Exactly what are the best Network Marketing companies?

In order to compile information like this, we need to establish what exactly "the best" means, and you may be surprised to find out that it all depends on who you are and what your needs are. If we are to determine which companies are the most successful, then simply going to a list of the top ten highest earners is one way to do it. One must ask however, does the highest profit mean that it is the best one for you? Probably not. Here are some companies I've compiled in a list posted on a different thread, to give you a basic idea of who is leading the industry.

1. Avon: 10 billion in revenue.
2. Amway: 8 billion in revenue.
3. Vorwerk/Jafra: 3.5 billion.
4. Mary Kay: 3 billion.
5. Herbalife: 2.5 billion.
6. Primerica Financial Services: 2 billion.
7. Tupperware: 2 billion.
8. Natura Cosmetics: 2 billion.
9. Oriflame: 1.7 billion
10. Forever Living: 1.7 billion

Some of these companies are considered by some to be pioneers, having paved the way for hundreds of others to follow and try out the market. These very same companies have made a few mistakes over the years, but there is much to be learned from researching them. The best network marketing companies can be determined by quality. What is the product like? Does it carry a high standard of quality? Does the company have a good reputation? Look at Avon at the top of the previous list, its impressive when you consider its earnings, but what percentage of that do you think you will be able to secure for you and your family? It is very possible that super companies such as AVON would have been ideal to start a career with when they were first starting out, but now its possible that the market is flooded, not only with products, but also with reps.

The best network marketing company may very well be that starting company, hungry for reps, and waiting to unleash a new product. Study the companies that interest you, make sure you appreciate and personally stand by the product, that way you can represent it passionately to potential customers. Make sure its something you can demonstrate, something you know is not fake, or fraudulent. Make sure that the requirements to stay eligible for its compensation plan are reasonable, and that you are capable of maintaining them, even surpassing them long term. Learn by your mistakes, and learn by those of others. The best network marketing companies are essentially those that you can best utilize. There are no gold mines, no instant millionaire treasures in the mlm world, only opportunities to slowly build your own.

Hello WallaceL,

I agree with you that if riches occur quickly in Network Marketing they are likely to vanish just as quickly. You point to the Top Ten companies based on turnover, which is a valid arguement, but what may be more relevant is the annual attrition rate within these companies, the rate at which organisations have to generate new distributors just to stand still.

It could be argued that product selling through Network Marketing in highly competetive markeplaces, cosmetics and nutrition to name just two, is a system of the past that has now been superceded. The 'new' model for building a successful business, as proven by companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Skype to mention just a few, is based around giving away free products that provide the user with a benefit, and this also now applies to Network Marketing.

Equally entry costs and monthly auto-ships, or spend requirements, in the new generation of Network Marketing companies have been greatly reduced. This confirms your comment that building a network takes time as lower individual monthly returns require more people to obtain the same turnover, however the lower costs more than compensate by allowing more people to afford the opportunity and a greatly reduced attrition rate.

After 20 years in the industry with one of your Top Ten I believe that Network Marketing has moved into another phase and that, as you say, the Top Ten may well have reached their peak.

Well, I am agreeing with you and your list but don’t you think hat most of the down line only struggling in earning a good amount of money. I have gone through various plans and the one mentioned in your list. I think there should be need to change in network marketing to make it friendly for all users.

Great reply Christopher, I couldn't appreciate your insight more. I've found even with the research I've done in a few years that watching these business evolve, interact, and grow has at times become as complex as the weather, and you're right, there are definitely multiple ways to measure the success of any company. This can sometimes make it confusing for the guy that leaps on the Amway bandwagon and wonders why he just can't see to sore when he chose one of the giants. At the same time, it seems a bit more risky when you get involved with those just starting out. You may just lose all that you have invested, OR, you may just make your investment back 10,000 times over. I think this is one of those things that make the Network Marketing industry so fascinating to me. Giving away free products is definitely a more modern approach that supercedes the more traditional models, and honestly I think its an ideal way to get your product in consumer hands. Its like saying, "here, I have this amazing new thing, please try it" instead of "look at this, it looks cool, you should spend your hard earned money, you MIGHT like it". This of course is easier said than done with expensive things like electronics, but its an ideal delivery vehicle for things like supplements, cosmetics, shakes and skin creams.

Hello guys, Network Marketing and getting revenue has been culture in today's world.

I would never choose a bigger company, I'd rather take my chances with something more potent. I don't mind a sense of risk, it comes down to being brave enough to take a chance, and besides, you're the person who will ultimately decide whether the company succeeds or not so long as its legit. Why would you go to work for Amway when there is nothing left to pioneer, the grid is already cemented with people that have built huge networks having already recruited as many people as possible, and even as big a world as it is out there, the getting was good yesterday, today, its already gotten! I think a company like Scentsy has a fantastic shot, it doesn't involve nutritional supplements, or anything they claim to be legendary, its simple, affordable, and very easy to market. Its the gimmick aspect that pollutes this industry, and the fact that you have to research the validity of nearly every claim you come across (though I would do that anyway with everything). People are tired of getting excited only to be let down, whether its an instant Obese to skinny pill, a cancer preventing super water, or a bracelet that rejuvenates your health, when too many of those let you down, you become cynical.

I like Christopher's point about costs becoming cheaper and making it possible for more direct investment, because it does help make up for the time you'd have had to put in to achieve the same result 20 years ago, but at the same time this has also lead to more complex gimmicks. The claims are harder to debunk, and each new product has 3 competitors. When I look at companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon or Skype, I don't so much see success based on the 0 cost of the service, but the timing and quality of the product when it was introduced. Google just had the right mix of elements that turned it into a monster, as EVERYONE uses Google. Massive businesses stay vested in maintaining their desired place on Google search results, and at this point I tend to think people that choose a different search engine are silly or just being anti-mainstream. Much more luck and good planning went into their success than good marketing, in my opinion anyway.

Always researching the latest new trends, and businesses, I have finally found one that meets and exceeds all my attributes I consider important to succeed in any business.  Recession proof, lowest prices, highest demand products or services, no to low cost start up, value which everyone is focused on in this down economy, and most of all, zero attrition which is the killer in all network marketing companies in my experience.

Everyone rents movies, either from cable or satellite at $6.99 each, or NetFlix and BlockBuster at up to $10.00 each, and the newest competition, RedBox at $1.20 per movie, but given the gimmick of having to return it by 9:00 pm, most pay for two or more nights, never mind gas.  Then you have the traditional movie theatre which for average family is now near $30.00 for a night out at the movies.  If you could save money and get unlimited first release movies for only $2.08 per month, would you switch?

This is an example of how I evaluate a new business, value, first and foremost, mainstream product, movies, mass market, convenience, as in direct to home movies, streaming if you have fast internet, and above all, everyone can make an extra income, no attrition means no failure, it is as simple as that in the network marketing industry.  I have seen it all, and very few deals get my attention as most requre selling, I prefer telling, not selling.

Success to all,

There is no doubt that MLM/Network Marketing is one of the very few ways through which the average person can afford to go into business for themself. If the basic start up costs are $200 to $300, and the monthly auto-ship less than $50, it is amazing to think that anyone can build and maintain a large and profitable organisation for a basic cost of less than $1,000 a year. One of the problems is that a lot of people seem to forget that MLM is a genuine business opportunity that is subject to the normal rules of business.

I agree with Rick's comments about Facebook, Google, Amazon and Skype, and with hindsight it is easy to see that all these businesses had a product that met a market need and a business plan good enough to see them through the early market development phase that any business must endure. Clasically there is period of product and market development that builds to a point where the growth pattern suddenly accelerates, the 'hockey stick effect'. I believe the definition of a 'ground floor opportunity' in MLM is, as in any business, to find and join a company that has been through the development phase and is about to hit the acceleration phase in it's market penetration, and then stick with it.

Historically there have always plenty of new start-up businesses created every year, but most will fail in their first year. For that reason it is always safer to look at companies that have been around for about three years with a good record of steady growth and product development in a niche market with high growth potential. That may sound old fashioned, but there has always been a high risk associated with investing in any start-up business even with a prototype product, and yet we see people rushing to join new MLM businesses that are in a pre-launch marketing phase, some without even a protoype product.

Of course it would be wonderful to join a start-up on the ground floor but it depends how you define 'ground floor' and I seriously doubt the wisdom of joining something that is still working off-plan and with no footings in place.

Personally I have moved away from direct product selling, trying to convince someone to either change their brand or start using something they have never used before, so I would struggle with Scentsy on that basis. I see greater potential in something like the free web-based My Shopping Genie App that pops up on the front page of Google to help people save time and money browsing and shopping on the Internet for the products they were going to buy anyway. Companies can also benefit by getting themselves on the front page of Google by branding the Genies they give away. Well worth a look anyway.

I've thought long and hard on this and I'm not certain that Network Marketing is the way to get ahead in this day and age, at least in general. I don't like to join the cry party about today's economic times, but facing the facts leads me to recognize that they really are more complicated. When I was young, college meant a high paying job for most people. Things have really changed though, outsourcing is so out of control that we even have a San Francisco bridge that says Made in China. Going to college now yields about as much chance of landing a job as a high school degree does. Even if you do get it, you will most likely be paid the least any establishment can get away with paying you. I know how cynical I sound, but my point is that Network Marketing seems like a tough business to succeed in when the people I'd have focused on to sell to 20 years ago are struggling to keep their mortgages. Dare I say it the older generations have managed to save enough during simpler times to die comfortably, but I don't envy the youthful at all. If you're not certain what I mean, look at what you go through to get a basic driver's license now compared to when you first started driving. This combined with a fairly noticeable boost in population and I am wondering how in the world today's AVON reps (for example) do it.

There are those luck roads similar to what Rick touched on, like having invested in something like Microsoft before it exploded, or Google, but in general it seems like only the most clever and dog eat dog people manage to get by in this industry. Its ironic to hear myself say that in fact, because I am describing myself at my worst which is why I decided to get uninvolved. I did well enough in the mlm industry to put some money away and send my daughters to school, but if I had to try it again the way things are now,I don't know that it would be worth it. Anyway, great topic guys, and I apologize if I come off as being negative in regard to direct selling. I'm thankful for what I got out of it, but I just feel weary of its place now.