One of the things my upline Amway leaders used to always talk (and emphasize) about was how they wanted everyone to succeed. Looking back, I honestly believe they were lying and simply wanted the faithful downline to keep spending money on tools whether they succeeded or not. Now I am not claiming that every single upline leader does this, but primarily the ones who run "systems", such as WWDB, N21, BWW, LTD and some others. It seems that all of the lines of sponsorship pretty much operate the same way.
When I stopped and really thought about it, pretty much every piece of advice I received, I had to pay for. Voicemails, standing orders, functions, open meetings. I know these are supposedly optional, but in reality, they are a defacto requirement. Anyone with a "dream" is going to buy the tools because the leaders will tell you that you cannot succeed without tools. Ironically, the same leaders will blame individuals and cite personal responsibility for the failure of downline IBOs, even the ones who did everything they were told.The leaders are edified and touted as having great business and financial acumen, thus not following their advice would seem foolish. Yet Amway defenders will try to claim that IBOs should discern the good and the bad and operate independently. It's a redundancy that many people do not see. Sure, a downline should not jump off a cliff because upline said they would pad their fall with a pile of cash, but many IBOs put in an earnest effort in Amway, only to fail because of the handicaps and reputation issues that Amway has. These IBOs are told they were lazy or quit too soon or did not try hard enough. Yet the very few who manage to break thru are edified along with the system while ignoring the multitudes who do not make it.
The bottom line for IBOs and prospects to know, is that I believe most IBO leaders do not know you or care about you and your success. They are more interested in selling you websites, voicemail, standing orders and functions. They know that people will come and go, and they are perfectly happy replacing quitters with new people, as long as the system tools keep flowing. I believe some of the US diamonds are now hurting as Amway is apparently shrinking in the US. I read recently of Amway downsizing some of their operations, seemingly confirming that US sales are down. Also to note, Upline leaders would have to share tool profits with new emeralds and diamonds, which is why I believe they do not want new success.
I believe that Amway, other MLM businesses, Kiyosaki, or real estate gurus all have very limited or rare success with their financial systems. Infomercials usually have a disclaimer that success is a "UNIQUE" experience. Amway is no different. But I believe in all of these cases, more money is generated in selling the system than by actually running the system. If not, success stories would be rampant and people would line up to sign up instead of having to be deceived into even hearing the pitch.
3 comments:
If persons who were approached and solicited by an Amway IBO to join the racket knew that (according to Amway's printed literature) almost 99% of people in Amway make NO MONEY AT ALL, they would never sign up.
So you would think, no?
But in fact the average IBO sign-up simply pays no attention to that published piece of information. He signs up anyway, and gladly. Why is that?
The reason is that Amway appeals to something psychological and emotional, not to anything rational. It's about "dreams" and "aspirations" and "visions." And when a person is in the grip of this kind of non-rational rapture, he will do almost anything. He pays no attention to logic or rreason.
This is why experienced up-lines in Amway are allergic to any kind of intelligent questions or sensible inquiries from potential recruits. They know instinctively that someone who asks intelligent questions and makes sensible inquiries is NOT FOR AMWAY. He will learn too quickly what the racket is really all about. Instead of him, they want someone naive, trusting, simple-minded, hopeful, and a little desperate. In short, they want a sucker.
Joe, that's the Deep Dark Secret of Amway. It's not the products. It's the racket itself, and the recruitment of new IBOs to take part in the racket.
This is true of any MLM, but is particularly the case with Amway, where artificially generated emotion and excitement have always been seen as the prime requirement in maintaining and running the business. That's why there's such a huge emphasis on things like "positive thinking," and "dreams," and being a "go-getter." That's why the functions are absolutely required, all the time. That's why you have to listen to those stupid CDs every day, at full-blast volume. That's why any rational criticism or questioning of the racket is called "stinking thinking."
Businesses that have a good, dependable, and reasonably priced product line don't need this kind of razz-ma-tazz and bullshit. Amway doesn't have anything except the mindless enthusiasm of its brainwashed IBOs.
Amway up-line doesn't give a fuck about your success. All they want from you is your endless monthly payments for tools, meetings, voicemail, and the stupid "functions."
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