I see and hear this quite frequently, that most IBOs do nothing and quit. Quite often, it's some Amway apologist using this as a defense as to why the average earnings of an IBO is so low. Even if many IBOs "do nothing", they are still registered Amway IBOs, and therefore count if you are measuring an "average". What Amway apologists like to do it exclude those who achieve nothing, but at the same time, count the high achievers in the average, thus giving a false impression of what the earnings are for a rank and file IBO. A better way in my opinion, would be to exclude the lowest and highest earners. That will give a more accurate idea of what someone can expect to earn in Amway.
But let's look at the term "do nothing". I cannot accept that most people do absolutely nothing. They were open enough to talk to someone about a business. They were motivated enough to be looking for something. They were motivated enough to (likely) attend a presentation and they were motivated enough to spend money on a starter kit. I would add that in many cases, groups such as BWW, WWDB or Network 21 for example, will add on some charges to that starter kit, which may include some tools or possibly a ticket to the next function. If you actually visit the Amway website, you will see that actual enrollment costs less than $100. With the motivational groups tacking on fees, startup kits might cost several hundreds of dollars. That being the case, I can't accept that people did all of the above, paid to join and then let the starter kit sit there collecting dust.
It would be my educated theory that many people "achieve nothing". but they don't "do nothing". A more likely scenario in my opinion, is that people sign up, and they do contact others, try to sell the business or some products, but because of past IBO behavior, they encounter the term scam or pyramid, and an extremely low rate of people open to joining or seeing the Amway plan. Knowing that you cant "go diamond" without sponsoring, many or possibly most IBOs try to get others to join. Because a lot of Amway products are not competitively priced and because of previous reputation issues, it is a very tough sell for new people. In my opinion, this is why Amway is growing faster in foreign countries, because IBOs have not yet damaged the name of Amway. Keeping this is mind, it is my guess that the real life average income is about $100 a month, not the $200+ that Amway recently reported, as they conveniently excluded over 50% of the IBO sales force.
If people are saying that all these folks "did nothing", ask them how they could possibly know if someone "did nothing". The answer is that they don't know. In my time as an IBO, I saw people come and go, some doing little, some doing a lot, but I never saw a single person sign up and not even open the starter kit or at least try to prospect and/or sell. I believe the Amway system is simply flawed and the low achievement levels of IBOs in general is a product of that flawed system. You're welcome to try and prove me wrong (but you can't).
It would be my educated theory that many people "achieve nothing". but they don't "do nothing". A more likely scenario in my opinion, is that people sign up, and they do contact others, try to sell the business or some products, but because of past IBO behavior, they encounter the term scam or pyramid, and an extremely low rate of people open to joining or seeing the Amway plan. Knowing that you cant "go diamond" without sponsoring, many or possibly most IBOs try to get others to join. Because a lot of Amway products are not competitively priced and because of previous reputation issues, it is a very tough sell for new people. In my opinion, this is why Amway is growing faster in foreign countries, because IBOs have not yet damaged the name of Amway. Keeping this is mind, it is my guess that the real life average income is about $100 a month, not the $200+ that Amway recently reported, as they conveniently excluded over 50% of the IBO sales force.
If people are saying that all these folks "did nothing", ask them how they could possibly know if someone "did nothing". The answer is that they don't know. In my time as an IBO, I saw people come and go, some doing little, some doing a lot, but I never saw a single person sign up and not even open the starter kit or at least try to prospect and/or sell. I believe the Amway system is simply flawed and the low achievement levels of IBOs in general is a product of that flawed system. You're welcome to try and prove me wrong (but you can't).
IBOs drop out because recruitment is very difficult, due to the extremely bad reputation that Amway has developed over the decades. There are far too many bad stories than good ones about experiences in the business. By the way, this is why many big pins wanted the Amway Corporation to take legal action against on-line sites and blogs that criticized or ridiculed the entire Amway operation, or that pointed out the major flaws in its "Plan."
ReplyDeleteThe other big problem is the entire "person-to-person" direct selling idea. This concept was already old-hat in the 1960s, and is now as antiquated as a whalebone corset. Going around trying to sell Amway products to strangers is like trying to put together an army without a draft law, and that's not even taking into account the very high price of Amway products and the questions about their quality.
When you push a company name that has a bad reputation, and when you use a sales technique that goes back to the Fuller Brush Man, failure is inevitable.