My own experience with MLM....

Thanks Gordon,

That was a great post!

Let me say, my *own* experience of MLM wasn't that great....

The guy I signed up under was a smooth talker. But after a short while, I realized he wasn't completely honest. He told half-truths and occasionally outright lies to get people to sign up. He was successful at recruiting, though.

But it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

After a few months, I decided I didn't want to do this any more. It wasn't my style. So I just stopped.

BUT, despite my own bad experience, I can see that there is another side, and that there are many legitimate MLM opportunities out there, and there are many honest and good distributors. It's been an education for me too.

Thanks for your thoughts Gordon.... I think after reading your view, Mike Rodman's, and the rest, the thread should stay up, though we should be VERY careful to keep within the "no insults or personal attacks" guidelines....

It is OKAY to disagree, but let's do it civilly and respectfully....

- Dien

Dien:

My first experience with MLM was wa-a-a-ay back ... with William Penn Patrick's Holiday Magic. At the time, I was selling "Avon" (I wan a ding-dong Avon "lady" out in the farm lands of Kansas) at the time.

Holiday Magic was as good as Avon but their commissions were better, so I picked up the line. Then, I started getting extra commission checks when some of my satisfied customers bought into the opportunity.

Some years later, I signed up for the "Koscot Interplanetary Cosmetics" Mink Oil line. -- At the time, I owned a chain of Women's Wig Shops across the Southeast and simply wanted to sell the cosmetics in my shops. -- The first month, the girls who managed my wig shops turned in over $25,000 worth of orders from the counter displays I had installed in each of the shops. BUT ... I couldn't buy any of the cosmetics from Koscot. All of the cosmetics were being used up to make sales kits so there were none left over to "retail."

In 1978 (or was it 1979), I sold "subscriptions" to the first business opps newsletter sold by MLM. -- I just sold subscriptions to a good newsletter ... the customers signed up for the opportunity ... I was making over $20,000 per month; even after the newsletter quit publishing (which put the company out of business for accepting payment for something they weren't delivering).

The article I wrote was over 5 years ago after being approached by literally DOZENS of promoters wanting me to help them create MLM plans for their products. -- That's when I learned what the industry was becoming. None of them really wanted to sell their products. All they wanted was to "do a MLM" to make some big bucks. -- Unfortunately, that experience threw me into personal contact with some of the big name MLM con-men and left a very bad taste in my marketing mouth.

In a way, I'm sorry I posted the article about MLM. Too many people took it the wrong way - but - I still feel that the new generation of "opportunity seekers" needs to know what they will be dealing with in the vast majority of MLM deals.

Jim


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Hi Jim,

Thanks for writing about your successful experiences with MLM.... I find your articles in general to be very thought-provoking and educational....

> In a way, I'm sorry I posted the article
> about MLM. Too many people took it the wrong
> way - but - I still feel that the new
> generation of "opportunity
> seekers" needs to know what they will
> be dealing with in the vast majority of MLM
> deals.

I'm glad you posted your article about MLM.... There are a few topics which often get an immediate emotional response.

One of those topics used to be Rush Limbaugh. (Though he seems to have faded from view somewhat).

Another topic like that is MLM. So, whenever the topic is raised, I know it's time to be careful to be sure things don't get too heated....

At least hopefully we've had some good discussion about this and might continue to have some good discussion as well -- hopefully in a sensible, logical way, free of personal attacks and insults....

Thank you, Jim, for sharing your thoughts!

Dien

Perish the thought.

Jim

This is so interesting.

I've always thought the whole world worked on MLM and no one else knew it. Then here comes Jim echoing my thoughts almost to the letter.

Suprisingly though, WHAM BAM, or was it?

Was it suprising? Or was it WHAM BAM? I'll leave it for you to decide.

Whatever. That's not the interesting thing. The interesting things is,

I agree with Jim. I agree with Richard. I agree with Mike.

I think MLM has gone from products to opportunity. I think generalized numbers are useless and can be used to show whatever you want. I think your posts, Jim, are board spam, but it doesn't bother me (I generally don't read board spam). I think opinions are like mother's.

So here are a bunch of people, all expressing differing opinions. And I agree with them all.

That's so interesting. Makes me wonder whether I'm choosing to ignore the bits I don't agree with (or couldn't care less about) and only have "eyes to read" the bits I do agree with.

What's that got to do with anything? HA!

Back to the news desk.

Michael Ross

You ain't alone. -- I listen, too ... only I'm far from being a dittohead.

I'm just a little right of Genghis Khan ... and a little left of Karl Marx.

Jim


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As long as you can agree with all of us, it means we were all agreeable.

ALL facets of business have their advocates, and their antagonists ... I have alwasy chosen to read both sides and find that ultimate truth somewhere in the center.

Jim


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> I agree with Jim. I agree with Richard. I
> agree with Mike.

> So here are a bunch of people, all
> expressing differing opinions. And I agree
> with them all.

> That's so interesting. Makes me wonder
> whether I'm choosing to ignore the bits I
> don't agree with (or couldn't care less
> about) and only have "eyes to
> read" the bits I do agree with.

Michael ~

If you recall our last flurry of e-mails I was wondering where those Hard-hitting, bloody someones nose posts had gone!

So here I drop by this morning to see what was left behind the thread here during my absence and Lo and Behold!!!!

A Post from Ross!!! Yip-eeeee!!!!

I eagerly opened it up knowing that since this was a hot thread, bordering on tipping over into the fire rather quickly, (Which it would have if the normal personal-attacking flamers would have been ionvolved) The Ross-man was going to bare glove someone into a bloddy mess!!! LOL

Was it going to be me this time??? Or how about Straw??? Dien was here too... Maybe it was Dien!?!?! Not the G-man!!! Ross wouldn't pummel the Gordster??? Would he???

:::Okay... So we head to the Bunn coffee pot for a fresh cup... Sit back down... Rub my hands together and open the Ross post...:::

I had this feeling of scratching off a Lottery ticket! You know... The excitement builds up in your belly... Even when you tell yourself it won't. You begin to scratch off the ticket... And then...

What!?!?!? Ross agrees with three distinct positons within a thread!?!?!?

My first reaction was a resounding belly-laugh!!!

Where else could you get this reaction other than from solid arguing??? No personal attacks. Not even the nuking of posts were warranted, like Richard felt to begin this thread.

When three or more intelligent, thought-provoking, polite and well mannered individuals have a disagreement, it can be wrestled out in a mannerly order.

Whereas other times, other boards, other posts, I have made solid points and have received personal name-calling, comments about my mother, and credibility attacks! LOL

In the past I've sided with and protected people based upon a foundation of principles. Not that I agreed with them, but I felt they also had a small place on the ledge to stand and base their thoughts from.

Ross and I have even gone toe-to-toe on occassion on the credibility issues as well! (Still we're friends!) And no personal attacks were ever laid out by either of us. Simple, solid arguing and point making where neither would back down. Which led to a phone call from the board owner to me! Anyway...

So here's the picture in my mind... we have my favorite guy, Ross, itching to jump into the melee... Rubbing his hands gleefully... And then he realizes he agrees with everyone!!!

I have a feeling the sun rose in the West for Michael this morning! LOL

What a board we have here!!! Thanks Dien!!!

... I still don't.

This was DEFINITELY a one-shot deal.

Glad we could give you a laugh, Michael.

Richard Dennis