MLMs: You don't need them

[Antiventurecapital]

When you acquire a basic understanding of what is required to start and grow a business, you realize that MLMs have nothing of value to offer you.

Absolutely nothing.

In fact, they are a detriment to your success.

You don't need an MLM to start a business or just earn some extra income.

You can put all the pieces of a small business together by yourself. To learn what is needed to start a business simply requires curiosity about the subject. It's not rocket science. All that is required is the willingness to learn. Back in the early 1980s when I first committed to becoming an entrepreneur, I spent a year thinking about it and reading every book I could find on entrepreneurship and small business.

MLM attracts people looking for the quick fix. They either don't know how to research a real opportunity in the marketplace or can't be bothered to do so. So they fall for bogus off-the-shelf "business opportunities" which are passed out to everyone and his dog.

Ask yourself how you would prefer to spend your business hours. Which is the more attractive scenario to you?:

1. Selling a product or service you are passionate about to customers/clients whom you want to be 100% satisfied.

2. Annoying family, friends, coworkers, and then finally complete strangers with invitations to attend a "secret business opportunity meeting" next Tuesday at 7 PM at the Best Western north of town.

I know which one I want to avoid like the plague.

Bottom line: you don't need MLMs.

There's a good reason why there's a stigma attached to being an MLMer.

[Johnny]

There are so many psychological "techniques" that the upper hierarchy of a Multi Level Marketing company will use against you to "keep you in line" or under their influence. These techniques are designed to force you to do things against your will.

The biggest WEAPON that the upline will use to KEEP YOU UNDER THEIR SPELL will be to play the guilt trip over LOYALTY to the group.

For those who have never experienced the controlling techniques of MLM upline manipulators, you can't even imagine how powerful that Ace is when it lands on the table. Talk about committing high treason!

[Caveman Joe]

For what it's worth, I wholeheartedly agree.
Acknowledging that it is possible to earn money from MLM, I'll also say that there are far more productive uses of one's time - and why start a business in which the odds are firmly stacked against you?
MLMs are pyramid schemes with products attached. And you've gotta ask yourself - if the product's worth buying, then why can't I just go down the road and buy it from Tesco's?

[escapee]

I second what you all are saying with respect to MLM. The main product of MLM is "dream to get rich quick". Once the dream is busted with heavy losses broken marriage/relationship and bankruptcy, the whole chain of referers collapse and the top echelons blame the failure on the people rather than the unstable system itself (a system that is not based on sound economical principle - The real supply or demand of goods ) and start acquiring new fresh prospects again and again ( fresh college graduates are especially susceptible to this sort of temptation ).

If you have ever worked in any MNC, you know how important is inventory management, JIT, human resource management, production forecast and stuffs in response to various forms of supply and demand (cyclical, market share related and etc) to minimize the risk of a complete meltdown of the organization. MLM does not deal with those things because in MLM world, everything is UNLIMITED and therefore it's flawed and extremely risky.

The above is just my personal opinion .

[vaibhavsharma]

Hi Guys,

For anyone, who wishes to take the plunge and start investing, money, time, family, relationships into MLM; he/she should at least go through the following two sites:-

What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing?
Amway Quixtar Insider Documents Massive Consumer Fraud

After going through these if you still feel like venturing into MLM, well at least then you have taken an informed decision.

Kind regards
Vaibhav Sharma

[Still Growing]

Originally Posted by Antiventurecapital

When you acquire a basic understanding of what is required to start and grow a business, you realize that MLMs have nothing of value to offer you.

Absolutely nothing.

In fact, they are a detriment to your success.

You don't need an MLM to start a business or just earn some extra income.

You can put all the pieces of a small business together by yourself. To learn what is needed to start a business simply requires curiosity about the subject. It's not rocket science. All that is required is the willingness to learn. Back in the early 1980s when I first committed to becoming an entrepreneur, I spent a year thinking about it and reading every book I could find on entrepreneurship and small business.

MLM attracts people looking for the quick fix. They either don't know how to research a real opportunity in the marketplace or can't be bothered to do so. So they fall for bogus off-the-shelf "business opportunities" which are passed out to everyone and his dog.

Ask yourself how you would prefer to spend your business hours. Which is the more attractive scenario to you?:

1. Selling a product or service you are passionate about to customers/clients whom you want to be 100% satisfied.

2. Annoying family, friends, coworkers, and then finally complete strangers with invitations to attend a "secret business opportunity meeting" next Tuesday at 7 PM at the Best Western north of town.

I know which one I want to avoid like the plague.

Bottom line: you don't need MLMs.

There's a good reason why there's a stigma attached to being an MLMer.

I agree!

You don't need a MLM to start a business or to make additional income. You can do it on your own ! ...

And I'll show you how !

Just send me $495 and I'll show you.


Still Growing

[Aaron]

Indisputable facts about MLM businesses...

from the other mlm thread...

3 way calling is a waste of time and is responsible for the highest levels of attrition in the industry - fastest way to introduce a new person to rejection and is a way to subconsciously say to a prospect..."I'm to immature, unprofessional and incompetant to handle my own business so I need my sponsor to hold my hand!"

duplication is a scam because nobody is duplicatable...delegation is the keyword.

I get a 95%+ closing ratio when setting appointments to get anyone to say yes to an opportunity...have been doing this since 2001 and it only takes me 45 seconds or less. you can too...

writing a list of friends and family for most mlm's is a waste of time...it is qualifed prospects you want to talk to...don't listen to the companies advice or you will fail.

there are other things you need to know about MLM or any marketing and especially if you are trying to market online...

Visit this newsletter and learn the truth about a lot of it...

You have a website and want to get it ranked high on google or some other serach engines? You've been told to go submit it to 1000 search engines directly? You've been lied to.

This newsletter gives you the hard cold facts that can't be argued with because documentation beats conversation any day of the week.

Marketing Newsletter

.

[zpivat]

It really annoys me when someone tries to show me a "business opportunity" and insists that it's not MLM, while it clearly is! They'd use other words like "network marketing" to disguise the fact that it's more or less the same as MLM......

[PMcDonald]

With all due respect, I disagree.

Simply because you found success in an area other than Network Marketing, does not give you the authority to denigrate an entire industry that has helping hundreds of thousands of people obtain financial freedom and make ridiculous claims that it has nothing to offer.

For the record, I am obviously involved with a Network Marketing company (not MLM but Direct Sales - there is a distinction) and I am completely passionate about the products and opportunity that I am involved with. It is my sincere goal to ensure that each and every person that pays me for a product is not only satisified, but is overwhelmingly appreciative of what I have provided for them.

I also have NEVER, and I mean NEVER, approached friends, family or complete strangers pitching a "secret business" that they did not want or inquire about. I work with people who have responded to my advertising and who want more information about what I have to offer.

I also take pride in providing leadership and vision to people who truly want a better life and have the courage to pursue it. It is a great feeling to know that I am personally assisting people in achieving that better life. Does everyone get there - absolutely not. In fact many do not, but that is largely due to their own personal level of commitment, not mine.

You are correct, there is a stigma associated with Network Marketing and it is largely negative. The reason for that is because most people are simply not willing to do what it takes to learn the skills necessary to become an effective marketer and leader. There are too many instances where you have amateurs teaching amateurs how to be amateur. There needs to be training in place and a community of folks available to offer assistance when needed.

To say that MLM is a detriment to success is simply not true. I have learned many valuable lessons about myself, about being a leader, about marketing, about personal development, etc. These are lessons that I value tremendously and probably would not have had the opportunity to learn them had I not chosen to take my life into my own hands and start creating my own future and join a Network Marketing company.

I congratulate you on your success in starting a business and learning all you can on your own, however the reality is that folks can find success and find it easier in many instances when they have a group of people who have learned the ropes and can pass that valuable knowledge on.

In closing, we all know this is a personal development forum - and with that being the case we then all know that success is available to anyone that wants it in whatever avenue they choose - network marketing, affiliate marketing, small business, whatever. But to blatanly deingrate an entire industry doesn't serve anyone.

And before you come back at me stating that I never told you exactly what I do, here is the link - I don't hide anything nor it is a secret what I do. The opportunity is not "off the shelf" and in fact has been in business for 6 years and has changed thousands of lives.

Liberty League International - Official Website