Truth In Short Supply
I want to preface this article by saying that I know it won't be popular with some folks, and that's okay by me. In my career as a writer for a national magazine I have never been reluctant to speak my opinion. That's what writers do. Good ones, anyway. So, those who know me well will not be surprised by the straight-forwardness of the following statement:MLM is dead.
Truthfully, I don't know if it was ever alive to begin with except in the minds and hearts of the true believers. You know them. They're the ones with the kool-aid stains on the upper lip. Of all the MLM'ers I have ever known, from the ones who tried to involve me in Amway so many years ago to the ones now pitching their Ponzi-like schemes, there wasn't one in the bunch who could prove beyond doubt that they had made any serious money. Not one.
What saddens me is how some people pursue these things with an almost religious zeal. Truth becomes a foreign concept. They will make every excuse to justify the very flaws that are staring them in the face. Let me give you an example.
One of the "hot" programs of the moment, which I will not identify by name, offers people 100 free leads to sign up and the promise of a straight-line compensation plan which will involve meeting daily sales volume to qualify. I'm ashamed to admit that even I, who knows better, was glamoured by the slick campaign and the promise of 100 leads. The flaws in the matter quickly became apparent. First, all of the 12,000+ people who signed up were give the SAME 100 free leads, which included addresses and worse...phone numbers. Can you imagine someone getting 10,000 phone calls over a period of a few days? Second, I began to do the math on these "exclusive" leads. The minimum package necessary to qualify for compensation involves buying 200 leads per week. Let's say everyone bought them. The company is now over 15,000 people so 15,000 x 200 = 3,000,000 "exclusive" leads. Per week. Now, multiply that 3,000,000 x 52 (weeks in the year). 156,000,000 "exclusive" leads---roughly half the population of the United States.
Any person of rational thought would realize:
a.) Anyone who had access to a lead list like that would be a fool to get rid of it. I market Clickbank products and understand the value of a list. Give me a list that size and I retire....today.
b.) Any one who truly markets online will tell you how long it takes to build an opt-in list of 5,000 people....let alone 156,000,000.
Even with this truth staring them directly in the face, I am still assailed on a daily basis by those who continue to believe. I don't even bother asking them anymore how they plan to use the leads---NONE of them have a list management system---because if they are incapable of seeing the obvious this will only confuse them. I even had one person tell me they planned to call their "exclusive" leads. Obviously, they have never heard of the National Do-Not-Call Registry.
Click.
4 people like it
Advertise on APSense
This advertising space is available.
Post Your Ad Here
Post Your Ad Here
Comments (7)
Scotty Rushing5
Certified Life/Business Coach
I thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful feedback.
Neville Dinning10
Independent Consultant
Scotty, your prefacing comment "I know it won't be popular with some folks" is often the result of expressing an opinion. It will tend to get under the skin of some people who have swallowed a line of thinking that the opinion is exposing. That does not just happen here, but also in places where self-appointed anti-scam and anti-spam advocates gather. Thanks for your analysis of the "hot" program, which unfortunately is so typical of the many 3M (Magical Money Maker) programs that we encounter.
Michelle Hoffmann8
Inventor/Member at Kulabrands
2 thumbs up for your "bravery". :) I too joined a company which offered free leads as a free gift for joining. Although I should have known better... being an ezine owner, I have tried a couple of lead companies in an attempt to get subscribers... only to have these leads scream "spam" to my host... after one email to them asking them if they are interested. Oh, and that lead company? I never saw any leads from them... hmmm. If you need leads, get them yourself... it's not worth the BS to
Cheryl Baumgartner12
Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance
I'm glad you realize that speaking the truth around here will not win you any popularity contests..except with those of us who value the truth and can think rationally. The situation you describe about things that fall apart as soon as you take a good look happens every day.
Aurang Zeb Awan15
Content Writer
Well well well, very nice and realistic mind I like that. Very first time when one of my friend sent me the link of 100 free Leeds I apologized to him saying, "Sorry I have no business to share with others" so he can not mind rejection from me. But the reality was I never believed such things just like I never believe on click bank millionaires schemes because if they are capable to make such huge amounts or Leeds than why they are sharing with us absolutely free? Why not the keep the secret wit
Scotty Rushing5
Certified Life/Business Coach
Thank you, Paula....and good luck with your new blog.
Paula van Dun6
Social Marketing works.
LOL I like people who are not afraid to speak their mind even if they know people will "shoot the messenger". We need a lot more of those.