One of the things that was heavily promoted when I was an Amway IBO, and I believe is still promoted, is the control of time and money. I recall hearing that "broke" people often have lots of time, but can't do much because of a lack of money, or how a very hard-working man might have money but a lack of time as he is working 80 hours per week. So why not join Amway, work hard for 2-5 years and have all the time and money you need for life? Residual, willable, walk away income right? Who wouldn't want that?
Well, it all sounds good on the surface, but how many people actually do that? I don't know of any IBO who worked the business 2-5 years and walked away from their business to enjoy control of time and money forever. And there are reasons for that. Attrition. Most IBOs who join don't do much and more than half of all IBOs won't even be in business for more than a year. IBOs also need to be active and moving side volume in order to qualify for some of the bonuses. It is why I believe that there aren't any diamonds who left to enjoy their time and money because of passive ongoing Amway income. Diamonds and above must continually work the business or their businesses will fall apart like the waves would erode a sandcastle at the beach.For many IBOs ironically, what they desire most, time and money, is what they have less of because of their involvement in the Amway opportunity. It is because of the way many IBOs are taught by the systems such as WWDB, BWW or N21. Many of these groups will teach a defacto PV requirement of 100 PV which costs about $300 monthly. In some cases, you are getting a small box of goods for the same amount of cash that would have gotten you a cartload of goods at Wal Mart or Costco. For system IBOs, you are also paying for instruction that basically tells you that this is a great idea and that you should never quit.
So now when your family and friends have backyard barbeques or birthday parties, you are absent because you are securing your financial future. Your kids surely won't mind you missing their baseball games or sending them to the sitters while you attend a function. Your family and friends will be wowed when you retire next year and throw them a part to end all parties. It all seems surreal, and for most, it truly is. There may be $10 or even $50 monthly checks rolling in from Amway but is never covers the cost of your expenses. You can't quit because success might be right around the corner.
Suddenly your sponsor or upline might tell you that the Amway business is not about money. You might be told that you are a nicer person or a better parent (even if you neglect your kids to attend functions), or that the business opportunity has saved your marriage. Which leads to my question. What have you achieved in the Amway business that has given you more control of time and money? Do you have less time and money as a result of your involvement with Amway? And the most important question is why did you join if not for more money? To have upline toss out a distraction that Amway isn't about money is total BS. You would not have joined if not for a pitch about money so don't let upline distract and try to appease your goals and desires with lies about Amway is not about money.
During my involvement with Amway, my life was changed, but not for the better. And it wasn't because of Amway. It was self serving teaching by WWDB leaders designed to suck the life out of IBOs. We were to attend all meetings. All means all. We were to submit to upline. Check your ego at the door. We were to buy extra tapes/cds because you can't listen to the same ones each day. Wives and husbands needed separate standing orders. If downline quit, you don't cancel standing order. It is why I saw crosslines go bankrupt, lose a home to foreclosure and many ended up quitting and with large financial loss.
I hope this message of personal experience helps information seekers.
Joe, I don't know why you always have to give Amway an "out" when you talk about how bad things go. It's always about the WWDB subsystem -- and you always try to say that Amway is not to blame.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that the Amway Corporation of Ada, Michigan is fully behind what happens in the AMO subsystems! They know EXACTLY what is going on, and they tolerate it. Amway is a vicious, thieving, MLM racket.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI was in WWDB so my direct experience is from that sub system. And Amway is culpable in my opinion. They know these abuses exist but look the other way to profit from it.
It's a symbiotic relationship. WWDB and other systems teach product loyalty, 100 PV defacto quota per month and they do all the recruiting. On the other side, Amway pretends to frown on bad behavior but in the end, no substantial changes to curb bad behavior is implemented.
Amway is culpable, as Joe has been saying as far as I always understood it. The commissions structure alone, and the very low starting commissions at point of sale, would of course immediately nudge every member to think that the easiest way to imagine success would be to sign up others, and even if others also sell little beyond what they themselves use. With or without subsystems.
ReplyDeleteWhat the subsystems do is keep the hype alive pass it's normal sell by date. The social pressure and hype they create help so that people keep working it even after it should be clear that it is going nowhere.
And "mentors" in groups can say things that Amway cannot say, such as assuring prospects that one does not have to be a sales person, or that success is bound to come if you work hard, or that a plan of recruiting 5 or 6 members to buy their own stuff from Amway who will attempt to do the same is the key to success.
Occasionally someone would pitch who is still heavily sold on Amway, saying that the subsystems and "tools scam" is (the one thing) that gives Amway a bad name, if only a petition could be signed to get rid the ecosystem of these groups, then the Amway opportunity would deliver for most people. It won't, because the first thing that is wrong is still the recruitment heavy focus in they way members are incentivised. Amway without the subsystems would just recruit less, and people who loose (still the majority) would leave quicker, and Amway's sales would fall. That is if other structures with charismatic leaders don't rise to take their place.
Another thing the subsystems do is they play down the Amway part in some cases. The last two people who tried to rope me in were involved in N21. They both presented themselves as serious professionals turned business people, in a network of business people, who partner with many companies, who by the way include Amway amongst others. When they started in our area, Network21 evoked no response as it was unknown, but many in the public had memories of relatives and friends getting hurt in Amway.
So yes the presence of the subsystems is definitely a win-win. And cut from the same moral cloth.
Yes, Amway needs the subsystems to keep up recruitment, and to generate endless hype and enthusiasm. It's very much like the upper levels of organized crime need all the tough little street gangs that carry out the dirty work of murder and extortion, and the enforcement of obedience among the low-level racketeers.
ReplyDeleteThe heads of a huge Mexican drug cartel don't care what's happening in the streets of Los Angeles. They leave that up to their street-level associates. All the cartels care about is that they are getting their money. Amway is perfectly parallel in its operation with the AMO subsystems.