According to the FTC 99% of distribitors in MLMs make zero profit. 70% leave the business within a year. According to expert in MLMs and author of the book featured in 20/20 show, Robert Fitzpatrick, MLM's marketing plans are structured so that people are forced to buy products every month to maintain their rank in order to get the overpriced products at a "discount." Such "discount" is an illusion, since the products are overpriced. Fitzpatrick also says MLMs functions as business cults. They isolate people from even their own family.
Their presentations are basically selling you dreams about millions of earnings and lifestyle changes. They barely talk about the products, since they are actually sub par and are sold at massive margins
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I can tell you are well educated and know business. I see some parallels between your story and mine. It's sad that many of us have to live these experiences to become wiser. I've had a few close calls when it comes to people recruiting me. I've been very lucky that I never jumped in. I recently had someone trying to recruit me through friendship too. That was just plain annoying and since I'm quite a lone wolf, it kinda confirmed for me that people just want to use me because I'm nice. I'm glad I'm at the stage now where I'm no longer getting close enough to jump into these things anymore. I appreciate you speaking up about this!
Maybe so, but many MLM companies threaten legal action against anyone who mentions them by name. I believe it’s better to get familiar with why the MLM business model is harmful, rather than call out individual companies.
Neil Parmar you’re right, there is a lot of convincing done in multi-level marketing... even if the products don’t deliver (and aren’t even the point - recruiting more sellers is!)
Joined mlm wen i was 21 years old 8 years ago I was in 7 mlm companies promising dreams and cars and all that bullshit I worked way too hard and never achieved anything Its all hype and bunch of lies People lie about their income on social media I was one of them ones that would put all these people on a pedestal .......but in reality these people were living a lie. Its all hype.
If you are actually deceiving people with YOUR "story" of why you unsuccessful in network marketing. Thank you for this video. Right out of the gate, you gave your personal story on "why" mlm are BAD. You had a BAD experience and here is a list of your excuses: ✅️ You were vulnerable ✅️ You were young ✅️ You were naive ✅️ You were impressionable ✅️ You easily give your personal power away to people I can go on and on listing all of YOUR "thoughts" on why YOU believe mlm is BAD. Yet, you NEVER gave ANY hard data on direct sales or MLM structure is BAD. Thank you for your story and I really feel for you on your experience. I've been in mlm for over 33yrs, which is why I can give the experience and the hard facts. MLM is a cost effective business "structure" development to move prospects/services. The problem is NOT mlm structure, the problem is with the ethics of some people presenting the structure. I too freelance and work from home. However, I lean more on the unethical practices of "people" and not the business structure. I majored in business and marketing. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. I chose the educational way to do things and put my personal "feelings" away. I'm not discounting your feelings and I will NEVER discount your feelings. You feel like your trust has been violated and I absolutely GET THAT! Wishing you a gorgeous year! 😊
I wrote down ALL of the reasons I hated MLM's below and found ONE that solves ALL of the reasons to hate MLM's!!! PROBLEMS: 1) Recruiting-only is the business model, and members are forced to buy stuff they can get at walmart for cheaper - that's just dishonest. 2) The products have cheap competition that work perfectly fine (walmart has shakes, makeup, food containers), which means less selling for you! 3) Per #2, you are forced to keep buying overpriced BS to stay in the business. 4) Per #2: MLM members are forced to cry, do jumping jacks, lie, etc., to make the sale because... there is no reason to buy it from them; it's at Walmart. 5) Inventory: I don't want boxes of overpriced crap in my house. 6) In person demos: no thanks - gas is expensive and traffic stinks 7) Saturation of salespeople: most people you approach have already been approached (plus can buy the crap at Walmart) 8) Need vs Want: No one actually needs this crap. 9) Lies about "your discount" as you 'buy in' to make you feel special. WHAT (so that the problems solved - below - make sense with context) What if the product gives both members and customers access to lawyers for $1/day? It/s mobile, not something you put in your body. Covers up to 300 hours of pre-trial/trial defense (you get sued - kid falls down your stairs), they write your will (easily $500 alone w/out it), you call with questions about where to start with something (advice), they will write letters to the DOT if a snowplow breaks your mailbox and you want payment for it, a small business owner needs legal docs reviewed before submitting (15 pages), you get a speeding ticket and want a lawyer to rep you in court and keep your driving record..... legal services that are pre-paid / free with the membership of less than $1/day? WHY IT SOLVES EVERY MLM HATRED PROBLEM 1) Recruiting: Let's say a member ONLY recruits. That's still perfect. Why? Because the EXACT people who join MLM's are folks who need money - those are the SAME people who benefit the MOST from the service as they could never afford a lawyer, but now they have prepaid legal services on speed dial, literally speed dial, and then, they help others to solve 2 problems at once (no money, no lawyer access). I.e. Your recruits ARE your best target market whose lives literally get better. BEAUTIFUL. 2) Lawyers are expensive. Now they are on speed dial with dozens of common lawyer services - from big to small - totally pre-paid = ease of mind. 3) Covered in #1, new members' lives are literally better and more secure now for less than $1/day. 4) No crying, jumping jacks, or lying. The product is a no-brainer and cannot be bought at Walmart. 5) It's mobile. 6) Zoom and automation. Your content becomes omnipotent marketing where your digital self is talking to people about it while you sleep. 7) Since you do not know anyone with this service (or very few), then clearly it is not oversaturated = tons of opportunity to make cash! 8) People need lawyers. Plain and simple. 9) It's one monthly price and reps cannot change it with a discount or an upsell. So why not make money with it? Click my link below! Let's make money together without my preying on your buying cheap crap every month! CHEEMS 4 TEAMS: Consistent, Humble, Entertained, Educated, Motivated, Systematic ls-info.com/res/4743/202692?source=mobile
it's true anyone can sign up to sell anything, what you make of it, is what you make of it. It just seems like you were burned and now preach that sour to everyone. Not everyone is you, not everyone is going to have the same experience. It's always good to have your eyes open. let people enjoy what they enjoy
I totally understand what you're saying. But it's very much a catch 22. See there's not many businesses that are fully built that you can plug into for say a cheap 50 dollar startup kit. So that's the benefit. Easy barriers of entry. The draw back is it's going to take a lot of hard work. People understand how much work it takes. Doesn't matter if it's MLM or if it's traditional business. It takes a ton of work to get it off the launch pad. Then the other thing is whether you do traditional business or mlm you must bank on the idea that it's gonna take somewhere in the range of about 25 tries to find one that works. Sad reality is there's a ton of failures you need to go through along the way. Just my thoughts.
Thanks for your comment. You're right, someone who needs a flexible schedule while working at home has very limited options. I would like to see more companies offer alternative work options. But in the meantime, MLM companies are luring people in by making it look like they will be successful, when in reality 99% of those who sign up will break even or lose money. It would be better to not get involved at all, considering the high cost of debt incurred, the feeling of failure, and the loss of relationships.
Hi Grace! I've joined couple of mlm companies before I found the right one for me. So I know how you feel. Mlm may not be for everyone. I'm glad that I found the right mlm company. When you said that mlm is like a cult. To me it feel like church, you are there to get motivated. Because some time you will lose motivation doing the biz. My up line my mentor are very helpful. Also my teammates (downline/sideline) we all help each other out. We have training how to be a better speaker, how to consult, how to improved yourself to be better, prepared for the negative people, and rejection. And it's free. My mentor would check with me here and there how I'm doing with my biz and what I need to work on to improved. And when I have questions she's just a phone call away. She's from outer state so every other month when we have our regional event she'll fly here in my town to help the team grow. One time she extended her flight 3 times just for the team (us). One time she was going to go back home and we did a potluck and said our good byes. She was so touched she cried. She said her mentor said to her (let's name her her A), "A, when you take good care of your team your team will take good care of you and one day you don't have to work so hard no more (your team success is your reward,)." She's amazing person! It shows that she cares and want us to do will. I wanted to be just like her. I've learned a lot. I learned that not all your family or friends will buy or join the opportunity the biz after you share with them. But there's millions and billions people out there are still looking searching for your products and opportunity. You just haven't talk to enough people. Some will, Some won't, so what, next! What I love about is that I can run my biz around my schedule and no pressure convincing people to buy or join after you share with them. To be successful in mlm it's not easy, it takes time and efforts.
I appreciate your comment. It sounds like you've had a positive experience with an MLM. Unfortunately, I know of thousands and thousands whose lives have been destroyed because of MLMs. In order for the business model to succeed, buyers must pay full price and recruit more buyers... and the cycle continues. It is not something I would encourage anyone to join. MLMs will only survive until they run out of people to support the inflow of new sales.
According to the FTC 99% of distribitors in MLMs make zero profit. 70% leave the business within a year. According to expert in MLMs and author of the book featured in 20/20 show, Robert Fitzpatrick, MLM's marketing plans are structured so that people are forced to buy products every month to maintain their rank in order to get the overpriced products at a "discount." Such "discount" is an illusion, since the products are overpriced. Fitzpatrick also says MLMs functions as business cults. They isolate people from even their own family.
Their presentations are basically selling you dreams about millions of earnings and lifestyle changes. They barely talk about the products, since they are actually sub par and are sold at massive margins
Yep. MLM products are mostly hype. They're sold at a HUGE markup to incentivize buyers to sign up as "distributors" themselves.
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I can tell you are well educated and know business. I see some parallels between your story and mine. It's sad that many of us have to live these experiences to become wiser. I've had a few close calls when it comes to people recruiting me. I've been very lucky that I never jumped in. I recently had someone trying to recruit me through friendship too. That was just plain annoying and since I'm quite a lone wolf, it kinda confirmed for me that people just want to use me because I'm nice. I'm glad I'm at the stage now where I'm no longer getting close enough to jump into these things anymore. I appreciate you speaking up about this!
Not naming who these companies are is a disservice to those who need to be on guard for said 'company'.
Maybe so, but many MLM companies threaten legal action against anyone who mentions them by name. I believe it’s better to get familiar with why the MLM business model is harmful, rather than call out individual companies.
Selling, telling, convincing, there's a lot of that.
Neil Parmar you’re right, there is a lot of convincing done in multi-level marketing... even if the products don’t deliver (and aren’t even the point - recruiting more sellers is!)
Can't stand MLMs omfg I'm such a prick dealing with em because they're so persistent in trying to recruit me
I agree, the recruitment tactics can be really pushy. Thanks for commenting!
I've been in a few and know what you mean.
Joined mlm wen i was 21 years old 8 years ago
I was in 7 mlm companies promising dreams and cars and all that bullshit
I worked way too hard and never achieved anything
Its all hype and bunch of lies
People lie about their income on social media
I was one of them ones that would put all these people on a pedestal .......but in reality these people were living a lie.
Its all hype.
If you are actually deceiving people with YOUR "story" of why you unsuccessful in network marketing. Thank you for this video.
Right out of the gate, you gave your personal story on "why" mlm are BAD. You had a BAD experience and here is a list of your excuses:
✅️ You were vulnerable
✅️ You were young
✅️ You were naive
✅️ You were impressionable
✅️ You easily give your personal power away to people
I can go on and on listing all of YOUR "thoughts" on why YOU believe mlm is BAD. Yet, you NEVER gave ANY hard data on direct sales or MLM structure is BAD.
Thank you for your story and I really feel for you on your experience. I've been in mlm for over 33yrs, which is why I can give the experience and the hard facts. MLM is a cost effective business "structure" development to move prospects/services. The problem is NOT mlm structure, the problem is with the ethics of some people presenting the structure.
I too freelance and work from home. However, I lean more on the unethical practices of "people" and not the business structure. I majored in business and marketing. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. I chose the educational way to do things and put my personal "feelings" away.
I'm not discounting your feelings and I will NEVER discount your feelings. You feel like your trust has been violated and I absolutely GET THAT!
Wishing you a gorgeous year! 😊
I wrote down ALL of the reasons I hated MLM's below and found ONE that solves ALL of the reasons to hate MLM's!!!
PROBLEMS:
1) Recruiting-only is the business model, and members are forced to buy stuff they can get at walmart for cheaper - that's just dishonest.
2) The products have cheap competition that work perfectly fine (walmart has shakes, makeup, food containers), which means less selling for you!
3) Per #2, you are forced to keep buying overpriced BS to stay in the business.
4) Per #2: MLM members are forced to cry, do jumping jacks, lie, etc., to make the sale because... there is no reason to buy it from them; it's at Walmart.
5) Inventory: I don't want boxes of overpriced crap in my house.
6) In person demos: no thanks - gas is expensive and traffic stinks
7) Saturation of salespeople: most people you approach have already been approached (plus can buy the crap at Walmart)
8) Need vs Want: No one actually needs this crap.
9) Lies about "your discount" as you 'buy in' to make you feel special.
WHAT (so that the problems solved - below - make sense with context)
What if the product gives both members and customers access to lawyers for $1/day? It/s mobile, not something you put in your body. Covers up to 300 hours of pre-trial/trial defense (you get sued - kid falls down your stairs), they write your will (easily $500 alone w/out it), you call with questions about where to start with something (advice), they will write letters to the DOT if a snowplow breaks your mailbox and you want payment for it, a small business owner needs legal docs reviewed before submitting (15 pages), you get a speeding ticket and want a lawyer to rep you in court and keep your driving record..... legal services that are pre-paid / free with the membership of less than $1/day?
WHY IT SOLVES EVERY MLM HATRED PROBLEM
1) Recruiting: Let's say a member ONLY recruits. That's still perfect. Why? Because the EXACT people who join MLM's are folks who need money - those are the SAME people who benefit the MOST from the service as they could never afford a lawyer, but now they have prepaid legal services on speed dial, literally speed dial, and then, they help others to solve 2 problems at once (no money, no lawyer access). I.e. Your recruits ARE your best target market whose lives literally get better. BEAUTIFUL.
2) Lawyers are expensive. Now they are on speed dial with dozens of common lawyer services - from big to small - totally pre-paid = ease of mind.
3) Covered in #1, new members' lives are literally better and more secure now for less than $1/day.
4) No crying, jumping jacks, or lying. The product is a no-brainer and cannot be bought at Walmart.
5) It's mobile.
6) Zoom and automation. Your content becomes omnipotent marketing where your digital self is talking to people about it while you sleep.
7) Since you do not know anyone with this service (or very few), then clearly it is not oversaturated = tons of opportunity to make cash!
8) People need lawyers. Plain and simple.
9) It's one monthly price and reps cannot change it with a discount or an upsell.
So why not make money with it? Click my link below! Let's make money together without my preying on your buying cheap crap every month!
CHEEMS 4 TEAMS: Consistent, Humble, Entertained, Educated, Motivated, Systematic
ls-info.com/res/4743/202692?source=mobile
it's true anyone can sign up to sell anything, what you make of it, is what you make of it. It just seems like you were burned and now preach that sour to everyone. Not everyone is you, not everyone is going to have the same experience. It's always good to have your eyes open. let people enjoy what they enjoy
I totally understand what you're saying. But it's very much a catch 22. See there's not many businesses that are fully built that you can plug into for say a cheap 50 dollar startup kit. So that's the benefit. Easy barriers of entry. The draw back is it's going to take a lot of hard work. People understand how much work it takes. Doesn't matter if it's MLM or if it's traditional business. It takes a ton of work to get it off the launch pad. Then the other thing is whether you do traditional business or mlm you must bank on the idea that it's gonna take somewhere in the range of about 25 tries to find one that works. Sad reality is there's a ton of failures you need to go through along the way. Just my thoughts.
Thanks for your comment. You're right, someone who needs a flexible schedule while working at home has very limited options. I would like to see more companies offer alternative work options.
But in the meantime, MLM companies are luring people in by making it look like they will be successful, when in reality 99% of those who sign up will break even or lose money. It would be better to not get involved at all, considering the high cost of debt incurred, the feeling of failure, and the loss of relationships.
They not 4me
Hi Grace! I've joined couple of mlm companies before I found the right one for me. So I know how you feel. Mlm may not be for everyone. I'm glad that I found the right mlm company. When you said that mlm is like a cult. To me it feel like church, you are there to get motivated. Because some time you will lose motivation doing the biz. My up line my mentor are very helpful. Also my teammates (downline/sideline) we all help each other out. We have training how to be a better speaker, how to consult, how to improved yourself to be better, prepared for the negative people, and rejection. And it's free. My mentor would check with me here and there how I'm doing with my biz and what I need to work on to improved. And when I have questions she's just a phone call away. She's from outer state so every other month when we have our regional event she'll fly here in my town to help the team grow. One time she extended her flight 3 times just for the team (us). One time she was going to go back home and we did a potluck and said our good byes. She was so touched she cried. She said her mentor said to her (let's name her her A), "A, when you take good care of your team your team will take good care of you and one day you don't have to work so hard no more (your team success is your reward,)." She's amazing person! It shows that she cares and want us to do will. I wanted to be just like her. I've learned a lot. I learned that not all your family or friends will buy or join the opportunity the biz after you share with them. But there's millions and billions people out there are still looking searching for your products and opportunity. You just haven't talk to enough people. Some will, Some won't, so what, next! What I love about is that I can run my biz around my schedule and no pressure convincing people to buy or join after you share with them. To be successful in mlm it's not easy, it takes time and efforts.
Mai Xiong Oh my...
😅😅😅😅
I appreciate your comment. It sounds like you've had a positive experience with an MLM. Unfortunately, I know of thousands and thousands whose lives have been destroyed because of MLMs. In order for the business model to succeed, buyers must pay full price and recruit more buyers... and the cycle continues. It is not something I would encourage anyone to join.
MLMs will only survive until they run out of people to support the inflow of new sales.
Mai Xiong which company is this?