Many people have heard about Multi-Level Marketing (referred to as MLM, or Network Marketing throughout this article). I've been in the MLM industry for 3 years now, and in that time, I've seen a lot of crazy ideas. Every single program on the internet claims to have the most advanced compensation plan in the industry. You have your 3x10 forced matrix, your 5x5 forced matrix, your shifting rotating matrix, your spiral matrix, your "Get paid in 5 ways," your "Get paid in 7 ways," your "You already have a check with your name on it. Just sign up now," etc. Most of these companies want you to believe that if you just follow their "duplicatible process", you'll be making hundreds of thousands within months.

The sad part of this story is that it just isn't true. The fact of the matter is that most people who join Network Marketing companies fail within the first year. Why is this? It's quite simple. Your average Joe doesn't like to sell and he doesn't like to recruit. In most MLMs, if you lack these skills, then you're screwed. Most companies require you to recruit a certain minimum number of people before you're even eligible to make money from sales generated below you.

The problem with most MLMs is that if you aren't a charismatic leader with superb interpersonal skills and the voice of authority, then you probably will have a difficult time ever recruiting even a single person. Leadership skills aren't inbred. They must come from extensive training. Many distributors spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month on leadership and motivational books and videos, yet they still don't succeed. In a special report conducted by Dateline on a popular network marketing company, one couple admitted they spent over $30,000 on motivational materials, yet never profited from the company. That is nothing short of an atrocity.

The foundation of network marketing is centered on the concept of "Word of Mouth" advertising. You tell 3 people about this opportunity, then they tell 3 people, then they tell 3 people, and so forth. Pretty soon you have an army of people below you and in turn you make a percentage of all their purchases and sales. It seems simple enough, if everyone does their part, then everyone wins. Unfortunately, this utopian scenario is rarely actually seen in network marketing. Success in most companies is contingent on a lot of IFs. IF you recruit 3 people, and IF they recruit 3 people, and IF they all recruit 3 people, and IF everyone spends $150 on product, THEN there is a chance at making a profit. That's a lot of IFs to rest your future and your financial security on.

In light of the fact that most people lack the skills to generate effective sales and to build a "downline" of personally recruited members, many people fail, give up, and become disillusioned. Thus the market for MLM advertised products diminishes. Many internet marketing experts have noticed this trend and have realized that there is a need for a new marketing concept, a concept where everyone really does win, and not just in utopian dreams.

As a result, a new form of marketing has been invented: Network/Corporate hybrid marketing. This new form of marketing creates a co-efficient sales system that amplifies the effectiveness of both aspects. Let's look at it this way. When an average person joins an MLM and tries to recruit their friends, the conversation looks something like this:

"Hey Joe, I got this great opportunity. You should join now and secure your position."

"Alright Ralph, that sounds interesting. Have you made any money with this system?"

"Well... Umm... No, but if you join, and you tell 3 people, and they tell 3 people, well then I'd be making money."

"Oh, I see, well no thanks then. Goodbye. Please don't call me again."

You get the picture. Things change however when you use Network/Corporate hybrid marketing. In this paradigm, the core network marketing firm does corporate advertising to build a downline below existing members in the company. The individual doesn't have to do anything to get paid members in their downline. They can profit from those members even though they haven't personally recruited them. As long as the member stays in the company, they are guaranteed to make money as soon as the corporate advertising fills their downline for them. How long this takes depends. However the first company to employ this new marketing strategy has seen a 50% growth rate ever since they first launched in March of 2007. A scenario of someone marketing this opportunity might look like this:

"Hey Joe, I got this great opportunity. You should join now and secure your position."

"Alright Ralph, that sounds interesting. Have you made any money with this system?"

"Actually, I have. I got a return on my investment in just 3 months. Now I'll be making money for life."

"Wow, that sounds great. Where do I sign up?"

Once a prospect can see that their success is guaranteed, they won't hesitate a moment before signing up. This is the power of Network/Corporate hybrid marketing. When the recruiter can prove that they've already been successful in a short amount of time, that gives them much more credibility with their prospects. In this way, their prospects will have far more trust that they can succeed, and with Network/Corporate hybrid marketing, they will.

With the help of corporate advertising, the network marketing aspect, or word of mouth becomes ten times as effective. As word of mouth spreads, more people join, and a percentage of their monthly fees go directly back into corporate advertising. In this way, the two aspects of Network/Corporate hybrid marketing feed each other making each aspect ever more powerful.