MLM recruiting ethics

[pjhaggerty]

This is going to be a long question, which hopefully leads to good discussion. I want as many opinions as possible, both positive and negative, and as extreme as you want to be.

The background: I am a member of a Network Marketing company. I'm not going to reveal the company so don't ask. Part of our network marketing philosophy is to recruit new people to our company and so build a team of people, then do business. Now, I'm not sure how familiar people are with the network marketing industry or not, so I'm going to leave it at that, and answer questions based on what people don't know or what they assume that just ain't so.

Anyways, the question is: What do you think about focusing on recruiting people into a business versus just selling people products? They are two different ways to run the same mlm business. Which one is morally and ethically better, or is there another alternative? Which one is more effective? Which one is more profitable? What do you all think about this?

I'd love to hear your opinions.

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

Anyways, the question is: What do you think about focusing on recruiting people into a business versus just selling people products? They are two different ways to run the same mlm business. Which one is morally and ethically better, or is there another alternative? Which one is more effective? Which one is more profitable? What do you all think about this?

I'd love to hear your opinions.

I think as long as you are completely honest up front, and don't try to sell **** for gold (or.. try to tell them "because I will make soooo much money, you could make soooo much money as well..). The lower in the pyramid they are, the less they will make.. be honest about that.

So... as long as you are completely honest, there is nothing unethical about it in my opinion..

However... it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recruit new people by being honest and up front with them... which would make it unethical in my book...

[alexb5784]

I know a couple of people who've had tons of success with MLMs such as Mary Kay, Princess House, and Avon. Then there are people who've sold Amway, Nikken, and the likes with very little success.

If the MLM is promoting a product that you'd definitely buy yourself, then get as many people to sign on as possible. But if the product is vague, too expensive, and you're only expected to put people through the meat grinder (take their money and run), then stop doing what you're doing.

It sounds to me like you really don't feel confident pushing this MLM business anyway. If it really was something you cared about you, wouldn't be questioning whether you should promote it or not.

Never do anything to just make money, no matter how desperate you are. Follow your conscious, do something inspiring, worthwhile, and powerful.

Personally, I stay away from MLM companies. I like to create and market my own products. Why do I need someone else for that?

- Peace

[openeyes]

If by signing up the people receive useful training that they can apply elsewhere, beyond simply learning to avoid MLMs and you're open with them as to their likely possibilities, bringing in new people could be perfectly fine. It's when people get into very optimistic mathematical projections that it gets bothersome.

I would only consider a company that could realistically provide a good income or experience (what may be "good enough" varies by person/time) without requiring me to purchase anything myself or mentioning it to anyone I know.

Too many companies survive by getting a constant influx of new sales people who sell largely to people who love them, and then when they run out of such people they haven't been taught enough to get many new clients, so they quit and the company starts fresh with new people. The company does fine, but everyone else is left with poor training or product they don't really care about.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by openeyes

If by signing up the people receive useful training that they can apply elsewhere, beyond simply learning to avoid MLMs and you're open with them as to their likely possibilities, bringing in new people could be perfectly fine. It's when people get into very optimistic mathematical projections that it gets bothersome.

I would only consider a company that could realistically provide a good income or experience (what may be "good enough" varies by person/time) without requiring me to purchase anything myself or mentioning it to anyone I know.

Too many companies survive by getting a constant influx of new sales people who sell largely to people who love them, and then when they run out of such people they haven't been taught enough to get many new clients, so they quit and the company starts fresh with new people. The company does fine, but everyone else is left with poor training or product they don't really care about.

as a previous poster noted, I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing, and part of that is responding to these types of questions. I appreciate you bringing up these points, and although my responses might seem argumentative, I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just trying to straighten out what I think about it in response to common things and perceptions that are out there. again, I appreciate you bringing these points out, and now I'm going to respond to them

I would ask in your last paragraph, who's fault is it that they quit? I mean can you blame the company that the people quit when they run out of loved ones to talk to and have to go to a cold market of strangers? Since people quit and the MLM isn't firing them, can we blame the MLM for not retaining the people? it's not like the MLM is telling them to leave, in most cases. It's that it gets too hard for people and they decide to quit on themselves. In fact, most MLM's would seek to retain all the people they recruit, if possible, wouldn't they?

what would you say to that line of thinking above?

the other question would be

1. why would you get involved with an MLM where you didn't want to mention it to people you know?

2. why would you sell people something you wouldn't want to purchase yourself?

It would seem obvious that if you don't want to buy the product and don't think the company worthy of you talking to friends about it, then you shouldn't get involved, wouldn't it? On the other side of that coin, there must be MLM's out there which have both good enough products and a good enough company for you to want to both purchase it for yourself and share it with people you know, wouldn't there?

I agree with your first paragraph that being very open with them about the possibilities at the beginning is the right way to do it. I would rather only recruit one guy a month out of ten people I talk to, who it's right for, then recruit ten people who waste time and where 9 of them quit months later.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by alexb5784

I know a couple of people who've had tons of success with MLMs such as Mary Kay, Princess House, and Avon. Then there are people who've sold Amway, Nikken, and the likes with very little success.

If the MLM is promoting a product that you'd definitely buy yourself, then get as many people to sign on as possible. But if the product is vague, too expensive, and you're only expected to put people through the meat grinder (take their money and run), then stop doing what you're doing.

It sounds to me like you really don't feel confident pushing this MLM business anyway. If it really was something you cared about you, wouldn't be questioning whether you should promote it or not.

Never do anything to just make money, no matter how desperate you are. Follow your conscious, do something inspiring, worthwhile, and powerful.

Personally, I stay away from MLM companies. I like to create and market my own products. Why do I need someone else for that?

- Peace

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate the contribution. I want you to know that in responding to it below, I probably sound confrontational, or defensive, and really, that's just so that I can wrap my head around it and get comfortable with the ideas myself. Please don't take it as a personal attack. Anyway:

I recently got into it, and I'm getting more comfortable with it. I certainly have no intention of pushing people through a meat grinder, taking their money, and running. Unfortunately, it seems that that tends to happen to people. I would say though that in most cases where somebody joins and doesn't make a profit and then quits (i.e. gets rung through the meat grinder) one of two things happens.

1. they quit on themselves, nothing I can do.

2. they weren't clear on it getting into it. Something I can do here is make sure people are very clear about what their opportunity is so neither of us wastes our time or money. I don't want people coming on board who it's not right for, and I want to make sure they understand what we have for. even with that, number 1 might still happen.

In most cases the company does not desire that they quit. They don't get fired. so it's not as if they're getting kicked out as soon as we get their friends contact information. that would be 1. illegal and 2. unethical.

Also, I love this company's product, and I love the company. It's exactly the right fit for me. I'm just getting used to the MLM mindset, the recruiting side of it. Obviously I want to do it in such a way where people who I talk to and are interested in joining get all the information first, including knowing exactly what it will take to get to the income they want, and exactly how hard this business can be.

Even with that kind of disclosure, and knowing all the facts, even when I'm completely upfront and honest and they know all that, people will join and then quit later because they wanted to try it and realized that it was not right for them. Unfortunately people looking in on that from that out side will say that that person got screwed.

I'm not sure how I can stop that from happening, because it would also be unethical for me to bar people from the opportunity if they do want to join, just because I don't think they'll make it. I should give everybody a chance who wants it without discriminating because of my personal preferences. All I can do is let people know exactly how hard it will be to do this business and let them decide.

Because for some it will be fantastic. For others, all I can do is treat them in a way where I feel comfortable with the approach, where I don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, and where they walk away hopefully saying, 'PJ was an honest guy with us the whole way, too bad it didn't work out'. I can't know which group someone will fall into at the beginning, can I?

[openeyes]

In my post I was thinking of a company that, during initial training, has people list as many names as they can along with their numbers as a competition, and then the managers go through and call all the #s to see who they can get to join as salespeople, saying the initial people recommended them, without telling the initial people this is what they're going to do with the information.

Then the initial people are pushed to sell to anyone they know, and they do ok for a couple weeks. Within a month 90%+ of people are gone, but new people have joined, in part from all the numbers given by the last group, and the cycle begins again.

The particular company sold strictly on a referral basis, meaning that if you didn't know someone, or didn't know/sell to someone who could refer someone, you had no one to sell to. No cold sales allowed, and therefore no training in selling to unknown parties. It worked fine for the company, but not so well for the salesmen, who were effectively just new lists of contacts who lost their usefulness once they ran out of people they knew.

Since it was commission only, there was little need for firing unless they became a negative influence.

If the company provides effective training for selling beyond your immediate circle of influence, I see that as something that would be useful in any job, and would therefore fit my initial criteria of "useful training that they can apply elsewhere".

I actually like sales, and would not be opposed to selling something that I saw as a good value to everyone involved.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by ssandra

I think as long as you are completely honest up front, and don't try to sell **** for gold (or.. try to tell them "because I will make soooo much money, you could make soooo much money as well..). The lower in the pyramid they are, the less they will make.. be honest about that.

So... as long as you are completely honest, there is nothing unethical about it in my opinion..

However... it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recruit new people by being honest and up front with them... which would make it unethical in my book...

I wrote a long post here, just outlining the arguments against your points. again, I'm just trying to get clear on it. feel free to argue back, and tell me why I'm full of ****, if you want to. but if nothing else, I would love it if somebody would respond to the question in the second paragraph, why would it be difficult to recruit new people with being up front with them? do you think being upfront with people is a business killer in network marketing? why?

That's interesting. why do you think it will be extremely difficult to recruit new people by being honest and up front with them? if you could expand on that, it would be great because it would seem like an MLM type business would offer significant advantages over many other employment, business, and income earning models.

I'm going to use my company and give some examples. I know that we provide great training, on both product, the industry, and the recruiting/sales part of it. This is something that someone starting out their own business definitely does not have access to at the beginning, on the same scale.

We also offer a lot of time flexibility and freedom of location, which most jobs and self-employment type gigs don't have available.

there's unlimited income potential which most jobs and business models don't necessarily have, especially if you consider the leveraging effect of building a team in network marketing which you can't do in most jobs or sole proprietorship business opportunities.

there is also a positive environment people can be a part of, which apparently does not exist in most of corporate america, and a positive community which will help you achieve your business goals from day 1 which is not present in most sole proprietorship/new businesses type situations.

true, the lower you are on the pyramid, the less money you make. That is also true in corporate america though, which nobody seems to have a problem recruiting into. it is also true in most self employment/new business situations, except there you start out on the top of your pyramid. this happens in network marketing too, where you start out on top of a pyramid and can build your pyramid as big as you want to. I know my company allows you to eventually make more money than the people above you (I personally know people who earn more than their upline) if you build big enough and sell enough product.

All of that is to say that there are definite advantages to a network marketing opportunity as opposed to employment models or entrepreneurial models. there are also disadvantages.

Also, btw, having a network marketing company offers benefits to the clients/consumers as opposed to a traditional distribution channel.

For example, most people buying candles or juice or supplements or whatever other consumer goods some network marketing companies sell usually don't get personalized customer service. Because network marketing companies don't advertise and use referrals to get in front of people, they can offer personalized customer service when selling these products. Also, when buying these products network marketing companies have a large sales/customer service force which can handle maintaining customer relationships which traditional retailers do not. They advertise instead.

If you look at it, the costs of marketing in traditional sales are for advertising through traditional media (print, radio, tv, internet). In network marketing, that money goes to distributors as a commission. In some industries, commissions are still paid to traditional salesman, in addition to the advertising expenses, which network marketing doesn't have to pay. Cutting out the advertising expenses lowers the cost to consumers, although distributor commissions raise them, and on average the total marketing costs are probably about equal between network marketing and traditional distribution, or will become equal due to competition in the free market.

also, in network marketing, people are easily able to access people with more experience to answer consumer questions, through the upline. In most traditional stores, if the salesman doesn't know the answer to a question there might not be that much support, especially since the other salesmen and the boss don't necessarily have a stake in him closing that sale. In network marketing, there are a lot of people who have a financial interest in you serving that client as best you can which ultimately provides better customer service.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by openeyes

In my post I was thinking of a company that, during initial training, has people list as many names as they can along with their numbers as a competition, and then the managers go through and call all the #s to see who they can get to join as salespeople, saying the initial people recommended them, without telling the initial people this is what they're going to do with the information.

Then the initial people are pushed to sell to anyone they know, and they do ok for a couple weeks. Within a month 90%+ of people are gone, but new people have joined, in part from all the numbers given by the last group, and the cycle begins again.

The particular company sold strictly on a referral basis, meaning that if you didn't know someone, or didn't know/sell to someone who could refer someone, you had no one to sell to. No cold sales allowed, and therefore no training in selling to unknown parties. It worked fine for the company, but not so well for the salesmen, who were effectively just new lists of contacts who lost their usefulness once they ran out of people they knew.

Since it was commission only, there was little need for firing unless they became a negative influence.

If the company provides effective training for selling beyond your immediate circle of influence, I see that as something that would be useful in any job, and would therefore fit my initial criteria of "useful training that they can apply elsewhere".

I actually like sales, and would not be opposed to selling something that I saw as a good value to everyone involved.

thank you for the well thought out reply. I agree that the operation you have described seems shady, although it is also a little different than my particular MLM which I get into below:

interesting. yes, I know some offices in our company operate that way. I don't particularly think it's necessary to do things that way. we try to encourage people to call on their own. we offer to make calls if people want us to make calls, using the referral approach, but it's an offer, and not generally taken up on.

I think it's unethical not to explain to people why you are calling all their friends and family. I feel you have to have respect for the relationship your new recruit has. on the flip side, we have a great company and there's no reason we shouldn't talk to their friends and family, because I know I am going to operate in an ethical manner in front of them.

it is easier for all involved to talk to someone who your prospect knows. it's easier for the recruit as long as we can assure them we won't pressure their friends and family into a sale. it's easier for the friends and family because they aren't getting sold by some random salesperson they don't know. it's easier for the upline because there's less tension in the situation.

the problem comes when you don't respect the relationship over the sale. my trainer in my company told me at training that we were going to talk to people I knew and that if nothing happened besides them being impressed and me seeing him talk, then he was perfectly fine with that. I guess that's different than most companies.

I also asked if it was possible to do this whole business from strictly a cold market, and he said yes, although it will be much harder, take much longer, and not be helpful to your friends and family who are missing out on the opportunity.

I don't necessarily think there's a problem with talking to friends and family about the opportunity/products that you have. I think the problem comes when you don't respect the underlying relationship which is already there, and instead treat it like a sales opportunity. The truth is that getting in front of someone's friends and family is an exposure to our company. the relationship and referrals that could potentially come out of that are much more important than closing that one sale. although closing that one sale might make you money up front, long term it is not as profitable as developing a really good relationship with that person, rather you sell or not.

of course, that comes down to a philosophy of your upline and surrounding office, instead of a particular company or not, which is another matter. but it is the right way to do it, I feel, and when done with the relationship first it can be a real positive experience for everyone, even if you don't close any sales. which is ok, because the positive impression and relationship are much more important.

[spirit4711]

MLM is quite nicely described here: Multi-level marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I´ve been to a MLM meeting once. High energy, nice products, yet it wasn´t for me. Too much focus on 'get rich quick'.

The main problems with MLM are the untrue promises. Furthermore MLM can be interesting for some product types that need demonstrating ('Tupperware parties'). Apart from that, the products usually are over-priced. Last, when I go to a shop I can compare different similar products. When I talk to a MLM representative I only hear about one manufacturer.

All in all the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages I think.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

MLM is quite nicely described here: Multi-level marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I´ve been to a MLM meeting once. High energy, nice products, yet it wasn´t for me. Too much focus on 'get rich quick'.

The main problems with MLM are the untrue promises. Furthermore MLM can be interesting for some product types that need demonstrating ('Tupperware parties'). Apart from that, the products usually are over-priced. Last, when I go to a shop I can compare different similar products. When I talk to a MLM representative I only hear about one manufacturer.

All in all the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages I think.

do you think an MLM can be successful without lying to people or making untrue promises? can one succeed in MLM with integrity? or is that a business killer? and why?

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

I would love it if somebody would respond to the question in the second paragraph, why would it be difficult to recruit new people with being up front with them?

If it really is a good opportunity, something that unites well with truth, love, and power, as Steve discusses, I could see it working.

While not specifically MLM, when I was doing door to door security sales in California my manager openly told me that the product wouldn't sell if we were entirely honest about it. Until I read the manual (no one else in the office ever did) and knew exactly what was being sold, I made a few hundred dollars per day, and my managers made one to two grand daily with just a year's experience, but once I noticed the lies management was having us tell customers, I couldn't sell anymore. I also hadn't realized we'd be put in the most dangerous parts of town without proper licensing and have to evade the police. The office was shut down a month after I left and the company has since been banned from operating in multiple states.

My next experience, which dealt with us selling on a strictly referral basis, paid much less. When I went to a conference where the best in the company talked, I realized they made less than I made in the prior company, and that killed a lot of my motivation. Also, it wasn't clear what we'd be selling until arriving for training, and the product, though OK in quality, had a seriously inflated price and little value for the majority of people I knew.

In my early teens I did sign up with an MLM company that sold long distance phone service at a really good price, but I never got enough clients to reach the point where they would give me a commission. At the time (mid 90's) the company didn't provide much training. At least my family got good rates.

Maybe your company is good. I imagine you're trustworthy and want the best for whoever you interact with. If the product is something you feel good about, the training is effective, and compensation is fair, congratulations on a good find. Different companies work better for different people, depending on what kind of products you can really get excited about, and what people you end up working with.

[90802]

I haven't read through all the responses in detail because I didn't want it to influence my response, so I may end up repeating what others have said. Anyhow, let me give this a go

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

What do you think about focusing on recruiting people into a business versus just selling people products?

My problem with MLM is people trying to sell something to someone that doesn't want it.

For example, if I get a friend that joins pre-paid legal and gets excited about it, he'll want to give the sales pitch to me and everyone else he knows, even though we have no interest in MLM. But I imagine that most of the time no mention of MLM is made up front. It's always something like "have you ever thought of running your own business?" "are you happy with your current job/career path? Every thoguht of venturing on your own?" etc.

I mean, I can see the reason they wouldn't lead with the MLM part because most folks would automatically shut off.

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

Which one is morally and ethically better, or is there another alternative?

I think both routes can be moral and ethical. SBI is something I see as moral and ethical mlm. They offer a great product with excellent support, and offer generous commissions. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

Which one is more effective? Which one is more profitable?

My gut tells me that recruiting is much more effective and profitable. When you recruit people, you always have fresh blood coming into the organization.

I hope this feedback was useful

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by openeyes

If it really is a good opportunity, maybe it would work.

While not specifically MLM, when I was doing door to door security sales in California my manager openly told me that the product wouldn't sell if we were entirely honest about it. Until I read the manual (no one else in the office ever did) and knew exactly what was being sold, I made a few hundred dollars per day, and my managers made one to two grand daily with just a year's experience, but once I noticed the lies management was having us tell customers, I couldn't sell anymore. I also hadn't realized we'd be put in the most dangerous parts of town without proper licensing and have to evade the police. The office was shut down a month after I left and the company has since been banned from operating in multiple states.

My next experience, which dealt with us selling on a strictly referral basis, paid much less. When I went to a conference where the best in the company talked, I realized they made less than I made in the prior company, and that killed a lot of my motivation. Also, it wasn't clear what we'd be selling until arriving for training, and the product, though OK in quality, had a seriously inflated price.

In my early teens I did sign up with an MLM company that sold long distance phone service at a really good price, but I never got enough clients to reach the point where they would give me a commission. At the time (mid 90's) the company didn't provide much training. At least my family got good rates.

Maybe your company is good. If the product is something you feel good about, the training is effective, and compensation is fair, congratulations on a good find. Different companies work better for different people, depending on what kind of products you can really get excited about, and what people you end up working with.

thank you for the reply. I feel that the product is something I feel very good about, although I can't talk about it here (licensing issues), the compensation is very fair, and the training is effective.

you've definitely had some interesting experiences with this, it sounds like.

I'm curious, why didn't the telephone company pay you a commission if you closed sales? was that just the way the compensation worked? because that definitely sounds like a rip-off... I know if I'm licensed with my company we get payed a commission after our first sale. I didn't realize that was unique or at all special. I thought all companies worked that way. I guess not???

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by 90802

I haven't read through all the responses in detail because I didn't want it to influence my response, so I may end up repeating what others have said. Anyhow, let me give this a go



My problem with MLM is people trying to sell something to someone that doesn't want it.

For example, if I get a friend that joins pre-paid legal and gets excited about it, he'll want to give the sales pitch to me and everyone else he knows, even though we have no interest in MLM. But I imagine that most of the time no mention of MLM is made up front. It's always something like "have you ever thought of running your own business?" "are you happy with your current job/career path? Every thoguht of venturing on your own?" etc.

I mean, I can see the reason they wouldn't lead with the MLM part because most folks would automatically shut off.



I think both routes can be moral and ethical. SBI is something I see as moral and ethical mlm. They offer a great product with excellent support, and offer generous commissions. Nothing wrong with that at all.



My gut tells me that recruiting is much more effective and profitable. When you recruit people, you always have fresh blood coming into the organization.

I hope this feedback was useful

Thank you for the reply. From your reply, and others, I've started to see two big problems people are having with MLM's

the first is that the product (business opportunity or actual product) is not that great to begin with. this is an MLM side problem, which comes down to choosing the right company, it seems like. I feel I've chosen a company which has this handled

The second problem is that people who sell MLM's are more interested in recruiting/closing the sale than respecting the long-term relationships that already exist in people's lives. this is a distributor problem. it comes from unenlightened thinking. people think that closing the first sale is important. it's not. developing a strong relationship which can lead to quality referrals and potential business down the line is much more important. Those who are going to join, are going to join. those who aren't aren't. it will make you more successful long term to have good relationships with those who aren't going to join so that they might refer recruits or business your way, and to back off on the first impression/not try to close the sale.

also, about leading with the MLM part. the fact that it is classified as an MLM company is not important at all. it's what that means to the people you are talking to, which is why asking questions like 'how's your job going, are you looking for something new' etc. is more important than 'how'd you like to hear about my new and shiny MLM opportunity'. the first one is based on the person, the second has nothing to do with them.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

I'm curious, why didn't the telephone company pay you a commission if you closed sales? was that just the way the compensation worked??

I needed 5 clients before commissions would start, meaning I needed 5 people to switch their monthly long distance service, and even then it'd only be ~5% of the monthly bill. Since it was a good deal that certainly could be doable, but for a 13 year old without training living in a rural area where my parents didn't feel safe having me wonder very far it just didn't happen that time.

Looking back on things I wish I'd pushed ahead more. A school mate from college is CEO of a company he'd started 7 years ago at 18, with $30 million+ in annual sales. It was not his first company. He and I read most of the same books and took many of the same courses, but he acted on what he read much more, and was okay working 100+ hour weeks without pay for more than a year, while I kept reading. I'm still working on breaking into the action part more.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by openeyes

I needed 5 clients before commissions would start, meaning I needed 5 people to switch their monthly long distance service, and even then it'd only be ~5% of the monthly bill. Since it was a good deal that certainly could be doable, but for a 13 year old without training living in a rural area where my parents didn't feel safe having me wonder very far it just didn't happen that time.

Looking back on things I wish I'd pushed ahead more. A school mate from college is CEO of a company he'd started 7 years ago at 18, with $30 million+ in annual sales. He and I read most of the same books and took many of the same courses, but he acted on what he read much more, while I kept reading. I'm still working on breaking into the action part more.

ah. that's too bad. although congratulations for your friend.

you know, for somebody looking in from the outside, you'd almost be a prime example of somebody who got 'chewed up by the meat grinder' you came in, sold some of your friends and family, doubtless tried to recruit some of them, and then quit. but it wasn't anything about the company that made you quit in this case, it was more about your personal situation. you probably would've quit the same if you'd been a salaried employee doing the same thing in a corporation.

I'm saying, some people would look at that example and say 'see? the MLM doesn't work. he didn't make any money!' but actually, the MLM would've worked, it just wasn't right for you to work it at the time. certainly whoever recruited you shouldn't feel guilty at all that you quit, as if they'd wasted your time or anything. it just wasn't right at that moment. which is ok. at least you tried it, and helped your friends/family in the process.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

the MLM would've worked, it just wasn't right for you to work it at the time. certainly whoever recruited you shouldn't feel guilty at all that you quit, as if they'd wasted your time or anything. it just wasn't right at that moment. which is ok. at least you tried it, and helped your friends/family in the process.

Agreed. Also, I just checked and though it's been ~ a dozen years since I've logged on and the company has changed names, my account still exists, so anything I would have built could have still been working.

[spirit4711]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

do you think an MLM can be successful without lying to people or making untrue promises?

Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a MLM expert. What I do know: I don't want to do business in an unethical manner, MLM or otherwise.

can one succeed in MLM with integrity? or is that a business killer? and why?

As I said in my previous post, for some products I can see benefits by selling in a MLM way. For most products I don't see that.

Why do you want to sell your products via MLM? Have you considered other models?

What type of product do you want to sell?

[Lauxa]

I didn't read all the replies, but I have direct experience with one MLM...

The one I joined doesn't require people to purchase their products up-front as they are selling accounts, but they want a joining fee (around $300) and then $25/month website fee.

It is possible to make sales without the website, so I recommend to everyone to turn that off. Then it is just the matter of the $300.

They offer incentives (some money back for getting a certain amount of customers in first 60 days, some money back for recruiting new associates in first 60 days). Sometimes the incentives are good enough that people can get all their money back if you are smart about it. That is when I will approach people and bring them in.

The company incentivizes a certain structure, they want each associate to sell a certain number of accounts. You get more money for product sales when they are made from further down in the downline. So if I can sell the product then after I fill up my personal quota, I can bring in a new associate, and put my product sales in their bucket. They get their money back and a small source of passive income. I get a recruiting bonus, and a slightly larger sense of passive income. Then you have to teach your new recruit how to sell the product so they can repeat the cycle. Or not, they've already gotten their money back so it doesn't matter so much.

I think MLM done this way is ethical and can benefit everyone in your downline. As long as the product doesn't suck.

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a MLM expert. What I do know: I don't want to do business in an unethical manner, MLM or otherwise.



As I said in my previous post, for some products I can see benefits by selling in a MLM way. For most products I don't see that.

Why do you want to sell your products via MLM? Have you considered other models?

What type of product do you want to sell?

unfortunately, I feel that revealing that information would reveal the company I am working with, which i don't want to do.

suffice it to say that the industry that my company is in is notorious for having high barriers to entry into employment type jobs with corporations and for starting a self-employment type business.

other models are likely not open to me. not because legally I couldn't be hired. but because there is such a high barrier to entry, which is completely unnecessary, which I likely wouldn't pass.

if you want me to avoid the vagueness and tell you, I'd have to do it over a private message, feel free to send me one.