Richard Dennis
August 12, 2000, 06:37 AM
... this isn't the MLM flame Gordon was talking about ...
... and I know some of you guys reading this are here in the closet with me, because I just got an elbow in the ribs and my foot stepped on ...
... so I'm writing this for YOU, because I was once a dumb kid myself (not that you are, but if the shoe fits ...), and maybe I can save you a lot of grief.
The #1 problem with MLM is that its big appeal to most people – who KNOW they aren’t salespersons – is that they can build a business and have the perks of a successful business without actually selling anything. They think they can just recruit others to do the yucky selling, and keep their own fingers clean of the stuff, so they don’t have to experience any, uh, uh, uh … rejection.
At least, that’s sure how I thought the first dozen times I failed at it.
Sixteen years after my first try at MLM, I discovered something:
I have a very hard head.
Well, DUH! Everyone in my family knew that. But that wasn’t really the discovery.
I discovered that if you could actually SELL A PRODUCT, then MLM can work. The way I discovered this was, I wrote an ad that sold a product. And the ad worked over and over for me. From past rejection, I was terrified of trying to “recruit” anybody. But MY stupid feelings didn’t mean jack, because my product buyers saw something very special. (“Hey! Your ad is great! Your product is great! Can I do this?”)
What happened next was completely unreal. They started coming to visit me. From Minnesota. From Missouri. From New York. From Wyoming. From several parts of Florida. They came down to Homestead (and they were serious, because most never even visited the Keys while they were there!) and watched and listened.
And over the years, dozens of people built small MLM businesses doing just what I did. And a handful built large businesses. MLM was working like crazy.
But the deal was, we did it differently from everybody else. We actually sold a product.
I admit it’s a nasty little part of the darned business. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s fairly important.
Richard
... and I know some of you guys reading this are here in the closet with me, because I just got an elbow in the ribs and my foot stepped on ...
... so I'm writing this for YOU, because I was once a dumb kid myself (not that you are, but if the shoe fits ...), and maybe I can save you a lot of grief.
The #1 problem with MLM is that its big appeal to most people – who KNOW they aren’t salespersons – is that they can build a business and have the perks of a successful business without actually selling anything. They think they can just recruit others to do the yucky selling, and keep their own fingers clean of the stuff, so they don’t have to experience any, uh, uh, uh … rejection.
At least, that’s sure how I thought the first dozen times I failed at it.
Sixteen years after my first try at MLM, I discovered something:
I have a very hard head.
Well, DUH! Everyone in my family knew that. But that wasn’t really the discovery.
I discovered that if you could actually SELL A PRODUCT, then MLM can work. The way I discovered this was, I wrote an ad that sold a product. And the ad worked over and over for me. From past rejection, I was terrified of trying to “recruit” anybody. But MY stupid feelings didn’t mean jack, because my product buyers saw something very special. (“Hey! Your ad is great! Your product is great! Can I do this?”)
What happened next was completely unreal. They started coming to visit me. From Minnesota. From Missouri. From New York. From Wyoming. From several parts of Florida. They came down to Homestead (and they were serious, because most never even visited the Keys while they were there!) and watched and listened.
And over the years, dozens of people built small MLM businesses doing just what I did. And a handful built large businesses. MLM was working like crazy.
But the deal was, we did it differently from everybody else. We actually sold a product.
I admit it’s a nasty little part of the darned business. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s fairly important.
Richard
