Monday, November 26, 2012

The Psychology Behind Amway?



I’m not sure whether this plan was carefully crafted out or whether it just evolved, but the way some uplines show the plan is cleverly designed to suck people into their systems. If you aren’t aware or careful, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the presentation. The presentation is full of deception and I will try to point out these items in my analysis.

The speaker may talk about how he once thought he was “doing okay” in life. That he was making a living and able to meet his financial obligations. But he thought there might be more. One day he saw the plan and it changed his life. He did not realize he had gotten into a rut of going to work and going home every day and looking forward to his 2 weeks off each year. (This is relatable for many) That time and money are so important in life. Control of time and money is the key to success. Many people have lots of money but work all day and nite. Or people have time but are broke and can’t do much. The speaker might mention dreams or goals such as having an extra $500 a month or more. What would you do for an extra $500 a month. What about an extra $50,000 a year? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the wife stay home with the kids instead of leaving the family to go to work? Like the “Leave it to Beaver” days? (This gets the women excited)

The speaker will likely mention something about the economy and how prices always go up. The speaker may mention the 4 “I’s” that suck money out of your paycheck. The four I’s are Interest, Income Tax, Insurance and Inflation. The speaker may talk about how the government will take their cut and so on until you get your “net”. The speaker may mention how so many Americans are dead or broke by age 65, and that social security will collapse. (This instills fear in many people).

The speaker might also go on to mention how so many marriages are falling apart in the US because of financial stress. That couples work so hard that they have no family time and it hurts marriages. That people work so many hours these days that they are married to their desks. The “manager” of the office is the first one there and the last one to go home. That despite all of this work and effort, people are falling into debt. Credit cards maxed out, loans, trying to keep up with the Joneses. (Many people can relate to this)

But now, because he was looking for opportunity/open minded one day, he saw an opportunity. This opportunity changed his life and can do the same for you! The speaker now wakes up at the crack of noon. His wife stays home with him and the kids. They take nice vacations and they do what they want when they want. (Of course, who doesn’t? But is this true?) The opportunity takes advantage of the internet and allows you to leverage your time and money so that you can create a residual walk away income. (But nobody walks away do they?)

This is approximately the point in the presentation where they mention “Amway” At this point, the speaker will defend Amway, stating that if you can make money, does it matter.? If you can save money, does it matter? The speaker may go into the product line and mention partner stores and will likely show a 6-4-2 plan or a variation of it. In every case, they will show a best case scenario, not what is likely. Many prospects will leave thinking “all I need is six”. They don’t understand how unlikely it is to sponsor six platinums and there is no mention of the retention rates, the income most IBOs can expect, and firm questions will be deflected to the prospect’s inviter. The speaker may also discourage you from speaking to friends and family as they may have a bad experience but the diamond is successful and knows more about Amway than your family and friends.

Joe’s commentary: So the speaker becomes very relatable from the start. His situation in life will be like many in the audience. He will talk about doing okay,. But wanting more or looking for more. He talks about debts and many in the audience will also relate. They get people to think about dream cars or vacations. He talks about walk away income, but doesn’t mention that very very few ever make significant money and apparently, not many actually walk away either. They say you will make money and save money by doing the business. It’s hard to argue against that,.except most people will not make money or save money. In fact most people, if they participate fully or partially in the training system, they will lose money. For the dedicated IBOs, many of them LOSE LOTS OF MONEY. The plan is crafted out to sound sensible and relatable, but many IBOs will give it a try and shortly after, will realize that the system doesn’t work, that the reputation of Amway IBOs is soiled and sponsoring people or even getting people to see the plan is a barrier that most people simply cannot overcome. At least if you know what’s going on, you may be able to avoid the trap.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The plan is extremely well designed and hits people exactly so they think thats what they want and they can do this. Thats why there are sufficient new recruits to allow amway to grow. What people of course dont realise is that while anybody can build this business, in fact to do so probably requires near full time commitment for maybe 5 to 10 years and probably more. So why would someone give up so many years of their life for this particularly their young years.

Anonymous said...

You are so spot on all the time. It is amazing and you should be commended for speaking the truth about this company. It merely sells the dream and unfortunately people will fall for this. But I am sure a few have been persuaded otherwise thanks to you.

Anonymous said...

Well said Joecool!
Amway scam is designed to tell positive looking lies and get people tricked into it. If you really look at the above post, most of these are subjective. So is Amway. Amway plan has very little to talk about the real numbers. If you make $500 extra is a very subective thing, having wife at home is also one. Most of the financially free people in this world have worked for at least 20years to make something really big with assets. If we look at wealth in real terms for all platinums and above would not even come close to one person's wealth in Forbes list. Just by wearing a few sets of costly clothes does not make an individual rich.

Boom Shakalaka said...

People give up their time anyway to work for companies that eventually fire, retrench, etc. my mother taught for 30+ years, what has she got to offer for contributing to the next Generation? Isn't that also a Scheme or Dream? Work + Retirement Packages = Trump Lifestyle. FALSE. No matter how you want to critic the Amway opportunity, look out there and assess how many small businesses are surviving.

No matter what the opportunity may be, it is never worth what you give up in a true sense of time value. If you are writing this BLOG stuck in a 9 to 5. Congratulations, you have found your dream

Boom Shakalaka said...

How do people lose money in Amway? I use the Dishdrop 250ml which in my country it cost no less than at normal supermarkets and it lasts me quite longer because of dilution.

Give me a practical example of the losses people have experienced in Amway that they wouldn't have lost in normal grocery stores.

Anonymous said...

Hi boom. People lose money paying for conventions , meetings , tapes etc. Particularly in the usa. And uplines push them hard to do this as the fees go to the uplines. In some countries people just sell products and sponsor. Then they may not lose money but probably dont make much either.