From About.com via Business Opportunities Weblog:

Network marketing, or multi-level marketing, is one of the fastest-growing business models of the past few decades. Between 1993 and 2003, total direct selling revenues grew by 7.1% annually, dramatically above the rate of growth of the economy — and of total retail sales (according to the Direct Selling Association).

…

We recently interviewed some of the industry’s top experts and found seven lessons that all sales and marketing professionals can use to be more effective, regardless of their industry:

  1. Every business is a relationship-based business
  2. Think analytically about your network
  3. Create a community around your product
  4. Leverage the unleveraged
  5. Build a relationship first
  6. Not everyone is a prospect
  7. Use online networks

This is pretty ironic to me because I find that most of us Network Marketers don’t really follow these lessons and if we did follow these lessons, Network Marketing would not have the well earned bad reputation that it has.