I wanted to give people a glimpse into what it was like at the 4000 PV level and what my experience was. Although Amway and WWDB apologists will claim this doesn't happen, or that it doesn't happen anymore, I have reasons to believe that very little has changed in WWDB since I was an IBO. The only major difference was that we did call in and product pick up back then. Currently, everything is done online and shipped to your home or designated address. Apparently, some WWDB leaders still talk about buying homes in cash and teaching the same old stuff.
How many hours per week did I work? I would say up to 30 hours a week was spent on business related issues. Granted, product pick up consumed an entire afternoon and evening, generally on Thursdays. I would have to call in my order to the platinum on Wednesday night and then pick up the stuff on Thursday afternoon. Then I had to rush home and distribute the stuff to my downline. My upline platinum was not good at filling orders so it was a real pain. I'd say pick up and associated paperwork cost me maybe 8 hours a week. One good benefit today is that Amway issues the bonuses. In the old days, you as an upline had to do so. (This is an area where I agree that Amway made good progress) I did hear though, that WWDB still has call in and pick up for standing orders and such. If this is true, then they undid the progress that Amway had made. Also, as a up and coming leader, my platinum expected me to absorb some of the cost of returned tools, such as absorbing losses if someone on standing order quit. (Brad Duncan cut a true north tape at the time that basically said IBOs absorb the cost of standing orders for downlines who quit)As a 4000 pin, I had to show the plan or attend plans for my frontline, if the platinum was showing the plan. I'd say 4 nights per week we showed the plan for a downline or a downline in depth. Of course, after the plan, we might "hang out" with downline and have some night owl teaching. Some people call this association or whatever. Depending on the length of the drive, this might take 3-4 hours 4 nights per week. Sometimes it was shorter when you had no shows.
We counseled with downline and upline. I spent some individual time with my upline and also with downline who wanted one on one time to get ideas on how to improve their Amway business. We looked over their group parameters and of course, tools flow. There was a WWDB counseling sheet for this purpose. Looking back, I'm not sure what this really accomplished except for the big pins to know which leaders are selling the most tools. I guess in the end, tool sales were the focus of the big pin because they made a significant portion of their income from these sales. To say otherwise, would be a big lie, in my opinion.
Then we had open meetings and functions. One local function each month and generally one or two open meetings where a diamond or emerald would show the plan. Of course, my sponsor (platinum) did not feel right unless he augmented our function with his own night owl meetings. We also had three long distance functions on the mainland (I'm from Hawaii). These functions were (at the time) called Leadership, Family Reunion and Free Enterprise day. Being from Hawaii, these functions cost me, as a single, at least $1,000 or more for each trip because it was airfare during peak travel times, hotel, rental cars and the function ticket. I hate to think what couples paid.
Because of my status as an up and coming leader, I had the privilege of attending special meetings where our diamond would teach or show house plans. I even had the honor or driving the diamond to a house plan. Damn, how can anyone live without such an honor?
For my troubles, I had a business at 4000 PV, with eagle parameters. I was considered a "mover and shaker". Lots of people knew me and my sponsor wanted so badly to break a downline platinum. He sat down with me one afternoon and told me I could really push to platinum and ruby easily if I would only ditch my girlfriend (fiancee' at the time). He told me that he would ditch his wife if the upline diamond told him to do so. He said a single (ruby or higher) could easily attract a lot of eligible women. It was after that meeting when I decided to quit.
I had reached 4000 PV. I was making very little or losing some money because of the tools and functions. I did not see prospects of making money even at platinum and now my upline wanted control of my life. I told my group the truth and all of them quit except 1 or 2 of them who were brainwashed enough to stay involved. That was my story and I have no regrets about my decision to quit. I truly hope this story helps a prospect or a current IBO.
If you want to surrender control of your life to a self serving upline, regardless of making profits or not, then Amway might indeed be the business you are seeking. It wasn't for me.
1 comment:
Amway is clearly exploitative. The typical defense of this, made over and over again by your up-line, is that EVERY business is exploitative, in that it is part and parcel of any enterprise that the employer makes us of his employees, and pays them a wage that is not equal to his own profits.
This is a cute argument, but it is fallacious and deceptive. In a traditional business the employee freely contracts his services (for an agreed-upon salary) to the employer. As long as the employee remains a part of the business, he receives his agreed-upon salary. This arrangement is not exploitative at all. It is based on a voluntary agreement between parties. If the employee is not satisfied with his salary, he can quit, or go on strike.
In an MLM racket like Amway, the IBO receives no fixed salary (or benefits) and can only earn money by making a sales commission on whatever products he can move, and by recruiting others to be "under" him in his down-line. Since achieving success in either of these two things is very difficult and chancy, the IBO is very likely to make no money at all.
Where is the real money made? Simple -- in the endless selling of tools and training, and the collection of meeting fees. The IBO is told repeatedly that he will definitely make money himself if he stays in the system and contributes money on a regular basis to his up-line. This is PURELY exploitative, since the IBO never even receives the fixed reward of a salary. All he can hope for is to create a down-line of recruits underneath him, which he can exploit in the same way.
Amway is pure exploitation of inexperienced or uneducated persons. The company can only succeed by endless lies and deceptions.
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