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Multi-level marketing is a fancy
name currently being used by some companies in an effort to do two
things:
The first objective is to move products from their warehouses, and thus
increase their sales volume The second objective is to recruit "an
army" of commission-only sales people.
Make no mistake about it! After you've stripped all the hoopla away from
these "super money-making opportunities", the bottom line remains
the same - you make money from commissions allowed from the sale
of products.
Generally speaking, very few people have any "real" sales experience, and
thus, if offered the opportunity to take a job as a
commission-only sales person, they'd run from it like the devil.
At the same time, most commission-only sales positions are "direct
selling" opportunities. And, the definition of direct selling
begins with an explanation of what a door-to-door sales person
does.
Don't get me wrong. A lot of personal fortunes have been amassed by
commission-only sales people. For sure, when you attempt to sell
by mail, you're almost always involved in commission selling and
direct selling.
What I'm saying is that most people are "duped" into joining multi-level
marketing programs without understanding that it is commission
sales and at least a form of door-to-door selling.
Worse than "duping" you into joining their programs... many so-called
multi-level marketing companies subtly encourage you to break the
law, and run the risk of huge monetary fines, long terms in
prison, or both! This is done by at least, "inferring" that if you
will find a number of people to duplicate what you're doing, and
in turn encourage each new enrolled to keep the system going,
everybody will get rich!
Not so, my friend! That's a "Ponzi Scheme", and if you don't really
understand what a Ponzi Scheme is - allow me a moment to explain.
Such a scheme is any kind of money-making opportunity where you
get paid by recruiting, enlisting, or soliciting other people to
follow your lead and continue a chain of events. In other words,
you'll be paid a commission from the people you recruit - (1) from
the people they recruit (2) from the people they recruit (3) and
into infinity.
This is the "secret" impact that most multi-level marketing companies use
to induce you to buy into their program. Such practices are
illegal, and subject to federal laws which could destroy you. So
called, bi-level marketing plans are the same thing, as chain
letters, and people helping people clubs. They're based upon the
Ponzi Scheme. If you have any doubts, take your money-making
opportunity and sit down with your local postmaster and discuss
its legality.
These things are illegal because if - as in a dream world - they really
worked, by the time one person had attained level number five, he
would have "signed" everybody on earth with only the first two
levels receiving any of the money. There would be nobody left for
the third, fourth and fifth levels to sell to.
Multi-level marketing companies get around the law by stating within their
by-laws that it is strictly forbidden to promote or attempt to
sell the program by mail. Then, when the postal inspectors come
calling on the little guy, the MLM company says: "He did it - we
don't do such things - here, look at our by-laws".
The bottom line is as old as the hills: you can do anything you want -
legal or illegal - so long as you don't get caught - but when you
do get caught, you'd better be prepared to pay the price.
Besides the terrible mess multi-level marketing has gotten a lot of
normally law-abiding and moral people into, it has "foisted" upon
these people personality changes that many of them do not like.
To make any money selling a product or service on a commission-only basis,
you have to have the ability to sell like the proverbial "used car
salesman". It's all hard sell, and more often than not, involves
"forcing" the prospect to buy whether its good for him or not.
Anyone who has ever attempted to succeed in commission sales, knows that
it takes a product in great demand - a great deal of sales calls,
advertising and persistence, and a little bit of failure and a
tremendous amount of "total business moxie" to make any money at
it.
There's nothing wrong with commission selling - and if you're good at it,
you can make a lot of money in this kind of selling. But remember
that multi-level marketing is commission selling, the way
"distributors" are recruited is very illegal, with the authorities
closing down more MLM companies everyday - and it takes a special
kind of person, with the right kind of personality to succeed at
it. |
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