Simply, direct marketing is a distribution system, or form of Marketing, which channels goods or services from the manufacturer to the consumer through a "network" of independent distributors or Consultants. It's a wonderfully effective system that cuts out the "middleman" found in most industries.
Traditional marketing moves products from the manufacturer to wholesalers, warehousers, shippers, advertisers and retailers before ever reaching the consumer. In network marketing, all of these "middlemen," including the advertisers, are replaced with independent distributors who distribute the same products throughout their own network of consumers. This way, the large profit that would normally go to the wholesalers, warehousers, shippers, advertisers and retailers goes to the independent distributors and those who help train them.