Friday, July 6, 2018

Glorified Sales People?

When I saw the Amway plan, it made perfect sense at the time, because the diamond who made the presentation made everything seem sensible. Make money and/or save money. On the surface, you would have to be nuts to not want to make or save some money. But it is the reality that is the problem. The reality is for business building IBOs is financial damage or financial disaster from the ongoing costs of the system expenses. I saw crosslines go bankrupt and more than one couple lost their homes to foreclosure by "doing whatever it takes" to get to the next function.

Our group (WWDB) edified people who bought extraordinary amounts of extra tapes/cds, extra function tickets and made superhuman efforts to get to functions. Looking back, I remember an IBO who was edified for coming all the way to a family reunion function in Portland Oregon when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The speaker said he could have been miserable spending time at home but here he was making a difference in people's lives. WTH? I wrote a post earlier this month about how IBOs think they are saving the world and helping people when in reality, the masses of IBOs are only "helping" their diamonds to attain material wealth by purchasing function tickets, voicemail, standing orders and other materials.

I would agree that some training and information can be helpful for new IBOs but I do not see any value in a never ending supply of cds or downloads and and an endless number of meetings and functions. The very thing (support materials) that uplines claim is your key to success is the very thing that nearly guarantees business building IBOs to financial struggles. Our upline wanted IBOs to be out of debt, which is good, but they would also say in the same breath that it was okay to go into hock if it was to attend functions or to purchase additional support materials. WTH? Sadly, many IBOs do not see through this self serving advice.

Most people, including myself are very wary when we deal with car salesmen. We are wary because we know that the salesman is out to make money off of us and will try to sell us every option in the book. Thus we negotiate and reject the car options that we don't really need to have. Guess what? Your uplines are like car salesmen except that they sell you different options such as premier club, standing order, book of the month, function tickets, voicemail, open meeting tickets. Just like a car buying customer, taking all the options maximizes the car salesman's commission and the car dealer's profit. Buying all the support materials increases your upline's profits. Imagine the car salesman telling you that the extended warranty was vital to owning the car. You'd think twice about it, yet uplines will tell you that functions are vital to your Amway business and many IBOs buy it hook line and sinker. I hope this analogy will encourage IBOs to think of support materials as options on the car. You don't need any options to make the car work. Just as you don't really need support materials to buy and sell Amway products, and to get some downline to do the same.

We are wary of car salesmen. In my opinion, downline and prospects should be just as wary of uplines who promote tools as "vital" to your success in Amway. Keep in mind that a sponsor is obligated to help train any downline, regardless of whether they are on the system or not.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What amazed me when in Amway/WWDB was the utter self serving agendas which were disguised, not so cleverly under the disguise of "helping" others. I could only handle being around so much bullshit before I felt I might stink of it.

Anonymous said...

Amway has to peddle the bullshit about "helping others," because it is soon obvious to every sentient IBO that making any significant financial profit from Amway isn't going to happen. So these losers have to console themselves with the notion that they are "helping others."

You don't go into business to "help others." You go into it to make a profit. It's amazing that so many people fall for this claptrap.

Anonymous said...

Even better than the comparison with car salesmen is this: Amway promoters are very much like carnival barkers... the loudmouth types who stand outside of a tent and harangue a crowd of people, enticing them to pay fees to see some sort of absurd show or spectacle.

Such "barkers" are not that common today, but you can see them in many older films that include scenes from a carnival or an amusement park. The guy stands on a perch or podium, wearing a straw hat, waving a rattan cane. He speaks in a loud and unpleasant voice, saying "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Come and see the greatest show on earth! Inside this tent, for the small price of a quarter, you will be fascinated and amazed by feats of indescribable wonder that have been shown before the crowned heads of Europe! Step right up and get your tickets..."

And of course what they are selling is nothing but vulgar garbage -- a freak show, a hoochie-coochie dance, a crummy ventriloquist act, a fake swami with a crystal ball, or some other absurdity.

These carnival barkers did their best business is one-horse small towns filled with gawking idiots. Not much different from how Amway operates, is it not?