It never ceases to amaze me with the strange views on the MLM market. Some are extremely passionate, and there are numerous celebrated authors such as Robert Allen, Mark Victor Hansen, and Robert Kiyosaki doing and defending it. But still, in many circles, you prefer to declare yourself a leper rather than disclose that you have a multi-level business.
So what is the problem with MLM?
Possibly is it the pyramid structure? Well you can think of it as a tiered compensation structure- Almost all the big organizations in the world use the same. Sellers earn commissions, Sales Manager earns bonuses, and so on up.
Or possibly the question is why do you have to pay to participate? But that's not the case - it's a standard franchise model.
And I assure you that the costs of a traditional franchise decrease compared to the costs of a multilevel business affiliation.
Of course there are also illegal pyramids and other scams. This is where the money comes from affiliated people. With little or no product to be shipped. But despite any insights you may have, the point is that Amway, Herbalife, TNI, Agel, Usana and many others have sold millions of products to millions of satisfied customers, many of them without being distributors, so there may be a problem. of perception here, but if so, perception is out of line with reality.
But surely the bad reputation of multilevel business is due to the resemblance to the illegality of pyramid schemes?
the real problem is that multilevel business is not multilevel in itself, but some people are attracted to it, multilevel business is simply a business model, and the truth is that they are a cluster of "micro-franchises", which are paid very Little to start, with the potential for exceptional profits, and there those who achieve all this.
But these same things that make it attractive to some people also make it attractive to people who are unprepared to own their own MLM business. The most notable characteristics that make a multilevel business attractive to people are:
• You have not been successful in your business or profession and have little money saved to invest.
• You have no experience in other businesses or owning.
• You have no previous sales experience.
• Little or no experience developing relationships with workers / business partners.
• You are not satisfied with your current income level.
• You have unrealistic expectations of the amount of hard work compared to earned income.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying these things are bad, or that it describes most MLM business owners - this only describes a disproportionate number of MLM business owners, and most of them never do anything to remedy it.
As a result, many distributors end up like this:
• Over sell the opportunity
• Inappropriate discussions in social situations
• Going to despair
• Over fixation on new distributors and abandoning existing customers
• Becoming both inappropriate or disappointed when you talk about the business.
Again, I am not describing most of the distributors, but it does describe a considerable amount to stain the reputation of everyone else. To prejudge someone based on a minority is a horrible mistake, but we must understand that most prejudices have some basis of reality, even if it has been distorted.
So what is the solution?
There is always a first moment for everything. And a multilevel business is a fantastic opportunity to have your first business, the first sales relationship, etc. My opinion is this - recognize it for what it is: it is a business, and you are the owner. And if you have never owned before, if you have never made sales before, if you have never worked with distributors before, you need to learn how to do all this, not only from multi-level experts, but from established experts in these areas.
Distributors who are serious about building a successful business should read and learn about the fundamentals, the latest marketing and sales techniques, teamwork strategies and business development, etc. Don't just learn the tricks at the weekly or monthly team meeting. Act as a small business owner, and people will treat you as such.
