Traditional Network Marketing vs. Internet Network Marketing

Traditional Network Marketing is the most familiar form of Network Marketing. Over the years, not much has changed about its culture and business building strategies. The foundation of a Network Marketing business is and has always been word of mouth. In addition, presentation has always had a key role in relaying its message. It migrated from small intimate settings, such as the home, to larger venues such as hotels and convention halls. It has always been about getting people in front of a presentation; however, the options have diversified with technology advancements. Regardless of these advancements, many seasoned MLM experts and leaders still hold fast to the core practices of the business. Many leaders swear to the use of In-home presentations and group meetings. They believe in using scripts to put a person in front of live a presentation, rather at home or local establishment. Increases in cell phone popularity eventually led to increased use of 3-way calling, and now recorded calls. These organizations also use traditional approaches in prospecting, as well. They “’pique interest,” or pique random people’s curiosity with clever attention grabbing statements like, “Do you keep your business options open?” Their prospects are mainly friends, family, and associates. Some go to the next level and target random strangers as they go about their daily tasks. These are the main activities of a traditional MLM business. They involve a lot of time and commitment. In this scenario, you may find yourself spending a lot of time traveling to different events and meetings, and even visiting team member’s homes. You will also more than likely have regular conference calls if you are apart of a veteran organization. On the other hand, you have Internet Network Marketing. Those of this group have either mastered one or multiple aspects of internet marketing, and incorporated it into their business. Their skills may be blogging, web building, article marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, etc. These skills require study and practice just the same as traditional practices. However, they are more technical in detail, and require more time commitment to learn. The big difference is in the specialized and transferable skill sets that are developed in internet marketing. True marketing knowledge is necessary to succeed on the internet amongst many computer savvy, master advertisers. The challenge is great, and so is the reward. On the internet one can leverage their efforts far beyond their individual efforts, and expand their reach globally. This same networker can not only contact people, but they can target specific individuals according to their interests. Their business can be measured to an exact science, and the sorting process can be custom fit to their focus. There are pro and cons for both approaches, traditional and internet. It is just a question of preference. What do you prefer? A custom made system that is more technical, but accurate; or a ready made system that is more intimate, yet time constraining.