For a long time, I've thought about writing a post on this topic because it irritates me so much. Up until this point I have chosen not to because I knew it would make a lot of people angry. But you know what I've had enough, I'm sick of the harassment and lies. These are my opinions if you don't like them then you are free to move along. If you have something constructive to say then by all means post a comment. I however, am not filtering my comments as this is my blog and on my blog I make the rules. I will now include a happy picture but the rest is real honest you've been warned.
Basically, it's where you sell a product to someone and you get a commission when they buy it. The multi-level part comes in when you recruit the person you sold something to and they sell the product to someone else and you get a commission off of everything they sell.
For those of you who don't know, I HATE MLM's. Now let me first say I don't think all MLM'S are garbage. I'm sure there are some legitimate products and companies out there. Here's the problem though, when I make a statement like not all MLM'S are garbage. I give any person selling in an MLM a loophole and all the people who participate in garbage MLM's step forward pat themselves on the back and say, "Ya, exactly we are totally legit." And anything good about the industry get's lost in the commotion.
How do I know this, well I am probably contacted 2 times a week on my social media platforms about buying some product or another. I have openly stated my dislike for MLM's on social media by saying things like...." I hate Lipsense, almost as much as I hate back squats....(just so you know that's a lot) Stop for the love, inviting me to your MLM sales groups. I am begging you!" And then I get like 20 supportive likes as if to say, "Ya, right there with you girl". But you know what the laughable part is, half those people sell products for MLM's and that's when you realize that there can be no LOOPHOLES.
SO WHY DO I HATE MLM"S SO MUCH?
I've come up with my top 5 list. I figure it might be easier in the future to direct all unwanted sales pitches to this blog. I've also been asked a lot, and I thought some of you might be interested to know that I do have reasons and I'm not just a grump who doesn't want to buy any of your crap.
Now maybe you could say, well any job where you work for someone else is like that. No, when you work for good companies they don't require you to buy in. Sure they might give you commissions if you sell well but they probably also give you health care and benefits, structure and support etc. To me, it's kind of like the analogy that my parents always used growing up. You could either rent a house and pay for something that will never be yours. And as is the case with many a rental, fix things when they break because your landlord is a loser. Or you could buy the house put in all the same time and effort to keep it up but the money you pay towards it will go to something YOU own. I'm sure that analogy is flawed in one way or another but I think you get my point. Most direct sales companies require a small investment up front, but there are plenty of upsells along the way simply to have enough products to show potential customers. Unless you’re serious about putting in a 38 hour week, you can quickly end up with out of date products and no extra profits to cover them. As the saying goes "Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs."
McDonald's won’t let franchise owners open up multiple locations on the same street unless there is sufficient demand. Otherwise, they would compete for few customers and go out of business.There are only so many people interested in buying and with multiple distributors in small areas, the best (or best known) salesperson will get the sale. So what essential is seen as "support" from your business, like the kind I mention in my first point is really competition. I think you can see the problem here.
You don't dictate product decisions, research and marketing, marketing restriction, rules, cost analysis or any other activity fundamental to owning a business. You don't do other common business owner type things like payroll, offer benefits, have a brick and mortar location, pay unemployment tax.
WHAT IS AN MLM?
Basically, it's where you sell a product to someone and you get a commission when they buy it. The multi-level part comes in when you recruit the person you sold something to and they sell the product to someone else and you get a commission off of everything they sell.For those of you who don't know, I HATE MLM's. Now let me first say I don't think all MLM'S are garbage. I'm sure there are some legitimate products and companies out there. Here's the problem though, when I make a statement like not all MLM'S are garbage. I give any person selling in an MLM a loophole and all the people who participate in garbage MLM's step forward pat themselves on the back and say, "Ya, exactly we are totally legit." And anything good about the industry get's lost in the commotion.
How do I know this, well I am probably contacted 2 times a week on my social media platforms about buying some product or another. I have openly stated my dislike for MLM's on social media by saying things like...." I hate Lipsense, almost as much as I hate back squats....(just so you know that's a lot) Stop for the love, inviting me to your MLM sales groups. I am begging you!" And then I get like 20 supportive likes as if to say, "Ya, right there with you girl". But you know what the laughable part is, half those people sell products for MLM's and that's when you realize that there can be no LOOPHOLES.
SO WHY DO I HATE MLM"S SO MUCH?
I've come up with my top 5 list. I figure it might be easier in the future to direct all unwanted sales pitches to this blog. I've also been asked a lot, and I thought some of you might be interested to know that I do have reasons and I'm not just a grump who doesn't want to buy any of your crap.
1. BUILDING SOMEONE ELSE'S BRAND
I think one of the biggest reasons I hate MLM's is that you are building someone else's brand on the back of your family members, friends and one time acquaintances. You put your own money, time and effort in to line the pockets and grow the business for people higher up the chain than you.Now maybe you could say, well any job where you work for someone else is like that. No, when you work for good companies they don't require you to buy in. Sure they might give you commissions if you sell well but they probably also give you health care and benefits, structure and support etc. To me, it's kind of like the analogy that my parents always used growing up. You could either rent a house and pay for something that will never be yours. And as is the case with many a rental, fix things when they break because your landlord is a loser. Or you could buy the house put in all the same time and effort to keep it up but the money you pay towards it will go to something YOU own. I'm sure that analogy is flawed in one way or another but I think you get my point. Most direct sales companies require a small investment up front, but there are plenty of upsells along the way simply to have enough products to show potential customers. Unless you’re serious about putting in a 38 hour week, you can quickly end up with out of date products and no extra profits to cover them. As the saying goes "Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs."
2. SATURATED MARKETS
When you sign up friends or family as distributors, you’re creating your own competition and the more people who get involved, the less chance mutual friends will know who to buy from. Unfortunately, this is also how you yourself make more money. MLM's doesn’t obey the laws of supply and demand.McDonald's won’t let franchise owners open up multiple locations on the same street unless there is sufficient demand. Otherwise, they would compete for few customers and go out of business.There are only so many people interested in buying and with multiple distributors in small areas, the best (or best known) salesperson will get the sale. So what essential is seen as "support" from your business, like the kind I mention in my first point is really competition. I think you can see the problem here.
3. CALLING YOURSELF A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
As a small business owner who's married to a small business owner, I find this insulting. MLM distributors do not have control.You don't dictate product decisions, research and marketing, marketing restriction, rules, cost analysis or any other activity fundamental to owning a business. You don't do other common business owner type things like payroll, offer benefits, have a brick and mortar location, pay unemployment tax.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has this handy PDF of information. It states that “7 of 10 business survive the first two years” (30% failure rate over two years), “half at least 5 years”, “a third at least 10 years”, and “a quarter stay in business 15 years or more.” Do you wanna guess what percentage MLM's fail at every year? 90% are failing every year and I’m being very generous. If we start with a 100,000 people and 90% fail each year, you have 10,000 people after the first year and 1000 people after two years. That’s a 99% failure in MLM vs. 30% in traditional small businesses. After 5 years, you are left with a single person in MLM. In traditional small businesses, you’d have 50,000. If this were the Hunger Games the odds what not be in your favor.
If you're a good salesman then I won't know you're selling me something.
Here's another example, a couple weeks ago I got an Instagram message from a person I hadn't spoken to in 11 years. I sent Mr. Robinson the following text.
Tigan: "How much you wanna bet in about 10 minutes they are going to try and sell me something?"
Blake: "$100 dollars"
Yep, I guessed it, not 10 minutes later came the pitch. I even gave several foreshadowing hints (thank you 10th-grade English teacher) about how I wouldn't be keen on the product until finally I just bluntly told them that I hate MLM's and I wasn't interested. After which they baited me with unrelated cordial conversation until they could put in the last word about how great their MLM was.
a. USING PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS BATE
Why do I always cry at Korean commercials on Youtube or when Susan Boyle sang I Dreamed a Dream on Britain's got Talent because it tugs at my heart strings. I connect their experience with ones from my own life and that's exactly how MLM's use all your real feelings to connect you with their crap products. And when you feel connected to something it makes it seem more legitimate, you buy more, you sell more and the circle goes round and round. The biggest offender of this is weight loss products. No one wants to be unhealthy, no one wants to feel bad about the way they look. But the truth is the only way to achieve a true lifestyle change with lasting result includes the words hard work and hard work is well HARD. Easy supplements and meal plans are quick fixes and when you add social proof they seem like the perfect answer. They are designed to make you fail or at least require you to keep buying the products in order to maintain your results. Don't drink this punch people.
b. PARTIES
Just NO. Distributors suck you into parties with free samples, food, girls nights, and prizes. Or you're guilted into them because your friend got roped in by their friend and they have to have 10 people or they won't get the free merchandise.
Parties are basically QVC live shows except instead of them saying they are almost sold out they harass/pressure you into buying something you don't need and or don't even like and they don't stop there. Because you came to the party now it's your turn to have one at your house to further the cause of the selling monster.
The worst offenders are makeup parties. When did the ability to purchase makeup product and read the coordinating product description provided by the company qualify you as a makeup artist or skin care professional? The answer, it doesn't.
Skin is complicated the reason it's doing the things it's doing could be caused by a multitude of offenders, age, genetics, hormones, diet. The same goes for make-up. My skin is the color of the driven snow and I can't tell you how many "professionals" have matched me with the wrong foundation. Add in various organic options, fillers, minerals, sunscreens that they put in foundations and you can bet that a multitude of skin sins are headed your way. Think flashback, cake face, dry patches, skin problems, that disgusting line that happen when you don't match your foundation to your neck. It's a big freaking deal people.
Sure MLM companies might hold annual conferences and small group training where they go and learn about their products and by learn I mean they feed them information that correlates and or proves that their products are amazing. But is that the same as having an educational background in something? If you're talking about MLM's that sell nutritional and dietary supplements you should know about the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. It was not necessarily an end to the war between the FDA and the health food supplement industry, but it was a major victory for marketers of vitamins and dietary supplements.
At its bare bones, the legislation does the following:
1. Allows third party literature about dietary supplements to be disseminated,
2. Allows labels on dietary supplements to describe how supplements provide nutritional or dietary
3. Places the burden of proof that a dietary supplement is unsafe on the FDA,
4. Provides that the dietary supplements are not "food additives" and that the FDA may not arbitrarily remove supplements from the marketplace by labeling them as unapproved "food additives,"
The Act provided for a presidential commission of unbiased experts in dietary supplements during the next two years to provide recommendations and established procedures for evaluating health claim label statements. After that the FDA was to issue proposed rules and invite public comment.
What this means to you? Well, it's not exactly bad and it's not exactly good. There are plenty of supplements out there that do great things and there are plenty that do diddley squat. ( I'm looking at you deer antler velvet) It means as a consumer you have to be smarter. Companies aren't required to pay the hefty fees for FDA approval and they can get third party proof! (which means they can pay a third party to say whatever the hell they want.)
But here's what you should really ask yourself. Are you willing to trust your health to your neighbor Sarah down the street who has a bachelor's in fine art and recently took up yoga and has now become a distributor to the fastest growing health and wellness movement? Who's supplements sound like pure magic that will cure all your ailments and has "proven effective" 3rd party literature? No? not so sure now? Good Answer.
THE ANSWER IS NO!
4. DISINGENUIN SALES
This one drives me insane. I think there must be a script that MLM participants pass around to one another because all the sales pitches sound the same. Hey so and so, (insert something personal about the person that you found in a 10second search by Facebook stalking them) I really want to tell you about this product that I am loving. I have a free 3-day trial and there is a 60-day money back guarantee so there is no risk. (insert your own personal experience with product) And (insert social proof) here is a picture of my friend Mary, (they do not really know Mary) Look at her results!!!If you're a good salesman then I won't know you're selling me something.
Here's another example, a couple weeks ago I got an Instagram message from a person I hadn't spoken to in 11 years. I sent Mr. Robinson the following text.
Tigan: "How much you wanna bet in about 10 minutes they are going to try and sell me something?"
Blake: "$100 dollars"
Yep, I guessed it, not 10 minutes later came the pitch. I even gave several foreshadowing hints (thank you 10th-grade English teacher) about how I wouldn't be keen on the product until finally I just bluntly told them that I hate MLM's and I wasn't interested. After which they baited me with unrelated cordial conversation until they could put in the last word about how great their MLM was.
a. USING PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS BATE
Why do I always cry at Korean commercials on Youtube or when Susan Boyle sang I Dreamed a Dream on Britain's got Talent because it tugs at my heart strings. I connect their experience with ones from my own life and that's exactly how MLM's use all your real feelings to connect you with their crap products. And when you feel connected to something it makes it seem more legitimate, you buy more, you sell more and the circle goes round and round. The biggest offender of this is weight loss products. No one wants to be unhealthy, no one wants to feel bad about the way they look. But the truth is the only way to achieve a true lifestyle change with lasting result includes the words hard work and hard work is well HARD. Easy supplements and meal plans are quick fixes and when you add social proof they seem like the perfect answer. They are designed to make you fail or at least require you to keep buying the products in order to maintain your results. Don't drink this punch people.
b. PARTIES
Just NO. Distributors suck you into parties with free samples, food, girls nights, and prizes. Or you're guilted into them because your friend got roped in by their friend and they have to have 10 people or they won't get the free merchandise.
Parties are basically QVC live shows except instead of them saying they are almost sold out they harass/pressure you into buying something you don't need and or don't even like and they don't stop there. Because you came to the party now it's your turn to have one at your house to further the cause of the selling monster.
The worst offenders are makeup parties. When did the ability to purchase makeup product and read the coordinating product description provided by the company qualify you as a makeup artist or skin care professional? The answer, it doesn't.
Skin is complicated the reason it's doing the things it's doing could be caused by a multitude of offenders, age, genetics, hormones, diet. The same goes for make-up. My skin is the color of the driven snow and I can't tell you how many "professionals" have matched me with the wrong foundation. Add in various organic options, fillers, minerals, sunscreens that they put in foundations and you can bet that a multitude of skin sins are headed your way. Think flashback, cake face, dry patches, skin problems, that disgusting line that happen when you don't match your foundation to your neck. It's a big freaking deal people.
5. SALES ABILITY DOESN'T= KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS
This leads me to my next and last point. Being a good seller in an MLM is not equal to knowledge or skills. It always kind of boggles my mind how many people take opinion as actual fact. The fact is that the people selling you these products are just like you and me. They probably didn't go to school in this field. They probably don't have any work experience in this field and they sure as heck don't have enough knowledge about the industry and it's rules or regulation to offer any type of actual advice or know how.Sure MLM companies might hold annual conferences and small group training where they go and learn about their products and by learn I mean they feed them information that correlates and or proves that their products are amazing. But is that the same as having an educational background in something? If you're talking about MLM's that sell nutritional and dietary supplements you should know about the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. It was not necessarily an end to the war between the FDA and the health food supplement industry, but it was a major victory for marketers of vitamins and dietary supplements.
At its bare bones, the legislation does the following:
1. Allows third party literature about dietary supplements to be disseminated,
2. Allows labels on dietary supplements to describe how supplements provide nutritional or dietary
3. Places the burden of proof that a dietary supplement is unsafe on the FDA,
4. Provides that the dietary supplements are not "food additives" and that the FDA may not arbitrarily remove supplements from the marketplace by labeling them as unapproved "food additives,"
The Act provided for a presidential commission of unbiased experts in dietary supplements during the next two years to provide recommendations and established procedures for evaluating health claim label statements. After that the FDA was to issue proposed rules and invite public comment.
What this means to you? Well, it's not exactly bad and it's not exactly good. There are plenty of supplements out there that do great things and there are plenty that do diddley squat. ( I'm looking at you deer antler velvet) It means as a consumer you have to be smarter. Companies aren't required to pay the hefty fees for FDA approval and they can get third party proof! (which means they can pay a third party to say whatever the hell they want.)
But here's what you should really ask yourself. Are you willing to trust your health to your neighbor Sarah down the street who has a bachelor's in fine art and recently took up yoga and has now become a distributor to the fastest growing health and wellness movement? Who's supplements sound like pure magic that will cure all your ailments and has "proven effective" 3rd party literature? No? not so sure now? Good Answer.
So the next time you wanna sell me something consider this before you send me that message. And just in case you missed the point of this post....
- Tuesday, June 27, 2017
- 7 Comments
