Anyone ever get involved with Network Marketing?

[John McIntire]

Just as the title says, I was approached by a friend and am seriously considering taking the plunge. Has anyone here ever gotten involved in something like this? What are your stories? Were you successful? I'd love to hear about it. Im not looking to really replace my job, but wouldnt mind a little extra money every month if you know what I'm saying.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks!

[twosaturns]

wow. where to start? network marketing folks make money, not by selling the product, but by getting OTHER people UNDER you to sell the product, building your own 'network'. do a 'net search on MLM, multi level marketing.

[mc84_zz4]

Depends on the organization, I tried one out, and still am a member, but I do not push the deal on my friends, I felt like I would be using them, too many were reluctant to get involved, or putting up their friends.
Many of the products at retail were too high IMO.

It does work for many, so I found what worked for me, I had access to real estate broker discounts, and it saved me 1K on commissions on both of the houses I have bought. Most of the products were very good quality, some I cannot even find a decent comparison to them, others were the same available through the retail outlets, so you had to do some comparison shopping, but then family, kids, etc cut down my available time, so I am not actively trying to grow, I still buy the products that i like.

I disliked the extra work around tax time, but I am sure now they have software to help with that.
If you do not turn a profit after 4-5 years, it falls into a hobby category, not business, so no more business deductions on your taxes, just keep those things crystal clear in case you ever would get audited.

[SLO_Z28]

AKA Pyramid scheme. Steer clear.

[Off Duty]

Run!!!!:6gears:
Run like you've never run before and don't look back!:)

Seriously, over 35+ years, I've been involved in several, most as a kid/young adult.
Some I made money at, others, I lost my ass on.

It seriously depends on the product, location, and timing.
If you're in on the ground floor, in the right market (location) and everything is done properly (legally), you can make some good $$$$ for a few years or so.

I knew people in AMWAY back in the late 70's and early 80's that were making huge jack.
I was involved with an insurance MLM company way back in the day. AL WIlliams, which marketed Mass Indemnity Insurance, a term life product that revolutionized the insurance market.
Everyone, mostly the insurance industry, screamed and whined that we were doing a disservice to the customer, and that we were going to hurt the customer in the long run.:nopity:
Bottom line is, not only did it not hurt anyone, but the insurance industry, as you may know, followed suit and now everyone has a similar product:)
Guess it wasn't so bad afterall;)
We were all licensed and governed by the state, and the company produced several multi millionaires, and provided well over 6 figure incomes for more than a few.
Once the industry decided that they couldn't beat us and decided to join us, the sales fell off.
Of course, somewhere around that time, corporate greed found it's way int MLM.
The founders of the company changed the compensation plan, and people lost not only a lot of $$$ but a lot of their downline as well.
The company was eventually sold and the way they operate, although MLM, is more mainstream now and there are far better products offered.

I also did a weight loss & nutrition product.
The product was great!
I used it, many of my friends, family, co-workers (which is the basis of any MLM BTW), as well as total strangers, used and loved the product.
Why?
Because it worked!
It delivered what it advertised.
One of the primary ingredients of the weight loss supplement, was ma huang, an herbal form of ephedrine.
When the FDA decided for everyone that ephedrine was bad for us, and limited the amount that a product could contain (see hydroxycut/ Xenedrine, etc) it lost a good bit of it's effectiveness when used as directed.
The rest of the products were good, but by far this was our best seller.

I made a crap load of $$$$ and we couldn't keep the product in stock...before the FDA stepped in.

You can see a common thread with government and loss of revenue can't you?

Anyway, just as I purchased the Insurance product, I also used the supplement I sold.
I won't sell or attempt to recommend any product that I won't use and/or don't believe in.

The bottom line in MLM, is getting your "inner circle", friends, family, co-workers, anyone that trusts and believes you, to come on board.

Once you run out of those folks, you're into the "cold calling" or "stranger" market.
Personally, I prefer the latter.
I hate hitting up friends and relatives unless I can show them that I've been successful with it first.

Most MLM companies have rah-rah, cheerleader meetings, that attempt to bolster excitement and motivate (or keep motivated) it's members.
They'll bring in successful people in the business and use that carrot to keep you going.
I generally avoided those like the plague.

i know that a lot of crap to read, but I hope it helps in your decision.

If you decide to do it, do your due diligence.
Do some research into the company, the product and the market share availability, then make your decision wisely.
Don't be swayed by success stories.
For every one millionaire, there are thousands of those that lose money or break even (if they're lucky).

Finally, if you do decide to do it, remember, they make great tax write off's for about 5 years:)

[wmhjr]

I've never met anyone who made money at it. To be more accurate, people fell into 3 categories.

1) People who never made money and abandoned it pretty quickly.

2) People who did make some money but when they calculated time vs reward, it became obvious that they would make more money with a part time job and less hassle.

3) People who took advantage of any and all friends and eventually just acquaintances, which resulted in them having less friends.

Others may have a different experience. As for products, I think 15yrs ago there were products that were kind of unique, but that was pretty much pre-internet. Now it is extremely hard to imagine such a unique product that it can't be found elsewhere.

[79-TA]

Does this program require you to "buy in" in any way? If so, what kind of "training" are you receiving in return?

If they want your money, just pass.



I've seen two types of "network marketing." The first was ACN phone service, which was really a thinly disguised pyramid scheme. The second was Cutco Cutlery. This one wasn't malicious, but it really didn't have the salesperson in mind. They just wanted salespeople to find more salespeople that could guarantee a few more sure sales from their close family members.

[twosaturns]

...The second was Cutco Cutlery. This one wasn't malicious, but it really didn't have the salesperson in mind. They just wanted salespeople to find more salespeople that could guarantee a few more sure sales from their close family members.
I wouldn't really cal Cutco a MLM or network marketer; they use lots of collecge kids, they buy a starter kit and hold some demo parties hoping to sell some, then they sell their starter kit on ebay.
Cutco has a great product and a great lifetime warranty. you can buy some old ones on ebay for cheap and send it back to the company for $8 they sharpen it and restore it. if they can't, they give you a new replacement. great customer service.

[Ash]

Just watch the "pen & Tellars Bull$hit" episode on network marketing. It will explain it all. My uncle has made a little money at pre-paid legal, he got some small businesses to offer it in their benifits packages. But other than that, you'll end up in the whole after buying the start up packages, panphlets, and product itself.

[79-TA]

I wouldn't really cal Cutco a MLM or network marketer; they use lots of collecge kids, they buy a starter kit and hold some demo parties hoping to sell some, then they sell their starter kit on ebay.
Cutco has a great product and a great lifetime warranty. you can buy some old ones on ebay for cheap and send it back to the company for $8 they sharpen it and restore it. if they can't, they give you a new replacement. great customer service.


My point is that there was more money to be made by bringing in other salesmen than focusing on selling knives with Cutco . . . a friend of mine dragged me in to listen to their pitch a year or two ago.

[twosaturns]

My point is that there was more money to be made by bringing in other salesmen than focusing on selling knives with Cutco . . . a friend of mine dragged me in to listen to their pitch a year or two ago.

oh, ok. the only experience I had w/ them is the home parties. didn't know about that part.
the bad part is that they are really good knives but people will remember the marketing and might get turned off to it.

[wmhjr]

the bad part is that they are really good knives but people will remember the marketing and might get turned off to it.

I agree they're pretty good knives - have a couple myself. I do think they're not on the par of a good set of Henckels, which I think are way better balanced - but Cutco knives are well made and last forever if treated right. Problem is that since Cutco has traditionally been marketed and sold the way it has, they've never gotten away from that perception.

[John McIntire]

Ha! My wife loves her Cutco knives! Her mom bought them for her, I dont know where she got them from. They are really good knives in my opinion!
Well guys, I bit the bullet and jumped in. The way I approached it is like this, I looked and saw that I could get my initial investment back and make a little profit right away. All I wanted to do is get my money back and its very possible to do with a little bit of work. What I liked is that I don't have to sell anything to anyone, or buy certain amounts of product every month and try to unload them. Of course the idea is to try and enroll people under you to try and do the same thing and I dont think that will be too much of a problem if people really look into it and see it the way you do.
Oh well, I'll give it a try for a bit, I have a good job already and not really looking to replace it, was just looking for some "funny money"
Wish me luck, anyone want to join? Hahaha!

[1969CamaroRS]

AKA Pyramid scheme. Steer clear.

Yep run far far away fast. The only people that make money are those on the top of the pyramid. :getout:

[andrewb70]

It's funny how the whole concept of multi-level marketing is adjusting with the times and is now marketing itself as "network" marketing. Now you can just market to your "social" network. LOL. I am so glad that I ditched facebook.

Andrew

[wmhjr]

Ha! My wife loves her Cutco knives! Her mom bought them for her, I dont know where she got them from. They are really good knives in my opinion!
Well guys, I bit the bullet and jumped in. The way I approached it is like this, I looked and saw that I could get my initial investment back and make a little profit right away. All I wanted to do is get my money back and its very possible to do with a little bit of work. What I liked is that I don't have to sell anything to anyone, or buy certain amounts of product every month and try to unload them. Of course the idea is to try and enroll people under you to try and do the same thing and I dont think that will be too much of a problem if people really look into it and see it the way you do.
Oh well, I'll give it a try for a bit, I have a good job already and not really looking to replace it, was just looking for some "funny money"
Wish me luck, anyone want to join? Hahaha!

OK, so you don't have to sell anything or buy product every month - but you just have to enroll people under you who will not sell anything or buy product every month, who will enroll people under them who will not sell anything or buy product every month.......

Where exactly is the good or service provided? I'm curious.

Madoff, anyone?

[wmhjr]

I am so glad that I ditched facebook.

Andrew

+1 Gotta agree with that!

[andrewb70]

+1 Gotta agree with that!

I saw no need to be a voyeur or exhibitionist to a bunch of people that I really didn't know. Sure, some of my close friends were on there as well, but most were just acquaintances. The people I consider my close friends I make it a point to call them at least monthly. It has been said that the Net Generation, aka Gen Y, is the most connected yet lonely in history.

Now back to MLM....bad...stay clear...

Andrew

[Damn True]

Oh well, I'll give it a try for a bit, I have a good job already and not really looking to replace it, was just looking for some "funny money"
Wish me luck, anyone want to join?

Funny money indeed. No, I don't want to join.

[6'9"Witha69]

Ummm, no.

[John McIntire]

wmhjr- The company is called Viridian Energy. They are a 3rd party electric supplier. Here in NJ the electric supply has been de-regulated opening up the market to competion. What I have to do is refer people to Viridian to switch their electric supplier. Their rates are cheaper than the local utilities, and the added bonus is that they are a "green" company. They get energy from windfarms and solar panels and from hydropower. All I need to do is get 15 people to switch to Viridian and it'll cover my buy in plus make me a $200 profit. Then I'll get residual pay off those customers meters. Then I try to get people to enroll like me and I'll get a cut off of their meters and so on.
So in my eyes, I'm not really selling anything just referring people to Viridian to save some money. People pay for their electric bill every month, I just inform them they can pay less for it. Theres no contracts or enrollment or cancellation fees and the local utility takes care of everything from billing to service and meter reading, etc.
Its fairly new to NJ so I'm going to take a chance and see how it goes, all I wanted to do was get my money back which I will do and see where it goes from there. De-regulation is happening in other states and Viridian is in them too, NJ, PA, NY, MD, CT, IL and MA. so theres some potential.
Heres the video my friend showed me that kind of sums it up, just a warning, its about 20 minutes long-
www.viridianpresentation.info
And heres my website:
www.viridian.com/greenfuturenow
Thats pretty much it, I'll learn as I go I guess!

[wmhjr]

OK, then you are selling a product. Getting people to switch to another energy provider is selling that new provider. A quick search resulted in a number of questionable tactics on the part of Viridian including some false data being published to show their energy savings, but who knows. Also, there is apparently a monthly fee you will be charged as an associate.

[John McIntire]

True, you could look at like that. The only fee is $20 a month for your website and a yearly renewal of $60. You could waive the website if you wanted, but its just easier for people to enroll that way.

[19sixtynine]

I've been approached SEVERAL times with SEVERAL different concepts, each one better than all the rest and each on a guaranteed money maker which always pegged my BS meter. I was recently invited to participate in a new pre-launch business called "The Customer Advantage" and for the first time I actually got excited about something with an MLM component. The term "Pyramid scheme" comes up all the time when talking about MLM and if you define it as "the people at the bottom will never make as much as the people at the top", then look at any corporation...CEO>VP>managers>employees. if you define it as "the people at the top are the only ones making money", refer back to the previous as well. just MY thought so I don't pay too much attention to the term "pyramid scheme" and try not to let that deter me from at least listening.

I always try to keep an open mind when listening to idea's brought to me because you just never know, and while one idea may not work, another might be a perfect fit, and in this case i'm glad I did, it was free to enroll, is based on the business model of companies like Groupon and Living Social but with the reward payouts of an MLM style business and is focused on promoting smaller, local to you, brick and mortar business which I think is great! I won't go into the specifics or include a link because that's not what this thread is about but anyone is interested then PM me and we'll speak offline.

I will say keep an open mind and if you're looking for something to do on the side then sometimes MLM style businesses work. Set your expectations realistically, try not to get caught up in hype, do your due diligence and most importantly....GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCT..which it sounds like you already did ;-)