diff --git a/confluent_client/bin/nodedeploy b/confluent_client/bin/nodedeploy
index 26df0854..63629613 100755
--- a/confluent_client/bin/nodedeploy
+++ b/confluent_client/bin/nodedeploy
@@ -78,6 +78,9 @@ def main(args):
     if args.profile and not args.network:
         sys.stderr.write('-n is a required argument currently to perform an install, optionally with -p\n')
         return 1
+    if not args.profile and args.network:
+        sys.stderr.write('profile is a required argument to request a network deployment\n')
+        return 1
     if extra:
         sys.stderr.write('Unrecognized arguments: ' + repr(extra) + '\n')
     c = client.Command()