Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Is Lying Necessary To Succeed In Amway?

The first time I was prospected for Amway, I was in college. I actually didn't know much about Amway but I had somehow formed a negative opinion of it. Needless to say, when I was invited to a beer bust and it turned instead to be an Amway meeting, my impression of Amway wasn't that good. Some years later, I eventually did join because a close friend of mine had achieved direct distributor (now called platinum) and he had assured me that it could be done and that he would make sure that I would also achieve it. I did achieve a level just below platinum (4000 PV), but I quit for several reasons. First of all, I didn't make a net profit as the expenses for tools ate up my profits. Secondly, the more I progressed in the business, the more and more my upline wanted control of my life. For example, we were told that we should check upline before getting married, buying a car, or even having children, etc. I thought that was very strange and I eventually left the business for good.

But in the US at least, I believe Amway's name to be so battered that an IBO cannot sponsor downline and build a business without lies and deception. There are hoards of stories confirming testimony that lies and deceit are common in prospecting potential IBOs. This was extremely rampant when Amway changed their name to Quixtar. IBOs would deny the connection or IBOs would say they are with network 21 or WWDB and claim something ridiculous such as Amway simply being their supplier. The promotion of perfect water also brought on silly antics about a $50 case of water being capable of performing miracles. If the opportunity could stand on its own merits, then IBOs would not have to resort to such desperate measures which include lies and deception.

Even the Amway presentation if often filled with deception and lies. I remember seeing the presentation and they said shopping through Amway, an IBO would save 30% over local retailers. When I actually saw the catalogs, I wondered where are the savings?? An open minded price comparison will easily show that Amway products are not cheaper than a retailer like WalMart. It's not possible when you consider that Amway's bonuses must be a part of their product price.

The 6-4-2 plan or similar variations are made to sound easy and the presenter talked about lifelong residual willable income, which I also find to be deceptive if not an outright lie. The presenter never mentions that only about 1 in 400 ever reach the platinum level, where allegedly you begin to break even as an IBO if you are consuming training and tools.

But can Amway be successfully promoted without lies and deception? It is my opinion that an IBO has no chance of building a business by being completely upfront and honest about Amway and about being an IBO. Even with lies and deceit, many IBOs still cannot get people to see the plan or to buy products. It is my opinion that overall, very little Amway products are sold to non IBOs. So if you cannot sell products and you cannot get people to see the plan, you cannot build a business and if you are purchasing tools, you are simply digging yourself a financial hole that will only grow larger as time passes. The cost of 100 PV (about $300) is already more than what most families and/or singles spend in a month on household products. This means that most people simply cannot sustain themselves in the business and it explains why most IBOs drop out in the first year.

It is why lies and/or deception are needed for an IBO to have a chance at promoting and building an Amway business. Because the truth is not pretty and more than likely, will not work for building an Amway business.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, lying is necessary if one is to make any progress in Amway.

The big difference is that many Amway freaks ACTUALLY BELIEVE the lies that they tell people. That's what's really scary.

Anonymous said...

I was in Amway from 2010 to 2014 and got no where telling the truth about Amway. In fact, people that I prospected tried to get me out of it. At the time I thought it bizarre, but the more I learned, the more I understood why. I wouldn't say that I was brainwashed. I had asked upline why the hell I was buying a CD for a function I already attended. Got no answer to that question. That was where it all went downhill.

Anonymous said...

It's impossible to do Amway without lying. If one were truthful their sales pitch would have to look like:

"I'm recruiting you to join a company with products terribly overpriced that will be difficult to sell where you will be expected to buy and store at your house with or without customers, and the latter scenario is the most likely, and you will be pressured to buy tools that won't help you in doing anything other than losing touch with reality and going to functions that give no help in selling these overpriced products. Your task will be to recruit as many people into the same predicament you are in with the hopes that one day you'll have enough of them built up that you'll be able to make forget that they are losing money until you can stand on their heads and perhaps break even. You will lose family and real friends who are replaced by phony new friends who will drop you like a hot potato if they aren't making anything off of you."

Quite the sales pitch, eh? Who could resist?

~Dave