As an IBO, our group was often told that selling products were not that important. Just buy from yourself and get others to do the same. When prospecting, you ask if someone likes selling and if they say no, you say "great, this business is perfect for you". Or if someone says they like selling, you say "great, this business is perfect for your". Keep in mind that a business exists to sell a product or service for a profit. I believe Amway folks forget about this fact.
People naturally do not like selling stuff to people, thus the adaptation to being your own best customer or buying from your own store. While it's fine to support your own business, it is not true that a McDonald's owner would never eat at a Burger King or other sill claims. Do you believe that a McDonald's owner would only eat food sold at his own restaurant? I guarantee you that isn't true. I know someone who owns a very popular pizza franchise and she says she never eats at her own restaurant because she's sick of eating pizza. You make money selling pizza so you can have other options.
Another things that Amway IBOs are probably not aware of is that buying from yourself and getting others to do the same without real sales to actual customers is running a illegal pyramid scheme. Another MLM company Herbalife, was investigated by the FTC and while they were not shut down, they were fined and had to change their operations because the FTC found that they lacked sales to legitimate customers. Herbalife is now forced to track retail sales with a compliance monitor watching their moves. There are stories of Herbalifers trying to fudge sales and Herbalife higher ups encouraging people to sign up as preferred customers instead of business builders. That suggests to me that Herbalife is basically admitting they are a sham. If they had legitimate demand, they would run a campaign to recruit more business builders who would in turn, sell products to customers who want their products.
So Amway IBOs, are a majority of your PV sales to yourself or to customers? Are your customers your family anf friends who are somewhat reluctantly buying products from you, if at all? If you are just buying and using your own products, you are actually not entitled to an Amway performance bonus. On the bright side, it seems that Amway just ignores this requirement and pays bonuses anyway. But without legitimate demand, sales and revenues dry up when the markets begin to get saturated. Amway's sales hit a peak at 11.8 billion in 2014 and has gone into a downward spiral since. In 2016, Amway sales dropped 7% to 8.8 billion which was preceded by a dounble digit drop in 2015.
With sales and revenues down, that can only mean there are less sales and volume, therefore there are less Platinums and diamonds that can be supported. But Amway prospects will never know because once you earn diamond recognition, Amway never updates it. Once a diamond, always a diamond, if you will. Thus the leaders that are Bing worshipped on stage might not even be diamonds anymore.
In the end, I write this post to give you food for thought. Too many prospects and IBOs are not aware of these issues but they certainly should be,
My Friend, buying from own shop is very well possible while building MLM with rich product portfolio like AWAY having great products which are researched to achieve optimum customer satisfaction level ..and of course they are cost effective. The business is about sharing not selling or retailing.
ReplyDeleteAmway's idea of "Buy from your own store" is complete bullshit.
ReplyDeleteFor an ordinary IBO, Amway is NOT his own store. It belongs to the Amway corporation of Ada, Michigan. The IBO is nothing but a salesman working on commission, and getting a small discount on stuff that he buys for his own use.
It looks like Amway North America is going down the tubes. A loss of 25% of revenue over the last few years is catastrophic for any business. These anti-Amway blogs are really working well!
That's the bull they want you t believe. That you "own your own stores". You don't, When you buy anything through Amway or the catalogs, you are buying from Amway's store and Amway makes a nice profit. If you buy enough, you get a rebate.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, most IBOs would be better off just using a cash back credit card and having nothing to do with Amway. A cash back credit card doesn't have any time or training requirements like Amway so it's a much better deal. There are no business expenses using a credit card and not taxes to pay and no meetings to attend. It's a no brainier to me.
To Ashish Dubey:
ReplyDeleteYou say "The business is about sharing not selling or retailing."
OK, fine. How about sharing your bank account with me? Please send me a check for one third of what you have saved up. I think that's pretty fair.
These blogs are really misguided and extremely boring. Is this all you do in your unproductive hours? That's pretty lame man...
ReplyDeleteWhat on the blog is misguided? Pretty lame are your ignorant comments.
ReplyDeleteI can say the same about your blogs....a lot of it is based from ignorance to be honest...
DeleteThese blogs are really misguided and extremely boring. Is this all you do in your unproductive hours? That's pretty lame man...
ReplyDeleteAgain you have failed to answer the question. What is misguided other than your apparent understanding of Amway? You drop by and toss out baseless insults but you have provided nothing of substance to back up your claims. I'll bet you're some new IBO who's losing money in Amway but since you don't understand what you've gotten into, you are blindly defending Amway, which you don't fully understand.
ReplyDeleteJoe, what did I tell you? All of a sudden there's a spate of pro-Amway posters coming here. Somebody in Ada Michigan or in one of the LOS rackets has given the go-ahead for Ambots to show up here and try to answer you.
ReplyDeleteIt has failed miserably, of course -- first, because the people coming here (Eric Seay, Ashish Dubey, and others on other threads) are just barely literate in English; and second, because they really have nothing substantive to say, except the parroting of canned Amspeak answers.
Eric is not being teachable. I'm sure his upline must have told him to avoid negative. But actually, but blog is not negative. It is my direct experiences and opinions. The funny part is how he claims my blog is boring, but yet he is here long enough to read some articles and multiple comments. My stat counter showed that read 4 articles. LOL
ReplyDeleteJoecool - I admire your years and years of posting. After reading many of your posts and seeing what the blind are not, I tip my hat to you for your dedication. And I say this as one who was 15 years in "the business" - eventually personally sponsored by an emerald( who was once a diamond). Been there, done all that and seen all that to deep levels that many and most will never see or experience. Lost a lot of money, time and friends over the years, and all I can say to the new IBO is - get out before you waste your life and the precious time you have here on planet earth. The products are over priced, the systems are rigged and the truth has been told and shown plain as day as the so called leaders of the different systems have fallen and left their organizations in shambles. Yes - the list is too long for one post but the Duncans, Wolgamotts, Harstads, Kosage, Danziks, and Shores have all been front and center on the web. The stories I can tell and share, most of the newbies and even business builders would say are not true - but it's all true, I lived it, and I saw behind the curtain just like you. Keep up the fight my friend. Too many people are still out there who need to know the truth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind and encouraging comments. I would encourage you to share some of those experiences as it may help some of the folks who read my blog. I am not planning to quit anytime soon. I realize there is a cause that needs to be upheld. Sharing real life experiences can be the most powerful way to spread the word. Amway sales went from 11.8 to 8.8 billion in 3 years. People are beginning to understand that Amway is a scam.
ReplyDelete