A few random thoughts on MLM's, the corporations, the people who sign up, the rules, the risks, the rewards:

I'll preface by saying that I know lots and lots of people hate MLM's. In fact, it goes well beyond the ordinary garden variety of hate, it goes all the way down to a very deep-seated "If you were on fire, I wouldn't bother to take a leak on you to help" kind of hate. This is the CB-level hate.

So many people have had a bad experience with someone trying to recruit them using negative tactics. The most common complaints we hear are:

* high pressure sales - over and over no matter how many times you politely defer
* leveraging a friendship into some sort of obligation to sign up - the feeling of betrayal or cheapening of the relationship can be very real
* false pretense - such as inviting over for dinner then hitting up a presentation as part of the dinner - makes you wonder why they feel they have to sneak up on you - why don't you have enough confidence in the company or product such that you're not being straightforward with me?
* outright lying about how much money they are getting each month - we're all jaded. Seriously, no one believes that you're suddenly going to start earning enough money to be able to quit your job. "Let me see your last commission check."
* exaggerating the quality of the product - come'on, do you really think it's worth *that* much money? It's the same stuff you can buy for 1/3 the cost at some big box store
* making outlandish claims such as the infamous "it cures cancer" claims or that it's a cure-all for whatever ails you

So, let's address some of the various issues that are out there. There is a lot of bad mojo out there, and but there's also a lot of good mojo. I hope you don't mind if I put in some clarifying info about what my company (I won't disclose who I work for, but it's kind of obvious) does in an effort to clear the air - that not all companies are the same. There are some very marked differences. We earnestly strive to run a good, clean, honorable, responsible business.

* sign up fees. Some companies say something like "Hey, for a mere $1,200 worth of product you've never used before, you too, can get your own starter kit" - It's a common practice that's being phased out across the industry. We don't do that. It's available for those who want to, but not required (or even "strongly suggested" as far as I know). If someone likes our product, just sign up and buy. No "starter kit" required.

* monthly minimum purchasing requirements: If you want to avoid getting kicked out, some companies require that you carve somewhere around $100 from your family budget to keep in good standing. This is a huge turnoff. A major sponsor of BYU sports figured this out and dropped all minimum requirements. Many other MLM's are following suit and are dropping monthly requirements. The response has been favorable.

* a basement full of unused or unwanted product. This is the bane of the MLM industry. You're supposed to be a distributor of product and to a degree you should have product on hand to give to a retail customer when they purchase. The problem is that if you don't have a healthy group of buyers, you're not going to move the product and it will expire while sitting in your basement. To add insult to financial injury, they don't allow you to sell the extra product on Amazon or Ebay ("it's not direct selling in that you don't have a personal relationship with a buyer"). For a number of reasons, we don't allow stockpiling. We want our people to be responsible distributors.

My company has attempted to stop this practice by requiring distributors to consume 80% of what they purchase each month. We regularly send out audit forms to ensure accountability. If they don't pass the audit, their accounts are terminated. Here on CB, you may not believe me, but we do not want people buying extra product to stockpile in their basement. No one wins when that practice is allowed to flourish. We don't want a quick sale only to lose a long term customer because their spouse gets ticked at all the product in the basement. We don't want the PR black eye. We also don't want to the FTC to find a reason to be unhappy with us. More importantly, we *do* want our distributors to be wise with their business methods.

If someone wants to buy extra "points" each month to maintain their title (where increasing commission rates are earned), we offer a charitable item that they can help feed starving children throughout the world. It's been so successful that the several nation's governments have bestowed our company formal awards for our various charitable projects. For instance, China has designed our company as a Top 10 charity for 7 years in a row. We participate heavily in many projects around the world, including surgeries for children in distress.

In short, we recognize that while other MLM's may (or may not) encourage product stockpiling, we don't want to participate in that. It's our way to try to encourage our people to be responsibly engaged in business, and we offer training to help them learn to NOT do that. If they want to "buy title" they can put their monies into charitable projects. In fairness, that type of title-buy-in doesn't usually happen until the distributors have been in the business for many years and have reached the upper echelons of sales levels.

* How much money is really available? Seriously, does anyone ever get anything, or is it only the corporation and a few big whigs?

I can't say how well others do, but in my company splits our focus between two areas: business and product.

Product: It's a fact that many people don't want to "do the business." They just want our products. In fact, less than 10% who received any type of commission. The vast majority of our customers love the product and are loyal customers. They are willing to pay whatever price we charge because they believe our quality is just flat out better. We have nearly 60 patents (or patent-pending). We've spent well over $1 billion on scientific research. We have many doctors who use our devices (FDA registered medical device) and product. A primary focus is on making the highest quality product available.

The FTC monitors our claims *very* closely. We train our distributors to not make any medical claims outside of what the company has formally published. When I hear stories such as "I took ___ and it fixed ____ in my life" I tell them that I'm glad for them, but that they *cannot* tell anyone else, especially in a selling situation. We take inflated claims seriously, and so does the FTC. That being said, I believe that our products are *very* good. Some don't believe that. and that's okay. Once again, the majority of those who buy our product year after year simply prefer our brand and feel that it's worth it.

Money: There is no such thing as easy money. There generally isn't sudden prosperity awaiting every person who signs up. That's life. Some of the people who sign up for the money aspect will find financial success but most won't. As a corporate person, when someone asks me, I tell them exactly that. IF they really, really want big money, they can find it any number of places, including in an MLM. If they don't really want big money all that badly, they likely won't find big money anywhere, including in an MLM. It's the same as everywhere else in life.

I think sports is a reasonable comparison. The number of athletes who enter into collegiate athletics with a desire to go pro and get the big money verses those that actually get there is analogous. That athletes get an education for their efforts and they get a chance at the big leagues. Same goes for new signups. They get high quality product that will enhance their lives and they get a chance that the big money. The fact is that a small percentage go pro in either sports or MLM's. But the money is absolutely there for those who do somehow find a way to get there. We offer training / coaching to help new entrants succeed, but once again, the results are up to the individual.

I won't speak about my company's people (not my right to say), but I have two friends - not in my company - who earn well over $1 million per month in another MLM. Make no mistake, they work unbelievable hours and travel about 50% of the month to countries all over the world. They've been at MLM-ing for about 15 years...and they have the skill set needed to succeed. Honestly, not every person who signs up has the skill set needed to succeed. That's life. It's just like the athlete who enters collegiate athletics without a chance of actually making into the big leagues.

I'll tell anyone who expresses interest in an MLM the same thing. There's a high probability that you won't become wealthy, but the results are up to you, not to me. But you will always get to use fantastic product. I'm defending the industry, but no, I *cannot* do the MLM business since I'm a corporate employee. Further to the point, if I ever went to work outside the industry, I wouldn't sign up with the intent to earn money. I don't think that I have the commitment necessary to put in the effort to hit the big time. I absolutely would signup though to gain access to the products. I believe in them and will continue to use the products where ever I work.

* Environment: the company is a great company to work for. I love it here. There is a strong effort to create a good environment for both employees and distributors. They take their corporate mission statement seriously and they "walk the walk" in many aspects of running a business. It's a great company. It's may sound cheesy, but we do have a lot of fun.

Sorry for the long explanation, but I think it needed to be said.

In summary:

* no signup fee
* no monthly minimum
* no stockpile in the basement
* access to high quality product
* no guarantee of success
* clear pathway to success for those who are willing to put in the effort
* fun times / good environment

Flame away.