One of the silly things I see around some forums, and what I remember from my Amway days is hearing about how someone "made the decision" to go diamond. You cannot "decide" to go diamond anymore than you can decide to win the lottery. You can decide to work hard and you can decide to try and follow all of the recommended advice for achieving diamond in Amway, but you cannot "decide" to go diamond. Going diamond requires you to have certain group structures with certain volume requirements, which requires sponsoring. Sponsoring others is something that is not directly within your control. And it is certainly not under your control when you need multiple downline groups to sponsor people as well. Maintaining retention in your group is also something you may not have direct control over. All it would take is one downline group to have a falling out with a mass exodus and your qualification for diamond can vanish in a day.
One familiar theme I recall hearing on WWDB rally tapes is that someone, usually the man of the house, finally made a decision to go diamond. I don't recall a detailed explanation of what that actually meant. When I was prospected into Amway, my sponsor never could tell me in a straight answer what you actually do as an IBO. All he kept assuring me of was that I could be taught everything I needed to know. Looking back, he was right. In a nutshell, the Amway business is simply this: Buy, sell, and sponsor. But of the three components, the only one an IBO can directly control is to "buy". To sell or to sponsor is something that you have no direct control over because it involves the decision of other people.. Yes, some people can improve and get better at selling or prospecting, but I believe the vast majority of people, even those who work hard and give an earnest effort, simply do not have the skills to overcome the bad reputation of Amway and premium prices (for generic in nature products)that apparently stigmatize the Amway business.
As I have stated, you can decide to try Amway. You can decide to buy tools and products. You can decide to work hard and give your best effort. You can decide that this is a good opportunity for you. But you cannot decide that you will go diamond. Many have tried, very very few have made it. In my old LOS (WWDB), there are fewer diamonds now than when I was an IBO. And there have been very few new diamonds in the US and Canada. Even those who attain the apparent pinnacle of success (diamond), often find that maintaining the level is a near impossible task. There is evidence of many former diamonds and diamonds who actually quit. Where's the residual income that IBOs like to speak of? Why would someone quit if they can walk away and receive residual income. You know why.
Good luck to you if you "decide" to go for it.
The world population is not infinite.
ReplyDeleteTherefore if you require [fill in your number] individuals in your downline to succeed (whatever your definition of success is), then the mathematical maximum possible success rate amongst all sign ups in a group is [that same number you just filled in].
That applies even if you restrict sign-ups to persuasive hard working and motivated individuals who "decide" from the word go to go diamond, and who are somehow able to work 24 hours a day, and who never ever get despondent on temporary setbacks. The vast majority of these superhuman individuals will fail. A maximum of one in [said number] will succeed. Mathematics is a bastard, it can really spoil the party sometimes. No amount of motivation can make 2+2=6.
A diamond typically has about 1000 downline with a minimum of 6 downline platinums. Therefore, having more diamonds just means that there are more people getting scammed and being a part of the 1000 downline that a diamond has.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the math. No amount of hard work or motivation changes the mathematical facts.
Llegar a Diamante es también una decisión, y por supuesto trabajo duro
ReplyDeleteThe absurd idea that you can "decide" to go Diamond, like deciding to order a cheeseburger, comes from the "think and grow rich" mentality of those who promote MLM ideology. Thinking and dreaming and fantasizing are all you need to be a big success. That's why that lunatic Dexter Yager screams "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't matter!"
ReplyDeleteThe notion seems to be that you can do ANYTHING AT ALL if you put your mind to it. What's unfortunate is that this asinine viewpoint is actively promoted in our school system by stupid, over-enthused teachers, who tell the students they can become anything they want to become. These teachers are preparing the ground for Amway.
It's just not true. If you're basically a low-IQ loser, you can't be a brain surgeon. If you have two left feet, you can't be a ballerina. If you have the physique of a starved scarecrow, you can't be a football star. If you have no aptitude for languages, you can't be an interpreter at the UN.
Need I go on? There are some things a human being can achieve, and other things that he cannot achieve due to his circumstances, his lifestyle, and his innate disposition and skill-set. But no one in Amway (or any other MLM) will admit this plain fact.
@pillar65. Not true. We have just demonstrated that that for every 1,000 people, even if all of the 1,000 make the decision and work very hard, at most one person will succeed. Carefully read my comment and Joecool's reply.
ReplyDeleteThat is not the heart breaking truth about Amway. The heart breaking truth is that if you are that one person, it will be made possible because you took a bit from 999 others who loose money and time, and who at one time signed up all motivated to follow a "proven" path to make a better life for themselves. Because it is inherent in the system's design, that will not change if all of these 999 were consistently hard working and committed.
And what you get for this 1/1,000 is hardly spectacular. There are business opportunities and even jobs that offer better than 1/1,000 chances to achieve better results. That is particularly true if you are good at sales (whether it be opportunities or products) which (let's be honest) you need to be good at to succeed in Amway. That alternative path to financial success will not come with the 100% chance that it will be at the expense of at least 999 others.