Many people either do not know what network marketing or multi-level marketing is or have a misconception about what it is. Simply put, it’s a distribution system for moving goods from the manufacturer to the consumer.

In a retail store distribution system, you start with the manufacturer who sell their products to a national distributor who sells to a regional distributor who sell to a local distributor who sells to a retail store. There may be more layers or fewer layers depending upon the situation but the concept is the same.

In the modern network marketing distribution system, the product moves directly from the manufacturer to the end consumer or sometimes through a local representative then to the consumer.

What makes the network marketing model even more special is that it contains an educational aspect to it. The products that are offered through network marketing are higher quality and often require someone to educate the consumer as to the why the products are higher quality and thus a better value.

High quality nutritional supplements would be an example. Many people buy whatever vitamins are on sale at the grocery store for as little as possible. What they don’t know is that these products are usually ranked very low for health benefits as rated by independent labs such as in the book, The NutriSearch Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements by Lyle MacWilliam.

In addition to the low health benefits these products offer, there are manufacturing concerns. Vitamins in the U.S. are governed by the food manufacturing laws which are very liberal. This means that the actual amounts of nutrients in each pill could vary wildly. Also, additional ingredients may be in the product without making it on the label. In essence, you really don’t know what you’re getting in the bottle.

In addition, the food standards do not even have a requirement that the vitamins be digestible which many aren’t. Nurses call these “bedpan bullets” as they are passed through the system with the writing still legible. That’s literally flushing your money down the toilet.

On the other hand, there are nutritional supplements that have a substantially higher level of nutrients that do provide benefits. While not required, some manufacturers produce their products to the same standards as over the counter and prescription drugs. These require that what’s on the label is in each tablet at the level prescribed. There is also a provision in these standards that the tablets dissolve in a stomach environment.

Naturally, these higher quality products will cost more but are a better value. It takes a little education to explain why they are a better value to the end consumer. That’s where the local distributor comes in.

The local distributor provides the education and marketing in return for a commission. The reason it’s sometimes called multi-level marketing or MLM is because in return for building a sales force to help educate consumers and sell products, the distributor is entitled to a percentage of the products sold through their organization.

What leaves a bad impression of network marketing is when it’s done incorrectly. Some people chase the money without regard to needs of the other people. When it’s done correctly, it’s about building and maintaining relationships. You should introduce and recommend products like you would a good movie or restaurant but not try to force it on them.

Bottom line is that network marketing is a legitimate distribution method that an average person can profit from by introducing and recommending products to help other people live better lives.