Network marketing

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Network marketing (also network marketing , multi-level marketing (MLM) , recommendation marketing or structured sales ) is a special form of direct sales . In contrast to classic direct sales, customers are encouraged to acquire additional customers as independent sales partners. Depending on how they are structured, network marketing systems can resemble an illegal pyramid scheme or pass it off as network marketing.

In Germany, MLM (multi-level marketing or structured sales) are legal if they do not violate No. 14 of the appendix to Section 3 (3) UWG, i.e. do not give the impression that they are solely or mainly by introducing additional participants to the System, remuneration can be obtained.

features

Customers can work as independent consultants and at the same time resell the products. Since almost all network marketing companies give their customers high premiums for attracting new customers, there is a proximity to forbidden pyramid schemes. It depends on the exact design of the system whether the promotion of new customers / members or product sales are in the foreground.

Another feature is the strictly vertical structure of the sales structure, which visually corresponds to an upside-down, widely branched tree. This structure leads to a broadly branched sales system with independent consultants.

The designation of the organizational structure as a network is incorrect insofar as the individual points in a network are connected horizontally, vertically and diagonally and interact with one another. The network here means rather the type of sales: The sale takes place on the one hand via recommendation marketing and on the other hand in the personal environment of the consultant. As the size of its structure increases, it builds up a larger social network in order to win new consultants for itself or the company. The networking pattern is similar to the behavior of users of social networks on the Internet , such as Facebook , XING , LinkedIn , MeinVZ . Potential members are "invited" by members to join the organization, either for a fee or free of charge.

Special form of direct sales

In the case of classic direct sales , in-house, specialized field staff are usually used (in-house staff). These sell directly to the customer, eliminating middlemen. The employees in network marketing are a growing network of independent and self-reliant laypeople (external staff) who work full-time or part-time as resellers or intermediaries. In comparison, the number of sales representatives in direct sales is low, which is why the cost share of sales can be lower in direct sales.

Since the salespeople are permanently employed in traditional direct sales companies, they are only partially paid based on success. Employees in marketing networks, on the other hand, bear a far higher economic risk, since their remuneration depends exclusively on the success of sales or recruitment.

Difference to recommendation marketing

The referral marketing is a true part actively promoted and desired, but no guided marketing action ( viral marketing ). Steering is difficult because the passing on of recommendations is based on unexpected contacts from (satisfied) customers. The main goal is therefore not to induce customers to recruit new customers, but to build a positive image through above-average customer satisfaction. In addition, for most companies, recommendation marketing is just one measure among many.

organization structure

Example of a hierarchy structure in which the points are passed on

The organizational structure of network marketing is graphically similar to a pyramid with an upwardly decreasing number of network members (mediating customers or business partners). The main differences to classic companies are the flat hierarchies in network marketing, as the higher-level network members have no formal authority. However, companies often have fewer hierarchical levels.

Depending on the compensation plan, the direct seller is paid a certain part of the total commission . The conveyor ( engl. "To sponsor" = promote) having recruited it receives on the sales of hired by him commercial agent a fee for service or Super commission (partially applies the condition that it has a provision stage is at least located higher than the respective sales representatives itself ). Each level, if any, is assigned a unique share of commission, whereby the promotion to the next higher level in most network marketing companies is linked to certain weekly, monthly or half-yearly sales (cf. hierarchical structures in wholesale - country manager, division manager, department manager , Team leader, salesperson).

The term “ pyramid scheme ”, which is often confused with this , is used for an illegal variant of network marketing in which the acquisition of new employees or fellow players is in the foreground and not the actual sale of products or services. From the point of view of network marketing companies, the reason for the mix-up is the unwillingness to learn on the part of the “newcomers” who are not ready to acquire the essence of the business in order to avoid unfair methods. Critics argue, however, that aggressive, sometimes unfair advertising methods for products and new employees are already in place in many network marketing systems and that responsibility is only shifted to the lower, executive levels.

Example millionaire

An author wants to sell 100,000 copies of a book for € 25 each. Instead of looking for 100,000 end customers, he wins 10 sales partners to whom he gives a 60% discount for every 10,000 copies. The sales partners also look for 10 sub-sales partners to whom they grant a 40% discount. After two further stages of resale with 30% or 20% discount, a retailer must finally sell 10 copies at the original price of € 25. From the sales proceeds of € 250 he has € 50 left.

When all books have been sold, the author has earned 40% (€ 1 million) of the total sales of € 2.5 million, each of the 10 main sales partners still earns 2% (€ 50,000). Multi -stage reselling makes it difficult to identify intermediate sellers and final buyers.

Attendees number Decrease estate total price Sales proceeds
author 1 100,000 - € 1,000,000
1. Distributor 10 10,000 60% € 100,000 € 150,000
2. Distribution partner 100 1,000 40% € 15,000 € 17,500
3. Distributors 1,000 100 30% 1,750 € € 2,000
4. Distributors 10,000 10 20% € 200 250 €
End customer 100,000 1 0% 25 € - 
Example Ergo Pro

In another typical form of organization, only a fraction of the commission is paid out directly according to a defined career plan. The rest is distributed within the organization. Through experience or performance, the members rise in levels and receive a higher right to bonuses. The number of levels varies from company to company. With the Ergo Pro (formerly HMI), a beginner only receives around a quarter of the commission for his placement. The organization distributes the majority of the remuneration to representatives above the intermediary's career level for support and induction, office costs, training and further education as well as motivation work according to a defined career plan.

The Ergo Pro commission plan with 6 levels:

  • Level 1 - Representative (REP)
  • Level 2 - Senior Representative (LREP)
  • Level 3 - Main Representative (HREP)
  • Level 4 - Chief Representative (CREP)
  • Level 5 - Level 5 Executive Representative (DREP)
  • Level 6 - Level 6 Executive Representative (DREP)
Level / position Min. Units Prov. Own sales from the sub-agent
6 / Directorate Rep. 50,000 € 23.00 € 2.30
5 / Directorate Rep. 20,000 € 20.70 € 2.70
4 / chief rep. 7,000 € 18.00 € 4.00
3 / main rep. 2,700 € 14.00 € 4.50
2 / Head Rep. 1,000 € 9.50 € 4.50
1 / representative Certification, up to 500 5.00 € € 3.00 bonuses. € 4.00

Source : Internal information ERGO Pro 2014.

One "unit" (EH) corresponds to a contract turnover of 520 € (example: 100 € monthly fee, 30 year term = 45,760 € = 88 EH)

development

Customer loyalty and customer acquisition with the help of recommendations is not new in terms of commercial history. Ancient trade travelers and local artisans and scribes used personal recommendations from their customers to expand their businesses.

The recommendation business experienced its first operationalization with the emergence of the large direct sales organizations in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. While the industrial mass production at that time found its sales channel in the classic trade business via specialist and retail trade, individual manufacturers began to market their products extensively without intermediate trade directly to end customers with the help of structured, hierarchically organized representatives.

During this time, two similar but clearly different forms of distribution emerged, which later developed in very different ways. On the one hand, there is direct sales , in which a company uses its own sales force to demonstrate and sell its products to customers. On the other hand there was network marketing, in which a company offered its customers a marketing plan in which they could act as independent consultants and resell the products themselves. Vorwerk is regarded as a pioneer and role model in direct sales . On the other hand, Amway is considered a pioneer in network marketing .

The personal recommendation originally represented a strategic cost advantage, as the nationwide expensive advertising was saved. This advantage has visibly been lost over time, especially in network marketing, which has meanwhile become an expensive form of distribution due to the large number of independent consultants.

Advocacy groups

In the United States, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) unites more than 200 direct sales companies. In other English-speaking countries there are other associations with the same name.

The European umbrella organization SELDIA - The European Direct Selling Association was founded in 1991 under the name Federation of European Direct Selling Associations "- FEDSA. In 2011 FEDSA changed its name to SELDIA and is the leading association of the direct selling industry in Europe.

In Germany, the Federal Association Network Marketing e. V. (BVNM) founded. It sees itself as a neutral representation of the interests of companies and self-employed people active in the field of network marketing in Germany. In Switzerland, the Swiss Network Marketing Association (SVNM) pursues the same goals.

In the world trade association World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) 60 national industry associations are united claims to be.

Scientific reception

Only a few chambers and universities deal with the investigation of network marketing . They usually issue warnings about dubious business practices. The IHK Stuttgart provides information about special forms and how they are differentiated from illegal business practices, while the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce works out the characteristics of dubious network marketing companies.

In science, the topic is only marginally examined: at the University of Münster there is the Institute for Trade Management and Network Marketing under the direction of Dieter Ahlert . Claudia Groß wrote a dissertation in 2008 with the title Multi-Level-Marketing - Identity and Ideology in Network Marketing , the results of which are presented online. For more publications on the topic, see the literature section .

At the University of Applied Sciences in Worms , Michael Zacharias carried out a study in collaboration with the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce , which can be found in his book "Network Marketing - Beruf und Berufung". On the other hand, there are numerous rumors and false statements about other studies circulating on the net.

Market shares

The global market share of the network marketing industry in total retail is well below 1 percent. According to information from the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, sales in 2011 were $ 154 billion in direct sales. The US accounted for 20% (~ 30 billion) of this , followed by Japan with 16%.

United States

In the United States, direct sales account for 0.75% of total retail sales. The average sales growth in direct sales there for the years 2001 to 2010 was 1.2% per year, and was therefore mostly lower than the growth rates for the entire retail sector in the same period.

The majority of salespeople in the US are white, female, work 30+ hours a week, and sell to network marketing companies. The number of employees is 15.8 million, although it fell in 2010 compared to the previous year. Overall, the number of employees grew by an average of 3.8% between 2001 and 2010.

DACH countries

In 2011, direct sales generated US $ 3.743 billion in Germany, US $ 261 million in Austria and US $ 485 million in Switzerland. In the same year 284,906 employees worked in Germany, 14,600 in Austria and 12,210 in Switzerland in direct sales.

Products and companies

Well-known structured sales in the area of financial services ( financial sales) generally appear as direct sales through commercial agents :

see also: formerly Investors Overseas Services

Well-known structural distributors in other areas:

Product groups sold in the USA in 2005

  • 33.6% cosmetics, body care and accessories
  • 26.8% household
  • 19.1% vitamin, diet and food supplements
  • 15.0% services and miscellaneous
  • 5.0% leisure time, books and toys

see also: List of Multi-Level Marketing Companies in the USA

Consumer goods and capital goods markets

Direct sales of consumer goods

In the consumer goods sector, network marketing is often designed as commercial sales. Some providers see themselves as a relatively new sub-form of network marketing without their own trading operations. They advertise that there is supposedly no sale at all here, since only a recommendation of the product (s) is made and the customer then orders directly from the company. In the financial services sector and in the tourism industry, this is normatively given due to the service characteristic of the product. In consumer goods network marketing, however, this sales partner only buys his own needs once a month in order not to lose his right to the commission of the sub-agents he has recruited, and does not trade in the goods himself. This has the ethical advantage that no representative with a high capital commitment is economically ruined. However, commissions and bonuses are measured on the turnover achieved and thus on the sales success of the referrer. For this purpose, the end customer is encouraged to always place his direct order in the factory quoting the agent number of the consultant. The statement that there is no sale here is at least misleading here.

Customer Relationship Management

In the capital goods sector, network marketing is much less offensive, especially not in the depths of a free commercial agency structure with several levels. The so-called customer relationship management , which is implemented with the help of corresponding CRM software systems , is understood as a database application for products that enable the structured and, if necessary, automated recording of all customer contacts, technical order data, trading processes and thus also the referral contacts requires. Due to their permanent and comprehensive availability, these data support the coordinated work of various, mostly permanent, customer advisors and, if necessary, engineers or lawyers, from planning and preparing personal customer visits to generating offer texts and connecting to merchandise management systems to automated mailings and commission accounting .

In relation to institutional buyers, commercial customers and authorities, the recommendation is particularly important because commercial addresses can hardly be regarded as business secrets. Unlike in the 1970s, address directories are now distributed on CD and on the Internet. The result is a very high number of contacts with commercial or freelance and official decision-makers, who in turn, as a countermeasure, make great efforts to block undesired attempts at contact.

Furthermore, CRM systems offer sales management and management the opportunity to monitor and optimize the level of recommendation of individual customers. This recording, which is particularly common in the sale of capital goods, is also used to evaluate customers, since good recommenders as so-called multipliers can be very relevant even with low sales or contribution margins ( see: Customer value ). The evaluation of the performance of the individual sales employee is included and can also be used as a basis for performance-based payment.

When measuring customer value , an attempt is made to include the value of the recommendations. This value depends on how strong the influence of the sender is. Factors such as the station's satisfaction and the extent to which its characteristics as an opinion leader are also taken into account.

criticism

Consultant competence

In network marketing for consumer goods, consultants do not need any specific requirements such as B. a school or professional qualification. As traders or sales representatives, you are responsible for your commercial, social and commercial registrations yourself from the start and are usually instructed by non-businesspeople who earn money from you in your so-called upline . All sales representatives who are above a commercial agent in the hierarchy are designated as uplines or higher-level structures , and all sales agents standing below him are designated as downlines or employees .

The internal training is usually limited to product training, information on how to use the order forms and so-called personality training without a recognized qualification. However, these are not carried out by trained psychologists or lecturers, but by sales representatives based on experience. For his training, in particular in the financial services sector according to EU directive 2002/92 / EG ( European intermediary directive ) or as a non-medical practitioner for advice on health-promoting food supplements , the representative himself is responsible.

In the case of many network marketing companies, on the other hand, the opportunities for high earnings by building up their own representative structure and commissions through lower levels are shown as decisive elements in sales promotion. That is why many network marketing companies are moving on the borderline to illegal progressive customer acquisition, but they cannot be clearly assigned to it.

Since 2005 there has been a new law in Austria that requires every potential employee (e.g. VFG, provident finance company) to identify themselves to the customer with their business number. It is a criminal offense (from € 11,000) to go to the market without being able to identify yourself as a certified insurance salesman . In order to get the trade number, you have to take an intensive course and an examination at the WK, only then you get your trade and can go to the market alone.

Abuse of trust

Critics also argue that network marketing for consumer goods often abuses personal relationships of trust in order to be able to market dubious, nonsensical and / or overpriced products. The products and services offered by dubious companies often do not correspond to the promised effects or economic success. In many cases, suggestions of health effects through the products offered by marketing networks are accused of charlatanism and quackery .

Especially in the field of nutritional supplements and cosmetic preparations such as Noni , the promised effects rarely occur, despite the often high purity. Scientific tests currently show no effects.

The neurologist Manfred Stöhr warned for example against anti-aging products in both the network marketing and on various teleshopping offered -Sendern, and designated like brown earth, Himalayan salt or apple cider vinegar as a largely ineffective and pure profiteering. He even describes the use of hormones such as testosterone or melatonin against aging as dangerous.

In contrast to the capital goods market or medical advice, customer advice in network sales of consumer goods and financial services usually follows standardized sales guidelines, whereby, in contrast to shop or pharmacy sales, the creation of a personal relationship is more pronounced. In this way, dubious and overpriced products can be sold through personal relationships of trust, which could only be sold with difficulty or not at all in conventional sales channels. For example, leading test institutes for water filters come to the conclusion that these are superfluous, if not harmful to health, in Germany, because after a short period of use they release more germs and pollutants than they filter out.

In network marketing sales, however, such devices are sold with the help of personal advice among friends and mostly without knowledge of food technology with a high proportion of commission for up to well over € 500. Similar questionable information and trading practices are used by sales such as B. known with OPC , Noni or Aloe Vera products or insurance .

Regardless of the quality of the products or the advice, some critics find it questionable to use personal contacts purposefully for profit. The impact on social relationships is considerable. Family members, friends and acquaintances are addressed unsolicited with offers and advertisements in which, due to the personal relationship, they often do not use any of the defense mechanisms used otherwise. This explains the added value and success of the form of distribution, but can be judged as morally dubious. It is not uncommon for acquaintances and friends to turn away from network representatives in order to avoid unwanted advertising.

Passing on acquisition costs to the public

Reputable network marketing companies require their merchants to adhere to anti-spam regulations and point out that UCE and Usenet - spam are not only prohibited but criminal. Still, a significant amount of spam comes from promotions by network marketing staff.

A typical feature of network advertising is that the activity is not described in detail. Terms such as “work from home”, “independence” and “free time management” are advertised; at the same time very high incomes, e.g. B. “500–6000 € per month”. Marketing networks are also advertised in a similar way in job advertisements in print media, on leaflets and stickers; Here, however, the advertisers bear their own costs. As in conventional sales structures, the sales are partly achieved with pressure, which is why network marketing is often criticized. Occasionally there is also pressure to make start-up investments and to set up a warehouse. Interested parties can sometimes be attracted by hotel events with high commission promises.

The absolute share of commission per share of sales, however, usually decreases upwards within the structure. The cumulative total commission, however, increases significantly with the number of directly or indirectly recruited salespeople across the individual levels. In principle, those involved do not receive any salaries or comparable fixed, non-performance-related payments.

Network marketing advertisements in the job advertisement newsgroups de.markt.arbeit , as well as angry discussions and comments between the advertisements were the reason why these advertisement newsgroups had to be converted into moderated newsgroups in 1998 and advertisements that were explicitly banned from payments of the employee or contractor are linked to the employer or client.

The abuse of newsgroups and the sending of network marketing spam into the “cold market” are now considered by many network companies to be unprofessional and ineffective, so these methods are not recommended.

Recruiting business partners

The success of network marketing depends on the quality and number of people who are recruited ("sponsored") by each dealer or agent. Advertising usually begins first with relatives, friends and acquaintances (“warm market”), who are increasingly viewed as potential customers.

It is generally not possible to tell from classified ads whether they are serious offers from marketing networks or illegal pyramid schemes . Serious companies inform new dealers about the conditions of self-employment according to the provisions of commercial law . Since network marketing originally originated in the USA, the dealers in German-speaking countries are sometimes referred to as "supervisors", "team leaders", "directors" or "vice presidents", which is supposed to tell something about the position and sales figures of the individual dealers within the company .

Business risk

Unlike a company with permanent employees that pays salaries and could suffer losses by hiring unsuitable, unsuccessful employees, there is no such risk for a network marketing company. There is no financial risk involved if, in addition to successful business partners, those who fail are also recruited. Individuals who work in a marketing network as traders or sales representatives bear the entrepreneurial risk alone and only earn commissions and profits from their trading margin and commissions from their downline.

In network marketing, recruiting other partners serves to build up one's own sales network in order to benefit from the sales of these salespeople via bonus payments and / or performance remuneration distributed by the company according to certain distribution keys. A revenue-independent remuneration based on professional qualifications or scientific work and technical skills is not provided. Every network marketing employee in the consumer goods sector therefore first receives the same contract regardless of his or her résumé and experience and then qualifies for higher positions in the company through his results. Network marketing in the capital goods market, on the other hand, requires well-founded IT and software knowledge to operate and evaluate CRM systems.

In this context, there is only a limited need to check the suitability of the recruited consumer goods representatives; Instead, there is a considerable incentive to recruit as many people as possible, including those without commercial training or sales talent, who in the worst case can neither assess the product properties nor have knowledge of commercial law or the customer-oriented conduct of sales talks. Since the new network marketing employees mostly sell and recruit in their personal environment, the number of newly recruited people, whose circle of acquaintances can be skimmed off, is decisive. However, unsuitable business partners cost the network marketing staff time and money in recruiting and training downstream staff.

In organizations in which the network marketing employee / seller himself acts as a middleman and has to buy goods in order to sell them, it is also accepted that business partners will be left with the products and not be able to make a profit . Unneeded people, for example the unemployed, who are out of the question as buyers in a desperate financial situation, are sometimes offered promising positions in the company hierarchy, which of course can only be achieved after corresponding sales success. However, the business risk is different for individual network marketing companies due to the different concepts. If the earnings are generated from the profit margin, there is a financial risk in getting stuck with the goods, in pure recommendation marketing the employee has no financial risk.

As soon as your own so-called downline or structure with independent sales representatives has been developed, there is the risk of recruited employees stopping. Since there is no obligation to work in network marketing (see service contract law § 611  ff. BGB ) and therefore no sales obligation , employees in network marketing have an increased interest in generating the highest possible sales within their "downline".

Due to a lack of knowledge of customer treatment, company management, sales , sales technology and staff management, as well as a lack of training, induction by the sponsor / company, a lack of personal drive on the part of the employee, but also for reasons that lie in the skimming strategy of this sales system, fluctuation is in marketing -Networks generally high. The associated risks remain with the self-employed.

Network marketing companies often fail to alert potential business partners to the risk of market saturation . The impression is often given that each level of the downline has enough people ready to buy the product in question. With an exponentially increasing number of sellers, saturation can be reached quickly (parallel to the illegal pyramid scheme). Newcomers quickly reach the limit of market saturation when the private environment is exhausted.

Earning opportunities

Actual member earnings can only be estimated as not all direct sellers are required to disclose financial information. Critics doubt that a relevant part of the members earns an income at all. The majority of the members earn little or nothing. Former members report net losses because the costs for training, seminars, motivational materials and travel expenses have exceeded their gross income.

In addition, some companies offer savings options such as discounts in kind when purchasing products.

A fee, also known as a license fee in the franchise network, is incurred annually by some network marketing companies - in contrast to the registration fee (also known as the registration or activation fee). It is collected by some distributors for the administrative costs of a distribution partner. This includes, for example, a commission statement or your own website.

The earning potential is heavily influenced by the type of compensation plan used and how it is structured in detail. Much of the frustration of network marketers comes from ignorance of this factor and ignorance of each type of compensation plan.

See also

literature

  • Edwin A. Biedermann: Recommendation marketing - consumer networks , MSB-Verlag, Springe, 2015 (7th edition), ISBN 978-3-9817610-0-9
  • Nicolette Bohn: Small encyclopedia of sects, psychogroups and structured sales , Paderborn: Krone, Voltmedia, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86763303-1
  • Bastian Bredenkötter, Karl Musiol: “Switch to success!” Paradoxical promises of work and recognition in structured insurance sales . Edition Sigma, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-8360-1107-5 .
  • Richard Geml, Hermann Lauer: Marketing and Sales Lexicon. 4th edition. Verlag Schäffer-Poeschel, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 3-87881-183-7 .
  • Claudia Groß: Multi-Level Marketing. Identity and ideology in network marketing. Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-531-15936-2 (also dissertation at the University of Mannheim 2007).
  • Udo Paul: Opportunity for structured sales - from the base to the top. Oesch, Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-85833-447-2 .
  • CH Schmahl: Multi Level Marketing. Explanation of network marketing and its integration into the economic context with a description of the opportunities and risks ... Marketing as an alternative sales channel . Shaker , Aachen 2006, ISBN 3-8322-5469-2 .
  • Kai Wünsche: Differentiation between permissible multi-level marketing systems and impermissible progressive customer acquisition. In: Operations consultant. Year 2012, issue 5, pp. 273–278.
  • Michael Zacharias : Network Marketing. Profession and calling, career opportunities in the growth market of direct sales. Edition-Success-Verlag, Zurich 2005/2008, ISBN 3-938826-08-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c How do you recognize dubious forms of sales in the area of ​​direct sales, MLM, network marketing, recommendation marketing, etc. Hamburg Chamber of Commerce , accessed on March 10, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b direct sales, network marketing, multi-level marketing and structured sales. fakten-direktvertrieb.de, accessed on May 10, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c Admissibility of lay advertising and related forms of distribution. IHK Stuttgart, January 1, 2010, archived from the original on January 24, 2016 ; Retrieved September 12, 2014 .
  4. ↑ About DSA. DSA.org, accessed March 10, 2013 .
  5. ^ History of Direct Selling. seldia.eu, accessed on December 21, 2013 .
  6. ↑ About WFDSA. (No longer available online.) Wfdsa.org, archived from the original on March 5, 2013 ; Retrieved March 10, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / wfdsa.org
  7. ↑ Institute for Trade Management and Network Marketing ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marketing-centrum.de
  8. ↑ http://www.ffekten-direktvertrieb.de/ueber-die-website
  9. ↑ Global Statistical Report 2011. (PDF; 126 kB) (No longer available online.) World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, June 20, 2012, archived from the original on March 28, 2013 ; Retrieved March 10, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / wfdsa.org
  10. ↑ Estimated Annual Sales of US Retail and Food Services Firms by Kind of Business: 1992 Through 2007 (PDF). (PDF; 19 kB) (No longer available online.) US Census Bureau , archived from the original on May 8, 2009 ; Retrieved March 10, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.census.gov
  11. ↑ a b c Direct Selling by the Numbers Calendar Year 2010. Direct Selling Association, accessed March 10, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Fact Sheet US Direct Selling. (PDF; 188 kB) Direct Selling Association, accessed on March 10, 2013 .
  13. ^ FMA: Lyoness could not have a banking license . In: Der Standard , April 17, 2013; Lyoness gets rid of the litigation . In: Der Standard , October 20, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  14. ↑ Direct Selling Association DSA, sales breakdown according to product groups
  15. ↑ List of network marketing companies in the USA on Wikipedia
  16. ^ Opinions of EU experts on Noni
  17. ↑ dpa: Doctors warn against anti-aging products. In: fr.de. May 28, 2004, accessed June 24, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Press release on household water filters
  19. ↑ Article from Gesundzuhause.de
  20. ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Water filters - mostly superfluous in: test 01/2001, accessed on February 4, 2013.
  21. ↑ Water filters for well over 500 €
  22. ↑ How much is earned? fakten-direktvertrieb.de, accessed on May 10, 2013 .
  23. ↑ Wealth for everyone! fakten-direktvertrieb.de, accessed on May 10, 2013 .