Wednesday, May 18, 2022

The Odds Of Success?

 One thing that many Amway promoters don't like to talk about is what your realistic chances of success are. I will define success as Diamond because that is what the outcome of the 6-4-2 and 2-5 year plan. Of course you may be able to earn some income at lower levels, but my understanding is that diamond is where the real money from Amway and the tools start rolling in. And I can also understand why people promoting Amway do not discuss your realistic chances of winning. After all, lottery promoters do not show you the millions of losers, they only parade the winners in front of you. You never see the tens of millions who lost money.

Many people, including Amway enthusiasts will agree that many IBOs do little or nothing and wind up quitting. Some people never even place an order or make any attempt to do any business. For the purpose of this article, I am not speaking about these folks. I am talking about people who actually put in some effort to the business.

For many people who want to make an earnest effort, they will purchase and hopefully sell a few items with the goal of reaching 100 PV. For that effort, you will receive approximately $10 from Amway and whatever profit you might have earned by selling products. Here's the catch. You will likely need to pay website fees in excess of the $10 you earn from Amway. For the more dedicated IBOs, you may be paying for voicemail, standing orders, book of the month, and possibly attending functions. These expenses will exceed your income month after month unless you are able to increase your volume by selling enough products and/or sponsoring down line who buy and sell products.

Because Amway has to include the IBO bonuses in their prices, the products come at a premium price. Thus sales to non IBOs are relatively low. Without sales to non IBOs, the only other way to generate more volume is to sponsor people who will buy and sell products. But due to past unethical IBO behavior, getting people to see the Amway sales and marketing plan may be a challenge. Also, most IBOs are unable to sponsor a single downline.

Some Amway enthusiasts will claim that if you do their CORE steps for 2-5 years consistently, that you are likely to succeed. Sounds easy, but because of the factors I have identified, some of these steps are impossible to do consistently. It's not like walking a mile each day where you have control of the step. People will likely fail in showing the plan and sponsoring others because they cannot find enough people who are willing to see an Amway plan. Many, possibly most other IBOs can and will do certain steps consistently such as listening to a CD daily and reading a success book. But because of a spotty reputation in the US, IBOs will very likely fail to be able to show enough plans to succeed.

Your realistic chance of success? My informed guess is much less than 1 tenth of 1 percent. That's the likelihood of going diamond. Your chance of going platinum? My informed guess will be less than 1/4 of 1 percent. If you think you can beat those odds, go for it. For most people, it might be wise to look into other opportunities.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe, you're right about the percentages. Over 99% of Amway IBOs make no money at all in the business.

But that brings up another question: Who exactly becomes a Platinum or a Diamond? What is it about the one percent that sets them on the road to profit?

I think the answer is this: major success in Amway (or any MLM scheme) is directly related to having the character of a dynamic and energetic salesman who is not afraid of meeting and talking to people. You have to be a fanatical mover and shaker. You have to be a glib talker. You have to be a combination of the Energizer Bunny and a methamphetamines freak. You have to be constantly on the go, as if you had a rocket up your ass.

Consider two legends in the Amway business: Charlie Marsh and Dexter Yager. They made a fortune in Amway, but here's the kicker: THEY WOULD HAVE MADE A FORTUNE IN WHATEVER FIELD THEY ENTERED! Amway didn't make Marsh and Yager rich -- their basic personalities and character did it. These were highly motivated and driven men, and nothing on earth was going to stop them. It wouldn't have mattered if they were in Amway, or in something else.

And if someone simply lacks that kind of character (as most persons do), they are not going to make any real money in Amway.

What is truly evil and criminal in Amway is the fact that the higher-ups know all this. But they cynically make use of ordinary people as cannon-fodder for their MLM racket. They recruit you and they sign you up, and they fully know that you as an IBO will not make a dime. But they are going to bleed you dry of fees and payments for as long as you stay in the company.

Joecool said...

Great comments. I believe most IBOs get in the business with good intentions but as they move up the ranks, they start to see the behind the scenes shenanigans and they must decide to walk away or go all in with Amway.

But it's hard to do anything but go all in after the time, effort and expense that you put into building the business.