From: jack@myamiga.mixcom.com (Jack Decker)
Newsgroups: misc.entrepreneurs
Subject: Re: MLMs=Entreprenuers?
Date: 12 Sep 92 05:10:08 GMT
Organization: Northern Bytes BBS - Sault Ste. Marie, MI U.S.A.

On 08 Sep 92, Loren Larsen wrote to All:

 > I'm going to try to summarize for all you bullish MLMers why you annoy
 > everyone so much.  On the outside, people involved in MLM appear to be
 > having this religious kind of experience.  It's like a conversion.  Have
 > you ever known someone who has just been "saved" and they run around
 > telling everyone they can find how they just have to find God or they will
 > suffer terribly?  People in an MLM almost seem like they have been
 > brainwashed and joined a cult.  am I saying the MLMs are cults?  No, of
 > course not, but there are some common elements.  I've been recruited by
 > MLMers before and they always have these great stories to tell of how "so
 > and so just spoke at our last meeting and they make $1 million every year
 > and they don't even have to work any more." How many times have we heard
 > that?  Most people I know who are in MLMs are really gung ho about it for a
 > couple months and then once they find out that their hard sell sales
 > pitches have lost them all their friends and now that they have quit their
 > job and they have less income than they did before they have a big time
 > reality check.

Loren, I will agree that there are people who are like that in MLM, and
unfortunately, a lot of sales organizations actually encourage that sort of
behaviour (the first thing they ask you to do is make a list of everyone you
know and then go contact them).  Unfortunately, there are two truths that the
aspiring MLM'er hasn't yet learned at that point:

1) Most people get real suspicious when you ask them to part with their money,
particularly when YOU are the one initiating the contact.  Under such
circumstances, you HAVE to go easy with people and give them some time to think
about it.  The pushy approach is all wrong at that stage (I don't think it's
ever REALLY appropriate to be "pushy", but if you must, you can only do it
after the prospect has already decided that he wants what you're offering but
may be holding back due to the cost or other reservations.  If you get pushy
before your prospect is convinced that he wants what your offering, you're dead
in the water, and the natural first reaction of many people is that they'd
rather go to the dentist than join an MLM).

2) There are SOME people among your friends and family members that simply ARE
NOT cut out to be MLM material.  Some MLM organizations try to make it sound as
though anyone you know can do MLM.  Well, that's like saying that anyone can
play the piano... most (but not all) can plunk out "Three Blind Mice", given
time and practice, but not everyone has enough talent at it to make a living at
it.  Similarly, there are going to be some of your friends who really hate the
thought of trying to market a product and who have no natural talent for sales,
and who in addition may be natural introverts who don't much like being around
other people anyway. If you try to get these folks into your MLM, you will
anger them and frustrate yourself (and if they do sign up, you can kiss their
friendship goodbye when they realize they're not making any money on this
venture you sold them on).

As for your comparison with people who have just found God, I think you should
be aware that there are a lot of folks who find God and do not automatically
become pushy about it.  If they seem to have a sense of urgency, it's only
because they don't want to see you go to a place of eternal (as in "forever")
darkness, misery and damnation.  You may not care for the technique (and
believe me, before I became a Christian I met quite a few who I still think had
a very poor way of sharing their faith) but you should at least be able to
acknowledge that they are concerned for you, though you may not agree with
their beliefs (please keep in mind that we're talking about genuine friends who
have had a salvation experience here, not some crooked televangelist who may be
only after your money).

What DOES bother me is that many MLM organizations use what I would call
"revival meeting" techniques to sell their products, and in some cases they (by
outward appearances) do it better than the church folks do, yet all they are
offering is an opportunity to make some money (or get fleeced for some), and
have no concern whatever for the eternal soul.  The reason this bothers me is
because if someone DOES get fleeced by one of these outfits, then later in life
walks into a church and sees what at first glance appears to be similar fbe able to spend it in Hell?").  I've
also seen people who are fervent followers of some "motivational" speakers and
have the same reaction about that... those motivational speakers aren't God,
after all.

So, I think the comparisions you may between some MLM's and religious cults are
quite valid (and I'm sorry you've run into pushy people from both areas, but
then I have also, so you're not alone).  In fact, one of the main things that
has kept me away from MLM's is there seeming dependence on "motivational"
books, tapes, speakers, etc. (all at a cost to the distributor, of course).  If
you have to pump yourself up that much before you can go out an sell the
product, how good can the product really be?  Conversely, if the products are
so good and the company's plan is so good, why do you need all that other
garbage?  There's one MLM in particular that I almost got into (because it was
a well known and well respected name... no, not Amway, this company's MUCH
older) but the promotional materials *from the particular distributor's line
that I would have signed up under* kept quoting and making references to all
this motivational garbage, and were more hype than subtance. When they started
quoting Napolean Hill (who was an occultist who claimed to have learned his
techniques from unseen spirits), I dropped that idea like a hot potato.

Anyway, I appreciated your comments, and just wanted to let you know that I
thought there was a lot of truth in them!

Jack Decker                               | No, I don't own an Amiga; I just
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