There are many network marketing or MLM opportunities out there, other than the variations in the compensation plan, the internal business processes have however evolved. There are some who are dealing with the traditional way of MLM business and others that are leveraging on the Internet. The type of products, how leads are generated and the amount of time spent differs greatly.

The following are some of the key components of an MLM company that you might want to consider before deciding to either join a traditional MLM company or an Internet based MLM company.

Products

A traditional MLM company usually carries physical products such as skin care and cosmetic, health supplements, household items and others that require collection or delivery of products.

An Internet based MLM company usually deals with digital products such as online personal development courses, online business services and more. These are usually accessible immediately upon payment.

Personal Support and Training

There are not many differences in the support you can be getting from both your sponsors and from the company.

The only difference might be that training and guidance for a traditional MLM company are usually done face-to-face in a training room.

Whereas due to the nature of the Internet based MLM company, training and guidance are usually done online via conference call, email and other methods of communication should the down-line be from another country.

MLM Leads Generation / Prospecting

This is the component that makes a whole lot of difference in the amount of time you spend in the business.

Lead generation for a traditional MLM company includes but not limited to:

* Contacting your friends and family
* Attending meetings
* Doing presentations to prospects
* Run recruitment or product presentation road shows
* Travel

Lead generation for an Internet based MLM company includes but not limited to:

* Sending emails
* Participating in forums
* Writing articles
* Blogging
* Advertising online or offline

Signing Up Prospects

As traditional MLM companies usually deal with physical products, a stockade is required in a country before sponsorship can be done. On top of that, to sponsor someone in another country, you might need to travel there to conduct recruitment talks or face-to-face meetings.

Due to the borderless advantage of the Internet, and the nature of products of an Internet based MLM company, you can sponsor anyone from anywhere in the world as long as they have a computer that is connected to the Internet. All you need to do is to direct the prospect to your affiliate website and let the website do all the selling and follow ups before signing the prospects up via an online form.

Time

The time you do prospecting to the time you sign them up makes a great lot of difference on the amount of time you can be spending in your business.

Time spent in a traditional MLM business can be extensive and not limited to traveling, attending meetings and doing presentations.

Much lesser time is spent on an Internet MLM company, since you can be working from home spending 1 to 2 hours a day marketing your business and products online via different Internet marketing strategies, which some strategies you can do it once and generate leads for you on a long term basis.

Some people likes to give the personal touch and be out in the field networking, selling and sponsoring people, there are those who prefers not to do the talking and just make money from home in front of their computer. Depending on your objective for getting onboard a MLM company, you can easily decide on the type of business process that is suitable for you. Traditional MLM or Internet based MLM?