| Background |
| Paul Orberson , founder of Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, is one of the most successful individuals ever to have participated in the network marketing industry. When he left his last network marketing company he had earned more money as a Representative, in a shorter period of time, than anyone before in the industry. He was a schoolteacher and coach from a small town in Kentucky before he began working with a small start up telecommunications company. Paul's efforts helped that company become one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies during the 1990's and a multi-billion dollar, publicly traded NYSE company. Paul became a multi-millionaire in four short years and was able to retire before he was forty years old. After relaxing and enjoying the fruits of his labor for four years, Paul decided that work was more fun and challenging than retirement. He also missed the personal relationships that he had enjoyed as a full time network marketing representative. However, Paul's retirement was not all rest and relaxation and he became increasingly concerned that although he had been successful in the industry, he knew others who needed and wanted to achieve financial freedom. It was at this point that he began to formulate the vision that was to become Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing®. |
| Paul Orberson's Vision |
Paul began a detailed review of several companies and a multitude of marketing programs. He consistently found deficiencies and inherent weaknesses in these programs and compensation plans. As a result of his research, specific features were identified as key elements of a successful network marketing program. He identified a successful program as being Representative rewarding and Representative friendly. He next began exploring ways to add value to the businesses that were built by the Representatives. His goal was to develop a compensation plan with the Representative in mind. One that would reward the Representative's hard work in the field with the best compensation plan in the history of the industry. With these ideas in mind, Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing® began to take shape. Although Paul has learned the intricacies of the network marketing industry during his career, he felt that it was important to bring together a strong, experienced management team to oversee the day to day operations of the Company. Paul's financial backing and a quality team of focused professionals provide the strength and philosophy upon which our Representatives can depend. Additionally, contracts have been negotiated with major companies to supply: long distance, internet, paging, unified messaging systems, digital satellite television and cellular/ wireless. Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing® will be on the cutting edge of the technology revolution with very competitive products and pricing for its customers. |
| Paul's vision for the future is now reality in the form of a world-class network marketing opportunity for all people who are looking for a way to become financially independent and improve their lives. You have truly found yourself in the right place at the right time with the right team! |
Network Marketing Just a Scam?There's a huge difference between network marketing and pyramid schemes. Learn the truth here.By Michael L. Sheffield | December 25, 2000 |
Q: Some friends continue to try to recruit me into network marketing deals that seem like some type of money game or pyramid. Other friends tell me they're illegal and I'll get into trouble. How do I know what's legal and legitimate?
A: To help you understand what network marketing is, I must first explain what it isn't . First, network marketing isn't a pyramid scheme. Pyramids are programs similar to chain letters where people just invest money based on the promise that other people will put in money that will filtrate back to them and somehow, they'll get rich. A pyramid is strictly a money game and has no basis in real commerce. Normally, there's no product involved at all, just money changing hands. Modern-day pyramids may have a product, but it's clearly there just to disguise the money game.
Network marketing is a legitimate business. First, it's based on providing people with real, legitimate products they need and want at a fair price. While some people do make a lot of money through network marketing, their financial benefit is always the result of their own dedicated efforts in building an organization that sells real products and services.
Pyramids are illegal and are based on taking advantage of people. For a person to actually make money in a pyramid scheme, someone else has to lose money. But in network marketing, each person can multiply his or her efforts, skills and talents by helping others be successful. Network marketing has proved itself as part of the new economy and a preferred way to do business here and around the world.
Network marketing isn't about taking advantage of your friends and relatives. Only a few years ago, network marketing meant retailing to, and sponsoring people from, your "warm list" of prospects. Although sharing the products or services and the opportunity with people you know is still the basic foundation of the business, today we see more people using sophisticated marketing techniques such as the Internet, conference calling and other long-distance sponsoring techniques to extend their network across the country.
Network marketing isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. Of course some people do make large amounts of money very quickly. Many would say those people are lucky. But success in networking isn't based on luck. (Unfortunately, money won't sprout wings and fly into your bank account no matter what someone has promised you.) Success in network marketing is based on following some very basic yet dynamic principles.
Now let's discuss what network marketing is. Network marketing is a serious business for serious people. It's a proven system where the design, creation and expense the corporate team has gone through becomes a road map for your own success. Just follow the simple, proven and duplicable system that the good companies provide.
The real key is this: Network marketing is all about leverage. You can leverage your time and increase the number of hours of work effort on which you can be paid by sponsoring other people and earning a small income on their efforts. J. Paul Getty, who created one of the world's greatest fortunes, said "I would rather make 1 percent on the efforts of 100 people than 100 percent on my own efforts." This very basic concept is the cornerstone of network marketing.
For example, most successful people building a network marketing business do so in an organized method. They work a few dedicated hours each week, with each hour of effort serving as a building block for their long-term business growth. Then they sponsor other people and teach those people how to sell the company product and sponsor others who duplicate the process.
By helping the people you personally sponsor to sponsor others, you duplicate yourself. As this process continues, you create compound growth that can lead to hundreds or even thousands of people coming into your business. You leverage your time by helping others be successful and earn an income from all their efforts.
With network marketing, there are no big capital requirements, no geographical limitations, no minimum quotas required and no special education or skills needed. Network marketing is a low-overhead, homebased business that can actually offer many of the tax advantages associated with owning your own business. Network marketing is a people-to-people business that can significantly expand your circle of friends. It's a business that enables you to travel and have fun as well as enjoy the lifestyle that extra income can provide.
Pyramid Scheme
From Wikipedia,
The distinguishing feature of these schemes is the fact that the product being sold has little to no intrinsic value of its own or is sold at a price out of line with its fair market value . Examples include "products" such as brochures, cassette tapes or systems which merely explain to the purchaser how to enroll new members, or the purchasing of name and address lists of future prospects. The costs for these "products" can range up into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. A common Internet version involves the sale of documents entitled "How to make $1 million on the Internet" and the like. The result is that only a person enrolled in the scheme would buy it and the only way to make money is to recruit more and more people below that person also paying more than they should. This extra amount paid for the product is then used to fund the pyramid scheme. In effect, the scheme ends up paying for new recruits through their overpriced purchases rather than an initial "signup" fee.
The key identifiers of a pyramid scheme include the following:
• A highly excited sales pitch .
• A reassurance that it is not infact a pyramid scheme, possibly with a false account of what a pyramid scheme is.
• Little to no information offered about the company unless an investor purchases the products and becomes a participant.
• Vaguely phrased promises of limitless income potential.
• No product, or a product being sold at a price ridiculously in excess of its real market value. As with the company, the product is vaguely described.
• An income stream that chiefly depends on the commissions earned by enrolling new members or the purchase by members of products for their own use rather than sales to customers who are not participants in the scheme.
• A tendency for only the early investors/joiners to make any real income.
• Assurances that it is perfectly legal to participate.
The key distinction between these schemes and legitimate MLM businesses is that in the latter cases a meaningful income can be earned solely from the sales of the associated product or service to customers who are not themselves enrolled in the scheme.
Multi-level marketing
From Wikipedia,
Multi-level marketing ( MLM ) also referred to as Network Marketing is a business distribution model that allows a parent multi-level marketing company to market their products directly to consumers by means of relationship referral and direct selling.
Independent unsalaried salespeople of multi-level marketing referred to as distributors (associates, independent business owners, franchise owners, sales consultants, consultants, independent agents, etc.), represent the parent company and are rewarded a commission relative to the volume of product sold through each of their independent businesses (organizations). Independent distributors develop their organization by either building an active customer base, who buy direct from the parent company and / or by recruiting a downline of independent distributors who also build a customer base, expanding the overall organization. Additionally, distributors can also earn a profit by retailing products which they purchased from the parent company at wholesale price.
Distributors earn a commission based on the sales efforts of their organization, which includes their independent sale efforts as well as the leveraged sales efforts of their downline. This arrangement is similar to franchise arrangements where royalties are paid from the sales of individual franchise operations to the franchisor as well as to an area or region manager. Commissions are paid to multi-level marketing distributors according to the company's compensation plan. There can be multiple levels of people receiving royalties from one person's sales.
Legitimacy
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish legal and reputable MLMs from illegal pyramid or Ponzi schemes. MLM businesses operate in the United States in all 50 states and in more than 100 other countries, and new businesses may use terms like "affiliate marketing" or "home-based business franchising". However, many pyramid schemes try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses.
In the most legitimate MLM companies, commissions are earned only on sales of the company's products or services. No money may be earned from recruiting alone ("sign-up fees"), though money earned from the sales of members recruited is one attraction of MLM arrangements. If participants are paid primarily from money received from new recruits, or if they are required to buy more product than they are likely to sell, then the company is a pyramid or Ponzi schemes, which is illegal in most countries.
This is what makes FHTM legal - FHTM reps sell goods and services at or BELOW fair market value