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.
I "tested" the last two prospectors who tried to lure me into a meeting where I was supposedly going to meet sharp people looking for sharp business partners to work with. I asked both whether it involved sales.
ReplyDeleteBoth said no. Which is of course not true. First because Amway itself says the opportunity stands on two legs, one being product sales, and it tells authorities that the product sales is an absolute requirement. Second because even forgetting the product sales, recruiting others into the business is also very much sales, maybe not of a product, but still sales. You still have to convince someone to give money and time to something. And it's very difficult sales at that. Selling membership of something that has had such a bad rap that you won't even mention the name up front, it is very hard to think of anything more difficult to sell. I'm pretty sure even someone who'd describe himself as not at sales, would sell a hot dog or soft drink with much greater ease, than selling membership of a discredited organisation.
So both denied it was sales, though they were probably conditioned to believe themselves, that it wasn't. Hence the next question which was far more direct, is it Amway? The one guy said well they partner with many global businesses, and he said "if I'm not mistaken", Amway is "one of them". The other person, the woman, could not bring herself to deny or twist it, she said "yes" and with that we both knew there was not sense trying to convince me to attend.
The guy was clearly the more comfortable at twisting things a bit, and surprise, surprise, he was the one with a large group. He overcame the "Is it Amway?" misgiving, by trying to create the impression that there is Amway in there, but it's not the Amway opportunity as such, that the hearer may have heard so many bad things about (while in reality, is exactly that). And by the time it is actually disclosed, it is at a evening setting with a lot of help of other smooth talkers and love bombers who can use every "bad apples, our group is different" or "rumours spread by lazy people" argument in the book.
The chances of making money in Amway is low. The numbers guarantee that. Even the slick guy referred to above eventually snapped out. But if you are more comfortable with half truths, like the guy I referred to, as opposed to the woman I referred to, you are going to be more successful at signing up and motivating downline, if not necessarily be successful at actually making money. I think from the above two, the guy could probably have lost more in the end, he certainly lost more time.
Do you like selling? No? Then this business is perfect for you!
ReplyDeleteDo you like selling? Yes, then this business is perfect for you!
The biggest recruitment problem Amway faces is the utterly toxic nature of the reputation that the "Amway" name carries. The name is so drenched in bad vibes and unpleasant stories that most people just turn and run when you mention it.
ReplyDeleteConsider this analogy. Suppose you were the head of a major drug cartel, and you wanted to recruit some young guy as a professional assassin. How would you approach him?
Would you say: "I have a business opportunity for you that is very lucrative, and which does not involve a great deal of work. You only deal with persons on a one-to-one basis, and you only have to meet with them once. If you're successful, you will be part of a major multi-million operation that does business worldwide, and you will have endless opportunities to work regularly, and rise higher in our ranks."
If the prospective recruits asks "What do I have to do?" you can just say "Nothing much at all -- just interact with certain people in a close and personal way. If you're good at that, you'll always make plenty of money."
If the recruit asks "What's the name of your company?" you just say "Oh, we're called many things and have several different names. But we deal with other large business concerns and we do a lot of business with them."
Right now, that is exactly parallel to the method of recruitment that Amway urges its IBOs to follow when trying to sign up new members.
It was hilarious when Amway tried to rename itself in the US as Quixtar. IBOs would deny that Amway = Quixtar. Then the question became why are you selling Amway products, using the Amway business plan and receiving bonuses that were issued by Amway?
ReplyDeleteThe responses by IBOs were priceless.