Network Marketing - Who's in it?, discussion... pros and cons Options

[Jeunesse]

Just curious, what's your take on Network Marketing or Multi-level marketing or direct sales if you want to call it nicely?
I know Robert Kuyisake author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Donald Trump endorses network marketing but what's your opinion about it? Is it a good start for a part-time home business? What do you think are the pros and cons.

This post has been edited by Jeunesse: Feb 8, 2009 - 10:37 AM

[joehernandez]

im in networking,, but not on that area of it,, look on carrer builer and there should be a lot of info!

[forkee]

first thing to come to mind is pyramid scam

i wouldn't get into it if i were you. everyone pretends to be buddy buddy at first but in reality, its every man for themselves. the only reason why they would want to help you is if they know it will help make money for them directly. once you're labelled as a dead end, you're pretty much screwed by the same people that promised they'll help you. its a very lucrative business only for people who ALREADY know a lot of people. otherwise if you don't, you end up looking for "associates" and drag your friends into it, resulting in everyone hating you.

dont buy into their cons, they will throw a whole ****load of famous quotes made by successful people, and it is very convincing and doesn't really allow a lot of arguing (since you would be contradicting a successful person) but look past that. and dont trust them when they say "you can make as much as....." or "so and so raked in over 3 figures last month" or similar crap. ask them how much they made personally. if they say it doesnt matter how much they made, they are just crapping on their own words. a lot of them would pretend to be successful and drive fancy cars or dress super nice, but its all fake if they dont even show proof or at least admit to how much they make (ive never even heard an "oh i make around.....")

unless your the pushy type thats cutthroat and care about absolutely nothing and wont let anything get in the way between you and $$$$$ then you should stick to earning money the honest way.

[Rayme]

I got approched by them (ACA) and basicly I wouldn't be comfortable selling that crap when most of the revenue comes from "hiring" new salesmen instead of selling the phone services. It definitly is a pyramid scheme but the twist is that there is an actual product mixed in to make it legal.

[Jeunesse]

first thing to come to mind is pyramid scam

i wouldn't get into it if i were you. everyone pretends to be buddy buddy at first but in reality, its every man for themselves. the only reason why they would want to help you is if they know it will help make money for them directly. once you're labelled as a dead end, you're pretty much screwed by the same people that promised they'll help you. its a very lucrative business only for people who ALREADY know a lot of people. otherwise if you don't, you end up looking for "associates" and drag your friends into it, resulting in everyone hating you.

dont buy into their cons, they will throw a whole ****load of famous quotes made by successful people, and it is very convincing and doesn't really allow a lot of arguing (since you would be contradicting a successful person) but look past that. and dont trust them when they say "you can make as much as....." or "so and so raked in over 3 figures last month" or similar crap. ask them how much they made personally. if they say it doesnt matter how much they made, they are just crapping on their own words. a lot of them would pretend to be successful and drive fancy cars or dress super nice, but its all fake if they dont even show proof or at least admit to how much they make (ive never even heard an "oh i make around.....")

unless your the pushy type thats cutthroat and care about absolutely nothing and wont let anything get in the way between you and $$$$$ then you should stick to earning money the honest way.

thanks for your opinion but, Pyramid scam? Why woulld you say that? Isn't the corporate structure the same way? I mean you have your CEO on top, 2 VP's under him, 4 managers or more under the vp's, supervisors under the managers and so on... basically corporate and network marketing works the same way, pyramid, you hire people under you for your business to work. And how will your business succeed? By working hard selling your stuff or your service, and helping and pushing the people under you do their job, right? Isn't it the same? The part that attracted me to this business is the starting investment, you can start to have your own business and be a "CEO" for just less than $1000, you just have to get people as your "vp's", "managers", "supervisors" and so son and so forth. Does your boss care about you and is he a pushy type cutthroat? I bet he is and if I stick to earning money the honest way, when will I be a CEO or the person on top?

[forkee]

in corporate structure, companies only hire as much employees as needed to make the company run. they dont go out and constantly hire as if its the sole purpose of the company. as any corporation knows, too many workers simply costs too much if they are not raking in enough to justify it. also corporations will pay new hires for training and getting started, as they will become a vital asset for the company. they will even pay for subsequent training classes throughout that persons employment. new hires do not have to pay any "fee" to get started, a known trick used by pyramid scams.

does the company you're thinking about going into require any type of resume? any related work experience? any business degree? or do they just want money? and when you go out and select people to work under you, are you going to find people that have experience being a vice president, or manager, or supervisor, are u going to require some degree? or are you just going to hire them on the basis that they have start up money and share the "go get 'em!" attitude.

Of course every boss ive had cared about my performance but none of them were cutthroat. as for "CEO" or other high positions, people respect the title but only if you earned it rather than buying your way to the top. personally i have no respect for those high rolling contributors to schools that become honorary "doctors" just because they gave $10 million to the school. i believe you can never buy wisdom, one must experience it first hand.

[Jeunesse]

yes, but when a company is starting they hire as much as they need, and as they grow bigger they hire more. Network marketing has trainings too on how you could sell your product and on how you could talk to people and become your associate. You just need to go out there and attend those trainings and seminars. No offense to your belief forkee, what you're saying is true and typical, but the way I see it is if you don't do anything don't expect network marketing to work for you. If you just sit there and wait for your invested money to grow then nothing will happen. "New Hires" as what you call them are not paying fee to be employed in network marketing but are paying to invest money on their OWN home business.

[/quote]does the company you're thinking about going into require any type of resume? any related work experience? any business degree? or do they just want money? and when you go out and select people to work under you, are you going to find people that have experience being a vice president, or manager, or supervisor, are u going to require some degree? or are you just going to hire them on the basis that they have start up money and share the "go get 'em!" attitude. [quote/]

Do you require resume when you invest money to open your own business? Do you need work related experience when you invest your money to open your business? Do you need any business degree in investing money? yes, they need your money when you invest it to open your own business. When you go out and select people in network marketing, you're giving them a chance to start their own business and do what they want with it, they don't need to have experience being a vp, manager, etc etc. Ask any business owners, any business owners out there, what was needed to start their own business and the answer is always start up money.

I think you and I are on a different page here. You're treating network marketing as getting employed under your upline but I'm seeing it as investing and starting my own.

[forkee]

you bring up a lot of good points but it sounds like its all regurgitated common say from whomever trained you to say that. they all say the same thing over and over until your forced to believe what they say is the ONLY way to make a quick dollar.

but the way I see it is if you don't do anything don't expect network marketing to work for you. If you just sit there and wait for your invested money to grow then nothing will happen.

^^^dont tell me you thought of this one yourself because i can bet a million dollars you heard someone else say this. this is where they get you. because even though a LOT of people work their asses off, they may not see the $$$ they had anticipated. does this mean they did something wrong? does this mean they just sat there or maybe did not work hard enough? no, this just means they wasted their time in a market that did not accept their product. they force you to set yourself up for failure, so that when you don't succeed, you wont blame the scam, but blame yourself. im just trying to take away the horse blinders that these people have put on you, good sir.

when you open your own business, of course you don't need to interview yourself. you call the shots. but how can you be prepared to even know what shots to call without REAL training. and then they make you think whatever training seminars they provide is the bread and butter of the whole operation. follow their lead and you should be in the clear. thats what they want you to believe, no?

yes, they need your money when you invest it to open your own business.

^^^does this make any sense?? if you're opening up your own business, put your investment money in YOUR business. Why should you give anyone else your money, lol. wouldnt that be investing money in somebody else's business? see how this is a scam yet?? you know whats a better investment? use that money to get a business degree so that you can get REAL training on entreprenuership and a diploma to show for it.

Ask any business owners, any business owners out there, what was needed to start their own business and the answer is always start up money.

i also bet that if i asked them if they gave that money to ANOTHER business so that THEIR business can get started, im sure the answer is NO. the only businesses you should give start up money to are banks (for investment), accredited schools (for reputable education), supply stores (for business supplies), patent offices (to trademark your own product), and land owners (you have to set ground somewhere). if you give anyone else your money, you're just donating to their business and guess what? they just profited and you just lost.

is that your idea of making money? by spending it on other businesses? or maybe you want to be like the people ripping you off. maybe you want other people to spend money on you, in hopes that by telling them to invest in you, they're really investing on themselves in the future.

i bet you have already invested the start up fee (however insane amount) because your already conditioned to think one way and one way only, without opening your eyes up to the whole picture. you're most likely too late to get a refund because they have a strict deadline like a couple of days (because they know that people finally kick themselves in the ass and wake up to how rediculous it sounds) so now its either continue getting hypnotized to think how they all think or waste what you spent. if you're already so set on it, then i say go for it and goodluck. 99% of people don't have the time and energy to go out and force themselves to do that or maybe they feel like its a total waste of their time. also 9 out of 10 start up companies do NOT survive the first year. you sound like you wont let anything get in your way so hey maybe you're the lucky one.

im really not trying to disrespect you. i just REALLY HATE MLM. so if you're looking for a devil's advocate, i can guarantee you im your best bet

[Jeunesse]

forkee, not to disrespect you either but I think you're the one not thinking out of the box here. You open up a business, you invest money on a product that you want to sell or see a product that you think has a potential to give you income. For example, you open up a small clothing store, you invest money on clothes that you think people will buy, right? Same thing with MLM, people see the potentail of the product so they invest on it? they purchase it from the wholesaler and sell it retail, then people get their associates so their commisional volume grows. The only difference is you don't get commisions on opening up a clothing store.
You also said that I bring up good points and it sounds like its all regurgitated common say from whomever trained me to say them... so there are trainings and seminars and I have also done my due diligence, years and months of research before I saw the potential in this business. Have you done your research or do you just hate MLM so much you don't even want to think about it?
Thank you too forkee for insulting my intelligence when you qouted me and doubted that I thought that myself. You just lost a million dollars to me . FYI, I have a degree in BBA at Schulich School of business Canada and BS ECE at University of Santo Tomas Phillipines.
You see forkee, Its just like any other business, it will take years for it to grow, some people might have the luck to have their MLM work for them in months and earning money right away, some people don't. I bet that's what you're insight on MLM is. Pay and earn right away. Nope my dear sir, it doesn't normally work that way.
If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living? Are you just an employee and work for somebody else, are you self employed, or are you a business owner? Please don't get self-employed and business owners mixed up.
If MLM is a scam, why then two of the greatest minds in business, Robert Kuyisake and Donald Trump, endorse it? Why would Steven Scott (Total Gym), Guthy and Renker (Proactive) do it? How would Amway generate so much profit since it started? How would Primerica be succesful? These are only a few of the business and people in this business succed, what about the other ones? Oh and please don't tell me that these are all hear-say and somebody just told me all this things because I have read the books by RK and Donald "Why we want you to be rich" and Steven Scotts' "The Richest man who ever lived".

[forkee]

ok cool you have a business degree so you know what you're in for. i just didnt want you to get into something you're not prepared in. i too was a business major, had only a few classes left to take before i switched majors. so thats why i learned ALOT about different business practices and what works and what doesnt. if MLM worked as much as they proclaimed, then every member would be Donald Trump, but thats clearly not the case.

with this economy, business is not the best field to be in right now. i later went to school for nursing so thats what im doing. i do have a regular job (m-f 9-5), regular boss too, i am one of the lowest workers on the totem pole, but im happy. when it gets busy it gets busy but when its dead, at least im still getting paid. its not like i have to work for EVERY dollar. i get full benefits that the hospital pays for. i have weekends off, the pay is good, all my bills get paid, and the cap is pretty high. my mom is a nurse and she makes 3 figures. its one of the most stable jobs in the world. i know ill never be out of a job. i never have to market any product. hospitals will never be out of business. people are always going to be sick. and theyre always going to be getting old and needing healthcare. what better business to be in where the clients actually come to you instead of you looking for them? i could always finish my business degree and open up my own type of healthcare, be it an acute care facility or whatever. i can have people working for me and making me money. similar to what you have in mind, but i still dont know what product ull be selling.

so what business will you be opening up? i never asked what products youll have in store

[Jeunesse]

lol... funny you said that you're in the health business. The product I'm selling is about wellness too. hehehe. Anyway, I never plan on leaving my 9-5 job for this, its only part time where I can get a residual income of extra $1000 a month, who wouldn't want that. I have worked hard-labour part time and I still didn't gain much income out of it. I started it because it gave me an oppurtunity to have my own business for a small investment.

[Rayme]

Jeunesse :

Tell me frankly, does your MLM company makes most of its income from "new recruits" than the actual product? Do you have to submit a list of name of people you know so you can "recruit them"? And do those recruit have to do the same? Do you get commision from sub agent, and commision on comission etc.. etc..Sounds like a pyramid to me.

The seminar I went to explained the company and everything and the actual "product" was probably 15-20% of the presentation. Everything was about "team" "team" "team". The whole time I was like WTF is the point of it? WHAT ARE WE SELLING?

I got approached and really got information out of it, If you can live with that good, I couldn't approach people thinking I will play them with sweet words and made up speech that make you sound like an idiot to at least not try it out.

PS: Let me know when you bring home 1000$ on a monthly basis! It takes alot of time to do that, up to the point you'll wonder if it's even worth it(sacrificing your free time).

This post has been edited by Rayme: Feb 9, 2009 - 8:15 PM

[MercuryFree]

If MLM is a scam, why then two of the greatest minds in business, Robert Kuyisake

Because if he writes a book about it, and then does seminars endorsing it, both of these things earn him money . I'm not saying that some of his stuff isn't good (have read two of his books) but he's not entirely impartial now is he, heh. I've always wondered what his net worth less book + seminar proceeds actually is...

[Jeunesse]

Rayme, the company im in makes most of its income from the product, by commisional volumes, and not by recruiting associates. If you decide to join the company, you have to purchase a starting pack which includes a certain quantity of the product and you can use that for sampling or selling it retail. That starting pack will give you commisional volume and everytime you purchase the product from the company or your downlines purchase the product, you earn commisional volumes. So you're not earning money by "recruiting" but by purchasing and having commisions.
No, I don't have to submit a list of people and my associates or downline don't have to do the same.
And hey, I'm currently earning extra $250 a month just by preferred customers who are people who don't want to be an associate but only wants to use my product(mostly baby boomers). My investment of US$800 came all back to me when I sold 90% of my starting pack.

Mercuryfree, yea ok, let's say RK is worth less without his book and seminars, who would you still listen for advices? People that made it or people that don't?

[MercuryFree]

Mercuryfree, yea ok, let's say RK is worth less without his book and seminars, who would you still listen for advices? People that made it or people that don't?

Well my point is, for all we know he wasn't rich at all before his books, in which case no we shouldn't listen to his advice . PS: lol @ "downlines"

Being a cynic is fun

'tis good that is seems to be working for you thus far though

This post has been edited by MercuryFree: Feb 10, 2009 - 9:11 AM

[forkee]

i got it! u sell vitamins!

[Jeunesse]

yea... supplements. Gluthathione accelerator.

[Rayme]

yea... supplements. Gluthathione accelerator.

I dont get why you say its a multi-level marketing.

The presentation I saw also had donald trump into it.

What you are doing it more like the ladies selling AVON products, which isn't what I though. I guess they hire Mr. Trumps for allot of things Good to know you are not scaming friends lol

[forkee]

hmm..yea that totally just changes the whole aura of this thread. isnt selling vitamins, like tupperware or avon, more of a one person thing? do u really need people to market for you? i mean you could but you would have to share the profits. i would want it all for myself. =p

[Jeunesse]

well it is still considered network marketing for I have a genealogy for my associates. Like I said, the more product they consume (either use for themselves or sell) the more commisional volume (=cash) I get.