What The...!!!

How many of us actually cringe and wince at the word DIRECT SELLING or MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING (MLM)? Some of us even run away fast fast and hide in the corner, right? As you must have guessed it, today's topic revolved around MLM dan zon-zon yang sewaktu dengannya.

Warning: The names and the background of the people as well as companies are changed to protect their confidentiality. Cerita ini hanyalah rekaan semata-mata even though most of the facts mentioned are all truth, all nothing but the truth. Sekiranya ada kaitan dengan yang hidup atau yang telah mati, yang mahu mati atau yang tak mahu hidup tak mahu mati adalah kebetulan sahaja.

AIL-ken, oHmegatRAIN, Universal TransEXUAL, dEE aXe AnD, Gnu-skin, Sell Tech, cHoral cHalsium, Anergetix, herbaliVe, idealISTIC health, mannaADAtech, seEsilver, starliTE, quiCKstar, oxIfresh, equAnox, gano Axcel, e Axcel, bAi-o-life, Sellfood, lamE bUrger, aImway, coAsTway, HIGHWAY, LOW-WAY, LEFT-WAY, RIGHT-WAY, ANY-WAY...just to name a few. Very familiar, right? Some people even, literally, had an allergic reaction at the mention of one of the names above.

The scenario is like this:

One day, your friend says, "Let me tell you about an incredible ground-level business opportunity" and you are invited to a house or to lunch for 'a discussion'. Funny enough, you feel sick in your gut that there is some hidden agenda or deception point.

"Probably a multi-level marketing (MLM) organization," you'd think.

Very familiar indeed, huh?

Well, MLM can no longer claim to be new and, thus, exempt from the normal rules of the market and the way goods and sevices are sold. They have been tried and, for the most part, have failed. Some have been miserable failures in spite of offering excelent products.

If the product or service is so great, then why isn't it being sold through the customary marketing system that has served human society for thousands of years? Why does it need to resort to a "special marketing" scheme like an MLM? Why does everyone need to be so inexperienced at marketing this! Is the product just a thin cover for what is really a pyramid scheme of exploiting others?

Here, let's do the MATHS:

MLMs work by geometric expansion, where you get, for example, ten to sponsor ten to sponsor ten, and so on. This is usually shown as an expanding matrix with corresponding kick-backs at various levels.

The problem here is one of COMMON SENSE.

At a mere three levels deep this would be 1,000 people. There goes the neighbourhood! At six levels deep, that would be 1,000,000 people believing they can make money selling. But to whom? There goes the CITY! And the MLM is just getting its steam going. Think of all the meetings! All the 'dreams' being sold. Of the false hopes being generated. Think of the money being lost!