A V O N. Tupperware. Mary Kay. The Pampered Chef. HERBALIFE. Amway.
Are these household names? Most of them. Have you heard of one or more of these companies or one of their products? Probably. Each of these companies have one thing in common, they have brought their fame to fruition through the use of multi-level marketing (MLM).
Wait a minute! Did you just roll your eyes? I think you may have just rolled your eyes?! Hold off on judgement, you are better than that! Please allow me the opportunity to give you some information. In this blog I will touch on the definition of MLM, the difference between MLM's and schemes, the definition of a scam, and how MLM's can actually work.
You saw and read three letters you have been taught to hate... MLM.
MLM is not a bad acronym, it just has a bad rap because it has been confused with bad phrases used by persons who were WRONG. I was one of those people. I thought MLM was the same as a pyramid scheme or a ponzi scheme. Pyramid and Ponzi schemes sell a position - this position filters money to the persons above and have no real financial value - like the chain-letters of my youth! Put your name at the bottom of the letter and send a dollar to the person at the top. What happened with the chain letters? The person took their dollar and did not follow the other instructions breaking the chain and our childhood dreams of riches without any effort. Following me? Pyramids and Ponzis are get-rich-quick-with-no-effort-schemes... too good to be true.
I believed these were the same as MLM's; I was uneducated and believed that one was the other, they were all the same. But since I have seen the light, I want to educate you, dispel the myth, clear the air, shed some light on what the true nature of an MLM is... enough with the idioms :)
MLM's are a business opportunity which allow for the Average Jane or Average Joe to sell a product or service in exchange for commission.
Doesn't this sound like sales? At the bare bones, it is. This is the infamous Sales & Marketing! A daring few do it and a daring few succeed - just as it is with MLM's. There are not many millionaires that start from the bottom of an MLM, but they do exist!
Part of the reason people have come to distrust MLM's is that it is not easy money. MLM's take hard work, determination, tenacity, perseverance and focus... you have to push through your learning curve, step out of your comfort zone, and work toward your goals. You also have to WAIT!
Excuse me... did you just roll your eyes again? I have three teenagers, I'd know an eye-roll anywhere; I believe I invented the eye-roll back in 1979 when my mom said, "That room is not clean missy!" And I... Sorry, off on a tangent! Back on track...
Waiting is important. Most MLM's grow based on the client base... the more clients you have that purchase at an ongoing basis, the more money you make each month. MOST people will not make thousands of dollars a month in their first month, second month, third month... for some people it can take years to reach his or her first financial goal of supporting their family on their MLM earnings. THIS is why people claim scam. Scam is another word used incorrectly. scam: [skam] noun: a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.
People claim "scam" because they are not one of the select few that made millions in their first month. Why didn't they make money? Did they try? Did they seek help? Did they duplicate? Did they train? Or was it because they invested money and feel they received nothing in return.... AH HA! Bingo! It was probably a combination of these things. People will try to defile a company because they did not get what they expected. Possibly the person who recruited them gave them false information or maybe the training was lacking, that PERSON who gave them false information or who did not train and support them SCREWED UP! Down with THAT SPECIFIC PERSON; but don't hate the company because of that one person... don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch (I love idioms).
This is where we talk about building your downline... DOWNLINE, this may have been where the "pyramid" confusion came into play. Just because a person makes a small profit on the persons they have brought into the business doesn't make this a scheme or a scam, it makes it a motivating factor to teach the persons below you about DUPLICATION. Teach them to do what you do to MAXIMIZE THEIR PROFITS - this is a beautiful thing if you are ethical, moral, and successful.
Seriously, this is not much different from corporate America. Look at the structure of any big business, there are the people at the top who make the most money and then everything trickles down the line to the people at the bottom who make the least money. Did that CEO start yesterday only to have made a million dollars today? No. They didn't. Be realistic because neither will you. I challenge you to go find that CEO job that will give you millions overnight. I'm really sorry to tell you this Average Jane and Average Joe, you will not be offered that job. You will have to work for YEARS to get that job! And you will need to PRAY that, in the meantime, you are not downsized, merged, reduced, or reorganized before you get that $300 gold watch and pat on the back.
Profits are magnificent, right? But what if I asked you your thoughts on the word "commission." People love the word PROFIT - truth be told it is the same as COMMISSION when it comes to MLM's... dispelling the myths, remember? I use the word PROFIT all the time because it sounds better.
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In conclusion, I want to explain why you must INVEST in your chosen MLM company! The investment you make into starting your own branch of a company SHOULD give you something in return. Maybe you get samples of the products, websites, brochures or marketing materials, training materials, special club memberships, or other services - you should get something for your money. This is known as overhead and in most cases it is tax deductible. Also, depending on the organization, this investment should help your UPLINE (the person who brought you in) offset their time to train you in duplication. This overhead can range from a few dollars to thousands, it is important to look at what you get for your money (i.e. profit level) and what you would do for the company.
Now, my plug :) I work for a terrific organization - AmeriPlan! I have been with them for four months... yes, I am still green but have just received my first promotion to Regional Sales Director! I have NOT made my millions but I am supporting my family. I make 40% profit on every sale and I receive medical and dental discounts for my entire household - this has saved me a fortune in just a few months. I do NOT place cold calls, I do NOT keep inventory, and I do NOT go door to door. I DO work in my pajamas at my kitchen table, I do play on Facebook, and I do love my job. Has it been easy? That is a tough question to answer... I have not put all of the time or energy into the business that I feasibly could, TRUTH. I have had to communicate with persons who were uneducated and who were closed-minded. I have been called names. But I have also met some amazing people, I have made new friends and connections that otherwise I never would have made. If someone referred you to my blog, please go back to them for more information. If you stumbled upon this and want to learn about my company and what I do, please visit one of my websites, call me, or email me. I would love to talk to you.
Jessica Burr
Regional Sales Director and Independent Business Owner
www.JessicaBurr.com
www.FreedomatHomeTeam.com/JessicaBurr
www.IBOPlus.com/JessicaBurr
JessicaBurrOregon@gmail.com
971-231-5287
