"The Internet is not just another marketing channel: it is not just another advertising medium; it is not just another way to speed up transactions. The Internet is the foundation for a new industrial order"

There cannot be a better industry than direct selling industry that can demonstrate the technological breakthroughs benefiting a common man. The telecommunications and the IT sector have caused a dramatic impact on the direct selling industry already, but it is assumed to be just the tip of the iceberg. Nearly 10 per cent of the whole world is on the Internet and it is growing at a phenomenal speed.

During the late 1990s, the Internet started to have a dramatic effect on every sphere of life, direct selling industry included. Today, the Internet connects companies, countries and citizens all over the world and, as a result, what could be labeled as an ‘Cyber Economy' has emerged.

Cyber Economy has changed the direct selling industry in many different ways. The industry has adopted technology with a smooth transition and today efficiency is the name of the game. Many companies offer their products and services that are legitimate, online, through e-commerce. North America is at the forefront contributing the most to the global e-commerce revenue. However, lately, the Asia-Pacific and European markets have also recorded some impressive rise in e-commerce expenditure. Some of UK's top high-street names are emerging as leading exponents of e-commerce.

An online holiday is the major category while the purchase of computers; software, airline tickets, concert tickets and books will continue to increase over the next five years. It is interesting to note that in the USA, 29 per cent of all personal computers were bought online. By the end of year 2005, it is predicted to rise up to 42 per cent. About 52 per cent of all retail software purchases are being made via the web.

Services, which do not require ‘touch-n-feel' selling, are ideal for online marketing. This allows companies to operate efficiently with no delays in dispatches as the service gets delivered on the Internet instantaneously. A few legitimate companies have brought a general awareness among masses about the role of technology in a common man's life.

Interestingly, the traditional/classical direct selling companies too have equipped themselves with their own online identity. Today almost all the Direct Selling companies have their web sites providing e-commerce facilities, where a distributor can place product orders and near-automated shipping takes place. They have taken recourse to technology and the operations are driven by minimum human intervention, which results in strong customer service back-ups. Starting from data entry to the final calculation of commission cheques everything would now happen on the computer with the click of a mouse for such powerful software have been written. Technology has made a huge difference is the day-to-day operation of the business.

Company portals have become a one-point reference for authentic and regular information for all distributors across the globe, on a 24 x 7 basis! Web based tools such as web conferencing, online learning, e- libraries, and downloadable forms and documents help distributors understand and educate their customers about new products and various related business issues.

A company can create hundreds of presentations, product sheets, and other means of conveying product information, and design their Internet site to show a distributor only those items they're interested in, based on what they've ordered. This has opened up a new chapter of MLM companies being ‘transparent' to its distributors. With the convergence of data, voice and video technology over a single network, advanced communication systems such as web-based calls, PC-to-PC calls, web cams, video conferencing, and voice cafes have become common tools for an average networker. Today, you can communicate anything to anyone in any part of the world at nominal costs – such is the power of converging technology!

Using the tools of technology, companies effectively use the intellectual distribution model by motivating, educating, training, and supporting their customers on the Internet. One more important advantage of the technology is the facility of beta testing. You can test any changes or major modifications or new launches with dummy databases before they are really launched out there in the market. Using various parameters one can design a commission plan to perfection and launch it sans errors or ambiguities.

Technology has become an integral part of our life. Accept it and make it a part of your life too.