Frequently Asked Questions

Q:

What is "Network Marketing?"

A:

Network marketing is a way for businesses to distribute their products and/or services that combines direct marketing (sales) with the concept of franchising. It is a 60+ year-old industry and is highly regulated and legal. It is also called "Multi-Level Marketing" (or "MLM").

Q:

How does "Network Marketing" work?

A:

People "sign up" to join a Network Marketing company and participate in direct sales as well as recruit other people under them, in what's called a "downline," to sign up as well. Those people do the same, both selling and recruiting.

Q:

How do you get paid from a "Network Marketing" company?

A:

Each Network Marketing company has its own marketing/compensation plan, but basically you get paid on retail sales, signing other people up under you, and commissions on the total volume of product or services sold by you and your "downline." Commission percentages and how and when they are paid out depend upon the individual company's marketing/compensation plan.

Q:

What is a "Pyramid Scheme?" When I mention "Network Marketing" to friends, they always say, "Oh, that's a pyramid scheme."

A:

Pyramid schemes are illegal and unregulated. They are usually based on the "chain letter" model where, if you put in a certain amount of money, and everyone you send the letter to also puts in that amount of money, you will eventually receive a great amount of money back. It is a "get rich quick" scheme that has no basis in real commerce business models and eventually collapses down the line, leaving the last few contributors high and dry. It is outlawed!

Q:

How is "Network Marketing" different from "Pyramid Schemes?"

A:

"Network Marketing" is a legal business, is highly regulated by law, and has a successful track record of over 60 years. It is a serious business for people serious about doing business. All Network Marketing companies have a marketing/compensation plan that is carefully calculated and that leaves no one out who is due to make a commission on every dollar the company makes. The plans may vary, but they are carefully monitored and regulated to make sure each company is paying exactly the way it claims it is paying.

Q:

How much time does it take to be successful in a "Network Marketing" business?

A:

That depends on you and how far you want to go in the business. Most people begin this business part-time, even as a side business to their regular job. Devoting a certain number of hours each week to specific business-building tasks is required; how many or how few depends upon your available time and your goals. Business-building tasks are those related to actual sales or recruitment and not just setting up your home office or getting organized.  Depending on the company you join and how much support and instruction you have from your upline, even two to five hours per week can give you a very good start on your Network Marketing business.

Q:

Some people really "make it big" in "Network Marketing." How does this happen?

A:

This is where the concept of "leveraging" your time comes in. There is an exponential factor in Network Marketing that is the key to building a large income from your business. J. Paul Getty, who created one of the world's greatest fortunes, said: "I would rather make one percent on the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent on my own efforts." Here's why he said that. If you are consistent in your efforts at recruiting a downline, and that downline consistently does the same thing you are doing, after a few months your downline group and the dollar volume it is spending on your company's product will literally explode. Work through the following calculation and you will see how this concept works:  double one penny every day and see what the total worth of that penny is at the end of one month. At Day 5 you only have 16 cents, but at Day 15 you have $16,384. And at Day 30 you have a whopping $536,870,912! This demonstrates (rather dramatically!) the exponential power of how you can "leverage" your own efforts and time through the people you recruit.

Q:

How much does it cost to get involved with a "Network Marketing" company? And then how much do I have to spend to keep it going?

A:

This amount varies, but it is much less than it would cost you to start a conventional business. There is usually a "start-up" fee, often less than $50, sometimes an "annual" fee (even less), and then as you progress through commission-earning levels there is a monthly minimum product/service purchase required to qualify for your commission. These amounts can vary widely from company to company but, even at the very highest levels, are often as low as $200 to $300 per month. There is really no other business you can run at such a low overhead.

Q:

What is "residual" income? And how does it relate to "Network Marketing?" I hear this term used a lot.

A:

Residual income is money you make through other than your own personal direct effort. In other words it is money that is not paid on any quotient that relates to your direct efforts or time to dollars (i.e. an hourly wage; a set price for a product, etc.). Rather, it is the part of your Network Marketing commission check that is paid on the sales made by people in your downline. Think of it like a "royalty" on a book. You write the book once and you make money on every copy of it that is sold, even though you don't sell each copy yourself.

Q:

What does "leveraging your time" mean?

A:

Leveraging your time means you are making money on other people's efforts and not just your own. Or on royalties of something you have produced that you get paid on for each sale, like with a book or piece of music. You do the work once and get paid every time its results are produced, whether that be through a royalty (as with the book or music) or through a Network Marketing company's commission check that pays you a certain percentage on all your downlines' sales.

Q:

What is a "downline?"

A:

Your "downline" is everyone you sign up in the company as either a customer or a business builder, plus anyone else who is placed anywhere in the line under you when the Streamlining model of business building is used (as it is in Go MLM Online's model).

Q:

What is an "upline?"

A:

Your "upline" is everyone "above" you in your network marketing group. This means the person who signed you up, the person who signed them up, and so on up the line.

Q:

What is a "sponsor?"

A:

You become someone's "sponsor" as soon as you sign him or her up below you, on your first level, in your network marketing business. That person is now "directly-sponsored" by you.

Q:

What does "group volume" mean?

A:

This is the total dollar amount of product or services sold by you and everyone below you in your downline. It does not include the volume traded or sold by people in your upline. Group volume is one of the factors used in calculating your commissions each month, and there is usually a minimum required that corresponds to your level of advancement in your business.

Q:

What does "1st Level," "2nd Level," "3rd Level," and so on mean?

A:

When you sign someone up directly under you, let's say John, he is on your "1st Level." When John signs someone up directly under him, say Mary, that person is on your "2nd Level" (and on John's "1st Level"). When Mary signs someone up directly under her, perhaps Julia, Julia becomes your "3rd Level," John's "2nd Level," and Mary's "1st Level." And so on.

Q:

What does "compression" mean? I hear that term a lot in reference to network marketing compensation plans.

A:

"Compression" is where the commission due a distributor who does not "qualify" in a particular month is paid out to the next person above him who does qualify. That first distributor who did not keep himself qualified one month loses out on all or part of his commission for that month; but those commissions do get paid out fairly to the next person who qualifies.

Q:

What does "Qualify" mean?

A:

In every network marketing compensation plan there are requirements that must be fulfilled each month for a distributor to "qualify" to earn his or her commission. Those requirements are usually a combination of 1) a certain amount of purchases and/or sales (dollar volume), and 2) a certain number of people he has signed up in his downline. As your downline group grows, so does your dollar volume, and those two things need to stay within whatever levels are required in order for you to get paid at the level you have attained at any given time.

Q:

Why does the company use network marketing to distribute its product?

A:

The reason can be summed up in one word: action. Network marketing is the action of bringing an exciting product directly to the people who need it--faster than any other marketing method. It is the action of the amazing story of the products being told to those who need its benefits. It is the action of an ordinary individual building a unique, independent business with no risk to personal capital. It is the action of the purest form of selling, person-to-person selling that benefits everyone involved.

Q:

Is company prepared for expansive international growth?

A:

Our sources of the raw ingredients in the products can support our growth projections and goals--with plenty to spare. The company's strategic partnerships ensures that sourcing and production capabilities will always meet our high standards.