Direct Selling vs. MLM
June 14, 2008 | By Monika Mundell | 2 Comments »
While direct selling and mlm have similar aspects, they are not the same. There is a subtle difference in each one and this post will give a quick overview on how this pans out in comparison.
- MLM is usually focused on downline and personal sales
- The emphasis is on the sponsor/newly enrolled
- Tempts people with appealing opportunity
- Exponential income – unsteady
- Team members treat each other as business partners, regardless of position in the marketing plan
Direct Selling
- Hostess get rewards
- Is more focused on personal sales
- The emphasis is geared toward the relationship between distributor and hostess.
- Linear income – more steady
The main difference is perhaps the overall aspect of how we go about gaining new leads. While the direct sales model is still banking on party plan, mlm has moved online. Since it is so much easier to reach a wider audience with the Internet, many people choose mlm over direct selling these days.
There is also the ever looming fear of having to talk to people in person which pushes many away from the direct sales model.
Whether you choose one of the other is up to you.
Tags: direct selling, direct selling vs mlm, mlm, mlm renegade
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Hi Monika,
It’s a pleasure for me to add my comment (it’s more like a question to be honest).
Can somebody actually do both though? Because I have interests on some companies that focus more on the individuals selling their products to customers without them having to build a team (I call that direct-income). Those companies just want you to promote their products, which they vividly emphasize, should sell themselves if you just bring it to people’s face (promote the products). So, they basically pay distributors for promoting their products.
However, I also do like the way that the MLM target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://gobala.linktrackr.com/buildingonabudget-mlmrkeywords">MLM model works because I notice that I could definitely make a large amount of income, acquire leadership skills by working in team and also it would give me the opportunity to rank to the top if that’s what I desire.
I believe that I could do both and keep the balance between the two. What do you think?
@ Jimy: Thank you for taking the time to contribute here. I understand what you mean and I know for a fact that many people are actively members of two or even more mlm target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://gobala.linktrackr.com/buildingonabudget-mlmrkeywords">mlm’s.
The most important thing you need to check is their individual TOS’s. If the companies you are interested in don’t object joining others, then you are good to go. Some do though and this could lead to problems down the road.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask again if you have questions.