WILL AMWAY MAKE YOU ANNOYING?
January 6, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
(FranchisePick.Com) Have you ever had a good friend or close relative join AMWAY (Mary Kay, Herbalife, Quixtar, Meleleuca, Shaklee, USANA, nuskin, or other mlm, multilevel or network marketing scheme) and suddenly become… ANNOYING?
Our post IS AMWAY A GREAT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY? prompted thirstyfox to share what happened when her sister joined AMWAY/QUIXTAR:
My sis was in it once, wasted all her time and in the end made little or nothing.
She got back into it recently against everyones advice. It’s like a cult that turns you against your family so you don’t listen to them. Now she has no time for family, just scamming strangers and wasting her time away with unfullfilled dreams.
The constant meetings are to keep you brainwashed. It’s all a scam and she knows it herself now as she tries to get others in “under her.” Hard to see her as a Christian anymore when she does this, and it’s sad to see all the time she loses when she could be raising her kids.
I’ll never understand how she could be so stupid. I asked her why she got in it last time and she said of course money. Then I asked her what she got out of it and she replied defensivly “I met a lot of very interesting people!” I think that about says it all and if it didn’t work for my sis it won’t work for anyone.
All the BS they tell you about how well this that and the other person did or is doing is all lies so they can get your money. 98% of all Quixtar products are sold ONLY to stupid Quixtar members themselves, yet they go around saying they own a business???
Don’t give them a second of your time.
What do you think? Does Multi-level “Network” Marketing make people annoying? Is thirstyfox right that MLM consists of stupid members selling only to other stupid members? Share your MLM story below.
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The great thing about Network Marketing is that anyone can start a business. The worst thing about Network Marketing is that anyone can start a business.
Without the proper training, and without a company that works with integrity from the top down, a new person coming into the business can be quite annoying. That just means they are doing the business the wrong way.
That said, thirstyfox implication that MLM is all a scam and only stupid people buy from other stupid members is well…stupid.
The company I’m with (not Amway) has paid out over $4 billion in bonuses. At our most recent National convention there were 6000 distributors there and 1 in 6 had earned over $1 million dollars in their career. Not bad for a part-time business. I myself have hundreds of customers/members buying the product each month who are not “in the business”. I also have built an organization of trained distributors who don’t annoy their friends and family and earn good money working part-time from their home.
Network Marketing done right, with the right company, and exceptional products is an excellent way to market products — products that have significant differences from what is available in the typical retail marketplace.
Because of its accessibility through a low-cost start up — it allows just about anyone, regardless of age, race, sex, income and educational ability, to join the entrepreneur ranks. This makes Network Marketing the highest form of free enterprise we have created to date.
Amway doesn’t work. The process is complex because there are two businesses running. Amway is the first business. It doesn;t work efficiently because the products are too expensive and the products are not glamorous. The secondary business is where upline trick or bait and switch distributors into thinking they have the ultimate secret to succeeding in Amway. So the new distributor’s, not wanting to miss out on this information, subscribe to the “Amway College” and end up spending hundred if not thousands of dollars learning Amway. Eventually, they self discover what they saw early on. The Amway products are too expensive and they are not glamorous. Having spent a lot of money on Amway products and then a lot more money on Amway College, they now quit. Most slink away into disgust and shame, not wanting to discuss Amway unless recruited again. Some become advocates against Amway. In either case, Amway and the Amway teachers are the only ones who made money, not the distributors.
#1: There’s no known business wherein you don’t need a capital.
#2: There’s no known business that grows by itself.
#3: There’s no known business that grows with the wrong mindset and wrong objective.
If your objective is to “get-rich-quick”, then you will surely utterly fail.
If you think by joining Network Marketing companies you can sit and sleep and be lazy, then you only wasted your capital, your money.
It’s as simple as that. Of course there are other factors like what kind of product are you offering? How is it priced? Is the price justifiable? Is the price adjusted for the local economy and social status of your target market?
Now if your target is to recruit, the question here is, are you targeting the right people? Are you saying the right thing? Or maybe you are dropping words left and right about earning a million dollars when they join?
The Network Marketing System is legal and it works. I know people first-hand who earned from it, I know people first-hand who failed. I also saw my mother earn from it.
Then, once we are earning, the next question to ask is this: What kind of lifestyle do you have now? Is it still the “spend here and spend there” lifestyle?
No matter how much money we earn, in ANY business – MLM; Franchise; Corporations; Investment; etc. We will always be poor if we don’t change our lifestyle.
Richness and being Wealthy starts with changing our lifestyle. If you’re still the same as before, then you will never be rich and wealthy. Not a single chance.
Finally, losing is part of it. There are no rich or wealthy people (who started at our level), who reached their current financial status without going through it.
Now if you keep on losing, then something is wrong – you do not know when to take a break – to analyze and LEARN.
Again, Lifestyle and Mindset.
There is nothing wrong with Network Marketing, many people fail because they did not change their lifestyle and mindset.
If you still live and think like an “E-S”, you will really have a hard time succeeding in the “B-I” quadrant.
Is it hard? Oh yes, for most of us. But if you keep pushing on AND LEARNING, you will get through it all. The Cash flows in the B-I “Cashflow” Quadrant.
;)
I recently got recruited by two different “make money quick” companies. I turned down both of them, because I’m not interested in wasting my time. (I wrote a couple of posts on HomeBizNotes about this subject.)
John Cuneta is right – a legitimate business requires capital. A legitimate salesperson doesn’t have to invest to sell. More recent MLM’s have gotten into more creative ventures that attempt to convince people that they are selling products, when in fact they are just at the bottom of the money pyramid. The key in both cases was when I found out that I couldn’t just go out and sell. I had to “learn” how to sell – that is, their version of the “hard sell.” If you have to use a hard sell to get people to buy stuff, you are in an MLM. And if you have to “learn” how to get people to “get into the business” instead of just buying the product, you are definitely in an MLM.
One final note: Most of these hard sells try to close you immediately so you can’t change your mind. I did some extensive reading of the contract in one case, and I found that there is a 3-day opt-out. I don’t know if this is the case with all of these “opportunities,” but it would be a good idea to check this out, if you have any doubts about a business opportunity. Of course, if you have doubts, don’t sign up at all.
Great points, Jean. Thanks for commenting.
FYI Jean authors homebiznotes.com, another excellent b5media / bizzia blog.
Jean / Sean,
Jean, good that you told the guys “you are not interested” – this will avoid mutual waste of time. My point is, DO YOU REALLY KNOW what is MLM ? what is “Pyramid” as you term it ? Or are you just “read it on Google” or “read similar blogs like the one you posted” or “my friend told me” ???
If answer to any one of them is yes, then please at least do not badmouth a legit business without knowing what it is and how the heck it works.
It is people like you who:
- are so rich that they do not need more money.
or
- are so poor/middle class that the mentality remains thus and therefore:
who:
- Make Sam Walton (do you know who he was ?) and Mark Zuckerberg billionaires.
- Spoil the name of a business without knowing a thing. This is like a person
who does not swim teaching swimming to others.
Cheers/Shekhar
Mike Stevens,
You said:
Quote:
The secondary business is where upline trick or bait and switch distributors into thinking they have the ultimate secret to succeeding in Amway. So the new distributor’s, not wanting to miss out on this information, subscribe to the “Amway College” and end up spending hundred if not thousands of dollars learning Amway.
Unquote:
I FAIL TO UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU GET ALL THIS TRASH INFORMATION !!!
WHY ARE YOU MISLEADING PEOPLE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE HECK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ??? IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FIRST HAND INFO THEN AT LEAST KEEP THIS INFO TO YOURSELF INSTEAD OF SPOILING THE NAME OF A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS.
I am an Amwayiite and doing pretty well for a recent recruit:
- I HAVE NOT joined “Any other” “Amway College” simply because there is none.
- Amway products are top class and are NOT expensive.
- All I pay is a cover charge of USD 5/- (ZERO FIVE ONLY) per meeting simply
because my father does not pay the rental of the hotel room where we
congregate.
- My upline DOES NOT pester me to “recruit people”.
- My best friend is now retired and his take home is USD 250K per annum.
So please just stuff it OK ?
Cheers/Shekhar
“This is like a person who does not swim teaching swimming to others.”
Tell us, Shekhar, 1) how much revenue you’ve generated so far with Amway, 2) how much money you have spent, including product purchases, materials, and 3) estimated number of hours you have spent preparing, thinking about, pitching, attending meetings, etc. for Amway.
You talk like you’re Michael Phelps, but my guess is you’re treading water or drowning, like most in Scamway. It’s funny to hear how Amway is being persecuted by people spreading lies… they’ve claimed that for decades. Their bigger problem is people spreading the truth.
I’ll give you Shekhar credit for answering the title question.
Scamway,
I admire your gall. You guys are so negative that:
- YOu insist that Colgate was invented BEFORE mankind.
- You insist on donating Walmart/Costco owners.
- YOu are so rich that you do not WANT to be paid for spending your money
on your regular purchases.
aaawww….never mind, the list goes on….
Then, WHAT IS YOUR TIGLE QUESTION you refer to above ??????? you have just quoted my sentence…..
But here are your answers:
- I am new my friend (only 15 days old) in the business.
When you start ANY business, HOW long do you take to start earning money ?
Why is that you ask this question ONLY to Amway IBOs and not all other
business owners of different businesses ?????
- How much money I have spent ? Although extremely personal (none of anyone’s
business come to think of it), I do not mind sharing only to make a point):
about 318 for joining (got a whole lot of products in the starter pack).
That’s it.
- Number of hours I have spent – ALL of my free time – it is MY business
so I will do what it takes. I am MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS not someone
else’s. So why do someone like you need to bother ?
Thanks to someone like you, people REFUSE to see the simple but seemingly
Too Good To Be True business model. But then you guys INSIST on ignoring
the key word “seemingly”.
Difference between you and me:
- I like to be positive. You like to be negative.
- I like to MIND MY OWN business. You – mind OTHER peoples’ business.
Did you notice the pun here ? I am sure you did not.
- I am not rich (yet). So I LIKE to be paid when I make a purchase.
You – do NOT LIKE to be paid. You are happy with using 0.50$ coupons.
- I KNOW what products are good for ME. You – do not even bother to find out.
- I go to meetings to LEARN the business and learn to be POSITIVE.
You – like to while away the time and remain NEGATIVE always.
- I have a job (and I also pray that you TOO have a job) and you have a job.
I have a PLAN-B. You do not have a plan B.
- According to YOUR perception – I will lose all my friends. But I have GAINED
many more like minded people. We have a ball. YOu – MAY have a few friends
who will NOT THINK TWICE before badmouthing you behind your back.
So who is better off ? me or you ?
The list goes on. For your kind informaiton you may note that the “you” in my list above was ME – myself – till a few days ago.
Wake up people. Do you want to learn horse-riding from a person who is simply PETRIFIED of horses and all animals ?
Shekhar
Jean / Sean,
I had posed you a question – do you know what is MLM ? what is a pyramid ?
If your answer is:
- MLM – i.e. sell products to others.
- Pyramid – so my “upline” will earn money while I work hard.
then just take PITY on yourself and feel depressed. If you do not wish to ake pity on yourself, THEN I DARE YOU. FIND OUT!!!
Also since we are at it, decide:
- If you want to do your PhD on “google”
or
- If you wish to do it in a proper college.
Do you honestly think that people in AMWAY business are NOT human beings or that they are human beings but are STUPID ? Do you think that ?
Cheers/Shekhar
I feel compelled to write against my better judgment.. I feel my story is needed..
I am a proud IBO powered by Amway Global and have been for several years. I know everything there is to know about my companies and my industry. All the good, bad, pretty & ugly.. Just like every other business model on the planet. Except ours gives us real personal freedom and real influence to give a hand-up not a hand-out…
My experience with AG and the leadership team that my wife & I are apart of has changed my life and my families life for the better. Our marriage has improved because of the BOOKS we were recommended and the PEOPLE we CHOOSE to associate with. Our careers, YES our JOBS have taken off, read ( more money and better positions )have improved. I am still looking forward to running our business full-time and giving my job to someone else as is my wife. Here is a shock to all the negative heads. We run a profitable business….SHock, horror, run for your life. real profit.. not possible with the knuckle heads on the intrawebs…
Friends/Family of ours that are not in business with us or shop with us are still our Friends/Family….We talk, hang-out & just live our lives. Same as before, just improved & better. Watched the Magic, saw the Tigers play, hit balls on the Golf course… Had a blast with friends in and out of our business………. Someone has got to up with something new and original to complain about.. Just tired drivel from before I was born.. What pressure or chasing.. blah, blah where?? not us or our team or our BIG LOA..
I never meet or hear about anyone remotely involved with these ridiculous stories of “OH my friends were brain-washed and forced against their will to buy printer paper from Office Depot & get payed for it.” What? Or the referenced it’s a cult?? Seriously? Are you kidding me?? A cult of what? Personality? Get a grip for gosh-’sakes it’s 2009. Not the dark ages.. FTC, Accreditation, BBB, DSA, Completely online, 8 freakin Billion globally, xyz, pqrst,….
I fully recommend a proper “brain-flushing” of mass proportions for many. Ie: If you are going to run a profitable & successful business, you NEED to learn everything you can and “flush” your E quadrant mentality….
People are excited about an opportunity and to learn from others that have succeeded in their chosen path. And………………
I also see new people on our own team jacked out of their heads sometime and it is funny and great to see at the same time because REAL possibility is in front of them for most likely the first time in their lives and that’s bad? Come on already..
People quit, people make money, some do, some don’t.. It’s not magic pixie dust or super secret training. It’s W_O_R_K and learning new skills and info and then applying what you have learned over and over and over..
Stop whining and start winning. If this business isn’t for you do something else. Stop blaming everyone and everything for your lack of success. What ever that means to you..
Let the flames begin and complaining about you don’t know my story or my upline or blah, blah, blah.. then quit and do something else. It’s not for you. Man up and have some honor & dignity.
This has been fun and no I will not be back.
God bless & God bless America,
Tim
Shekhar:
I’m keeping an open mind. That’s why I wrote the headline as a question, rather than “Boy, Amway Sure Makes People Annoying!”
Let’s do this: You come back on the first of every month and tell us how much you spent the prior month, how many hours you spent, products you bought, and your profit for the month. I will even post your progress. This will be the only way to dispell the propoganda of the naysayers.
A tip: If you truly consider this a business, you need to track every hour that you spend on it. That’s just basic business. It will of course be low $ per hour at first, but you need to assign a value to your time or there’s no way to assess your “opportunity costs” or compare to other activities.
Deal? We’ll meet back here the first? Don’t worry about privacy… no one knows who you are. You can post under a diff name if you’d like.
I was hoping to hear from Shekhar. I think it would be interesting to “hear” his journey.
I lost a “friend” to an MLM, my friend and her husband would not talk to me once my husband and I turned them down. Sort of sad and unfortunate, I probably would have ordered product from them, some of this particular MLM companies stuff is very good.
Jane we have friends that I feel like we have lost too. They brand me as a “negative” person because I am not interested, and “unsupportive.” We are scared to invite them place (events or parties), because they will approach people and ultimately make them uncomfortable at something that is suppose to be fun for everyone there. I was more just wondering if anyone here knows how to handle this. I miss my friends, but also feel like they are totally different people now. I really want them to do well without being involved myself but that doesn’t seem like an option.