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Posted 11 January 2008 - 04:44 AM
A lot of pyramid schemes out there are hiding behind the MLM structure.
Like what Bradon had pointed out, MLM companies have actual products to sell, unlike pyramid schemes where commissions come soley from recruiting new members.
Companies like Herb@llife have a wide selection of products to promote and sell.
There isn't anything really wrong about MLM, in fact it is a very efficient way for companies to sell products, however there have been so many abuses and failed dreams with MLM that it has earned a rather bad reputation for itself.
MLM is just another form of sale team structure and their commissions are based on certain sales parameters and team performances, with bonuses thrown in here and there provided you meet the criteria.
Is MLM for you?
Well, one of the first attraction of MLM is that you can be your own boss, and have your own business. That is so cool isn't it?
Like all businesses, it needs a very important ingredient and that is hard work, of which all of us are capable of but often find it hard.
The good thing is that you work for yourself, you don't need to pay for employees, they (your downline) work for you for free and you earn commissions through their sales.
You decide on how long you want to work for, what time to start and what time to end
You don't pay for rent, you don't pay for much promotional materials. They are usually part of the member's kit that will be given to you when you sign up.
You DO have to pay for inventory, usually upfront and earn the difference when your customers pay for it.
One thing about MLM (good old fashion MLM) is that you will need to meet people. You need to interact with them, show them the products and convince them why they should buy your products.
Usually MLM products especially those from large MLM companies have good R&D efforts and their products do have their merits and they are not available off the shelves. Therefore making it something that is unique and available only through the product agents. (You)
If you want any chance to succeed in the MLM business, you need to look out for those who are already successful in them.
Get to know them and when you feel comfortable with them, ask nicely if they are willing to have you as their downline.
It is VERY important to have a good upline or should I rightfully term them as Mentor.
Your upline is suppose to guide you and teach you how to generate leads, bring you along to his/her sales meetings and show you how it is done.
The idea behind this is simple - they are successful at what they do, and you are suppose to replicate their efforts and hopefully you will enjoy the same success as they did.
Any good upline / mentor worth his salt will spend time to nuture this downline because in a MLM company, the big money is in the bonuses, especially team bonuses.
When you the downline do well, your upline will benefit as well. Its a win win situation.
When you begin to close sales and able to earn some money from your MLM business, then you will think about starting your own downline.
This is where it starts to get ugly..
The problem is alot of people want to make money fast so what they do is that they almost immediately go out and try to recruit new people into the company, promising them big money and great vacations BEFORE they even close a sale themselves..
They will try to convince these new downlines to buy inventory in large amounts so that they can enjoy better prices and maybe certain membership status etc.. the usual tag line is that "if you get the stock cheap, you will earn more when you sell them to your customers... "
Sounds easy isn't it?
Well usually it is not. That's where things get ugly.. after awhile these people with large stock on hard realise that their stock isn't moving and their upline is of no help either (what did they expect? Their upline haven't sold anything themselves)
People start complaining and bad news travels fast and they often get exaggerated like all news.
So is MLM business worth your time? You bet it is, provided you
- have the discipline to see it through,
- learn proper sales techniques from your upline
- continuously meet new people
- keep upgading yourself in the area of sales techniques
MLM is like many main stream businesses out there like Insurance, Real Estate and many other commission based business.
The thing about MLM is, are you meant for it?
I hope this helps.
