1. Reinforces to the gazillion of us playing in this game that it is real and legitimate and profitable.

2. Provides us with resources for the naysayers…which..let's face it we sometimes want to prove them wrong even if they don;t join our opportunity.

To Your Success
Rivers Corbett
Cofounder
MLMOutlaws

Before you take this "myth-busting" information as gospel, you better ask yourself a question like, "If all this information is true and accurate, why does MLM/direct selling STILL have such a bad reputation?"

The reason for this is simple. Because of the low price points for starting and capitalizing a home based/network marketing business allows many individuals, who have little or no business experience a way to pursue their dream of financial freedom and independence.

What these most of these individuals do not know though is that they are in fact the "customer" for the product that is being distributed. MLM is merely a product channel distribution business for the MLM company.

However, most people are lured into the industry with a seductive "get rich" proposal that generally sounds so easy. The only problem is that success is never easy, even for those that have marketing and sales skills when they get started.

In my experience, 50% of the people that sign up and purchase products, NEVER start their business. Another 30% (for a total of 80%) give up after very little effort as soon as they realize that there is more to the success equation than what they "hoped" for.

That leaves us 20% that will make at least a reasonable attempt at success. When we apply the 80-20 rule again we end up with 4% (the upper 20% of the 20%) that will experience some results.

When we apply the 80-20 to that 40% we end up with less than 1% who make substantial money in the industry.

So the real reason so few people make money in the industry has less to do with the quality of the companies and products and more to do with the skill sets and determination of the individuals that make up the population.

It is sad that so few people will pursue their dreams in a way that changes the dreams to specific goals. However, that is the fact of life. It is based in science, and that is just the way it is.

Should you desire to join the 4% and ultimately the 20% of the 4%, you require shortcuts, wisdom, and the know how.

When you decide that you want what you came to the industry for,

Jim

Research is an important component of DSA's work in its capacity as an authority on direct selling. Our "bias" is toward painting an accurate picture of the industry – sometimes that's positive, and sometimes we find areas where improvements can be made. Part of supporting our members is having accurate data that shows the state of the marketplace, for better or worse. You can find plenty of people out there who call themselves "experts" on direct selling, but you will also find that in most cases they either have no data or the data they present does not cite or source or illustrate the use of a scientific methodology.

Also, if you have ever hired one of the major research firms before you know that their credibility lies in being accurate – not on reflecting the client's desires. DSA has no voice in the outcome of the study. The results are the results, and we are required to report them as they are delivered to us.

As for methodology, this particular survey is based on 1801 phone interviews conducted by Research International (the number more than qualifies as a representative sample). The subjects are current direct sellers selected at random and the study achieves a 95% confidence level.

So, keep up the skepticism, but don't let it get in the way of being able to take something at face value.

In essence, I'm saying this "study" is actually advertising spin. I'm not saying the numbers have changed.

Who is being surveyed? How do they know their sample is representative? Keep in mind, the people who even consider MLM are different from the general population. For some reason, I think these stats have a high likelihood of sampling error.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics…pretty much says it all.