You’ve heard it before right? A good, or even not so good, friend calls and says they have found the most amazing thing and can you come over for refreshments and let them tell you about it? If you ask what is it all about they will hand you a cassette tape or video saying, “listen to this and then come on over so we can talk about it!” Their voices sound like they either had too many refreshments already or they just took Vivarin by the handful.
Multi-Leveling Marketing behemoths like Amway and Herbalife have to come at you sideways, backwards, and cloaked in mystery so you don’t know what has hit you until bam! Oh, don’t get me wrong lots of money has been made within MLM companies but that has come from the many, many who have lost money.
Here are some things to think about if you are considering this type of work-from-home option.
Saturation. In their heyday MLM opportunities were able to bring in a lot of people who were seeking “easy and fast money” but those days are past. For the most part these companies have failed, despite some really good products. The key to their downfall is saturation. Not just of products but of the ‘opportunity.’
It boils down to supply and demand. If you and 15 other neighbors on your block are distributors for any one company the supply outweighs the demand, not only for the product (which by the way not everyone will want to buy) but also for the ‘opportunity.’ Think of it in these terms: 4 identical shoe stores on the four corners of an intersection. Now you have to keep selling the idea of opening more shoe stores down this same street. Yeah, right!
Pyramid. When more emphasis is put on building your ‘downline’ then in selling product you are just trying to sell the dream to others who need to sell the dream to others etc. etc. That puts us back at the shoe stores on the corner--not only too many shoes but too many people trying to sell you shoe stores. Now if you try to argue with a recruiter on this one they will say, “well of course not everyone will make it big but YOU will!”
But more than likely the conversation will never turn that way because if you even mention any words of doubt they will fill you full of so much hype and personal testimonials you won’t have time to think-and that is what they are counting on. The distributors at the bottom are the ones who make the ones on top rich. So get in early and line up the suckers quick, could be their motto.
Honesty and greed. The sales pitch will include pictures, testimonials and the like that will show you the tons of money you can make. They will play on your fondest dreams of working from home, working less hours, and still being able to afford the luxuries of life. You will also be encouraged to coerce your ‘warm market’ to listen to the pitch, never letting on what the company is until you get them hooked. Your warm market of close friends, family, and co-workers can turn very cold.
Okay with all that said and done I can now admit that I was an MLM recruit. I actually tried making a living without doing the recruiting part, but instead just focusing on selling the product. I lost money, time, and respect for any MLM type company and was still left searching for a way to work from home. Before you sign up with any MLM or Direct Selling company do your research and please realize there are hours and hours of long, hard work to be done to make a living this way. No fast and easy money here.
Hi, nice blog and thx for the info.
I believe online MLMs are one of the most unexploited niches on the Internet. Online MLM works faster and has the ability to become “viral” much easier than regular MLM.
I tried to put some of my experiences and thoughts regarding MLMs and their online potential on my new website, Web2earn.com – learn how to make money online. I tried to cover the most profitable and reliable home based business opportunities and categorize them in 10 main groups. I would, however, be very interested to obtain more perspectives on MLM and networking. So, if you would like to share your opinion on any of the things I analyzed on Web2earn or if you have a suggestion regarding the site, I would be more than happy to hear it.
Regards,
Michael Rad
Web2earn.com
Posted by: Micahel Rad | May 10, 2006 1:07 PM | Permalink to Comment