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Some thoughts on MLM...ok a rant really..

by cypherslock
13 replies
Random thoughts about business in general and MLM in particular:

It isn't the product, the business, the team leader (though indeed you need to pick carefully) or the compensation plan. IT IS TOTALLY, IRREVOCABLY YOU.

YOU will decide to return those calls.
YOU will decide your financial goal.
YOU will decide how much time, effort and YES PASSION to invest in your business.
YOU will use the product.
YOU decide to BE A LEADER.

And it is YOU who must decide to take action and step out of your comfort zone.
Your leader will guide you yes, but it does require work and some capital.

Napoleon Hill ("Think and Grow Rich") said it is not enough to "want" something. you must "desire" it at your deepest level. That way nothing will stop you.

Any business requires dedication (yourself), passion(again, you), perseverance(you, do you sense a theme here?) and support(you and family), it doesn't matter what it is, Amway, EPI, Coastal Vacations, a web design business, anything. IF you don't work ON your business, there's really no point in being IN business. Better to find a JOB.

The thing is: even now people are conditioned to go to school, GET A JOB and work till they're 65. They are not taught wealth creation, they are not taught to think freely, they are not taught that being wealthy is NOT something to be ashamed of and they are not taught that being wealthy is first a state of mind.

To put things in perspective: my father was a self-employed water treatment consultant, my mother was a self-smployed accountant. My brother is a self-employed plumber. My two other brothers were partners in fiberglass mould business, one now is an independent contractor who fixes boats, the other is a fiberglas mould consultant, also self employed.

Myself, I've owned and still have a web design/consultant business, I've started in CPA, am going to get into LifePath Unlimited for the product itself, to learn more about how I can make my family's life extraordinary. And I'm also helping my wife with her Pampered Chef business.

All of the above requires a HELL of a lot of work, sweat and perseverance. But it is worth it.

The main point is, you must plan your work then work your plan. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. I've learned this through experience.

So, I say, if you want to go into MLM, by all means do so, you won't be disappointed, if you USE the product and do so diligently, everyday for 30 days (that's how long it takes to create a new habit), be honest with people, and SELL YOURSELF.

Remember people aren't looking for the product, and the comp plan means nothing. They are looking for a LEADER to lead them past where they are to where in their hearts they know they can be!

Business is a RISK no question. But for the right type of person, it is SO REWARDING.
#mlmok #rant #thoughts
  • Profile picture of the author LightHouse13
    ..people are still peddling MLM's? I thought that junk left with the early 2000's
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  • Profile picture of the author Richnana
    There seems to be an increasing level of merging of affiliate marketing and MLM. If you are going to be successful guru IM marketing you need an ever growing list of people on your list. If you are going to be a successful MLM leader, you need an ever growing list of warm bodies
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      The problem with mlm's is that YOU don't decide the compensation package - and you don't have any control if the company changes the compensation.

      The best way to get into an mlm is to first have your own business that is bringing in traffic and "followers". It's what RJ and others have done and creates an instant new income flow for them.

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author MattRobson
    Some things that MLM systems do well is give their owners systems to promote, they often have each person have a sponsor to show them how to get started, or how to invest or find more leads.

    Never understood the point of spillover matrix systems though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joel
      The key point to understand is that MLM is only a 'distribution' system ... one out of many 'distribution' systems available for products & services.
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      "Without data or facts, you are just another person with an opinion"

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    First, let me say this is not targeted to anyone in particular.

    Second, I worked freakin' hard at MLM. I mean hard.

    Third, I made some decent money doing MLM, but got once I realized the lies I also realized my soul doesn't have a price.

    Fourth, I was in the trenches. Have had experience with more than one MLM and they are all basically the same.

    Fifth, I am referring to the MLMs that have "meetings" and "tools". Mostly started as offline entities that now operate online, too.

    They may seem a bit harsher than normal for me, but it's based on experience and how I really feel about MLM at this point.

    Ok...enough qualifying my comments...

    With all due respect, that's the exact same BS cop out that MLM uplines use when their downlines can't make the MLM work.

    Guess what? If 99.99% of people get screwed over by an opportunity - it's the opportunity that's broken not the people.

    The truth about MLM? The people that make the biggest money derive the majority of their income from some "success system". And if you ca't make it, it's because "you didn't follow the plan".

    Hogwash.

    MLM sucks, has sucked, and will always suck. No amount of rah rah onsese can fix it. And yeah, it's a distribution system like a drug dealer is a distributio system. Just because it's A way to deliver product doesn't make a good way to deliver product.

    The model is broken. Wait, that implies it was unbroken at some point.

    When you fail it's because of the MLM...
    • The MLM sucks, or is emabarrassing, that's why you don't make the phone calls.
    • The MLM sets unrealistic financial goals for you, so when you can't achive them you're made to look like a failure for not following the "system".
    • The time investment is a LIE. You will be told you can become financially independent in only a few hours a week. The truth is that the time commitment will take up every second of your free time - if not - yep, you're not following the system.
    • You never get to be a true leader in MLM (unless you are one of the scam artists who starts their own "system"), because you are always locked in to doing EXACTLY what the parent company says you can.
    • You don't own your own business. You just get the right to follow the rules of someone else's comapny. You face virtually ALL of the risk, and if you mess up the comapny can drop you and keep all of the money you've earned.
    So, I say if you want to go into MLM, don't. It's a lousy model that will only cause you heartache in the long run.

    Avoid MLM. The cheerleaders think they have it right, but they are either deluded, dishonest, or are blinded to the truth.

    Remember, when they say it's about "you" it's just a smokescreen to ccover up the real problem - MLM.

    All the best,
    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author Brad Gosse
      Originally Posted by Michael Oksa View Post

      And yeah, it's a distribution system like a drug dealer is a distributio system. Just because it's A way to deliver product doesn't make a good way to deliver product.

      All the best,
      Michael
      DUDE I have been saying for years that drugs are the ultimate MLM/Network marketing product.

      It passes through several hands each making money before reaching the end user.
      You can't buy it in stores
      You need to know a distributor to get any or become one.

      Awesome post!
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  • Profile picture of the author Thamisgith
    I made money using MLM. In fact, I continue to make money (a small amount only) every month even although I stopped "working it" some years ago. It's that residual income thing the MLM promoters keep promising you.

    I found that, using the internet, it was really easy to build up a good team. Most MLMer's are not web savvy - even today - so if you can fling up a squeeze page and run a ppc campaign, or do even the most basic SEO, then you will probably do quite well.

    In the end I gave it up for a number of reasons - but mainly because I got fed up recruiting people who were - despite the fact that I gave them the best support I could - ultimately going to fail.
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    Best Regards,

    Hamish

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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Killian
    I am no MLM expert, not even close, but I've tried a few. The main problem I noticed, besides the great points Michael made, is getting people that actually do the work. Most every MLM (not all) only works if the people you bring in work and very few people are willing to put in the effort, if they put in any effort at all.

    Of course you could make money using or selling the products, but that is not usually going to make you rich, it's the downline that creates the big wealth, least in theory.

    We see it here on this forum every day and on many other forums, so many people not making money, because, 9 times out of 10, they did not do the work or take the action.

    Just my opinion
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    thing about human nature:

    1. people want something for close to nothing - thus the
    low-barrier to entry of mlms makes recruiting not too hard...
    but the problem is the low price to get started (with many
    of them) attract the wrong type of people.

    2. If people don't have some real skin in the game they
    won't do the work to even try to start getting results.
    There are exceptions of course.

    3. MLM isn't a business model but most distributors
    believe it is for them. It's a business for the people
    who own the mlm. For the distributors it's a license
    to distribute product.

    4. People DO genuinely want to be successful, admired,
    even wealthy. What they don't want to do is start
    reading a lot of books and think out what those books
    mean and apply the principles to building a real busines.


    >>>

    I've used network marketing a part of my business for
    a few years. It's been a good decision and I've been
    effective at it...more effective than the other guy
    usually.

    I don't currently "do" MLM - I'm working with a direct
    selling companyu with a unilevel compensation plan. Others
    may point fingers and say "you ARE DOING mlm" but the
    reality is I have a merchant account and the money
    for sales comes to me first and I act in toolbooth
    fashion, collecting my profits first, then paying the
    central company for the product the customer bought.

    >>>

    Message - you CAN use network marketing as part of how
    you build a business. A business today for many of us
    needs to be like a table. Network marketing can be
    just one leg of that table. Without at least 2 other
    legs to stand on the business may have problems succeeding.
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  • Profile picture of the author cypherslock
    Pleased to see mature discussion. And Michael is right there are any number of them that do the old school meetings/pressure tactics/evasiveness (Primerica anyone?). I picked MLM but really the things I posted apply in business of any sort. And yeah most people don't want the work before the reward, nor do they want to realize that they need to change their inner game.
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  • Profile picture of the author BigBenForCanton
    The wonderful world of MLM. We're certainly not going to come to any consensus on an Internet Marketing Forum, that's for sure.

    'The Owners of the Orlando Magic were into MLM.' - That's MLM's crown jewel and gives hope to anyone who has ever dabbled in this arena.
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  • Profile picture of the author topher
    I think betternetworker.com, formally known as magneticsponsoring.com does an excellent job of mixing present day internet marketing tactics with the old school. His system has actually revolutionized MLM and is making it really lively.
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