very strong indicator of a solid company.

I learned this the hard way, back when eFusjon was in business. They didn’t even make it 2 years and there went all my hard work.

Poof!

How you can make MLM work for you

The people who quit and labeled MLM as a scam, struggled with 3 key areas:

• Not doing it enough
• Not doing it right
• Needed to grow more

The first one involves the numbers game. The top earners get their business opportunity and products in front of thousands and thousands of people. My sponsors always told me to make a list of everyone I knew, but it still wasn’t enough.

The second one involves being mentored. When I made $6,000 in less than 6 months in one of my MLM companies, I had a mentor that I worked with every day. I watched him call people on his list. I watched him cold call leads. I watched him prospect while out and about on errands.

He gave me advice. He watched me call people. He watched me prospect.

You get the picture.

The last one involves you and personal development. My mentor told me to read 10 pages of a good book every day. The 2 books I recommend to everyone are: The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

He also told me to turn of the music in my car and listen to 15 minutes of training audio every day. He gave me a copy of “How to Build Your Network Marketing Business” by Jim Rohn. Highly recommended.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if it helps.