PDA

View Full Version : The false lines used by mlms



A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:19 PM
I thought it would be fun if we posted our fave lying catch phrases commonly used by MLMs.

Here are some of mine:

"Fake it till you make it"

"Make money while you sleep"Ahhh.... the lure of actually doing nothing for something that some MLMs promise to their recruits.


"We are in Pre Pre launch" This means, we are trying to line up people early because we need the money to actually launch our business and line our pockets and set up the heads of the Pyramids and give them their downlines.


"It's just like any other business...such as buying a franchise" - except when you ask to see their income from mlm (or even their upline who supposedly are successful) its suddenly personal income and none of your business. As if you would ever buy a franchise without looking at the working numbers of the same franchise in other locations.

" Its a ground floor opportunity" or "the time will never be the same to get involved" -yet on the other hand the entire compensation plan is for people to be continually signing up forever, with it being geometric so 2, 3, 5 years from now, there will need to be exponentially more people needed to be coming in to continue the same oppotunity...but somehow the opportunity is better now than it will be in the future!

" MLM has a system that cuts out the middle man and advertising costs," -yet now several layers of people get paid and MLM products are always more expensive than market.

"MLM is the easiest business opportunity in the world,"- that is until you ask them about their dismal failure rate and then suddenly MLM is what you make of it and most people will fail, because they didn't work hard enough.

"We have Celebrity endorsements"- ahhh, you mean D listers who are paid to be a spokeshole for you.

"I made ten zillion dollars in three months and quit my day job"- shows a pic guy sitting on a rented mercedes in front of a mansion that he does not live in or own.

"Anyone can do this and make money"-of course you will need to attend seminars that you pay for, training tapes and books that you also will pay for, pay various fees and after all of that, you are still broke.

"Our product is the most amazing product out there and it sells itself"- but the comp plan in not really about the product at all- it's all about recruiting others to your downline.

"Your enroller and upline become your family. They become your friends. They become the ones you count on." And when you have trouble making your monthly quotas, they suggest that you get yourself in further debt by opening new credit cards to make your qualifying orders. They tell you about the mother of 4 who was living in her car and managed to make her monthly orders. If you go to these people because you heard something negative about the company or MLMs, you will be told, "Those people are just negative and not worth the ****** - don't waste your time on it." Your concerns will not be addressed.

"You will get (for a monthly fee) your own persoanlized website". Of course it is the same exact cookie cutter websit that all the others members in your MLM have and pay for.

Individualism discouraged; group think prevails. Right from the start you're advised that there is no money in creativity, as the perfect "system" of success has been created. Although personal business ownership is touted, it is a farce. Distributors are referred to as "IBO's (Independent Business Owners). You may work for nearly a decade developing an international business, but not have the freedom to even put a newsletter into your group or call a meeting with your leaders that is not "pre-approved".

Rigid rules and regulations. Despite the claim of "personal choice" and "freedom," Distributors are bound by the rules and regulations of the MLM, by the regulations set by the Owners, by the rules set by their upline, and by the statements in their agreement that they must sign. The "rigidity" of the rules may also vary between groups.

"Own your own business". In MLMs, you do not own your own business, you do not own the product, and you are not in control of your destiny. The company holds all the strings--product supply, computer tracking, commissions, collections, customer service, order fulfillment, publicity, compliance, public relations, comp plan, everything. All you own is a position in a long line of distributors. You do not control the product you sell, the comp plan, what the company does or does not do, the money that is paid . . . distributors own nothing other than the opportunity to sign more distributors and manage the existing downline. You are at the mercy of the company, upline, downline, media, and the government.


"MLM is the best opportunity around."- Imagine you are a teenager in the mall, looking for an "opportunity" to work. You see a clothing store with "help wanted". You go in and ask for an application and how much the "job" pays, and you are told to wait in a very long line that extends out the door and into the mall. As you are standing in line, you notice a certain smell, a sort of stink. Perhaps this is why there are very few, if any, customers walking into this store, only nervous applicants.

When you get to the front, you are told that the "job" is really a "business" and will cost YOU to participate in. If you pay the nice lady sitting at a desk (there seem to be more desks here than clothing racks...), you can then sell the fine products they have on display. But you have to buy the inventory yourself on top of the fee to be "hired". And MOST IMPORTANTLY, you are told that to succeed, you must do what she is doing, recruit others to make them "successes" like her.

You do the math on the clothing profits, and indeed it is not likely for you to even make minimum wage just selling product, and besides this... there are all these other people in line as well. The profit, it appears, is to find others who will pay, like you, to be "hired" into this "ground floor" opportunity.

You should set up a similar store next door, you are told.
You walk out confused, and as you pass the long line , the thought strikes you that all these many people will be attempting to recruit EVEN MORE PEOPLE in geometric expansion to set up a store "next door".
What do you think, a good opportunity?

If such an absurd clothing "store" were ACTUALLY to show up in your local mall, could you really NOT see the difference between it and the other businesses: the way they hire, the likelihood of saturation, etc.?
Can "success" be had through voracious "recruiting" of competitors? How could this possibly be sustainable?

With MLM, of course, there is no mall or line--just nice meetings in homes; the odd lunch with a "friend"; the seminar at the hotel--so that you cannot see the absurd line forming of those whom you will be "competing" against for yet even more recruits.
Great opportunity, eh?

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:21 PM
"Live The American Dream"- Pick up any brochure or videotape for an MLM and you are more than likely to see a cheesy, obvious, and blatant appeal to greed and materialism. This is offensive to everyone, even die-hard materialists. Typical is an appeal to "the American dream." Usually there will be a mood shot of a large new home, a luxury car, a boat, perhaps a beautiful couple boarding a Lear jet, and so on.

While this need not necessarily be part of the MLM approach, it usually is.
Such a transparent appeal should make people suspicious. "Why the bait?" "Are they trying to 'get my juices going' so that my brain turns off?" "Couldn't they show people doing more wholesome things with the money they make?" "If this is really a legitimate opportunity, why not focus on the market, product, or service instead of people reveling in lavish materialism?"

But we have reason enough to know, why the distraction is needed. Unbridled greed suspends good judgment. When the eyes gloss over in a materialistic glaze, common sense is a stranger.

Besides being cheesy and offensive to our sensibilities, this is not a big deal for participants, right? But consider that all companies must have control over the way they are presented to the public. Thus, an MLM has the right and obligation to dictate what material is used. Otherwise any agent could say whatever he or she liked about the nature of the company, causing obvious problems. Again, it would take too much time to audit and approve each individual's idea for a presentation where the goal is mass marketing. Using "boilerplate" presentations affords the added benefit of consistency. This is basic "information quality control."

that the MLM rep is "stuck" with the company-approved video, brochure, and presentation outline. So much for "Be Your Own Boss."

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:23 PM
"Mr. Prospect, now you aren't required to buy more than three product units, but why bother joining unless you plan to succeed? Besides, all of our products are 100% money back guaranteed."

Hmmm... To ask for a refund, then, is to admit defeat. Others appear to be doing O.K. at this. I'm no failure! Perhaps I should go to another motivational seminar or strong-arm and alienate one more friend to join. I wasn't fooled! I'm no failure!
So, the "inventory" and "recruitment kits," never viable, collect dust. They become a pile in the back closet or attic, a trophy to pride being unable to admit that greed seized the moment.

"We are Legal!" -It is a fact that a few large MLMs have survived against the best efforts of law enforcement officials to shut them down, spending millions of dollars to protect, lobby, and insulate themselves. But the same could be said for any organized crime. It is difficult to stop once it becomes so large.

And MLMs look so legitimate to the public, so decent. So many nice people are involved. Surely, it can't be illegal! The people lower down may even defend the very organization that is robbing them, hoping that they might get their chance to make "the big money" later.

But if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. Unless it is an MLM, and then it is NOT a pyramid.
The Feds generally see it differently... when the ML (multi-level) aspect begins to eclipse the M (marketing) of products or services.

People can make money in an MLM, undeniably. The moral issue is: Where is the money coming from? Selling product? Then why not sell the same product in the "real world"? The real money is ALWAYS in the recruiting!
But everyone knows that the real incentive is the pyramid aspect, and the product just the excuse to make it legal, or at least the MLM promoter would like you to believe it is legal.

Talk to a mobster, and he will tell you that he is "merely misunderstood in his benevolent intentions." "We are just trying to 'build our business.'" "It's all a conspiracy to make us look bad." "The Feds are out to get us because they are jealous or afraid of our new way of life." "Why, look at all the good we do!" "We are looking more legitimate every day." "Here's a statement from a famous DA that the Mob is really a good organization and no harm ever comes from it." "We've even got a minister to endorse us now!"

"Just show people the opportunity, it will sell itself." - MLMs grow by exploiting people's relationships. If you are going to be in an MLM, you swallow hard and accept this as part of "building your business." This is "networking." But to those not "in" the MLM, it seems as if friendship is merely a pretext for phoniness, friendliness is suspected as prospecting, and so on.

It should be noted that when selling product, the only distinction from a real-world business is the possibility for deception due to the "looseness" of the MLM and the incentive to exaggerate claims without any accountability. Other than this, selling product in an MLM is fairly similar to selling any product in the real world.

But when it comes to getting you "signed up" as a "distributor," the MLMers get pushy and deceptive beyond the boundaries of polite social norms.
Remember, an MLM is defined by its rewarding people to recruit others in multiple levels.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:27 PM
"There are prospects everywhere"- Apparently, it is difficult for gung-ho MLMers to see how they look from the outside. They can watch lifelong friendships unravel, churches and civic groups poisoned, the avoidance of friends and family, etc., and never see that MLM was the cause.


If you try to point this pathology out, you are treated as if you have attacked the very gospel! Perhaps for some, the MLM approach is a new gospel?

They will claim to have made "new friends," most of which are MLMers or new acquaintances who could be considered "future prospects." The shallowness of these "new friends," the stilted conversations among the "old friends," and the embarrassment, in general, for what seems clear to everyone but the MLMer go unnoticed. Callousness sets in; standards are lowered.

Of course, it could be pointed out that this might have happened anyway. Perhaps the die-hard MLMers would have ruined their friendships anyway in some other non-MLM business failure. Is the MLM really the cause, or just the vehicle?

Business failure of any type is traumatic on the relationships involved, but in most small businesses there is at least the chance of success. And this is never the case in an MLM, unless "success" can be defined as profiting off of the failures of others.

Non-MLM real-world businesses that offer products of interest to friends, family, etc., such as insurance agents and small retail shop owners, seem to be more circumspect in dealing with personal relationships in all but a few rare (and grievous) cases. But the MLMer is recognizable by duplicity of friendship overtures, overbearing glad-handing, full-time prospecting, outrageous initial deception, and social callousness. This is no accident, but rather sheer desperation. How could it be otherwise? For the active MLMer is in a hopeless bear trap: with hubris as one steel jaw and oversaturation the other.
And so the MLM relationship "bull" tramples through the relationship "china closet," blindly ruining fragile and valuable things. Some never pull out of this, figuring the coldness they experience in their emotional lives is due to some other cause than their MLM participation.

Many will share the experience of observing MLMs divide families, friends, churches, and civic groups. Lifelong friends are now "prospects." The neighborhood is now "a market."

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:28 PM
"We Are not a Pyramid"-

For most MLMs, the product is really a mere diversion from the real profit-making dynamic. To anyone familiar with MLMs, thry are "doomed by design" to reach market saturation and thus put the people who are legitimately trying to sell the product into a difficult situation) may seem to miss the point. The product or service may well be good, and it might oversaturate at some point, but let's get serious. The product is not the incentive to join an MLM. Otherwise people might have shown an interest in selling this particular product or service before in the real world. The product is the excuse to attempt to legitimate the real money-making engine. It's "the cover."

Intuitively, we all know what is really going on with MLMs. Just don't use the word "pyramid"!

"You see, if you can convince ten people that everyone needs this product or service, even though they aren't buying similar products available in the market, and they can convince ten people, and so on, that's how you make the real money. And as long as you sell to a few people along the way, it is all legal." Maybe...
But the way to make money in all this is clearly not by only selling product, otherwise you might have shown an interest in it before, through conventional market opportunities. No, the "hook" is selling others on selling others on "the dream."

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:30 PM
" We cannot fail"- Nothing irritates a die-hard MLMer more than the preceding argument. If you point out the absurdity, for example, that if "the pitch" at an Amway meeting were even moderately accurate, in something like 18 months Amway would be larger than the GNP of the entire United States, then listen closely for a major gear-shift: "Well, that is absurd, of course. Not everyone will succeed, and so the market will never saturate."

Well, which is it? Are we recruiting "winners" to build a real business, or planning by design to profit off of "losers" who buy into our "confidence"?

During "the pitch," anyone can make it work. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime." "Just look at the math!" But mention the inevitable saturation and the losses this is going to cause for everyone, and then you'll hear, "Of course it would never really work like that." "Most will fail," you will be told, "but not you, Mr. Recruit. You are a winner. I can just see it in your eyes."
If you are a starry-eyed recruit, it will grow as presented. If you are a logical skeptic, then of course it would never really work like that.
But the dialog usually never even gets to this. The fact that MLM is in a mad dash to oversupply is largely chided as mere "stinkin' thinkin'." Expert MLMers know how to quickly deflect this issue with parable, joke, personal testimony, or some other sleight of mind.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:31 PM
"We Believe In You." - The age-old technique of "con men" is to create "confidence" in some otherwise dumb idea by diversion of thought, bait, or force of personality. The victim gets confidence in a bogus plan, and, in exchange, the con man gets your money. MLMers are very high on confidence.


Since the brain inevitably intrudes itself into the delusion that an MLM could ever work, spirits drop and attitudes go sour. But this depressive state can itself be exploited. As doubts grow when the MLM does not do what recruits were first "con"fidenced to expect, then a further profit can be made keeping the confidence going against all common sense.

Thus, a parallel or "shadow" pyramid of motivational tapes, seminars, and videos emerges. These are a "must for success," and recruits are strong-armed into attending, buying, buying, and buying all the more. This motivational "shadow pyramid" further exploits the flagging recruits as they spiral inexorably into oversaturation and failure. The more they fail, the more "help" they need from those who are "successful" above them.
So, MLMs profit by conning recruits up-front with a "distributorship fee," and then make further illicit money by "confidencing" these hapless victims as they fail via the "sale" of collateral material.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:32 PM
"We Have Great Leaders"- Another morally questionable practice that is intrinsic to MLMs, and seems axiomatic, is the pent-up idolatry of the leaders.

In FUND AMERICA, for example, the "approved materials" showed what a great man the founder was, depicted the depth of his management experience, showed him in mood shots, etc. It is easy to swoon in admiration of such a powerful, visionary man, dedicated to bringing this wonderful opportunity to common Americans like us.

It turned out he was a criminal fugitive from Australia, where he had been run out of town for doing the same.

But you would never guess it from the company material. A great man.
There are more than a few MLM "executives" like this who will pop up tomorrow in the MLM du jour. MLM exploitation can be very profitable and the jail sentences light. Let the MLM "dream" buyer beware.

It does pay to do some research here. Are the idols you are being asked to worship in MLM worthy of respect, or contempt? Have they been prosecuted or sued for exploiting people in the past? Have they done prison time?

You will find that many of the "leaders" in new MLMs that spring up, left and owned other MLMs, milked them dry and left the members holding the bag and some of them have had lawsuits against them, are being investigated by the authorities or had to pay out millions in law suits.

Do not expect to hear the full truth in the MLM video.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:33 PM
"We Are Just Like Any Other Franchise" -

Imagine that Wendy's became suddenly possessed by the idea that "everyone needs to eat," and opened four Wendy's franchises on the four corners of an intersection in your neighborhood. Who would benefit from this folly? The consumer? Certainly not the franchises; they would all lose. Wendy's corporate? Perhaps temporarily, by speculative inventory sales while the unfortunate franchises were under the delusion that they could all make money. But in the end, the negative image of four outlets dying a slow death would likely offset the temporary inventory sales bubble. Even the most unreflective of the hapless franchisees would think twice about doing business in such a manner again. This is why real-world distributorships and franchises are contractually protected by territory and/or market.

Again, the simple fact is that even the most successful products will have partial market penetration. The same is true for services. Demand and "market share" are finite, and to overestimate either is catastrophic.
So why are MLM promoters obscuring this? Who is in control of the supply "knob," carefully and skillfully managing the size of the distribution channels, number of salespeople, inventory, etc., to insure the success of all involved in the business? The truth is chilling: nobody.

Imagine trying to write a computer model of how MLMs work, and you will see this point most vividly. An MLM could never work, even in theory. Think about it.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:34 PM
"Get In Now, While We are at The Groundbreaking Opportunity Stage"- Chernobyl had a control system that failed. MLMs have no control mechanisms at all.

Where is the "switch" that can be flipped in an MLM when enough sales people are hired? In a normal company a manager says, "We have enough, let's stop hiring people at this point." But in an MLM, there is no way to do this. An MLM is a human "churning" machine with no "off button." Out of control by design, its gears will grind up the money, time, credibility, and entrepreneurial power of well-meaning people who joined merely to supplement their income. Better to just steer clear of this monster to begin with.

There is simply no way to avoid the built-in failure mechanism of MLMs. If a company chooses to market this way, it will eventually "hire" (with no base pay and charging to join) far too many people.
Thus, the only "control system" will be the inevitable losses and subsequent bad image the MLM company will gain after it does what it was designed to do: fail. And sooner or later we have got to stop blaming this particular MLM company or that, and admit that the MLM technique itself is fundamentally flawed.

To get a job at Taco Bell, one must fill out an application and have some type of education and experience minimums. But anyone, who can write a check can and will be recruited into any MLM. It's all about recruiting and getting those fees.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:37 PM
"Don't read all the negative stuff on the internet. Those people are just jealous and want you to fail"
In other words, don't do the research, speak to former member who quit and were ripped off, aske for proof of income statements, ask for the viable research to back of the claims of our crappy product, just accept all the lies and false promises that you are fed, pay your monthy dues and keep quiet. Don't ask us questions whoich we will not answer but will be happy to deflect around.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:39 PM
"MLM offers better opportunities than all other conventional
business and professional models for making large amounts of money." -For almost everyone who invests, MLM turns out to be a losing financial proposition. Fewer than 1% of all MLM distributors ever earn a profit and those earning a sustainable living at this business are a much smaller percentage still.

Extraordinary sales and marketing obstacles account for much of this failure, but even if the business were more feasible, sheer mathematics would severely limit the opportunity. The MLM business structure can support only a small number of financial winners. If a 1,000-person downline is needed to earn a sustainable income, those 1,000 will need one million more to duplicate the success. How many people can realistically be enrolled? Much of what appears as growth is in fact only the continuous churning of new enrollees. The money for the rare winners comes from the constant enrollment of armies of losers. With no limits on numbers of distributors in an area and no evaluation of market potential, the system is also inherently unstable.

"Network marketing is the most popular and effective new way to bring products
to market. Consumers like to buy products on a one-to-one basis in the MLM model." - Personal retailing -- including nearly all forms of door-to-door selling -- is a thing of the past, not the wave of the future. Retailing directly to friends on a one-to-one basis requires people to drastically change their buying habits. They must restrict their choices, often pay more for goods, buy inconveniently, and engage in potentially awkward business relationships with close friends and relatives. In reality, MLM depends on reselling the opportunity to sign up more distributors.

"Eventually all products will be sold by MLM. Retail stores, shopping malls,
catalogs and most forms of advertising will soon be rendered obsolete by MLM." - Fewer than 1% of all retail sales are made through MLM, and much of this is consists of purchases by hopeful new distributors who are actually paying the price of admission to a business they will soon abandon. MLM is not replacing existing forms of marketing.

It does not legitimately compete with other marketing approaches at all. Rather, MLM represents a new investment scheme couched in the language of marketing. Its real products are distributorships that are sold through misrepresentation and exaggerated promises of income. People are buying products in order to secure positions on the sales pyramid. The possibility is always held out that you may become rich if not from your own efforts then from some unknown person ("the big fish") who might join your "downline."

MLM's growth does not reflect its value to the economy, customers, or distributors, but the high levels of economic fear, insecurity, wishes for quick and easy wealth. The market dynamics are similar to those of legalized gambling, but the percentage of winners is much smaller.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:41 PM
"Success in MLM is easy. Friends and relatives are the natural prospects.
Those who love and support you will become your life-time customers." - The commercialization of family and friendship and the use of"'warm leads" advocated in MLM marketing programs are a destructive element in the community and very unhealthy for individuals involved. People do not appreciate being pressured by friends and relatives to buy products. Trying to capitalizing upon personal relationships to build a business can destroy one's social foundation.

"You can do MLM in your spare time. As a business, it offers the greatest flexibility
and personal freedom of time. A few hours a week can earn a significant supplemental income
and may grow to a very large income, making other work unnecessary." - Making money in MLM requires extraordinary time commitment as well as considerable personal skill and persistence. Beyond the sheer hard work and talent required, the business model inherently consumes more areas of one's life and greater segments of time than most occupations.

In MLM, everyone is a prospect. Every waking moment is a potential time for marketing. There are no off-limit places, people, or times for selling. Consequently, there is no free space or free time once a person enrolls in MLM system.

While claiming to offer independence, the system comes to dominate people's entire life and requires rigid conformity to the program. This is why so many people who become deeply involved end up needing and relying upon MLM desperately. They alienate or abandon other sustaining relationships.

"MLM is a positive, supportive new business that
affirms the human spirit and personal freedom." - MLM is largely fear-driven. Solicitations inevitably include dire predictions about the impending collapse of other forms of distribution, the disintegration or insensitivity of corporate America, and the lack of opportunity in other occupations. Many occupations are routinely demeaned for not offering"unlimited income."

Working for others is cast as enslavement for "losers." MLM is presented as the last best hope for many people. This approach, in addition to being deceptive, frequently discourages people who otherwise would pursue their own unique visions of success and happiness. A sound business opportunity does not have to base its worth on negative predictions and warnings.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:45 PM
"MLM is the best option for owning your own
business and attaining real economic independence." - MLM is not true self-employment. "Owning" an MLM distributorship is an illusion. Some MLM companies forbid distributors to carry other companies' products. Most MLM contracts make termination of the distributorship easy and immediate for the company.

Short of termination, downlines can be taken away arbitrarily. Participation requires rigid adherence to a "duplication" model, not independence and individuality.

MLM distributors are not entrepreneurs but joiners in a complex hierarchical system over which they have little control.

"MLM is not a pyramid scheme because products are sold." - The sale of products does not protect against anti-pyramid-scheme laws or unfair trade practices set forth in federal and state law. MLM is a legal form of business only under rigid conditions set forth by the FTC and state attorneys general. Many MLMs are violate these guidelines and operate only because they have not been prosecuted.

Recent court rulings are using a 70% rule to determine an MLM's legality: At least 70% of all goods sold by the MLM company must be purchased by nondistributors. This standard would place most MLM companies outside the law.

The largest MLM acknowledges that only 18% of its sales are made to nondistributors.

"100% fully automated system does all the work for you!" - Okay, if this is the case why do you even need me?

"We can build this business for you!" - Again, why do you need me?

"There is No Selling Involved" - When MLM companies have distributors or sales material that say that the products sell themselves, this is not true. It’s basically playing on the fact that most people don’t like to sell or are not good at selling. To make money, besides trying to sell crappy, overpriced, sometimes worthless products, you have to sell the flopportunity to others and recruit them into your downline. Stop the lies already.

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 03:45 PM
"If We Are Illegal, Then Why Hasn't the FTC Shut Us Down?"- Typically, in law enforcement, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Officials respond to complaints in a reactive, not proactive fashion.

Victims in endless recruitment chains almost never file complaints. Often this comes from fear of personal embarrassment. Since MLM recruits must recruit a large number of people to have any hope of earning enough in commissions to recoup their ongoing investments (including required purchases), every major victim becomes a perpetrator.

Fearing self-incrimination and/or consequences from or to those they recruited (often close friends and family members) and blaming themselves for their “failure,” they simply drop out and accept their losses.

Also, when law enforcement does not act, recruitment prospects assume the MLM is legitimate. No law enforcement, no complaints. No complaints, no law enforcement.
MLM may be the most successful con game of all time. Many of the very people who are out recruiting to extend the endless chain of participants (their "downline") are themselves victims until they run out of money and drop out of the chain.

And since victims in endless chains almost never file complaints, law enforcement seldom acts. So the game goes on, extending the chain of recruitment from state to state and from country to country – then starting the cycle of recruitment all over again with new products, aliases, or divisions – as Amway (Alticore) has done with Quixtar and Nu Skin has done with IDN, Big Planet, Pharmanex, and PhotoMax.

Emet
07-02-2010, 04:18 PM
"It's just like any other business...such as buying a franchise"
The comparison to franchises is one of my favorites. Franchise owners actually own their franchise, as long as they abide by the stipulated contract.
"IBOs" (Independent business owners) of MLMs "own" nothing. They are merely independent contractors, and most end up owing.


"Our product is the most amazing product out there and it sells itself"
Most of the time it's overpriced and either of poor or unknown quality.


"Just show people the opportunity, it will sell itself."
For publicly traded companies, such as Pre-Paid Legal, the numbers are visible for all to see: the inability to sell the craopportunity, and the high churn rates.


"Fake it till you make it"
Translation: Lie, deceive, repeat.


"We are Legal!"
A legal pyramid scheme. The products make it legal, and the so called FTC "biz-op" rule was beaten back by more than 17,000 comments, most of which came from the MLM industry. The FTC rule would have required much more of the industry, and in the end, they excluded MLMs.


"We Are not a Pyramid"
Corollary: "All businesses are Pyramids". Never mind the distinction between pyramid scheme (endless chain recruiting) vs. pyramidal shape of corporations. The lowliest employee at a corporation makes minimum wage, receives benefits, and doesn't have to pay a fee for his job.

And if you don't "make it":

"You didn't work the business" (You are a lazy loser)

Unsaved Trash
07-02-2010, 04:40 PM
My favorite from YTB: "You can come from Yale or Jail, Penn State or the State Pen - We'll take anybody and make you successful."

Porkchop Express
07-02-2010, 04:47 PM
And if you don't "make it":

"You didn't work the business" (You are a lazy loser)

That's what I don't get...what if the product is just simply not worth selling? Do I fail because the product sucks and that it's overpriced?

There's only so much you can do with a 4 dollar everything drink.

Emet
07-02-2010, 05:00 PM
"The Real Estate and Insurance industries are paid exactly like multi-level marketing companies."

Whip
07-02-2010, 06:43 PM
My favorite from YTB: "You can come from Yale or Jail, Penn State or the State Pen - We'll take anybody and make you successful."

They didn't really use that did they?

Unsaved Trash
07-02-2010, 07:05 PM
They didn't really use that did they?

It wasn't the YTB official slogan, but I believe it was a YTB recruiter that said that. It could have been at one of their conventions. It was pretty common to hear that from then on.

Emet
07-02-2010, 07:13 PM
They stole it from Lewis Carlyle's article:
"From Prison to Paradise"


Since there was little he could do about building a financial empire while in prison, Long concentrated on
pursuing one very important precursor: education. “I tell people I went to jail, not Yale,” Long says with a
smile. “I went to the state pen, not Penn State.”

http://www.weldonlong.com/Weldon_Story.pdf

ETA: I just read the pdf: It was in the autobiography of Wally Long.

Mike!
07-02-2010, 07:41 PM
"Just Do the Math!"

This one may not get as much use these days as it once did since it's the easiest to destroy, but it was a favorite a few years ago, and used often to demonstrate the impressive "Unlimited Growth Potential" of Multi-Level-Marketing. They loved this one because you were 'seeing for yourself' how the math worked, a very convincing situation, as long as you don't have time to really think about the numbers themselves... Or to keep doing the multipication...
Once folks realised the Earth itself had a finite population that you could reverse the math on, seeing how few levels were in fact possible before the planet ran out of people to join, it fell out of use quickly.
It's still one of my favs though.

:RpS_thumbsup:

A Life Aloft
07-02-2010, 08:36 PM
They didn't really use that did they?It was used at a YTB convention a few years ago. Amazing isn't it? But then when you look at the history of Coach, and some of the founders, some of the Directors and former Board Members, and YTB's SEC filings, it's not really surprising. lol

Sojustask
07-02-2010, 09:56 PM
J.O.B. Just over broke.

Theophilus
07-02-2010, 10:57 PM
I did want to say that the part about it being your own business is one of the worst lies. I believe some people had run into trouble with tax deductions with the IRS, because they thought the deductions were part of "their business". I guess the IRS didn't see it that way. I have not done research into this and this was an article I saw a while ago.
So take it with a grain of salt. It may or may not be true.

Maybe someone knows about this. Does the IRS view deductions by MLMers (distributors) in their "so called" business a legal tax deduction?

Emet
07-02-2010, 11:19 PM
Maybe someone knows about this. Does the IRS view deductions by MLMers (distributors) in their "so called" business a legal tax deduction?

Most MLMers receive 1099's, and often have W-2 wages to boot if they have a regular job. They can deduct some things as business expenses, I believe, but it can get complicated.

Here's a little forum of CPA's discussing it (it's pretty funny):
TaxAlmanac - Discussion:Mary Kay (http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:Mary_Kay)

And there's this old report from Jon Taylor:
MLM The Truth » Blog Archive » Who Profits from Multi-Level Marketing*? Preparers of Utah Tax Returns Have the Answer. (http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/research/statistics/who-profits-from-multi-level-marketing-preparers-of-utah-tax-returns-have-the-answer/)

Mike!
07-02-2010, 11:43 PM
Most MLMers receive 1099's, and often have W-2 wages to boot if they have a regular job. They can deduct some things as business expenses, I believe, but it can get complicated.

Here's a little forum of CPA's discussing it (it's pretty funny):
TaxAlmanac - Discussion:Mary Kay (http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:Mary_Kay)

And there's this old report from Jon Taylor:
MLM The Truth » Blog Archive » Who Profits from Multi-Level Marketing*? Preparers of Utah Tax Returns Have the Answer. (http://www.mlm-thetruth.com/research/statistics/who-profits-from-multi-level-marketing-preparers-of-utah-tax-returns-have-the-answer/)

One of the problems with them trying to deduct things is your business is required to show a profit after every so many years (3?) to qualify AS a business at all. Since so very few MLMers ever see anything even close to a profit, the "business" doesn't pass tax code requirements for any deductions. None. They can try and write things off, but an auditor will disallowe them if they get audited.
As such, it's a bogus claim 97% of the time at least.

littleroundman
07-03-2010, 12:58 AM
"MLM saves a fortune in advertising expenses and passes the savings on to the customer"

The reason companies pay for advertising is "because it works" and can be shown to be cost effective.

As one example,


2010 Super Bowl Consumer Survey Results: Shopping, Spending, Commercial Viewing

2005 - 2010 Comparison of Consumer and Retailing Trends Related to Super Bowls

By Barbara Farfan (http://retailindustry.about.com/bio/Barbara-Farfan-46182.htm), About.com Guide

See More About:



super bowl advertising & marketing survey (http://retailindustry.about.com/lr/super_bowl_advertising_marketing_survey/428987/1/)
superbowl consumer trends (http://retailindustry.about.com/lr/superbowl_consumer_trends/428987/2/)
super bowl retail spending (http://retailindustry.about.com/lr/super_bowl_retail_spending/428987/3/)
retail industry super bowl advertising (http://retailindustry.about.com/lr/retail_industry_super_bowl_advertising/428987/4/)



Each year since 2005, the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) has commissioned a survey to quantify the consuming intentions of Americans related to the annual Super Bowl event. With a larger audience than any other televised event in America, the Super Bowl provides both an immediate boost to retail industry (http://retailindustry.about.com/b/2009/01/01/2009-retail-industry-predictions-closing-stores-going-out-of-business-and-getting-back-to-basics.htm) sales and a potential long-term benefit to the brands, as they join the ranks of advertising history with memorable commercials (http://retailindustry.about.com/library/superbowlcommercials/bl_superbowl_quiz.htm) that are eagerly viewed.

This is a comparison of key measurements in the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2010 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey for the past six years.

Percentage of American Consumers Who Plan to Watch the Super Bowl

73.2% - 2010

73.3% - 2009

70.0% - 2008

69.7% - 2007

65.9% - 2006

Amount of Planned Spending for Merchandise Related to the Super Bowl

$52.63 per person - 2010

$57.27 per person - 2009

$59.90 per person - 2008

$56.04 per person - 2007

$49.39 per person - 2006

$49.27 per person - 2005

Total Super Bowl Related Spending Predicted

$8.9 billion - 2010

$9.6 billion - 2009

$9.5 billion - 2008

$8.7 billion - 2007

$5.3 billion - 2006

$5.6 billion - 2005

Number of Consumers Planning to Purchase Televisions for Super Bowl Event

3.6 million - 2010

4.5 million - 2009

3.9 million - 2008

2.5 million - 2007

1.7 million - 2006

1.4 million - 2005

Percentage of Super Bowl Watchers Who Will Purchase Food and Beverage for the Event

71.4% - 2010

72.4% - 2009

67.3% - 2008

69.3% - 2007

68.0% - 2006

Percentage of Consumers Who Plan to Purchase Apparel or Accessories Related to Super Bowl Teams

6.5% - 2010

5.6% - 2009

6.0% - 2008

6.3% - 2007

Percentage of Viewers Who Think the Football Game is the Most Important Part of the Super Bowl

47.8% - 2010

46.1% - 2009

46.7% - 2008

32.1% - 2007

33.6% - 2006

32.2% - 2005

Percentage of Viewers Who Think the Commercials are the Most Important Part of the Super Bowl

24.3% - 2010

26.9% - 2009

26.3% - 2008

18.1% - 2007

15.3% - 2006

15.7% - 2005


Percentage Who Think Super Bowl Commercials are Mainly About Entertainment

76.3% - 2010

79.3% - 2009

75.7% - 2008

Percentage of Consumers Who Wish Advertisers Would Not Spend Money on Super Bowl Commercials and Pass Savings to Shoppers

19.4% - 2010

21.4% - 2009

18.0% - 2008

Number of Consumers Planning to Purchase Furniture for Super Bowl Event

1.8 million – 2008

1.3 million - 2007

0.8 million - 2006

0.5 million – 2005

Number of Consumers Planning to Watch the Super Bowl Game from a Restaurant or Bar

9.2 million - 2007

8.3 million - 2006

9.9 million - 2005
Super Bowl Consumer Survey Results 2005 - 2010: Consumer Shopping, Commercial Viewing, Advertising Satisfaction, Trends (http://retailindustry.about.com/od/statisticsresearch/a/superbowlsurvey.htm)

Now consider the amount of "word of mouth" advertising which could have been delivered by MLMers during the Superbowl or a similar time period.

MLM delivers "cheaper" advertising ????? No doubt.

MLM delivers advertising which is as "cost effective" Not on your sweet life.

MLM style "word of mouth" advertising appears to be competitive with paid advertising ??? Only to someone whose understanding of advertising comes from a program they saw once on TV or from their "upline"

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:20 PM
This was my favorite used many times by YTB-a travel MLM:

"Travel Like A Rockstar"- The truth is that your MLM Company and those on the tippy top of the recruiting chain will make money regardless of what the bottom is doing. As long as there is a little growth they don’t really care. They have made their money and all they have to do is keep dangling the golden carrot of lies and phony dreams over your head and like a good little MLMer, you will keep drinking the Kool-Aid. Meanwhile, your rent is late and the car you are driving is 10 years old.

Then they tell you to sign up your friends, co-workers and family, when in all truth your friends and family and co-workers are probably as interested in your new business venture as they are interested in receiving dental work. Most people do not even think of dental work until they feel the pain.

MLM’s are for poor ignorant folks who don’t understand how badly they’re going to get screwed over, and don’t understand how much of their hard work will just pay other people for doing nothing. Brainwashing is alive and well in MLM. Convince the victims that failure is their “fault.”

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:21 PM
"Our Products can be resold at retail prices for a handsome profit."-

MLM products must be priced high enough to support a bloated network of distributors, so prices are seldom if ever competitive with alternative retail outlets. MLM products are sold primarily to recruits to "do the business," rather than to persons outside the network of participants. People who shop around and are not buying products for the "opportunity" are not likely to become customers at all or for very long.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:23 PM
]"MLM offers true "time freedom." For those who work at it, MLM can provide an income that is reliable, leveraged, residual, long-term – even permanent income. This will allow you the "time freedom" to quit your job and to spend more time with your family or to do whatever you want. "-

These catchwords are used by MLM promoters to appeal to the desires for "easy money" that keeps on growing and providing for the comforts of life – and the resources to do what we want, when we want. However, one of the stark realities of MLM is an extremely high attrition rate. Available statistics suggest that 90-99% of recruits terminate or are inactive within a few years of joining. Those who do "succeed" must be constantly recruiting others to replace a revolving door of hapless victims of these deceptions. This can become totally consuming, leaving little time or opportunity for anything else. Meanwhile, you are still working your real job to be able to pay your bills and exhausting yourself.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:25 PM
"Work for only an hour or two a day to supplement your income to help meet expenses or pay down debt."-

To profit at a recruiting MLM, one must work long hours and be willing to continue to recruit to continuously replace dropouts. One must also be willing to deceive large numbers of recruits into believing it is a legitimate income opportunity. Recruits seldom profit, but are instead only fattening their upline's commission checks and enriching founders.

"If you fail at this program, it is because you failed to properly work the system. "- The system itself dooms nearly all participants to failure. MLM is built on an endless chain of recruitment of participants as primary customers. It assumes both infinite markets and virgin markets, neither of which exist. It is therefore inherently flawed, fraudulent, and profitable only for founders and those at or near the top of their respective pyramids of participants. Even with their best efforts, the vast majority will always lose money.

"MLM is the "wave of the future." In fact, "Our MLM is experiencing phenomenal world-wide growth," etc. "So get in on the ground floor of this great growth opportunity." -

MLM'rs have been saying this for over thirty years, but MLM still accounts for less than ½ of 1% of consumer purchases - in spite of the fact that the number of MLM companies has totaled in the thousands. MLM's come and go, as do new recruits, over 90% of whom drop out. Significant long-term MLM industry growth is a myth.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:26 PM
"Turnover, as in any business, is a reality that assures an ample supply of available prospects." -
Again, with few real customers, MLM products are sold by recruiting a revolving door of new "distributors" who buy products to "do the business." And since people perceive the opportunity as dwindling with each new "distributor," market saturation requires promoters to recruit elsewhere. So MLM's quickly evolve into Ponzi schemes, requiring the opening of new markets in foreign countries and/or new product divisions to repay earlier investors, as has happened with Amway (now Quixtar) and Nu Skin (which became IDN, then Big Planet and Pharmanex). It's not turnover, but continuous churning of new recruits to replace dropouts.

"It takes time to build any business." "This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but a 'get-rich-slow' program." "While the potential rewards are great, don't expect instant success," etc. -
MLM promoters sell recruits on their programs as a business opportunity that takes time to build, but to get around business opportunity regulations, they present it to authorities as a "direct selling" opportunity. However, In legitimate direct sales programs, sales persons earn commissions right away and don't have to wait months or years for commissions to exceed expenses.

"In this new (MLM) program, you can be the master of your destiny."-
You will be a slave to the phone, to meeting the qualifications for commissions and bonuses, and to continual pressure to recruit new participants to replace dropouts. You are also caught in a money trap of hyper-consumption.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:28 PM
"Unlike franchises, business startups, or sales of existing businesses, you can start an MLM business with very little capital." -

MLM's typically bleed new recruits of their funds by inducing them to buy products on a subscription basis, to pay for ongoing training, seminars, conventions, books, tapes, and otherwise draining them of their resources until they run out of money or give up.

"An MLM that offers a refund or buyback provision is harmless." - Many MLMs offer buyback provisions, but they are used for only a tiny percentage of purchases. This is because the provisions are often stacked against the buyers (packages must be unopened, buyer must first try to sell to upline, time limit is short, etc.), and buyers were encouraged to open and use the products right away. Also, few MLM participants understand that the MLM is a scam without extensive and time-consuming analysis with the help of a qualified analyst.

"Any MLM that offers legitimate products is by definition not a pyramid scheme." -The most extreme and harmful pyramid schemes are product-based pyramid schemes by any measure - loss rates, aggregate losses, number of victims, degree of leverage (enriching those at the top at the expense of time and financial investments of those at the bottom), etc.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:30 PM
"MLM offers not just a nice income, but a truly fulfilling life, with the means to enjoy the good life." (The happiness of participants living a life of luxurey and ease is portrayed in sales materials used in recruitment.)
"Sages of the ages," as well as oracles from most of the world's great religions denounce the acquisition of monetary wealth as a source of lasting happiness. Those who become the most involved in MLM frequently lose their sense of what constitutes true wealth – friends, family, service to God and one's fellowman, the search for truth and wisdom, a life well lived, etc.

"Join our program in its pre-launch phase (or entry into a new market or product division, etc.) and establish your position now. You can then take advantage of this virgin market and experience explosive growth." -

This is about as blatant an admission that the MLM is a pyramid scheme as you can find. It is an admission that market saturation happens quickly and that early entrants have a decided advantage over those who come in later. It often also means that the owners know that the product will be shiort-lived and they need to bring in as many marks as they can as soon as possible.

You will be helping your friends and family, as well as work and church associates, by recruiting them into your downline." -
For potential personal gain, you are exploiting those you care about the most. In other words you are squandering your social capital. You may even antagonize and drive away those nearest and dearest to you. A business that incentivizes you to deceive and exploit friends and family – and anyone else for that matter – for personal gain which is immoral and unethical.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:33 PM
"Former presidents and other very reputable people, sports figures and celebrities have endorsed MLM or spoken at their events." -This credibility argument is used with many scams, including the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. As for speaking fees, notables can be always be bought and will "endorse" many products for a fee and expenses or even a slice of the MLM pie.

"MLM is like insurance, investing, inventing, acting, and writing in that hard work at the outset yields residual income for the rest of your life. This is done be "leveraging" the efforts of your downline – so you can retire early, travel, etc."

The odds of success in MLM is more like gambling than legitimate residual income. It appeals to the "something for nothing" mentality. MLM addiction has been observed in some "true believers." The large residual incomes reported are more the result of time of entry and willingness to deceive prospective recruits than of payoff for hard work. To succeed in MLM, one must leverage one's deceptive recruiting through others who can be persuaded to do the same.

"Our "tools for success" are unbeatable. Sign up for our seminars and conferences, and buy our books and tapes to assure your success in this business."

The "tools business" are a pyramid within a pyramid. Hardly anyone makes money selling products, (the real money is always in the recruiting) so another lucrative source of income for those at the top is the sale of "success tools" to supposedly assure the success of their downline - who are in fact only further victimized when they buy these motivational items. They will often have guest speakers at their seminars and conventions who are hawking and selling their own books, methods and tapes as well.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:35 PM
"Our products are less expensive through MLM because they cut out the middleman" -
MLM creates thousands of middlemen, with few real customers outside a bloated network of "distributors" ( "agents," "consultants," "demonstrators," etc.) In truth, due to a bloated hierarchy of distributors, MLM products are very expensive and cannot compete with comparable products from more legitimate sources.

"Fear of loss (of potential income by not recruiting aggressively) is a great motivator." -

If MLM participants understood what is happening to them, they would fear accumulating further losses by continuing to invest in the MLM. The truly lucky ones are those who refused to buy what their recruiters pressured them to buy.

"You will belong to a great support team. In MLM, you have a whole network of people willing to help you succeed and be your friends." -
MLM's operate like a cult with an "us vs. them" mentality. Watch how quickly the team ostracizes you when you quit or discover contrary information about the legitimacy of the program or even dare to ask certain questions.

A Life Aloft
07-04-2010, 01:42 PM
"The founders and leaders of this MLM are highly experienced and reputable people who would not want to cheat anyone. They are certainly not criminals." -

MLM leaders at even the highest levels of the company resolve "cognitive dissonance" between what they say or believe and the harm done by their program by highly developed self-deception and denial. They also typically interract with the TOPPs (top-of-the-pyramid-promoters), or kingpins, in their organizations and not with the victims at the bottom of their respective pyramids. They do however, tend to make a timed appearance at a convention to rah rah the troops. They may also make a video or write something on their website, but again, this is non interactive.

"Build your business by duplication. Buy five of these "business in a box" packages now, sell them to five people, and ask each to do the same, etc. Be a "product of the products" by signing up for monthly shipment of these items. Soon you will be reaping huge commission checks."
This is how recruiting MLM's earn fortunes for their top recruiters. Commissions from initial and ongoing purchases by new "distributors" (in hopes of profiting) is the life blood of their business. The promised rewards never come, except to those who recruit their way to the top of a pyramid of participants. Take away the "opportunity" inducements for participant purchases, and these companies would fall like a house of cards.

"Our products are unique and consumable - perfect for repeat business." -

MLM products are typically "potions and lotions." The secret formulas are a cover for the fact that they are priced too high to compete in standard markets. In fact, the promotion of various nutritional supplements and miracle juice drinks is analogous to the "snake oil peddlers" of a century ago.

"You will be offering people you care about the very best products available for promoting their health and well being."-

No matter how high the quality of the products, investment in products for which you do not have orders in hand becomes a cleverly disguised means of laundering investments in a product-based pyramid scheme.

EagleOne
07-04-2010, 06:24 PM
Everyone "needs" our product. Our products are superior to over-the-counter products.

This somehow translates into everyone will buy from you since everyone needs and uses the product. Everyone needs soap too, but there isn't just one soap product on the market. People buy products that work and the cost is a good price for the results obtained.

A blind study was done about 5 years ago that took the top 30 over-the-counter vitamin products, and tested them against the top 30 (at that time) MLM vitamin products. The results were: only one MLM Product tested in the top 15, and only 3 in the top 25. The vast majority of MLM Products were found not to contain the % of ingredients claimed on their labeling. The vast majority only had about 10% of the ingredients at the % claimed on their label. So much for 'everyone needing your product, and their products are superior.

Live&Learn
07-06-2010, 08:48 PM
I thought it would be fun if we posted our fave lying catch phrases commonly used by MLMs.

Here are some of mine:

"Fake it till you make it"

"Make money while you sleep"Ahhh.... the lure of actually doing nothing for something that some MLMs promise to their recruits.


"We are in Pre Pre launch" This means, we are trying to line up people early because we need the money to actually launch our business and line our pockets and set up the heads of the Pyramids and give them their downlines.


"It's just like any other business...such as buying a franchise" - except when you ask to see their income from mlm (or even their upline who supposedly are successful) its suddenly personal income and none of your business. As if you would ever buy a franchise without looking at the working numbers of the same franchise in other locations.

" Its a ground floor opportunity" or "the time will never be the same to get involved" -yet on the other hand the entire compensation plan is for people to be continually signing up forever, with it being geometric so 2, 3, 5 years from now, there will need to be exponentially more people needed to be coming in to continue the same oppotunity...but somehow the opportunity is better now than it will be in the future!

" MLM has a system that cuts out the middle man and advertising costs," -yet now several layers of people get paid and MLM products are always more expensive than market.

"MLM is the easiest business opportunity in the world,"- that is until you ask them about their dismal failure rate and then suddenly MLM is what you make of it and most people will fail, because they didn't work hard enough.

"We have Celebrity endorsements"- ahhh, you mean D listers who are paid to be a spokeshole for you.

"I made ten zillion dollars in three months and quit my day job"- shows a pic guy sitting on a rented mercedes in front of a mansion that he does not live in or own.

"Anyone can do this and make money"-of course you will need to attend seminars that you pay for, training tapes and books that you also will pay for, pay various fees and after all of that, you are still broke.

"Our product is the most amazing product out there and it sells itself"- but the comp plan in not really about the product at all- it's all about recruiting others to your downline.

"Your enroller and upline become your family. They become your friends. They become the ones you count on." And when you have trouble making your monthly quotas, they suggest that you get yourself in further debt by opening new credit cards to make your qualifying orders. They tell you about the mother of 4 who was living in her car and managed to make her monthly orders. If you go to these people because you heard something negative about the company or MLMs, you will be told, "Those people are just negative and not worth the ****** - don't waste your time on it." Your concerns will not be addressed.

"You will get (for a monthly fee) your own persoanlized website". Of course it is the same exact cookie cutter websit that all the others members in your MLM have and pay for.

Individualism discouraged; group think prevails. Right from the start you're advised that there is no money in creativity, as the perfect "system" of success has been created. Although personal business ownership is touted, it is a farce. Distributors are referred to as "IBO's (Independent Business Owners). You may work for nearly a decade developing an international business, but not have the freedom to even put a newsletter into your group or call a meeting with your leaders that is not "pre-approved".

Rigid rules and regulations. Despite the claim of "personal choice" and "freedom," Distributors are bound by the rules and regulations of the MLM, by the regulations set by the Owners, by the rules set by their upline, and by the statements in their agreement that they must sign. The "rigidity" of the rules may also vary between groups.

"Own your own business". In MLMs, you do not own your own business, you do not own the product, and you are not in control of your destiny. The company holds all the strings--product supply, computer tracking, commissions, collections, customer service, order fulfillment, publicity, compliance, public relations, comp plan, everything. All you own is a position in a long line of distributors. You do not control the product you sell, the comp plan, what the company does or does not do, the money that is paid . . . distributors own nothing other than the opportunity to sign more distributors and manage the existing downline. You are at the mercy of the company, upline, downline, media, and the government.


"MLM is the best opportunity around."- Imagine you are a teenager in the mall, looking for an "opportunity" to work. You see a clothing store with "help wanted". You go in and ask for an application and how much the "job" pays, and you are told to wait in a very long line that extends out the door and into the mall. As you are standing in line, you notice a certain smell, a sort of stink. Perhaps this is why there are very few, if any, customers walking into this store, only nervous applicants.

When you get to the front, you are told that the "job" is really a "business" and will cost YOU to participate in. If you pay the nice lady sitting at a desk (there seem to be more desks here than clothing racks...), you can then sell the fine products they have on display. But you have to buy the inventory yourself on top of the fee to be "hired". And MOST IMPORTANTLY, you are told that to succeed, you must do what she is doing, recruit others to make them "successes" like her.

You do the math on the clothing profits, and indeed it is not likely for you to even make minimum wage just selling product, and besides this... there are all these other people in line as well. The profit, it appears, is to find others who will pay, like you, to be "hired" into this "ground floor" opportunity.

You should set up a similar store next door, you are told.
You walk out confused, and as you pass the long line , the thought strikes you that all these many people will be attempting to recruit EVEN MORE PEOPLE in geometric expansion to set up a store "next door".
What do you think, a good opportunity?

If such an absurd clothing "store" were ACTUALLY to show up in your local mall, could you really NOT see the difference between it and the other businesses: the way they hire, the likelihood of saturation, etc.?
Can "success" be had through voracious "recruiting" of competitors? How could this possibly be sustainable?

With MLM, of course, there is no mall or line--just nice meetings in homes; the odd lunch with a "friend"; the seminar at the hotel--so that you cannot see the absurd line forming of those whom you will be "competing" against for yet even more recruits.
Great opportunity, eh?

Pre pre-launch. I think that's what I was told about Yoli.

Live&Learn
07-06-2010, 08:51 PM
This was my favorite used many times by YTB-a travel MLM:

"Travel Like A Rockstar"- The truth is that your MLM Company and those on the tippy top of the recruiting chain will make money regardless of what the bottom is doing. As long as there is a little growth they don’t really care. They have made their money and all they have to do is keep dangling the golden carrot of lies and phony dreams over your head and like a good little MLMer, you will keep drinking the Kool-Aid. Meanwhile, your rent is late and the car you are driving is 10 years old.

Then they tell you to sign up your friends, co-workers and family, when in all truth your friends and family and co-workers are probably as interested in your new business venture as they are interested in receiving dental work. Most people do not even think of dental work until they feel the pain.

MLM’s are for poor ignorant folks who don’t understand how badly they’re going to get screwed over, and don’t understand how much of their hard work will just pay other people for doing nothing. Brainwashing is alive and well in MLM. Convince the victims that failure is their “fault.”

Travel Like A Rockstar

Really?! I think I saw a billboard with that line yesterday. I'll read it more carefully next time I drive by.

Live&Learn
07-06-2010, 08:59 PM
One thing I was told about Yoli was that I should jump in immediately because MLM "Heavy Hitters" had already jumped in.

Also, I was going to be part of a "Power Leg". I wasn't familiar with that term, but it was supposed to be a good thing. However, when I asked for an explanation of the Yoli comp plan they admitted they couldn't figure it out either. :RpS_laugh:

Fortunately, I waited to make my Yoli decision until after I tasted the product.

iamwil
07-07-2010, 02:41 PM
"I made ten zillion dollars in three months and quit my day job"- I'll just pick this one. Can you provide me a link to the advert you saw for this?

Seriously?
07-07-2010, 03:46 PM
LOL. Fire your boss.