Originally posted by aticus
from:
palacio_a
first of all... you don't know anything about MLM, that for sure i know, so read about MLM first before you speak your ideas, which is by the way a wrong idea of MLM(MAGALING YUNG MGA NAG-AGREE SA KANYA!), i suggest you discuss this with ateneans taking MLM courses so they can enlighten you about MLM.
Well, I find your insult of a fellow PExer a bit disturbing. In any case,
I studied in Ateneo.
Now I'm a consultant and one of my clients in the past three years is one of the biggest MLM groups in the country. I know what I'm talking about with MLM. I can even give you the facts and figures, including the processes and prices, of groups like Amway, Nu Skin, etc., etc.
That said, however, I will have to agree with
Brownpau and many others who say that MLM is a dodgy proposition for many, many people.
And to take off from
zimdude's question about who loses, let me say the following:
1) Not every MLM group, even the legitimate ones who actually sell real products, have products that people will really use. My favorite example has always been Amway's "Glister" toothpaste. I mean, seriously, I know at least 20 Amway distributors personally, and NONE of them use it. That's right. Zero. Nada. They use Colgate, mostly.
This means that the prospects for long-term growth are difficult, bec. at the end of the chain, you'll have people who invest thousands
for products they don't use and can't sell. The end-users lose, mostly. And the distributors who are stuck with difficult to sell items also lose.
2) Yes, there will be oversaturation eventually for many MLM groups. And my definition of oversaturation is, I think, a bit more realistic than mr. palacio's. I don't define oversaturation as having too many people as distributors. Of course you'll never get even as much as 10% of a country distributing the stuff you sell. I define oversaturation as having NO REALISTIC CHANCE OF SELLING TO ANY OF YOUR KNOWN CONTACTS. This, I believe, is already happening with many groups. It is also why it is imperative that the products you sell be priced attractively, because when you can't sell to your friends, the only way to make money is to recruit total strangers. And THEY won't buy on the basis of trust alone. Since these products are priced atrociously high, it is extremely difficult to penetrate other markets.
3) Finally, NOT EVERYONE GETS RICH WITH MLM. In fact, I can say with confidence that, contrary to the nice statistics your MLM marketer will show you, a majority of MLM salespeople are not only NOT rich, but are struggling to make a living. Mr. Palacio aside, there aren't many multi-millionaires in MLM. Most of them are those who came in within the first 6 months of operation, and are often friends of the main distributor here in the Philippines. I know one MLM company whose sole "diamond" distributor, the guy who won the BMW prize, was actually the father-in-law of the guy who started it all! No one else has won the BMW in the company. I'm not surprised at all.
I would seriously caution anyone about joining an MLM group. The people who sell are highly-trained, very glib, and quite impressive-looking. But they don't always sell you products you can use. And the only way for you to often make money is to get all your friends and family involved, many of whom will rue the day they joined you.
In my humble opinion, I would only consider at most two or three groups to be viable long-term options for most Filipinos.
My advice? Make sure the products you are required to purchase are those
you would regularly use yourself. If YOU don't use them, why would you expect your friends and family to? And would you really sleep well at night knowing you sold your mom toothpaste that isn't as good as Colgate and costs much more?
And I'm sorry, I just can't resist
, but I am not "slundering" anyone!
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