The old school way of marketing your MLM or direct selling company is what puts people out of business no matter how great their product is. The truth of the matter is that no one product is right for everyone and as a marketing professional you need to be talking to people who are actually a prospect for your business.
After all if you were a newly graduated surgeon you wouldn’t go down to the local mall and prospect for patients. No more than you wouldn’t call your friends and ask them for referrals.
You’d set up a business and market yourself as a professional. Your direct selling business is no different and deserves the same respect. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a lot of rejection and that doesn’t work for most people.