MLM has evolved several times since its initial inception. The original concept of MLM revolved around recruiting friends and family, also known as "warm market." While this way did provide for some retail sales, it also posed some challenges. The advantage of this method is that it's cheap. Just call your mom and you have a lead. They like you already and trust you, which makes it easy to get a sale.

However, there have always been challenges with using warm market as a business building tool. The first challenge is the fact that most people do not have enough friends and family to build a sustainable business. The second challenge is only a small percentage of people have the right mindset and personality to be successful in MLM. So, once they go through their friends list, they usually end up just re-prospecting their friends and family which often results in burnout. Their is a common acronym in MLM called the NFL club, also called No Friends Left, which is what happens when you run your warm market too often.

The second thing to come along in MLM is the 3 foot rule. This has to be one of the silliest things to ever come along in MLM! This basically states that you should prosect anyone and everyone within 3 feet of you whether you know them or not. Thank God that most MLM trainers no linger encourage this activity.

The next evolution to come along in MLM is newspaper advertising. This was popularized in the late 80's and early 90's with companies running ads in the sales section. This idea failed as many companies were shut down by government regulators for having "fake job ads." Luckily, this method is not used as often today as it is quite expensive. MLM distributors do however often advertise in magazines. At least those are targeted.

The next evolution after that really revolutionized the industry. The internet totally changed how MLM's operate. No longer does location, or prospects become an issue. However, this also made turnover a huge problem as frustrated distributors will quit very quickly to the next opportunity that is as close as the next Google ad.

Finally, within the internet space, MLM is still evolving. There are people that promote the company's home page and there are people that are making their own opt in list. The ones that are raking a fortune in MLM are the ones that promote themselves first and their opportunity second.

The other new evolution is the generic training programs. These overall have been very good for the industry as more people become educated on doing MLM properly.

As you can see, MLM has evolved several times since it's inception. If you want to be successful in MLM, you must evolve as well.