The independent sales people go by many names, they are usually un-salaried and can be called distributors, consultants or sales consultants, independent business agents, or business agents or franchise owners etc. They represent the parent company or the beginning company and they are paid on a commission basis equal to the amount of volume they sell. They sell to consumers by building their own customer base through networking with other marketers sometimes called affiliate marketing in which they trade website links to be placed on each other's webpage so that each gets more business and sales and that is how multilevel marketing works.

MLM is not for everyone. There is a stigma attached to multilevel marketing because somewhere along the line there was a pyramid or Ponzi scheme in which an individual would be paid by recruiting other salespeople. A legitimate MLM only pays commissions for the product or services that are being sold not for the recruitment of other salespeople. This is why many people are afraid of MLM, they don't know how to determine if it's legitimate or not.

One of the legitimate MLM tests is the 70% rule. This means a salesperson must sell 70% are formerly purchased supplies before placing another order with the company. This rule prevents "inventory loading" in order for the person to qualify for bonuses. There are varying regulations about 70% rule, some MLM companies allow for the products in the 70% to be sold to other people in the MLM group or other regulations say the 70% rule states they must be sold outside of the MLM group.

When joining a legitimate MLM group, check with all the rules and regulations to make sure it is a legitimate MLM. Check to see what your commissions will be and if there is a 70% rule in place and where you can sell the 70%.

Since MLM is simply networking there are many ways to network. You can network over the Internet through what is called social networking. This is an often used technique by sales professionals to network themselves, 'get out there' and 'be seen.' But how do you do that when you are an on-line business? There are many different social networking sights available today that will help you remain visible and allow you to place your website or a link to your webpages within your profile.

LinkedIn is a social network that helps you find professionals either from schools or businesses. 43Things is a social network of goal oriented professionals. Pownce and Twitter are both microblogging spots to share whatever is on your mind.

Utterz is brand new and you can share your views about current event through voice or video as well as the old-fashioned way, typing on the computer!

Social bookmarking is another great idea when it comes to social networking. Social bookmarking is based on the idea that anything you bookmark, anyone can see, and you can see who has bookmarked the same website and so on. It's a great idea to have a social bookmarking tool on your website to allow those who use social bookmarking to bookmark your website as well. It also gives you the opportunity to see who has book market your webpage and a way to communicate with them!