The Secret of MLM

Against any advice I or your father or older brother or neighbor gave you, you're going to join a Multi-Level Marketing firm, because she told you that the only people who don't like it are those Who Don't Have What It Takes!  But she's sure YOU do!

First, they already hyped you on all the money you'll be making.  And while they'll tell you it's hard work, they'll make it seem like it's really very easy "hard work", as you'll "just" be demonstrating products and building your downline!  And that just involves talking, and heck, you're already talking right now, you've got this down, huh?

When you agree, they'll make you aware of the small investment needed.  Or kit fee.  This will be something that by whatever name will involve you giving them money and them giving you permission to start.

Maybe it will be your initial $300 worth of products that they expect you to buy and then sell at a profit.  Or maybe it will be a "sales kit" that will cost $100 or so.  Sometimes they'll even "front" you the products, with you signing an agreement that if you don't sell them all within a certain amount of time, you will buy them.

Or sometimes they'll have you give them a deposit, far easier gave than got back. 

However they describe it, please never lose sleep wondering if they'll profit off of you having joined.  They will.  They're the only ones likely to.  You will not.

You'll next take their advice - oh, they may give you a goofy "training program" first, but I gloss that over, as it is not really important to them.  They could care less how you do, it's not about how well you can sell.  You'll see.  So, as I was saying, you take their advice and go and "demonstrate" these great products to your family and friends.

Why them, first?  They will say "for practice".  But really because who else is going to buy average - at best - crap for more money than a store would charge?  You guessed it.  Only your folks who are just relieved you finally got a job, or your friends who wish to curry social favor with you or don't want to be rude.

Having done that, and probably made some sales, the company is well satisfied.  They got their initial money from you one way or another, even if in the initial (and usually last) products you sold.  And you may have referred someone who is ripe to become a recruit, so they may profit off of him, too.  It hardly matters to them whether you continue now or not, they're good either way.

But you aren't.  To get even that far, you had to have burned through every family and friend you had.  That low-hanging fruit can't be picked again.  Now you have to sell to strangers, and unsurprisingly, strangers don't care to pay too much money for stuff you can get cheaper at the store.  You see now that the only way you'll make any money is to recruit some downline for yourself, and have them go sell to their family and friends...

....yep, that's the whole of it.  That's the secret.  That's how it works.  That's how it keeps lurching along, from one sucker to the next.  And how you, the person roped in to it by someone slick now find yourself slickly roping another person in to it.  All you want at that point is to cut your losses.

You either succeed in at least minimizing losses and then quit...or you just up and quit as you can't persuade another to be the sucker you were.  Either way, you're out.

True, some do stay in.  Obviously the boss's boss did.  But we'll discuss those special cases later, for they truly are the MLM industry's 1%.