Even Donald Trump recognizes the power of network marketing and routinely advises people who are looking to build their income and increase their wealth to become involved in a network marketing opportunity. The fundamental business model behind a network marketing enterprise is solid, lucrative, and highly profitable.

The downside of course is that the typical network marketing opportunity is not something that most people want to be affiliated with. In old school network marketing, or multilevel marketing (MLM), the model used to actually market products or services was very tedious, and unappealing. Marketers were told to make a list of friends, family, and business associates—called a warm list – and then market aggressively to them. The prospects got tired of hearing the message, the entrepreneur got tired of not making any sales, and ultimately 97% of everybody who started in an MLM enterprise simply quit.

The good news is that old school MLM techniques have been completely eliminated through use of the Internet. In online network marketing today, the hunter becomes the hunted as leads come directly to the operator’s inbox. Marketing online today is a sophisticated and highly effective process that has enabled thousands of people to become millionaires in a relatively short period of time.

Whereas in old school MLM the number of millionaires was few and far between, today Internet millionaires are making names for themselves the world over. What makes Internet marketing so lucrative is that the old network model—which expands geometrically as people join the opportunity—still exists. What has changed is the way in which people are brought into an organization and how they are marketed to. Internet marketing is a relatively painless task, and if the entrepreneur finds a proven and tested system that can be launched with a minimum investment of time and money, success is almost guaranteed.

By finding a turnkey system that includes training, support, and coaching, an Internet entrepreneur can launch a business almost overnight, and start making money right away.

The object was to not only get the warm list contact to buy products or services from the entrepreneur, but to “join the opportunity.” The problem of course was that most of the people contacted were simply being polite to the entrepreneur who they knew and in many cases had a relationship with. But after a period of time, the endless recruiting and pressure became a nuisance, and the warm list became a very cold list. It was not uncommon for the old school MLM entrepreneur to spend more money on the business than they were making, and consequently about 97% failed.

The unfortunate fact is that the underlying business structure of an MLM enterprise is very strong. Network marketing, which offers the opportunity for geometric growth, is a very powerful business model. Network marketing allows an individual to create residual income and move away from the habit of trading time for dollars. The problem simply was that the process of finding customers and new members to join the opportunity was very difficult.

The Internet has changed all that. New school MLM – today simply called network marketing – is conducted online and uses state-of-the-art technologies to effectively market the opportunity and the product. By marketing online, the entrepreneur gains access to a marketplace of over 1 billion people worldwide who can be contacted 24/7, seven days a week, every day of the year. Internet marketing allows the entrepreneur to literally make money in their sleep, and takes all of the negatives out of the MLM process.

The best way to start in network marketing on the Internet is to plug into a turnkey system that has been tried and proven effective. Find a system that was developed by legitimate Internet marketing superstars, who have made their fortunes using the systems that you are adopting. Look for a program that is turnkey, and that provides significant training and support. With a minimum amount of time and money, you’ll be able to start marketing online almost immediately.