THE TRUTH ABOUT MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING PROGRAMS
Multi-level marketing is a fancy name currently being used by some
companies in an effort to do two things.
The first objective is to move products from their warehouses, and
thus increase their sales volume. The second objective is to recruit
"an army" of commission-only sales people.
Make no mistake about it! After you've stripped all the hoopla and
falderal away from these "super money-making opportunities", the
bottom line remains the same - you make money from commissions
allowed from the sale of products.
Generally speaking, very few people have any "real" sales
experience, and thus, if offered the opportunity to take a job as a
commission-only sales person, they'd run from it like the devil.
At the same time, most commission-only sales positions are "direct
selling" opportunities. And, the definition of direct selling begins
with an explanation of what a door-to-door sales person does.
Don't get me wrong... A lot of personal fortunes have been amassed
by commission-only sales people... For sure, when you attempt to
sell by mail, you're almost always involved in commission selling,
and direct selling.
What I'm saying is that most people are "duped" into joining
multi-level marketing programs without understanding that it is
commission sales and at least a form of door-to-door selling.
Worse than "duping you into joining their programs..." Almost all
multi-level marketing companies subtly encourage you to break the
law, and run the risk of huge monetary fines, long terms in prison,
or both!
This is done by at least, "inferring" that if you will find a
number of people to duplicate what you're doing, and in turn
encourage each new enrollee to keep the system going, everybody will
get rich!
No so, my friend! That's a "Ponzi Scheme", and if you don't really
understand what a Ponzi Scheme is - allow me a moment to explain:
Such a scheme is any kind of money-making opportunity where you get
paid by recruiting, enlisting or soliciting other people to follow
your lead and continue a chain of events. In other words, you'll be
paid a commission from the people you recruit -1; from the people
they recruit -2; from the people they recruit-3; and on into
infinity.
This is the "secret" impact that most multi-level marketing
companies use to induce you to buy into their program. Such
practices are illegal, and subject to federal laws which could
destroy you. So called, bi-level marketing plans are the same thing,
as are chain letters, and people-helping people clubs. They're all
based upon the Ponzi Scheme. If you have any doubts, take your
money-making opportunity and sit down with your local postmaster and
discuss it's legality.
These things are illegal because if - as in a dream world - they
really worked, by the time one person had attained level number
five, he would have "signed" everybody on the face of the earth with
only the first two levels receiving any of the money. There would
be nobody left for the third, fourth and fifth levels to sell to...
Multi-level marketing companies get around the law by stating
within their by-laws that it is strictly forbidden to promote or
attempt to sell the program by mail. Then, when the postal
inspectors come calling on the little guy, the MLM company says: He
did it - we don't do such things - here, look at our by-laws.
The bottom line is as old as the hills: you can do anything you
want - legal or illegal - so long as you don't get caught - but when
you do get caught, you'd better be prepared to pay the price.
Besides the terrible mess multi-level marketing has gotten a lot of
normally law-abiding & moral people into, it has "foisted" upon
these people personality changes that man of them do not like.
To make any money selling a product or service on a commission-only
basis, you have to have the ability to sell like the proverbial
"used car salesman". It's all hard sell, and more often than not,
involves "forcing" the prospect to buy whether it's good for him or
not.
Anyone who has ever attempted to succeed in commission sales, knows
that it takes a product in great demand - a great deal of sales
calls, advertising and persistence - at least a little bit of
failure - and a tremendous amount of "total business moxie" to make
any money at it.
There's nothing wrong with commission selling - and if you're good
at it, you're good at it, you can make a lot of money if this kind
of selling - but remember that multi-level marketing is commission
selling - the way "distributors" are recruited is very illegal,
with the authorities closing down more MLM companies every day - and
it takes a special kind of personality to succeed at it.