Network Marketing is Today Where Online Dating was Ten Years Ago

Online Dating was once something no one liked to admit they were doing, but changes in attitude and perception have made it a multi-million dollar industry. Now InterNetwork Marketing is following in the same footsteps, and the future is bright for this 'marriage' of the internet and network marketing.

InterNetwork Marketing (INM) is too impersonal. This is what critics are saying about the new business model being employed by an ever-growing number of network marketers. By combining internet marketing techniques with the NWM business model, the ‘renegades' of the industry are marketing themselves to a much larger, but much more targeted, audience than they could reach by employing the traditional methods used by ‘old-school' network marketers. Interestingly, there are many similarities between the way INM is being viewed today and the way Online Dating was being viewed about ten years ago. Since online dating is now over a billion dollar industry, perhaps its similarities to INM warrants a closer look.

When people first used the internet for dating purposes, many critics considered it weird and unnatural, because they felt it was attempting to circumvent the way in which two people were "intended" to initiate a relationship, with a face-to-face meeting. Critics of INM have a similar argument, claiming that attempting to automate the process of meeting new prospects somehow invalidates the potential for a meaningful working relationship to develop. What the critics have failed to grasp is that the only thing being automated is the initial search for a suitable partner. From there, both the online dater and the InterNetwork Marketer must use their interpersonal skills to cultivate and nurture the fragile relationship that has been established.

What the internet does is streamline the process of weeding out people who would probably not make a good match. How many people have dated someone they met in the more traditional sense, perhaps because they looked really good in a pair of jeans, only to find several months into the relationship that they had little or nothing in common with that person? Probably just about everyone. How many network markers have convinced someone that they had a great opportunity, and signed them up as a distributor, only to have that person lose interest after several months and drop out? The reason for failure in both cases is there were not shared values, goals and desires, so the relationship fizzled out.

The internet simply helps to eliminate these candidates, based on common interests. It's called attraction marketing, because people highlight what they can offer to potential candidates, and then position themselves where those candidates are looking for their solutions, and the term applies to both INM and Online Dating. Once the connection between candidates has been made, though, it is back to good-old fashioned human interactions to determine the success or failure of the relationship, but at least there is a lot more common ground to work from.

Online dating was created out of a need. People were leading much busier lives, and didn't have the time or energy to go bar-hopping to find a suitable mate. They also didn't have time to waste kissing a bunch of frogs to find their prince or princess. The reason the online dating services have done so well is because they have pre-qualified the candidates ahead of time. By taking the time to go through the screening process, fill out a profile and pay the monthly fee, the applicant has shown a genuine interest in finding a relationship that will work. This holds true for INM, as well.

Since network marketers are looking for not one but many suitable prospects to work with, the importance of pre-qualification is multiplied. By guiding people through a pre-screening process, only those people who are genuinely interested in a home-based business opportunity will seek to establish a connection with the online network marketer. Businesses will grow much more quickly, because everyone will be working with similar goals.

The fact is that the old style of harassing friends and family is unprofessional, entirely inefficient and irksome to everyone involved...just like the awkwardness of going out three or four nights a week hoping you somehow magically stumble across the right person in a bar or club. INM is a much more professional marketing approach, and will improve the image of network marketing dramatically as more people recognize the value of this system and begin to reap the rewards.

People never used to admit that they used online dating services, but that has changed, and happy couples are now an online dating service's best marketing tool. Network marketing currently has a stigma associated with it, but its image is changing, and INM is helping to make that happen.