MLM Articles

A snapshot of 68 direct selling companies with annual global wholesale revenue of $100 million or more.

As a follow-up to our February cover story, “The Billion Dollar Club,” we decided to write a more comprehensive story about industry companies around the world with global wholesale corporate revenue of $100 million or more.

Welcome to the $100 Million Club, our effort to chronicle the global direct selling companies that have reached the $100 million mark. To our knowledge, this is the first list of its kind—an attempt to record the power of the direct selling industry by the numbers.

We compiled our list using sources such as Hoover’s Company Records and Dun & Bradstreet, SGA Executive Tracker Companies, Standard & Poor’s Descriptions Plus News, Company Briefs–Gale Group, Global Duns Market Identifiers, Market Guide Company Profiles, America’s Corporate Finance Directory and Directory of Corporate Affiliations, the companies’ own Web sites, the Direct Selling Association, the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations and other sources.

We then made every effort to contact each of the following 68 companies, so we could confirm that the information gathered was accurate. You will see an asterisk next to companies that did not verify the accuracy of the information we gathered. If you would like to update or correct your listing, please send an e-mail to 100million@directsellingnews.com.

We will be the first to admit that this list is not complete. We did the best we could, and it is our sincere attempt to journal the might of the direct selling industry. What we discovered is that—despite the economy—direct selling companies are a force to be reckoned with. “Almost miraculously, our organization has continued to grow,” says Joe Urso, Aerus Chairman and CEO. “Selling high-end products is not easy, especially in a down economy. Our team has continued to grow by inspiring others to pursue the opportunity for a better life that we offer.” (more…)

On your daily journey in MLM to achieve your “Why,” you will travel through many different avenues and sometimes you will ask yourself, “Why did I need to meet this person or experience this situation?” The key is to truly understand that you must become an information filter and a knowledge sponge.

To become an information filter, you must use your personal, God-given filters—your eyes and your ears. I always say that you were born with 4 inputs—2 eyes, 2 ears—and 1 output—your mouth. When you decide to become an information filter and sift through all the information that is taken in through your inputs, you will begin to ?nd reasons for certain experiences in your life. As you begin to realize that filtering entails listening and observing more than talking, you will be amazed at the insight you will gain! And, what you learn from each situation that you experience will be the foundation for future decisions.

My personal view is, “Every failure is a stepping stone to success, which in turn, will become a very long and lovely stone walkway into the castle of your dreams.” Very simply, this quote means that out of every personal failure, you will filter information that will empower you to make wiser decisions!

When you combine becoming an information filter with becoming a knowledge sponge, you will empower yourself to achieve your WHY now! Becoming a knowledge sponge is very simple. You must immerse yourself in the knowledge of the “Number One” people in your field of endeavor. I highly suggest listening to positive personal development tapes and reading some positive material each and every day in order to saturate your sponge with the proper knowledge!

When I first became a distributor in a direct sales organization, I simply did some research and found out what the “Number One” earners in direct sales/network marketing were doing. As a result, I broke all records and built enormous sales organizations. I was nothing special, but the methods I used were special because they were proven to work. Remember, the smartest people are those that realize they are not the brightest or the best.

Success leaves clues, and usually there is a long list of failures accompanied with one major success. I can tell you that if you have failed in the past and right now are questioning your actions, just become an information ?lter and knowledge sponge. Each day that you embark on your journey toward your “Why,” you need to be constantly filtering and absorbing as much information as possible. Start to utilize your four inputs and before you know it, you will find your “Why,” hit the mark, and succeed!

John was a clinically diagnosed stutterer, who went on to build a huge business and become an International Motivational Speaker. He shocks millions globally by exposing the truth about how to achieve monumental life success despite the labels that society has placed on you. Through his award winning live seminars, power-packed training programs, live tele-classes, and websites, and LifeStyle Freedom Club, John Di Lemme has made success a reality for thousands of people worldwide.

http://john-dilemme.com/

If God had been running an MLM rather than delivering the Jews from Egypt, the first of the Ten Commandments given to Moses would have been “thou shalt not steal thy neighbors downline.” Following closely on the heels of this commandment would be “thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s downline,” and “thou shalt not commingle downlines.

If there is one problem that every MLM faces at one time or another, it is the raiding of the company’s distributor force for another MLM by one of its own current or recently departed distributors. In fact, a company should consider itself lucky if it only faces the issue once a year. In my practice, I have found that improper distributor solicitation is the number one conflict between distributors and the company. And talk about an emotionally charged issue. If you want a sure-fire way to turn your best lifelong friends into mortal enemies, try raiding their downline just once. Your ex-friends will be sure to spit every time they mention your name, assuming of course that they continue to utter your name. It is far more likely that your last name will forever be preceded by “that dirty son of a $%@*,” or some other equally endearing four-letter first name.

The Competing Interests

Yes, emotions run high, and everyone involved has a reason for taking their respective positions. The distributor who is recruiting for another company believes that free competition entitles him or her to recruit whomever he wants, whenever he wants, and for whatever company he wants. He is going to exercise that right since the company is keeping too much of the pie and putting unreasonable limitations on him. On the other hand, the upline of the distributors who are being solicited have labored long and hard to develop their downline, and will not let go without a fierce battle. They scream for company action to protect the fruits of their labor. Yet a third perspective is displayed by the company that is having its distributor force recruited away. The company finds it hard to believe that a distributor whom it has paid so well and given so much would have the audacity to turn on them. Throw into this mix several slanderous and ill-tempered remarks by all parties, a healthy dose of hearsay, an occasional threat of physical violence, and you have a recipe for a frothy lawsuit. (more…)

Vision International People Group Public, Ltd.
LOCATED IN CYPRUS AND ON CYPRUS STOCK EXHANGE
Vision International announced the Interim Management Statement of the Group for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2009 that has been prepared pursuant to article 11 of the Transparency Requirements Law 2007 Of the Nation of Cyprus where HQ is located.

March 31, 2009 – Vision International People Group revenues for the period under review compared to the corresponding period in 2008 had declined by around 35%. As it was to be expected, driven by the lower sales, gross profit for the period under review declined in comparison to that of the same period of 2008. The operating results of the group show a declining trend due to the decrease in the sales of the group.

2009 will be a year during which the group will restructure its operations in view of the current economic crisis but will continue to invest in operations in new markets with a view to increasing market share.
OR TERMINATION AND REFUSAL OF TRANSFERS FOR DISTRIBUTORS – VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS!

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(thanks to the watchdog for the update!)

Usually when I think of a social justice cause, I think of ending racism, equal pay for women, improving our inner-city education, and fighting for the civil rights of marginalized people. But the other day, it dawned on me – network marketing is an opportunity for social justice.
To explain, let me break down the traditional structure of a retail business using a fictional company for clarity. Let’s say that the company “Gizmo” has a product called “Gadgets.” Gadgets are sold at stores called “The Gidget Emporium.” Let’s also pretend that the owner and manager of one particular franchise store is named Jeff, who has three employees.

So Gizmo makes the Gadgets, packages them, and sends them to a storage warehouse. Jeff purchases the Gizmos from the company (at wholesale prices) for his store: The Gidget Emporium. The Gadgets are shipped from the warehouse to the Emporium, where they are marked up to retail price. Jeff sells the Gadgets at the store, where customers buy them at retail price, and drive them home in their cars to use them. (more…)

Don’t see your company? Check the Top 50 here.

The current Top 50 Network Marketing Companies represents the most highly trafficked companies online, as rated each day and updated each week by Alexa. The Top 50 are also 5 years old or more.

Next Top 40 Start-ups update: Mid March, 2009, probably.

Top 40 Start-Ups list.

Network Marketing companies with 1) the highest internet traffic as ranked by Alexa, AND 2) that are LESS than five years old as of the date of the update. That data is also obtained from Alexa for each company. We are adding more companies to this list.

Alexa, while not perfect by any means, is the most widely used tracking service for website rankings since 1996. Alexa ranks millions of websites.

Rank 1 is the highest; Rank 10 million the lowest. (more…)

Hosting online parties for your network marketing business can be both fun and lucrative. I’d like to offer some tips and ideas to plan for your success:

1. Just as you’d plan ahead and pick a date for an in-home party, when hosting an online party you’ll want to pick a date that allows you enough time to invite guests and plan ahead.

2. If you are the “host” of the party, consider advertising this as a mystery host party. That means that one of your guests will get the host benefits of the party. You can choose from a random drawing of

those who attend. Offer one ticket for coming, one ticket for making a purchase and one ticket for bringing a friend. Then choose a host from all tickets entered.

3. Create a banner ahead of time that has your URL on it. Find out if you can use this banner in the chat room you’ll be holding the party in.

4. When you attend parties, there is always some type of special available through the party only. Make sure you have a least one or two specials available to attendees only. (more…)

If you’ve come within a couple of miles of your clients during the past few months, you’ve probably been asked, “How can we use this social networking stuff?” And for good reason. Social networking has been hot stuff for a while now, and it seems like a no-brainer when it comes to advertising. After all, you’ve got millions of people who have self-identified with what they’re interested in, who post loads of personal information about themselves, and (probably most important) who actually make connections between themselves and people like them. An advertiser’s dream, right?

Maybe.

Astronomical valuations aside, so far social networking sites haven’t fared too well when it comes to advertising performance. Even though lots of folks use the services, nobody seems to want to click on the ads. For the most part, performance just ain’t all that great.

Even so, I haven’t come across a marketer who isn’t searching for a way to truly leverage the power of social networks in a consistent way. Sure, some folks have had hit-or-miss success with viral campaigns and other word-of-mouth generating activities, and others have scored big with widgets, but many of us are still scratching our heads, trying to figure out how to get our hands around this stuff. (more…)

In past years, I have watched as the Internet has gone through different levels of acceptance in the MLM industry. The first level was skepticism and ridicule. The Internet was dismissed as a passing fad. The second level was blind acceptance and a rush to get onboard before the train left the station. Everybody wanted to have a personal Web page even if they didn’t know how they could use it in their business. The third level, which we are at now, is to understand the importance of the Internet and make sure we are getting value for the money we invest.

I was talking to a friend of mine, a top distributor in a large network marketing company, who was frustrated because the Web was not helping his business. He said, “I know I need to use the Web in my MLM business, but I am just spending a lot of money and I don’t see that it is doing any good.” I ask him what sort of things he was using the Web for and what specific areas of his business he had hoped to improve. His answer was revealing: “I don’t know what we are doing. I have a Web guy that does all of that for me.” When I asked how much time he spent with his Web guy, he said he had to run his business; he didn’t have time to spend with the Web guy. (more…)

So…you want to know how to make home business mlm work for you…ready to get involved with internet and network marketing?

First of all, let me say Kudos to anyone that is willing to do some online research into the internet and network marketing possibilities. I am sure you have already found a quadrillion websites and pages on “how to make millions while you sleep”… or ” Get started today in order to take advantage of our incredible offer that will have money rolling into your bank account tomorrow”….

Excuse me, but if it was that easy, everyone and his brother would be doing it already! (more…)