Here are some good books, in roughly "most recommended" to "least recommended" order. A good bookstore should be able to find them for you, or you can order them directly from the author/publisher in some cases. (You can often get significant discounts by ordering in quantity.)
How To Build A Large Successful Multi-Level Marketing Organization by Don Failla. The book is easier to read than the title! A small, easy-to-digest book on the basic why's & how's of MLM. Available from: MLM International, PO Box 889, Gig Harbor, WA 98335 1-800-458-0888 FAX 206-851-3096
Being The Best You Can Be In MLM by John Kalench. An excellent "how to do it" book that emphasizes "doing it for the right reasons" and helping others. Avail from: Millionaires in Motion (phone#?) or KAAS (below)
Big Al Tells All by Tom Schrieter. A light-hearted "how-to" book with a lot of good nuggets. This is the first of four "Big Al" books by Schrieter, all of which are reasonably good. Avail from: KAAS Publishing, 16516 Sealark, Houston, TX 77062 713-280-9800 FAX 713-486-0549
Winning the Greatest Game of All by Randy Ward. Avail from: KAAS
MLM Magic by Venus Andrecht. Fairly breezy, but good info. Avail from: Ransom Hill Press, PO Box 325, Ramona CA 92065 FAX 619-789-1582
How To Make Big Money In Multi-Level Marketing, by David Roller. Lots of "real-life" stories from people, a fair amount of "how-to".
Charismatic Capitalism, by Nicole Woolsey Biggart. This is a different one: a scholarly study of MLM and direct marketing companies. Earns distinction as probably the only MLM book to use the term "Leninesque." :-)
Multilevel Marketing, by Rodney K. Smith. Smith is a lawyer and examines some of the legal issues surrounding MLM. Lots of references to Amway and Shaklee.
I do not recommend: How to Get Rich in MLM, by Holmes & Andrews. MLM, A Shortcut to Financial Freedom, by Jim Sweeney. Get Rich through Multi-Level Selling, by Gini Graham Scott.
There are also a number of books specifically about Amway and a few other large companies, such as Promises to Keep and Believe!. These are so focused on that particular company that, while they may be excellent, they probably aren't of interest to people in other companies, and they are well publicized within those companies. (To be fair, there are also company-specific books that are *not* promoted within those companies, because of their very negative position. Examples include Fake It 'til You Make It and Amway, the Cult of Free Enterprise. The reader is encouraged to make his or her own judgments on the objectivity of these books.)
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