Run your own MLM or Multi Level Mistake
Run your own MLM or Multi Level Mistake
I’m sure you have heard of Multi-Level-Marketing before, heck if you read Aridni just yesterday there was an article supporting it. Today’s article is not going to be quite as affirmative.
If I were to start up one of these companies, for the example we’ll call it “Todd’s super-cool MLM company” the first step I would take would be to find some product to sell. Okay how about we sell lemonade and lemonade accessories.
I’ll get my catalog all set up and good to go with all kinds of exotic lemons, juicers, squeezers, mixers, pitchers, and those big wooden spoons. Now it’s time to take TSCMC out to make some money.
I go around to some houses selling overpriced lemonade and find out one big thing. It’s only a matter of time before I discover that selling things is hard work and not very much fun.
My next step is to get an army of cronies to go door to door. I’ll sit at home watching movies while they fill the streets selling my lemonade and lemonade accessories. Now for every piece they sell we both make money.
But then they get tired of selling products so they each raise an army of cronies each to go sell the overpriced junk. Now we’ve got a bunch of people sitting in my living room with me watching movies.
Before long my house would be jam packed with people who love to watch movies. Each person would have an army of lemonade peddling thugs waiting to move into the house. It would be just a little too crowded for me, and it is growing at an alarming rate.
So I slip off into the den and make up some promotional materials. And for the low low price of $80, I will sell it to anyone who works with TSCMC and wants to learn how to sell more lemonade faster.
Then I have my higher-up cronies sell the pamphlets to the younger ones for a share of the profits. All this leads up to the higher-ups making more money with the things that are sold internally to the members. TSCMC begins focusing more and more on getting new resellers, not to sell lemonade products for them, but rather to be sold books titled “How to sell a boatload of Lemonade and make a pile of cash” and things like that.
Now I’m not saying that people don’t make money with these outrageous pyramid schemes, because the higher-ups stand to make a mint; however it’s from the pockets of its own employees.
Here are two more Aridni Articles about this type of thing.
They’ll take your pants
Network Marketing – A way to make your first million
Perfect example, Toddly-o!
To Danielle who is worried that I feel she’s taking advantage of her customers… I think your MLM company is taking advantage of YOU, Danielle.
June 29th, 2006 | #
Heres to our first controversial Aridni article and yay for free speech!
My MLM company is not taking advantage of me and here is why:
There is a difference between MLM and pyramid schemes. Pyramid schemes are illegal and MLM is not. The Federal Trade Commission lists MLM as a legal business. It does not list Pyramid schemes. What Todd described is an illegal scenario and unfortunately it happens all the time.
Also, Xango distributors, just like Mary Kay for instance, only earn commissions based on the sales of the product itself and our product is not overpriced when you consider that it is a health supplement and most vitamins at Whole Foods cost as much as my product. Each Xango distributor has an equal opportunity to rise to the top as long as he/she is good at selling. However, in pyramid schemes, Todd is right-only a few people rise to the top.
Also, Xango only sells one product. We don’t sell “lemonade” and also sell brochures on how to make more “lemonade.” We have one product which has been scientifcally proven to help people and I know enough people it has significantly helped to justify selling it.
I think conversations like this are fun! I respect Todd’s and Katie’s points of view and hope they respect mine! I’m curious to see what our readers have to say.
Just wait until I am rolling in the money… then you’ll see! :)
June 29th, 2006 | #
I think the guys who will role in money from what daniele sells are the guys above her far before she makes a few bucks. Whats their commission on your sales, daniele?
June 29th, 2006 | #
To Todd, Katie, and anyone else who is against MLM:
I also think it’s naive to make such generalized judgments about an industry without first looking at the compensation plans for Xango, Mary Kay, and other companies. Only after you have educated yourselves will you be able to have an educated opinion. Anyone who just jumps to conclusions is making stereotypes about something they don’t know anything about.
To Alex:
Excellent question. As with any business, it takes TIME to build a MLM business and the stereotype that only people high up in the company earn money isn’t true. It’s just that they are earning commissions on a larger number of cases of Xango because they have been in the company longer and have had more time to build their organization.
Xango pays its distributors on nine levels. Anyone who sells a case of Xango earns commission regardless of how high they are in the MLM hierarchy. You start out as a Member, similar to joining a wholesale club like Costco. Then, as you get more people to sign up to sell the product under you (everyone sells the product for the same amount of $) you earn commission on their sales as well. So eventually you can earn 10% of a bottle of Xango that was sold by someone who just started out. But the person who just started out will ALSO earn 10%. The growth is exponential.
Does that answer your question?
June 30th, 2006 | #
Danielle,
I know it is possible to make money through some of these methods. Heck, there is a gal who lives a block away who is a top Mary Kay salesperson.
I don’t think that it is impossible by any means, but they are the type of things that you have to get in on early.
I don’t know if you have seen those free ipod promotions or not. For the first people to sign up it is a great deal. But soon the market gets saturated everyone is at a serious disadvantage do to competition.
Not that I am saying that you are too low in the juice food chain to actually make money, but it can be rough. I wouldn’t be involved in it, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t work.
June 30th, 2006 | #
[...] Aridni » Run your own MLM or Multi Level Mistake [...]
July 1st, 2006 | #
[...] me at another meeting from on of his mentors. This is starting to look more and more like a mlm (multi level mistake), but there could be a nugget of information stored in there [...]
March 24th, 2008 | #