Why Is MLM So Hated?

[hippie_wantab]

Being the 451s post I realize no one is actually going to read this, so please just allow me to vent

So many people think that all network marketing opportunities are MLM’s and personally I am not fond of MLMs. I think mostly because of the push to bring people in without an actual focus on the product. The other thing I dislike is the lack of a personal relation ship most MLMs endorse. They use lead capture pages, auto-responders and secret hotel meetings.

I do run a network marketing business, specifically a consumer direct marketing business. It’s not the same as MLM but people always lump them together, which drives me nuts and hurts my business simply by association. People call Mary Kay, Discovery Toys, etc MLM’s. They are network referal businesses, but not exactly MLM’s. They make the majority of their money by selling product, not business opportunities. I call those Party Businesses which are probably close to consumer direct marketing, but with more actual sales.

May the people in my business are not wanting a business at all and are just customers will no intent of making money or bringing people in. May people have mentioned that when everyone is brought in looking to make money- you eventually run out of people to sell the products to. Well, I don’t actually sell products or a service – or business kits! (another reason it’s different than MLM) but with over 60% of the people who come in being strictly customers.- I think that’s the real thing that separates consumer direct marketing from MLMs.


There are advantages of consumer direct marketing and MLM such as asuperincome.com said

You forget one of the biggest Advantages MLMs have over the conventional business. They have little costs, so they can either invest more in there products … or they can pass the savings onto the consumer like utility warehouse do.

As far as the get rich quick scams- before I bring anyone in either as a customer or a business builder, I show them the actual numbers from the previous year of the percentage of people at each income level, the high, low and average incomes at those levels and how long it took them to get there. I think if more networkers did this it would be easier to weed out the scams from the good businesses. Plus, I don’t want to bring in people who don’t know what to expect. I work with each and every person to help them reach their goals. If they have unrealistic goals and they’re likely to get discouraged and drop out- it’s a waste of MY time!

I personally believe network marketers are entrepreneurs. They did not start the parent company but they did start THEIR company. They manage the inventory, the cash flow, the marketing, training their partners, etc for their little piece of it. I don’t just “work as a salesman”. I use to work in marketing for a sporting goods company. It was my job to design material to convince people to buy products they probably could live without. That was more sales than my consumer direct business is.

Almost every job is sale in some way though. If you’re flipping products on ebay- that’s sales! If you’re buying real estate to fix up and flip- that’s sales. If you own a shipping company- you’re selling a service, that’s sales! When I ran my graphic design business- you’d better believe that was sales, Selling myself and my services to companies. And once I open my therapy practice (my goal in a few years) that will be sales too- getting referrals by convincing doctors that I can help their clients.

Personally, I wouldn’t consider blogging and selling adwords a business. I’d call it a hobby you’re trying to get paid for. But plenty of people do it and no one on YE bashes it.

So please, YE is for network marketers too.

[GiontiR]

I say they are good not all of them so do your research. I think the biggest misconception is that people think they will become millionaires over night and that is not the case. You must work hard in this Industry just like any other. So when people don't make the money they'd hope for immediately they think it's not going to happen and give up. Too bad for that person because if they would have stuck it out for a few more months than they might have been the next millionaire. This industry takes persistance, consistancy, dedication, hard work, and sometimes even tears. The difference is that you are working for yourself and your financial freedom and goals.

Well, I hope this helps.

To You Success!
Vince & Roxana Gionti
MLM finally exposed! What they aren’t telling you about MLM.
Learn how to get paid on the 95% who are going to say NO
to your business opportunity.

[zmonique2007]

MLM is so hated because you need to convince lots of people before you earn money. People just don't know how to be a personable one. In MLM business it is simply as selling yourself. You need to be friendly and pleasing in order to enticed lots of people under you.

[Warranties-For-Less]

MLM is so hated because you need to convince lots of people before you earn money. People just don't know how to be a personable one. In MLM business it is simply as selling yourself. You need to be friendly and pleasing in order to enticed lots of people under you.

Agreed,

Everyone is taught to go out and sell your friends and family on MLM, and so people associate this practice as being the same with every MLM, and this is not true.

I agree, you have to sell yourself in all that you do, even if you are not in the sales industry, selling yourself is important as well as developing good people skills.

I happen to enjoy selling, but only if I am representing a product or service of verifiable value which everyone needs and uses already, then it is no longer selling, it is telling, and if I tell it without any usual hard selling or pressure, then it is fun, and that is what you want to convey to others, have fun.

Most people start a passive part time business, and this is why MLM is ideal, but again, most MLM's are selling overpriced me too items that require sales experience if not a name brand product, which most are not.

Look for what everyone needs, already is using, already likes, then offer a lower price combined with a simple referral income opportunity and you will find success, and in no time people will believe in MLM like never before. Just think back at all the products you have seen sold through MLM, how many would you have purchased without the money making opportunity attached?

Success to all,

[wowmobilegirl]

Is Liberty International a scam? Their division WOW Mobile offers free unlimited cell phone service when you refer three people to their service. And their compensation plan maxes out, so those "at the top" don't necessarily make more than everyone else.

I am the WOW Mobile Girl. You can find me on YouTube! :]

[willfarrell]

I love mlm. It's only one of my income streams, but have found the mentor-ship and resources available since joining one earlier this year to be well worth it. Sneaky mlm have tarnished the name in the past, you have to really research. I'm with Max International, and have nothing bad to say about them. MaxGXL | Max GXL Business Opportunity Video to get an idea what they're about.

[kameron]

Why is MLM so Hated?

Want the truth or a bunch of fluff?

The truth is...

Who else would people blame for their failure in their home business venture? Themselves? NEVER!

Its natural for most people to immediate blame somthing else for their short commings.

Saying that an MLM business Model doesn't work is like saying Cars Don't work.

Yes they do, they have been proven to work. Just because u forgot to put gas in your car and can't get it started doesn't mean that cars don't work.

MLM is a business model, and requires successful marketing to be effective, just like any other business out there.

Individuals came into MLM with Dollar signs in there eyes thinking all they ahd to do was sign up and collect a paycheck. when that never happened, of course it was a scam and MLM's fault.

97% of home businesses fail because of this. People don't learn how to market properly, and MLM being the first home business platform, seems to get the blunt of this bad publicity.

Do your homework, MLM is fine, not the most efficient business model, but can be leveraged to create an income.

[NeemaF]

The reason why MLM is hated is because it has a certain stigma to it as being a "pyramid scheme" but if you look at corporate america and social security then you'll see a GRAND pyramid scheme at work.

Another reason it is hated is b/c the people who get involved do not understand that it is a BUSINESS and should be treated like one. Unfortunately the traditional old ways of network marketing are still being used in this day and age and it is just antiquated... they simple do not work (at least they don't if you want to establish that grand passive income which MLM companies talk so fervently about).

As Robert Kiyosaki (I think some of you may know him) has said in some of his interviews, he likes the model that is networking marketing. It's like having a business without all the start-up costs and its up to YOU to make it. Just my opinion

[Scar Tissue]

Because MLM opportunities and pyramid schemes can be very similar and most people do not really understand the difference.Read article about this topic , quite helpful - ''Legitimate MLM or Pyramid Scheme: How can you tell?'' By Kevin Thompson

[GhostSpectre]

Like prepaid legal. They're more concerned with getting more salesmen (who pay like $150 to join) instead of selling their legal insurance. They're making more money on their own people than their damned product... How stupid is that?

Well said. I was a former recruit of Quixtar/Amway. I was only 17 years old when this man recruited me. I was working minimum wage as a Target employee pushing shopping carts and this man struck up a random conversation with me out of the blue, then buttered me up a bit and then told me I had "talent and potential." It led to him giving me a business card and me thinking I was finding a new, more promising job and a way out of target. These guys even had my work-release coordinator at my high school somewhat convinced untill I did my research. I would constantly attend these big seminars in the conference rooms of fancy hotel suite lobbies, rubbing elbows with people who were supposedly "well off" and were "racking in millions." Every week they would have a new guest speaker, someone who was advertised as a living success story and they would always speak about how Amway saved their life, and how they were poor and now they are very rich. But thats exactly the formula they use to recruit people. The fact that you would have to pay $200 in "Startup feels" just to get into their program. Wait a Minute! I have to pay you guys money? I needed a job here, where am I getting $200 from when I need to make $200. It's exactly that, Amway/Quixtar, like most other MLMs make most of their money off of their startup fees charged to their potential recruits and vending at the seminars, more than the supposed product they are selling. The product to me seemed likea mere gimmick compared to the outfit they were running as a whole. And its the same deal with Primerica (prepaid life insurance with citigroup simply serving as an investor) or those bogus travel networks. They allure you with the promise of lots of get-rich-quick money for you to buy into their operation; to put money in their pockets and profit on your naivety and disillusion then they do off of your distribution of the product. If their are any proven legit MLM firms out there, their credibility is almost nonexistent due to the unreputable industry as a whole. I'm glad i got out of that.

[butchtomas]

Communication is one of the biggest problems in society. A lot of people really avoid having to do with interacting with people.

When you get the chance to meet shy people and try to recruit them, they immediately think: "I will have to talk to people and It's embarrassing"! So they run away from it, even if it is a passive income opportunity or residual income.

[YoungEnglishman]

I admire the MLM model :-)

[Out of the Box]

There are good and bad in all types of businesses including MLM. If you pay insurance to insure your home or car they are the biggest vultures and the biggest pyramid companies. All companies work like a pyramid. There is someone at the top and other support the top.

The unprofessional sales and marketing people corrupt the market place and everyone loses!

When your business is suffering and it needs money to survive I hope you do not become a vulture to keep your business alive.

I own three business and I am working within a Networking System and it does work if you have professional selling skills.

[rickyhelmore]

I don't believe in MLM. I think only the top level people and starter really earn money. They sell marketing plan and not products.

Hi Kenix,

A very Happy New Year.
If you can guide me little bit about MLM, as I am planning to start and expand my own business, so it will be really helpful for it.

Thanks in advance.
Homebased Business

[orson.octavius]

I can think of plenty of industries that no one would defend, but MLM is the only one where you get countless business nobodies defending the industry as though you insulted their family.