The Difference Between Successful Network Marketing and Scams

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and unlimited drive, you have all the makings of a network marketing success story. Not only can network marketing help you finally discover financial freedom, but this time-tested business model is also incredibly rewarding in other ways. You could say that network marketing is the business of helping people. You are essentially building people up. You’re helping others become successful while you in turn reap those same rewards; but be careful. Not all network marketing opportunities are the same. Here is what to look out for so you don’t get scammed while you’re trying to make your dreams of network marketing success come true.

What is Successful Network Marketing?

A successful network marketing opportunity is one in which other people have found success. Plain and simple. Not just a handful of people, mind you. You’re looking for a high percentage of individuals who have either graduated from the opportunity or who are still involved and who might be padding their pockets with a whole lot more dollars than the rest of us.

The problem is that network marketing scams can mimic successful opportunities quite well, and they may lie about how many success stories they’ve truly produced. One of the ways they do this is with testimonials, particularly video testimonials. These supposed real-life accounts can make a scam appear genuine in a single glance. The first lesson, then is not to get taken in by testimonials, especially video testimonials. Video may lend legitimacy to any speaker, but don’t be fooled. The person being filmed may not be legitimate at all. He or she might be someone trying to bamboozle you. How do you tell? You really can’t. You just have to have a discerning eye.

That’s not to say that all testimonials that you find on network marketing websites are perpetuating a scam. It’s only to say that you should look for much more than mere testimonials when judging whether a particular opportunity is good or bad.

Here are a few signs that the network marketing opportunity in question is more likely to make you a success story than take you for your hard-earned money.

Solid Support and Success Tools

Here is one of the biggest signs that a network marketing opportunity is one of the good ones. There is an easy-to-use and incredibly helpful support system in place, and there are more than a few tools to help you keep that money flowing in.

For instance, if you have a question, you should be able to have it answered immediately. Or at least you should expect an answer to arrive in somewhat of a timely manner. Furthermore, you should be provided with banner ads, graphics, web forms and even entire websites that you can use to further promote the opportunity to others.

Scams don’t provide any of these things. Or if they do, the support and tools they offer are sparse at best. If you feel like you’re being thrown to`1 the wolves with little guidance or help, cut the opportunity loose and start looking for a new one. Hopefully one with more legitimacy behind it.

You Feel Like Part of the Family

You’ll know that you are joining a legit and successful network marketing opportunity when you begin to feel like you’re joining a professional ‘family’. You should feel welcome, invited, and all the other people that you meet and who joined the opportunity before you should be interested in who you are and what your goals happen to be.

Again, network marketing is a people business. The people involved should at least act as if they like and appreciate people. More than that, you should feel as though the others care whether or not you succeed or fail.

On the other hand, if you join an opportunity and suddenly feel like you’re left all alone or not part of a group at all, you might be getting taken for a ride. You will be far better off switching opportunities for one that actually makes you feel as though you’re accomplishing something important with people who also care about your success. There are plenty of those opportunities out there, you just have to find one.

You Feel Good About What You’re Promoting

Finally, a successful network marketing opportunity will make you feel good about the products you will be selling and the opportunity as a whole, which you will be actively trying to promote to others. If selling the business’s products makes you feel all icky inside and if you just can’t bear to tell others about the opportunity you’re involved in, that’s a good sign that you’ve chosen poorly.

Here’s how to choose properly. Talk to the managers of said opportunity, tell them your concerns and let them explain to you why the opportunity is worth your while. If your B.S. meter starts to go off, run. On the other hand, if you continue to become more and more excited the more you hear the manager’s talk, that’s a great sign that everything’s groovy. Get involved and push forward full steam ahead. With the right opportunity behind you, successful network marketing will be well within your grasp.

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