One of the things Amway IBOs are taught is to blame themselves for is not working the business hard enough or not doing things just right, exactly as upline advised. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. It's just that uplines want to be absolved from any responsibility so they teach downline that failure in Amway is their own (The downline's) fault. Upline is also quick to take full credit for any success, of course. Why shouldn't these same leaders be held accountable for their downline's results if their advice was followed?
The reason why hard work doesn't equal success is because an Amway IBO is basically a commissioned sales person. In commissioned sales, one can work hard for no reward and at times, little effort may reap large rewards. But in Amway, with a crappy reputation, Amway IBOs are dealt a handicap that most simply cannot overcome. Getting new people to recruitment meetings is hard enough, not even factoring in the abililty to sponsor others. When factoring in these tidbits, it's easy to see why uplines teach buy from yourself and selling is not needed. Buying from yourself seems easy enough and it allows volume to be moved. But after a while, how many "long lasting concentrated" products can you go through in a month's time?
The work involved is very simple. Sell products and get other IBOs (Sponsor) in your downline to be able to leverage your volume. Many IBOs work hard and attend all of the functions and do all of the steps as outlined by upline, but very few reap rewards and most quit when they realize that the system doesn't work. It is sad that on top of losing money, that IBOs are also taught to blame themselves for their demise. Where is the upline when IBOs bust their butts working hard and get no rewards? On top of that, to make it worse, uplines profit from selling training and motivation to their downlines. Why aren't they held acountable?
I've read comments by some Amway defenders wanting to sue Amway critics for a potential loss of business. But most critics, like myself are simply stating our experiences and opinions. Many of which are true and still happening today. So I will ask, what about the millions of former IBOs who may have lost billions of dollars because of false claims which led them to believe that they would get rich following upline advice? Maybe former IBOs should unite and file claims against unethical upline leaders who led them astray? Why not hold these leaders accountable?
In any case, hard work doesn't equate success in Amway and I dare anyone to try to prove me wrong.
Actually, Amway has indeed lost tons of potential business because of the anti-Amway blogs. It's no coincidence that the disastrous collapse of Amway sales (about 10% per year for the last three years) comes at a time when the various blogs run by Joe Cool, Anna Banana, David Brear, Dr. Doe, and many others have become major places for information on MLMs in general, and Amway in particular. The blogs have kicked Amway's ass, big time.
ReplyDeleteBut legally, those disgruntled IBOs don't stand a chance in the courts. There is no way that an individual could prove that his failure in business is due to the effect of a particular blog -- especially not when the business in general has an admitted 99% failure rate! Someone like "Rick" at Liberty Marketing may be enraged at the anti-Amway blogs, but there isn't a damned thing he can do to stop them.
Amway and Quixtar used to bring "SLAPP" lawsuits against individual bloggers to force them to stop publishing, but this kind of thuggish bullying has been forbidden by the courts. We still have our First Amendment rights to free speech. If Ambots don't like it, they can suck wind.
David Steadson AKA "IBOFIghtback" threatened to sue me before. I figured he was only bluffing. Good luck trying to prove damages when most Amway IBOs do little or nothing and quit. He would also have had to prove that my blog was the sole reason why someone didn't join or quit "well, that wasn't the only reason". Also, my blog clearly states that the stories are my experiences and opinions. Thus there isn't any false information that is causing any damages.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, the truth is what is killing Amway. The truth and market saturation. Amway sales have plummeted 25% in the last 3 years.
Amway is headed for a cold winter.