Hello Hal,
I won't for sure call anyone a loser, and i think that you
misunderstood what i was trying to say.
I am trying to share some knowledge about this issue and gather some
opinions on MLM, and maybe you are right when you say this may not be
the correct group for doing so.
I also believe that MLM companies are not all the same and to
distinguish between them you need to research about those.
About my lack of expertise, i can be a student of management, but i'm
really well connected too Phds, people that own their own companies
and directors of multinational companies. I also run in the past a
few businesses of my own, and have a good inside perspective of the
market in general.
I don't quite agree with all the things you said but you raised some
very valid questions for me and for the people reading this.
I do understand the ressentment of a lot of people against MLM and
the need to create such a group, but i sincerely hope that all of you
can move on with your lifes and achieve great success with the
relationships you value in your life.
Thanks again for the time you spend make your point of view clear.
JM
--- In mlmsurvivorsclub@
>
> On Friday 08 February 2008, José Mariz wrote:
> > Greetings to all,
> >
> > I'm a portuguese management student of 25 years old that just got
> > involved with agel a few months ago, altough i have recruited some
> > people and i'm happy with the products, i've been conducting deep
> > ivestigation about MLM and how it works.
> >
> > The main conclusions i've been driven to are:
> > 1 - In this kind of business the products must be usefull to your
> > own usage, and not heavily overpriced.
> >
> > 2 - MLM is a way of distributing goods which works on different
> > premisses unlike Microsoft or other business giant, and that can
be
> > extremelly harmful for anyone if we think we are going to earn
money
> > without working,it's like going to the restaurant to eat, we can
> > either eat and spend the money with it and be "losers" or we can
not
> > go there and eat at home. The products are the basis of the
> > business, and if it is an innovative product then MLM can be a
good
> > way of putting it into the market. They reduce costs of
> > distribuition by implementing a referal system where you will only
> > have sucess if you can find people that need the products.
>
> It can also be extremely harmful to anyone that expects to work
hard.
> I've seen people in MLMs that think all it takes is hard work, so
they
> put in years of hard work and spent tens of thousands of dollars
and
> lost quite a bit because the structure was geared to funnel their
money
> upwards, not to help them succeed.
>
> As for the "losers" comment, that is way off base and, to be frank,
> totally out of line. That you are using such a term shows me that
you
> have already had a good does of the Kool Aid. In other words,
you're
> already starting to believe everything your MLM people are telling
you.
>
> I eat at restaurants. I enjoy meeting a friend and having
something
> like the Pollo Al Chipotle at the place at the end of the street
and
> being able to sit and chat and not have to worry about who cooks or
> does the dishes.
>
> Does that make me a loser? I have my own business. I pay my own
bills
> and then some. I drive the exact car I deeply wanted to own and
today
> I just saw my accountant and there's a good chance that this year
I'll
> be paying more in taxes than I made in one year as a teacher. I
could
> be paying 2-3 times what my ex girlfriend made in one year when we
were
> dating and she was in an MLM.
>
> I'm sorry, but on that point you are wrong. Totally wrong.
>
> Now on to another point you make in that paragraph: If it's an
> innovative product, it's a good means of distribution. Oh, that
and
> reduced cost. Both are wrong. Are you strong enough to learn why
or
> if I dare to tell you, will you just call me a loser so you don't
have
> to listen to me telling you something?
>
> First, many people mistrust MLMs and won't buy from them. That's
my
> experience in talking with people and it's what I saw when my
> ex-girlfriend tried to recruit people. Second, if it's innovative,
> there are many ways to bring it to market. Personally, if I came
up
> with something like that, I'd patent it and basically sell rights
so
> I'd make money without having to run a factory.
>
> If a product is innovative, there's a good chance there's a lack of
> trust in it until it's proven. In America we have infomercials.
These
> are shows that usually are on TV late at night and can run half an
hour
> or longer. They're nothing but long ads for products. Many people
> avoid what these infomercials sell because they don't trust the
product
> to do what the advertisers claim.
>
> I work in computers. I've seen innovated products and dumb
products. I
> have never seen, in computers or any other field, a single
innovative
> product that was marketed through an MLM that became well known or
a
> household name.
>
> Now let's look at the cost factor. You should know some of this
> already. Let's look at a product I might buy at the supermarket.
For
> convenience we'll take something easy: An ear of corn. I just love
> corn on the cob! The farmer grows it and gets paid for it. Then a
> transport company carries it to a warehouse and gets paid for
moving it
> and storing it. Then it's brought to the distribution center in my
> city. Again, someone gets paid. Then it's taken to my local
grocer
> where I buy it and the grocer gets paid. If you count, that's the
> farmer, two transport or warehouse companies, and the store that
are
> probably getting paid.
>
> You will say MLMs eliminate the middle man, but let's look closer.
The
> farmer creates the product and gets paid for it. The trucker adds
> value by bringing it closer to me. The warehouse people add a
value by
> storing it until it can be taken to the local grocer. He ads even
more
> value to it by putting it in some place I can get to in a 5 minute
> drive and I can inspect the corn and take it home easily. Each of
> these people ads some kind of value to the product. They are paid
for
> their work or contribution and each one is an important link in the
> chain.
>
> Now let's look at a product made and sold through an MLM. Someone
makes
> it, then it's stored. I buy it, so it's shipped to me. Sounds
good so
> far, but let me take one example: My ex-girlfriend. If she sold me
a
> product, she got a commission. Her friend's sister, who was her
> upline, got a commission. Her friend's sister's Father-in-Law gets
a
> commission because he's upline and so does his mentor, and so do at
> least 2 other people I know between them and the top. That's 6
people
> that get paid a commission on that product. Not one of them has
done a
> single thing to ad value to what I just bought, but they make money
on
> it.
>
> That's good for them, but bad for me. Why am I paying for them to
make
> money when they haven't done a thing to make the product more
valuable
> to me?
>
> MLM doesn't cut costs.
>
> > 3 - The biggest "lie" i've found in MLM is that you cannot
actually
> > perform AT ALL if you want to get money without spending a long
time
> > having training, if the company provides it to you, you can
actually
> > save a lot of time and achieve relative success.
>
> That doesn't apply. Many MLMs insist on ongoing training for
everyone
> in them. In many cases the MLM people make more money from the
> training materials than from product that anyone sells.
>
> > 4 - It is as any other business in terms of risk, you actually
make
> > an investment in something and you must establish the boundaries
for
> > yourself, if you are a costumer you are a costumer, if you want a
> > small part time biz you will spend a lot of time in building that
> > business and them you can rest, and if you want to earn big money
> > you have to advertise your product and business model as if it
would
> > be the best, like the guy in the coffee shop next door, i bet he
is
> > the best :)
>
> No, it's not the same risk. I created my own business. It's a
limited
> corporation in that if something goes wrong, it's the business, not
me,
> that's responsible. My assets are not at risk, but in most MLMs,
they
> insist on members spending more and more money on training and on
> products. That means the members keep spending more and more
money.
> While it's possible to say that's not required, the truth is that
it is
> what happens in over 90% of the cases.
>
> You are right, though, that you have to establish boundaries and
set
> timings so you can see if you should continue or not.
>
> As for resting, there has never been proof that you can rest and we
have
> one member that managed an MLM business and was doing quite well
and
> she'll be glad to tell you that once it's built, you can't rest.
You
> have to help others recruit and build the business. I'm sure you
don't
> want to believe me and would rather just call me a loser so you can
> ignore me, so I'll just say I'm sorry you believe this and if you
had
> an advanced degree and 10 years of management experience instead of
> being inexperienced and a student without a real world background,
> you'd see just how unrealistic this is.
>
> Most MLMs will not allow you to advertise your product at all.
>
> As for saying you're the best, that's not always the case. I have
a
> portable DVD player sitting 1 foot from my arm as I type this. I
> didn't buy it because it's the best. I bought it because it was
the
> one that most suited my needs. You've completely overlooked niche
> marketing.
>
> > 5 - MLM is not for everyone, and you should not try to fool people
> > so they just enroll in your organization and became a "sucker", if
> > you are honest to the people around you, you will for sure not
> > generate ressentment.
>
> That is about the only point I've seen so far that is a good point.
>
> > 6 - I've met a lot of "bad" people doing MLM, that are looking for
> > a "sucker" to join their organization and have no morale at all.
>
> Most people in MLMs are good but have been taught to be "bad" and
to
> push people to join.
>
> > Thank you for reading all this. I would appreciate very much your
> > comments and opinions on my perspective.
>
> You've gotten mine, but since I disagree and have experience to
support
> what I say, I will not be surprised if you call me a loser so you
can
> have an excuse for not listening to someone who speaks up and
> says, "You're wrong."
>
> > After reading a lot about MLM i think i still can be a little
naive
> > so please explain your viewpoints so i can understand.
>
> Honestly, I do think you're naive in this field. MLMs look good.
Heck,
> they look VERY good, but they are a structure which lends itself to
> quick and severe corruption. It's like communism. It sounds good
in
> theory, but it doesn't work.
>
> Now a question for you: Why are you posting these in this group?
Do you
> understand the purpose of this group and realize that we are here
> because we've been hurt by MLMs? I lost a girlfriend I was quite
> interested in. Some people here have lost their families due to
MLM
> problems. Why would you come into a group like that and try to say
> MLMs can be good?
>
> Hal
>
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