Business of Integrity – Direct Sellers’ Manipulation.

“Multi-level marketing is a business of integrity” – the MLM companies claimed. “ “We are in a business of great integrity” – the direct sellers claimed.

How true is this? Some MLM companies maintain a high level of integrity and guarded this aspect of their business diligently. Other MLM companies leave you a lot to be desired and lots of room for questioning. There are also direct sellers who are highly ethical and possess a high degree of integrity. But the number is small.

In my last posting, I have highlighted how the MLM companies can manipulate the distributors/direct sellers’ commission and their ranks..

Now, I am going to share with you my encounters with the direct sellers who manipulated their downlines or their peers. Your uplines are your mentors. But how many of them have the quality to use the term “mentor”?

Receive commission on behalf of downline.

Many of the new recruits (newly sponsored distributors) are reluctant to disclose their bank account number to their uplines (sponsors) and also do not want to write their bank account number in the application form. The MLM industry is still being perceived negatively by the public in general. They are afraid of being conned.The new recruits are general skeptical about the prospect in the MLM companies. So, they would authorise their uplines to collect their commission. Some uplines are honest, but others are not. They would quietly pocket their downlines’ commission, if nobody asked. Or they will use the downlines’ commission to roll their business by delaying the payment to their downline. Complaint of this nature is rampant.

Manipulate the Transfer of Business Volume Points.

It is a common practice for the upline to purchase the product from the MLM companies and distribute to their downlines. Some MLM companies allow the uplines to purchase products directly under the name of the downlines, by generating multiples invoices. Other MLM companies do not permit this.

The uplines who purchase products on behalf of the downlines are supposed to transfer the business volume points to the respective downlines to enable them to earn the commission and qualify for the relevant ranks. Some unscrupulous uplines do not transfer the business volume point correctly. This deprived the new recruit of the commission entitlement.

Some new recruits drop out or given up on the business, but their distributorships are kept alive by the uplines without their knowledge This is done by purchasing the products under they names or transfer business volume point into their account in order to maintain the number of distributors in the organisation to qualify or retain the rank.

Duplicated the MLM companies’ training materials, i.e cassette tapes, video tapes, CD-Rom. DVD and passing them off as original.

Some distributors knowingly pirated the MLM companies training materials and distributors to their downlines. Others pirated the training material and passed off as original to their downlines, to make money.

This practice is rampant with most direct sellers.

Stock up Product.

Contrary to the concept of direct selling, some upline encourage their downline to carry stock. They claimed that as a business person, carrying stock is economical and convenient to operate the business, so as not to miss any sales whenever a customer wants the product then. This is like running a conventional business. By this practice, the uplines hope to increase their group business volume points and move to higher rank. This practice spelled disaster for the distributors. It has been proven that stock up does not work. Some MLM companies change product packaging or product formulations frequently.

Selling the illegal “get-rich-quick” with misleading promotion and information.

I had a rude shock when one of my friend, also a professional accountant, joined a banned MLM company, “Image Direct”, a few years ago. The accountant has his own accounting firm and was in the MLM business for many years. He was with a highly reputable MLM company, earning good money. He changed his business with a reputable MLM company to an illegal one. He introduced “Image Direct” to me knowing that it was an illegal get-rich-quick scheme. He was questioned and the answer he gave was totally unexpected from a professional man. He said “There are so many greedy and gullible peoples out there. If I don’t conned them, other peoples will”

Introduce you to more than one MLM company’s business and land you in trouble.

Many seasoned and experienced direct sellers know the fine prints in the distributorship agreement that prohibit distributorship in more than one MLM company. Yet, uplines with financial commitment problems will do more than one MLM companies and also introduce their downlines to the other MLM companies. Or when they have personal problems with a MLM company, they will discredit the company and convinced their downlines to move en-bloc to another MLM company.\

Rank Buying & Undercutting consumer prices.

As a consequent of the unethical training from uplines, they stock up product in order to buy rank. This can cause financial strain on the distributors’ cash flow. Under such situation, the logical solution is to get rid of the stock, to regenerate cash flow. They resorted to price under-cutting. This can upset the market and MLM company.

Misused product and teach downline to do the same

I have seen a video presentation of a Japanese distributor drinking a Liquid Organic Cleaner just to prove how safe the product is. There is another case of a distributor drinking a biodegradable vegetable rinse for treating diarrhoea. The instruction on the product label clearly stated for external use only. What is the side effect? Nobody knows

They are showing their acts to their downlines, although these acts are not sanctioned by the MLM companies

Become “quack” doctor and prescript “Cure All” medicine.

Direct seller are fond of taking advantage of people in distress, especially the terminally ill peoples. There many direct sellers who claimed that their health food product can cure cancer, although non of the MLM companies ever claimed that their product is a medicine for cancer patients.

There are also direct sellers who claimed that their health food product is anti-aging. I believed that healthy lifestyle and health food can slow down aging. Some specially formulated health foods can slow down aging. But I have yet to come across any scientist or doctor whom have discovered or invented an anti-aging product.

Snatching your downlines,

Some direct sellers are very good at “poaching” or”:snatching” downlines. Once a distributors signed the application to join the MLM company under a particular sponsor (upline), that distributor remains in the line/group, technically forever. But some MLM company has this rule of allowing a “lapsed” distributor to re-joined the company under another sponsor/uplines after a period of inactivity of 6 months to one year.

Some experienced direct sellers are very good at manipulating this rule of ‘inactivity” in order to “snatch”other direct sellers’ downlines. They would look for new recruit whom have great potential of developing the business and lure them over by discrediting the other direct sellers, or character assassination of the other direct sellers. Sometimes, they found that their friends and relatives have joined the other lines and wanted to “snatch” them. They would manipulate this “inactivity rule” by coaxing the new recruits to remain inactive for the qualifying period and later join the group. Money changed hand during this period of “inactivity” to keep the new recruits happy.

So, tell me what do you mean by”MLM is a Business of Integrity and Ethics”? I have worked for a MLM company and also been a distributor for a MLM company. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly perspectives of this business, from both sides. The MLM companies and the direct sellers always claimed the “Goodies” but never tell you the Bad and the Ugly side of the business.


Be Wise. Do not let yourselves being manipulated by others

Direct Sellers' Manipulation

Business of Integrity ???.

“Multi-level marketing is a business of integrity” – the MLM companies claimed. “We are in a business of great integrity” – the direct sellers claimed.

How true is this? Some MLM companies maintain a high level of integrity and guarded this aspect of their business diligently. Other MLM companies leave you a lot to be desired and lots of room to questioning. There are also direct sellers who are highly ethical and possess a high degree of integrity. But the number is small.

In my last posting, I have highlighted how the MLM companies can manipulate the distributors/direct sellers’ commission and their ranks..

Now, I am going to share with you my encounters of how the direct sellers manipulated their downlines or their peers. Your uplines are your mentors. But how many of them have the quality to use the term “mentor”?

Receive commission on behalf of downline.

Many of the new recruits (newly sponsored distributors) are reluctant to disclose their bank account number to their upline (sponsor) and also do not want to write their bank account number in the application form. The MLM industry is still being perceived negatively by the public in general. They are afraid of being conned.The new recruits are general skeptical about the prospect in the MLM companies. So, they would authorise their uplines to collect their commission. Some uplines are honest, but others are not. They would quietly pocket their downlines’ commission, if nobody asked. Or they will use the downlines’ commission to roll their business by delaying the payment to their downlines. Complaint of this nature is rampant.

Manipulate Transfer of Business Volume Points.

It is a common practice for the upline to purchase the product from the MLM companies and distribute to their downlines. Some MLM companies permit the uplines to purchase products directly under the name of the downlines, by generating multiples invoices. Other MLM companies do not permit this.

The uplines who purchase products on behalf of the downlines are supposed to transfer the business volume points to the respective downlines to enable them to earn the commission and qualify for the relevant ranks. Some unscrupulous uplines do not transfer the business volume point correctly.This deprived the new recruit of the commission entitlement.

Some new recruits drop out or given up on the business, but their distributorships are kept alive by the uplines without their knowledge This is done by purchasing the products under they names or transfer business volume points into their account in order to maintain the number of distributors in the organisation to qualify or retain the rank.

Duplicated the MLM companies’ training materials, i.e cassette tapes, video tapes, CD-Rom. DVD and passing them off as original.

Some distributors knowingly pirated the MLM companies training materials and distribute to their downlines. Others pirated the training material and passed off as original to their downline, to make money.

This practice is rampant with most direct sellers.

Stock up of Product.

Contrary to the concept of direct selling, some upline encourage their downline to carry stock. They claimed that as a business person, carrying stock is economical and convenient to operate the business, so as not to miss any sales whenever a customer wants the product then. This is like running a conventional business. By this practice, the uplines hope to increase their group business volume points and move to higher rank. This practice spelled disaster for the distributors. It has been proven that stock up does not work because some MLM companies change product packaging or product formulations frequently.

Selling the illegal “get-rich-quick” with misleading promotion and information

I had a rude shock when one of my friend, also a professional accountant, joined a banned MLM company, “Image Direct” a few years ago. The accountant has his own accounting firm and was in the MLM business for many years. He was with a highly reputable MLM company, earning good money. He changed his business from a reputable MLM company to an illegal one. He introduced “Image Direct” to me knowing that it was an illegal get-rich-quick scheme. He was questioned and the answer he gave was totally unexpected from a professional man. He said “There are so many greedy and gullible peoples out there. If I don’t conned them, other peoples will”

Introduce you to more than one MLM company’s business and land you in trouble.

Many seasoned and experienced direct sellers know the fine prints in the distributorship agreement that prohibit distributorship in more than one MLM company. Yet, uplines with financial commitment problems will do more than one MLM companies and also introduce their downlines to the other MLM companies. Or when they have personal problems with a MLM company, they will discredit the company and convinced their downlines to move en-bloc to another MLM company.\

Rank Buying & Undercutting consumer prices.

As a consequent of the unethical training from uplines, they stock up product in order to buy rank. This can cause financial strain on the distributors’ cash flow. Under such situation, the logical solution is to get rid of the stock, to regenerate cash flow. They resorted to price under-cutting. This can upset the market and MLM company. They are also at risk of being terminated by the MLM company.

Misused product and teach downline to do the same

I have seen a video presentation of a Japanese distributor drinking a Liquid Organic Cleaner just to prove how safe the product is. There is another case of a distributor drinking a biodegradable vegetable rinse for treating diarrhea. The instruction on the product label clearly stated for external use only. What is the side effect? Nobody knows

They are showing their acts to their downlines, although these acts are not sanctioned by the MLM companies

Become “quack” doctor and prescript “Cure All” medicine.

Direct seller are fond of taking advantage of people in distress, especially the terminally ill peoples. There are many direct seller who claimed that their health food product can cure cancer, although non of the MLM companies ever claimed that their product is a medicine for treating cancer patients.

There are also direct sellers who claimed that their health food product is anti-aging. I believed that healthy lifestyle and health food can slow down aging. Some specially formulated health foods can slow down aging. But I have yet to come across any scientist or doctor whom have discovered or invented an anti-aging product.

Snatching your downlines.

Some direct sellers are very good at “poaching” or ”snatching” downlines. Once a distributors signed the application form to join the MLM company under a particular sponsor (upline), that distributor remains in the line/group, technically forever. But some MLM company has this rule of allowing a “lapsed” distributor to re-join the company under another sponsor/upline after a period of inactivity of 6 months to one year.

Some experienced direct sellers are very good at manipulating this rule of ‘inactivity” in order to “snatch”other direct sellers’ downlines. They would look for new recruit whom have great potential of developing the business and lure them over by discrediting the other direct sellers, or character assassination of the other direct sellers. Sometimes, they found that their friends and relatives have joined the other lines and wanted to “snatch” them. They would manipulate this “inactivity rule” by coaxing the new recruits to remain inactive for the qualifying period and later join the group. Money changed hand during this period of “inactivity” to keep the new recruits happy.

So, tell me what do you mean by”MLM is a Business of Integrity and Ethics”? I have worked for a MLM company and also been a distributor for a MLM company. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of this business, from both sides. The MLM companies and the direct sellers always claimed the “Goodies” but never tell you the Bad and the Ugly side of the business.

Be Wise. Do not let yourselves being manipulated by others.

How Did the MLM Company Manipulated the Commission System

The commission computation system is not transparent to the distributors. So, there are many ways and means for the unethical MLM companies to manipulate the distributors’ commission. During the period of business downturn or financial crisis, the unethical MLM companies would use the distributors’ commission as a temporary measure to fix their financial problems.

Most MLM marketing plans have a two-tier commission system. The tier one commission is based entirely on the group business volume points (BV, PV, SV etc). The tier two is based on qualified ranks’ pool. This is a pool fund set up for certain qualified ranks of the distributors.

Tier one commission is more difficult to manipulate. Although some unscrupulous MLM companies manipulated this, diligent distributors who keep track of his/her group business volume can detect such manipulation. MLM companies usually manipulate the roll-up business volume points from certain unqualified distributors. If the MLM companies are caught , they would always use the excuse of “computer system error” and recalculate the commission for the distributors. If nobody complains, they would get away with this manipulation and re-attempt it again and again.

Tier two commission is very easy to manipulate and difficult for distributors to detect. Most MLM companies do not publish a monthly list of qualifiers for these pool of funds.

These pool funds are mainly the “Travel Incentive Fund’, “House and Auto Fund” and the “Profit Sharing Fund” The total paid out for these funds is ranging between 4% to 8% of the business volume. And these funds are paid either monthly or annually. They can come either in cash or in kind. How does this pool system works and how did the MLM companies manipulated these pool funds?

For example, ABC Network Co. has an annual turnover (sales) of RM130 million and the Business Volume(BV) is 100 million points. The pool fund paid out is 8%. The total paid out value of these funds amounted to a whopping RM8 million.

The points earned by each qualified rank are:-

Platinum 8 points
Gold 7 points
Silver 6 points
Bronze 5 points
Sapphire 4 points
Emerald 3 points
Ruby 2 points
Jade 1 points

Note: These points are different from the Business Volume points for Tier one commission.

The total value of the pool depends on the business volume generated and the total points accumulated to share the pools depends on the number of qualifiers and their respective ranks, i.e number of qualifiers multiply by the points for each qualifier’s respective ranks.

Take the “House & Auto Fund” that is normally computed monthly as an illustration.. Assuming the Business volume for the month is 10,000,000 points. If this fund’s paid out rate is 2% and the total qualified points for this pool is 200, the pool distribution is calculated as follow:-

Business Volume 10,000,000 X 2% = RM200,000

The value per point for this pool = RM200,000 divide by 200 points =
RM1,000 per point.

Therefore, a Platinum distributor will earned RM8,000 (8 points X RM1,000 per point) for “House & Auto Fund” for the month. Similarly, an Emerald distributor earned RM3,000 (3 points X RM1,000 per point) from the same fund.

The same method of calculation applies to other pool funds, irrespective of whether they are computed monthly or annually.

So, how did the MLM companies manipulated these pool of funds.

Firstly, the list and number of qualifiers in each rank is not be published. Secondly, the points accumulated month by month is not published. Thirdly, non-qualified distributors may be added in to share the pool (favouritism) without the qualifiers’ knowledge and fourthly, the accumulated points in the pool can be arbitrarily added (cheating) to reduce the value per point. Finally, the “First Distributor” in the scheme is usually the MLM company itself. This “First Distributor” also takes a bite from the pool by some unethical MLM companies. This should not be the case. But in reality, it is.

MLM may not be a business of Integrity as claimed. Be wise and be bold. Check the MLM company that you “work” for. Many MLM companies manipulated the pool funds that they promised to pay to the distributors with “full integrity”. This is a BIG QUESTION MARK of the MLM Business.

Another Myth of MLM. A business of Integrity.

MLM is a business of Integrity. This is another myth. Why? There are hundreds of thousands MLM companies all over the world. There are 661 registered Direct Selling companies in Malaysia. Out of this figure, only 61 are members of the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia. How many of them have a good Corporate Social Responsibility policy and a Code of Ethics?. Very few. A total of 31 direct selling companies were de-registered in the year 2005 and 18 direct selling companies were de-registered in the year 2006 for various offences. (source: Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs July 2008).

Can you remember “Goldquest”, “Image Direct", “Giraffe World” and “Fortune Cookies”? These MLM companies came to Malaysia to RIP off millions of Ringgit from Malaysians and Singaporeans and disappeared as quickly as they came..

As a direct seller, have you ever ask the MLM company how transparent and accountable is the commission system and product quality. If you did, what was their response to the question? I can bet you. You get either a political answer or something very unpleasant. Some MLM companies can even threaten to terminate the distributorship. Would the MLM companies open the commission computation system for the distributors’ review and scrutiny? The answer is NO.

I have been a direct seller myself and also worked for a MLM company. So, I have the dual perspectives. I saw both sides of the picture and heard both sides of the story.

I have heard of MLM companies that manipulated the distributors' commission and also the direct sellers who manipulated their downlines commission. Some MLM companies do not pay the full commission as specified in the marketing plan. Direct sellers manipulated their downlines’ commission by perpetuating the roll-up commission points (SV BV, PV etc) or delay the “break away” using tactics such as point transfer and compensate scheme. Direct sellers also get downlines to authorise the payment of commission cheques in their own names or credit direct to their own bank accounts and short change the downlines.And some MLM companies allow and collaborate with distributors in this practice.

As a direct seller on recruitment drive, I would not be able to recruit anybody if I were to paint a full picture of the marketing plan (commission scheme) and the products. The marketing plan itself is too complex even for seasoned direct sellers to comprehend. What more with a prospect? Most direct sellers are trained to just highlight a few key plus points and convinced the prospect that it is something good for them and nothing to lose. Never come across one who would tell you the negative points. Some of the key plus points are excessive claims of commission earning by photocopying a few commission cheques of top earners out of thousands and thousands that earned hardly enough commission to pay for the products for their own consumption.

On the product quality, especially health food, they sometimes claimed the “cure all” formula. This has resulted in some MLM companies being sued for damages and the direct sellers terminated by the MLM companies. Do you remember the high profile "Slimming Pill" case in Singapore?

In reality, many prospects joined or bought products out of obligation to friends and relatives who are direct sellers. Some joined or bought products just to get rid of the harassment from the direct sellers.

One very important fact to note. Most of the MLM companies sell their products to their own members/distributors only.

These are some of the instances of cheating involving both the MLM companies and the direct sellers.

Folks, I will come back with more myths of the “business of integrity”

Be wise with your money and the products you are buying. Some MLM companies do give you value for money products but the vast majority of MLM companies are selling inferior products at superior prices.

WE HAVE THE HIGHEST PAYOUT RATE.

Most MLM companies claimed that they:-

a) Have the highest payout rate in the industry.

b) Are financially stable.

c) Have their own R & D centre with the best equiped Laboratory and highly qualified researchers.

d) Produced superior products.

These claims were echoed frequently by the MLM companies and repeatedly spread and publicised by the direct sellers in all their meetings, rallies, prospecting and selling encounters. Their role is to stir up the excitement of their prospects and the potential customers. They are trained to do this. They are equiped with glossy brochures and catalogues plus beautiful power point presentations. They would show you a few successful direct sellers (out of the millions of unsuccesful ones), if they want to recruit you, and testimonies of a few consumers that were "cured" by their "superior" products (but not those who spent thousand of dollars based on their claim and still died after consuming the products).

Yes, there are cases of consumers recovered from cancer and diabetes. But there is no scientific evidents that their recovery were purely attributed to those MLM products. Most of those desperate disease sufferers used a combination of various alternatives, traditional and modern medical treatments simultaneously.

There are only a handful of MLM companies with their own manufacturing facilities let alone R & D. Yes, some established MLM companies such as Amway has their own manufacturing facility and R & D on products. The rest merely purchased, contract manufactured or private labelled third party's products.

On the financial stability of MLM companies, just like any other busineses, MLM companies are not immuned to risks factors, be they economic, financial or political risks. Do you know how many MLM companies have gone bust over the past ten years? In some countries, like Vietnam, a MLM company must place a security deposit with the government before the direct selling licence is granted. This is to protect the direct sellers and consumers from being scamed by the MLM company. How many of you remember the Holiday Magic fiasco in the 1970s? Holiday Magic was a USA-based MLM company dealing in cosmetic and skin care products. It loaded the local direct sellers with products, collected the cash and disappeared overnight from the countries it operated in.

MLM companies wanted to outdo each other by claiming that theirs have the highest payout rate of commission to direct sellers. This is one of the areas where the some direct sellers are very gullible or they cannot comprehend the commission system (called the marketing plan) properly. Most direct sellers do not undertand the marketing plan fully.

The MLM companies do not pay commission based on the sale values. The direct sellers' commission are paid based on certain pre-determined points. They named these points by various terminologies.
Some called it BV (business volume), others called it SV (sales volume) . VP (value points), SP( sales points ) etc are also being used by some MLM companies.

The important matter here is that one point is not equivalent to one dollar or one ringgit sales value. The MLM companies have their own criteria for assigning those BV/SV/VP/SP points to each product item. Generally, the highly saleable products and lower margin products would be given lower points. The slow moving products or those with high profit margin items would be assigned higher points.

So, a MLM company that claimed to pay out 63% commission need not meant it is paying a higher commission than one where the payout is only 48% commission. Why? This is playing with arithmatics and the points.

Firstly, one dollar sale does not give you one point. Secondly, the value per point earned for commission calculation need not necessary be one dollar.

For example, Company A's dishwash liquid has a selling price of USD100 but the BV is only 80 and payout is at 48%.

Company B's dishwash liquid has a selling price of USD100 but the BV is only 50 with payout at 63%. Assumming the point value is USD1.00 for both companies.

Commission paid by company A is, 80 X 48% X USD1.00= USD38.40

Commission paid by company B is, 50 X63% X USD1.00 = USD31.50

So, the MLM companies that claimed to have the higher payout rates need not be paying you the higher commmision per dollar sales. Watch out for this misleading claims. Do some homework yourselves. Be wise with your choice and money.

Promises of MLM - you laugh or cry

All MLM companies promised their agents (they called distributors business partners, independent business owner, members etc):-
1) Own boss
2) Financial Freedom
3) Passive Income
4) Earn big money
5) Unique quality products/services.

Would you laugh now or cry later?

1) Are you really your own boss? Look at this business objectively and then tell me if your are really your own boss. You can decide when your want to work, how many hours you want to work, how much you want to earn, who you want to sell or attempt to sell the products to, how many people you want to recruit to boost your sales. Yes, you can decide. Yes, you have the personal freedom. But are you really the boss or the owner of the business? The answer lies in your mind.

This is a perception that varies from person to person.

Where is your earning from the business coming from? It is not from your sales collection. You earn very little retail profit (profit from selling the products to your customers). The bulk of your earning is your commission. And this commission is paid to you by the MLM company either once or twice a month. So, your earning is totally dependent on the MLM company's ability to pay you. Who is the boss?

So do you still believe you are your own boss doing MLM business? This is your perception.

2) Do you have the total financial freedom? Firstly, your monthly commission is controlled by the MLM company. If you breached any of their terms and condition, the company can withhold your commission. In the worst scenario, your membership or distributorship can be terminated. Some MLM companies are very accommodating, but not other less ethical ones.

Some less ethical MLM companies go to the extend of changing the commission scheme (they called it Marketing Plan)frequently, when they found some pioneer distributors are not working hard enough to boost the company's sales.

Even in the most ethical MLM company, if you slow down or stop doing the business your earning will not continue to flow in indefinetely. The minute you stop doing the business, your earning disappear. There is no free lunch.

MLM company is the master that pays your earning. So, tell me where is the financial freedom?

3) Passive income is another myth. Who on earth would pay you if you are not contributing? The commission scheme (marketing plan) sets conditions to earn the so-called royalty income. This so-called royalty income is from a percentage of the prevailing month's sales. If the sales for the month is ZERO, everybody earns nothing. Have you heard of Shaklee and E-Excel direct sellers crying during the months when the sales were suspended due to licencing problem and shareholders problems?

Under normal operating condition, direct sellers earn this royalty income, but the moment your sale and recuitment (that is sponsoring new members or distributors) is zero for a few consecutive months (usually 3 months) your earning will be ZERO.

Tell me which MLM compoany can pay you passive income without your continueous contribution? I would like to join if there is one.

4) You can earn "big" money. Yes. You can, Just like any other business you can earn "big" money. The big different is that direct seller publishes their earning to attract more potential recruits. The conventional businessman do not announce his/her earning.

Where is the money coming from? Is it so easy to earn "big" money from MLM? The MLM companies pay a portion of their monthly sales to direct seller in the form of commission. There is no special funds or reserve to pay royalty. If the sales for the month is down, the commission(royalty) income is down. If the sales for the month is ZERO, the commission will be ZERO. It is as simple as that. There is no special fund to pay direct seller continueously.

5) Unique quality and superior products is the trade mark of all direct sellers. How many MLM companies have their own manufacturing facility? Very few. These few MLM players do produced superior products. So, how to differentiate the few from the thousands.

There are thousands of MLM companies but only a handful of them owned factories. So, where do they source their produts from? The answer is OEM (original equipment manufacturer), contract manufacturing and private labelling. What is so unique and superior about their products. It is the perception created by the direct sellers and the MLM companies. You may be paying high end prices for generic products. Or worst scenario, buying inferior products at superior prices.

Be wise with your money and your so called "long lost friends". Not all MLM companies are bad, but don't get yourselves scammed by them.

Back to you for more posting later.

Hey! Friends. Long time no see

A telephone call from an old friend.

John: Hey, Mr. Mark how are you? Didn't see you for very long time. uh! This is John speaking.

Mark: Hi John. I am fine. Where are you now? and what you doing?

John: I am in Singapore now. I am doing my own business and travel a lot.

Mark: Oh! Very good. You must be doing very well.

John: Yes! Yes! Yes! What are you doing now Mark?

Mark: I worked for this XXXX... company loh.

John: As what?

Mark: Aiyah! small fry here only lah.

John: I have a good business opportunity for you. Would you be interested?

Mark: What is that?

John: Don't be "kanchiong" (excited). I will tell you when I meet you.Do you know who is John?

Heee!
Heee!
Heee!

Some of you may be familiar with this kind of telephone calls that you have received from your old friends or classmates or schoolmates whom you have lost contact. Very familiar indeed uhh. And I can guarantee you that Mr. John is a MLM man( a direct seller). Is Mr. John offering you a genuine business opportunity? It can be Yes and NO. Before taking up the offer, it will be wise for any prospect (MLM terminology for potential recruit) to understand what he or she is going into.

MLM comes in many forms (they called it system) . Some of them are pyramidal. Others are binary, multi-level, single level, money game, get-rich-quick, virtual investment, art collection etc.

All of them promised you 1) Own boss 2) Financial Freedom 3) Passive Income 4) Earn "big money " 5) Unique quality products/services. Myths or Realities? Find out.