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Consumer Direct Marketing vs MLM

Direct Sales have come a long ways in the last 100 years.  From the Fuller Brush man to Electrolux Vacuums to the Encyclopedia Britannica, we have seen a series of companies knocking on our doors to show us their wares.  These sales/marketing occupations were very simple.  You sold a product - you made a commission.

Then came the party plans that brought us Tupperware, Avon and Mary Kay.  While the commissions for these programs were based on sales of high quality products, they added the prospect of earning commissions from other people's sales also.  These programs were primarily marketed to housewives who wanted to bring a little extra income into the house.  The problem was that it took a lot of people working with you to make a substantial amount of money.  

About fifty years ago, multi-level-marketing came upon the scene.  With the promise of residual income for the rest of your life, low entry fees and a lot of marketing hype - It has been like the wild, wild west.  As we wrote in our discussion about MLMs and the FTC, this form of business has a lot of inherent flaws and was easy to exploit by those out to make an easy buck.  

Thirty-five+ years ago, a small group of people took a look at MLM and saw the pitfalls of this type of sales.  They went about designing a program that took the best sales ideas of each of the above and apply them in an ethical way.  They called it Consumer Direct Marketing.

Unfortunately, some misguided individuals have confused Consumer Direct Marketing with Multi-Level-Marketing.  We believe it is important to distinguish the many differences between the two business models.  Upon examination, we're confident you will recognize that they have almost nothing in common with each other.  Also, you will understand why Consumer Direct Marketing companies continue to succeed while hundreds of MLM firms have closed their doors.