MONEY-MAKING SIDE HUSTLE OR DIRTY WORD?
In today’s economy, the search for extra cash is a never-ending one for most people. Each day, the struggle to make an acceptable living gets harder and harder. Some will work in upwards of 80+ hours per week in order to have extra cash to do the things they love. With this being said, many people find their salvation in a network marketing company. You can’t enter any social media feed without at least a few of your friends presenting a product they sell through this model. But is network marketing actually a financially rewarding side gig or has it become an automatic downward slope? To understand this, you must first understand what network marketing entails and how people actually can make money from this source. In this entry, we are going to dive a little deeper into this topic.
What is Network Marketing?
Network Marketing goes by many names. Network Marketing, Multi-level Marketing, Pyramid Selling, Pyramid “Scheme”. But all of these names grasp the same concept. Network marketing is a business model that relies on a network of distributors to grow a business. It typically involves using three basic types of systematic strategies to make money: lead Generation, recruiting, and building and management. Basically, there is a person at the top of the chain, who usually started the company. From the top, he/she will recruit Independent Consultants to sell the product. Being an Independent Consultant also has the privileges of recruiting for the company. So, the next level will recruit a new level, and so forth.
How Do YOU Make Money with Network Marketing?
With network marketing, the Consultant will make a percentage of their sales they make. This is usually referred to as their Personal Business Volume (PBV). With Zurvita, I make 20% of retail prices of the products I sell. There are products ranging from $20 all the way to a few hundred dollars. This is my initial income. From there, there are bonuses based on certain numbers of volume. Bonuses range anywhere from $100-$40,000. However, this income is solely based on monthly orders. So, if people cancel their order, that income is lost. So what do you do now?
As I stated above, network marketing also allows for recruitment of other consultants to work under you promoting and selling the products. This is what is referred to as your “downline.” When you recruit people under you, you also get paid a percentage of their sales as well. Usually, you would make 20% of your total PBV, and make 5-10% of your downline’s sales. This is called Group Volume (GV). Recruiting also comes with bonuses, as well as Team Business Volume (TBV) bonuses. So as you can see, the further you build, the more income can be made.
Many people frown upon this and will tell you “it’s a scam”, or “You can’t actually make money with this company.” This is due in part to a few specific factors.
- That particular person tried to sell with the company and failed.
- That particular person tried the products and had little to no result.
- That particular person tried to sell a product through network marketing that was, in fact, a scam.
As human beings, once we have had a negative experience with something, it usually goes on the “Bad list” forever. We understand that this particular person did have a bad experience. But does this mean that we will as well?
Why Do People Have Bad Experiences?
I follow a list of people on a daily basis in order to get motivation and inspiration for my business. Gary Vaynerchuk has become one of my most trusted advisors on the topic. When asked what he thought about Network Marketing he responded with:
“I don’t like them and I’ll tell you why. I believe that they recruit people to sell their products and promote laziness. People put minimal effort into marketing the product and usually drop out once they can’t make money.” (Source GaryVee YouTube) You can watch the short video by clicking below.
“Promote laziness.” Many people join these companies in hopes of earning “$200,000 a month” as they read in the compensation plan. And truthfully, there are people in Network Marketing that do make such insane numbers. I have personally met such a person. But this is not the ideal result for these types of business. Brad Murray, who is a Crown Ambassador with Zurvita, a Network Marketing company I personally partner with, actually does make insane amounts of money every month. However, this is due to the following:
- He believes in the company and trusts fully in their model
- He believes in the product and actually uses the products in order to build such a trust
- He DOES NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT represent this company for the money
- He reaches out to people OUTSIDE of social media and takes a more “Old school” approach
- He genuinely cares for the people he reaches out to and knows that his product will be beneficial to them.
I had the privilege of speaking with Brad over the phone with my upline. He is one of the most humble, respectful, and passionate people I have ever met. He loves his company, he loves his product, and he works his tail off day-in and day-out. This kind of effort has paid off for him!
So, we have covered that people have bad experiences with selling products simply because they do not put in the effort to properly market the goods. We have also covered that they are in the business for the wrong reason. But what about those people who “tried” the product? The fact is that most of these people buy these products looking for that miracle pill. You know what I mean! That miracle pill that amazingly makes them lose 50 pounds within a month and they never get it back. But this is fantasy, my friends. Such a remedy does not exist.
Most of these companies that sell “weight loss” supplements, and I say “weight loss” like this because that is not the target result, promote a healthier lifestyle. The supplements are only part of it. These supplements are designed to give the recipient a boost into a life change. This includes a change in habits, exercise routine, diet, and other aspects. But sadly, most clients take the supplements for one month, change nothing, and expect their results to be permanent. If there was such a pill, would anyone really be obese anymore? Hell no! Everyone would be taking it! With little effort, the customer throws these supplements to the side and bashes the company on their Facebook feed once they’ve gained their initial poundage back.
Why Did I Choose Network Marketing?
I will be honest. I did not choose Network Marketing. My Aunt, who has always been very supportive of me and any adventure I’ve ever taken, joined with Zurvita and invited me to her in-home party, or as we in Zurvita call it, our social. I went with every intention of saying No because of my past experience with these businesses. But I fell in love with the company, the product, and the culture. I did not give in to any pushy sales tactics, because there simply weren’t any. I watched a video, sampled the product, and loved it! I loved the way they weren’t pushing me into anything. They talked about the business, explained the science of the product, shared a few testimonials, and that was it. There was no ‘Who wants to buy from me?” or “Who’s ready to join?” Nothing. He simply stood up after about an hour and said “I believe we have planted our seeds”, shook my hand, and left.
The presenters were Mike Williams and Taylor Ringkamp, a father-daughter team traveling across the US to spread the word about the company. Mike has become a great mentor to me and Taylor is an amazing person to be around. They are both so helpful and show their “no man gets left behind” attitude in their business. I fell in love with not only the company, but with the people. I will share why I decided to say yes when I was so sure I was going to say no.
- Zurvita is a faith-based company who not only spreads the good word about their products, but they share the love of Jesus in their business. I am a Christian and that is amazing to me. I understand not all people are Christians, and that’s fine. This is what was an important factor to me.
- Zurvita has all natural, plant-based ingredients in their products and promote the lifestyle in which I was currently transitioning to. And the products work!
- Mike and Taylor are so supportive and happily help everyone with their business. Having a supportive upline is also very important because many people in these types of businesses recruit people just to make money off of them.
Is Networking Marketing a Dirty Word?
So is Network Marketing really this scam people make it out to be? Absolutely not. Because 99% of the issues people faced with these businesses were due to their own poor efforts. So, next time someone says “Don’t do that! It’s a scam!” Do me a favor, and do yourself a favor. Ask why. Ask why their feel this way. They will tell you one of the following:
- You can’t make any money
- The products don’t work
- It’s too time-consuming!
- No one wants to buy the products
Do your own research. Ask more questions. Honestly, if they become irritated, it is possibly because they just realized that the reason they failed, is because of themselves.
If you are interested in learning about the great opportunities Zurvita has to offer, you can visit my link and look around. No pressure, no sales push, simply look. I have embedded my link to my site below. Let me know in the comments what you think! I’d love to hear your experiences! As always, I appreciate your support and time to read my blog entry. I look forward to growing with you!
Ryan Glenn 