One of the myths that my Amway upline used to, and likely still perpetuate is the claim that you can build an Amway mega empire on 8-12 hours per week. I'm venturing an educated guess that this number is used because while it still represents time, it is probably less hours than working a part time job. But let's take a closer look at this 8-12 hours per week. (Some groups might teach 10-15 hours per week, etc.)
If you listen to one (1) cd/audio per day as recommended by upline and read one of their "success" books 15 minutes each day, you are already close to nine to ten hours of time used and neither of these activities produces any income for your Amway business. In fact, both activities cost you money and produce no tangible result. If you spend another 15 minutes a day contacting people, you are close to 12 hours per week. Where will you find additional time to show the plan and to expand your name and contact list? What about servicing customers, at least for IBOs who actually may have some customers.What about attending meetings and functions? These are also non income producing activities. It's no wonder the vast majority of IBOs don't make money. Their upline has them running around participating in activities that produce no income for their businesses. Ironically, these non-income producing activities such as listening to a cd/audio, produces a lot of income for certain uplines who produce and sell them. To me, it is just an elaborate game of bait and switch played by upline. They tell you that their system is foolproof and that you will make it if you don't give up. Not true.
You sell the prospect the dream of financial freedom. You tell that that Amway is their best chance. You tell them that you can help them and that the tools of the business (standing order, voicemail, books, functions) are the key to their success. Those who are serious enough to commit to the system likely won't quit without making some effort and will allow uplines to earn some nice profits before these downline eventually realize they aren't profitable and quit. Because many IBOs are sponsored by family and friends, you don't see too many formal complaints about the business. Most people chalk it up as a life lesson and do not complain.
But IBOs and information seekers, do not be fooled into thinking that you will create a financial empire by working 8-12 hours a week. That would be far-fetched. The number of highly successful Amway IBOs versus the number who sign up are fewer than lottery winners.
All the things that you mention as "non-income-producing" (buying and listening to CDs, going to meetings and functions, using voicemail, etc.) are designed purely to hype up enthusiasm in the individual IBO, and in any possible recruits he may solicit. Notice that selling Amway products to people is never really considered at all.
ReplyDeleteThat's what every MLM (including the old dinosaur Amway) is about. You have to get people "fired up." You have to be a "mover and a shaker." You have to be a "go-getter." You have to run around with a burning rocket up your ass, convincing other people to join.
The whole thing is about FANTASY and DREAMING! It's not about the products at all, which are nothing but camouflage to help convince you that you are actually in a retail business. It's about endless recruitment.
URA (URAssociation) used to preach five to ten hours a week. Let me break that down for you.
ReplyDeleteThursday Night "Business Briefing" - minimum of four hours not counting driving to and from
Sunday Night "Phone Team" - minimum of three hours not counting driving to and from
So you're at seven hours already (well over 10 if you count driving time) after working a 40 hour work week at your regular job for just those two things.
And then you count the endless "qualifiers" and "covered dishes" that you have...some of which are once a month, others might be every couple of months. Also events that are at the houses of your Uplines which could last five, six hours or even more on a Saturday.
Don't forget the quarterly conferences which are massive moneymakers for the Emeralds and Diamonds. Your Friday thru Sunday for that weekend is shot.
And say if you take five hours minimum during the week to go contact and get fake numbers and get No's and burn gas money in the process. It starts to add up.
Remember if you fail to do any of that, you will be chastised and put down by Upline and the team's Diamond. Our team was called "scum" in a references of "cream rising/scum settling" because we didn't sell all of our tickets to a December 2017 seminar at $15 a pop.
Who wants to be a part of that? And by the way...even these IBOs up to Emeralds and Diamonds can be seen sitting at a Starbucks in the middle of a mall in Northern Virginia waiting to pitch some know-nothing 19-year-old on a Saturday afternoon. Shouldn't these Emeralds and Diamonds be at such a point in their business to where they should be on some beautiful white sandy beach around the World? I mean, that's the lifestyle they pitch at these meetings anyways, right?
Bottom line is that the time investment and the money investment adds up. And you will be lectured by some meathead High Pin that you shouldn't count costs. What business doesn't count costs; including time?
URA (along with WWDB -- now WWG) has always had a rotten reputation as one of the nastiest of Amway subsystems. The big pins are especially unpleasant and insulting to down-line.
ReplyDelete