Software Club 210: Light Red/Club_Software_210_Light_Red_Micro_Star_1997.iso/sba/f412.sbe

Text File | 1997-01-01 | 5KB | 101 lines

           ┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
           │     MULTILEVEL MARKETING PROGRAMS:      │
           │          LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP           │
           └─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Unless you have been living in a monastery most of your
life (and perhaps even if you have), you have probably
been offered an "opportunity" at least once to become a
distributor in some type of multilevel, direct sales
marketing program, such as Amway, Tupperware, Shaklee, or
even selling blue-green algae or long-distance telephone
services.  Multilevel marketing programs have been around
for a long time, and many of them are well established and
quite reputable.  If you are a hard-working, disciplined,
sales-oriented person, you may be able to make a very good
living with a good multilevel marketing company that has a
good product.  However, there are countless new multilevel
programs being started all the time, many of which are
more in the nature of pyramid schemes, or like chain letters,
in which you may reap a bonanza if you get in on the ground
floor, but in which you more likely will be one of the many
who get in too late in the cycle and are thus left holding
the bag, financially.

Every multilevel program publicizes its "stars," who earn
fabulous incomes, own large yachts, and live like royalty.
Obviously, these people are the exception, not the rule.
Even the National Multilevel Marketing Institute, which is
the national trade association for the industry, concedes
that the dropout rate in such programs is about 40 percent,
and many marketing experts suggest that number is low,
since most people wind up spending more than they are taking
in, and eventually decide to stop throwing good money after
bad.

Realistically, most people never get beyond the point of
working 8 to 12 hours a week on a multilevel marketing
program, as a sideline to their primary job or profession.
Nevertheless, with a good product and a good program, you
may be able to earn a nice supplemental income for your
part-time efforts.

Just be sure you don't get into the wrong type of program,
however.

Almost every multilevel program involves some kind of initial
investment to become a participant, usually, but not always,
for an initial supply of the product in question.  The
initial startup kit investment can range from $35 to $3,000
or more.  Obviously, you will have a lot less at stake with
a $35 investment than with a much larger outlay.

Before you sign up to become a distributor for any type of
multilevel marketing program, there are a number of things
you should first consider:

   . Is a large initial investment required?  If so, will
     you lose that investment if you fail to make a success
     of the program?  Or do you have a written promise that
     the company will return most or all of the money you
     invest in products that you are unable to sell (as the
     law requires in some states)?

   . Is the amount you will have to invest to get started
     more than you can afford to lose?

   . Have you done a realistic analysis of the market you'll
     be aiming at?  Is there a real need for the product and
     if there is, is that market already well-served and
     saturated?

   . Do the promoters of the program rely heavily on
     emotional "rah-rah" appeals to sign up new distributors?
     And do the people who are trying to recruit you make
     wild claims that the market for their product is
     unlimited and that no one drops out of the program?

   . Are the products or services sold with exaggerated
     claims ("It cures cancer," etc.)?  Would you and your
     family want and use the products yourself?

   . Is it a legitimate program, selling legitimate, quality
     products?  Or is it an illegal pyramid scheme, in which
     most of the money is made by enlisting new members, not
     by moving products or services?

   . Does the company offer you commissions or bonuses just
     for enlisting new recruits, without your having to sell
     products or train or supervise the recruits?

   . Does the company claim it's been approved by the Federal
     Trade Commission or by other federal or state government
     agencies?  If so, look out, as the government is not in
     the business of "approving" any such firms.

   . Finally, have you checked with the Better Business
     Bureau, to find out what they have heard about the
     company or program in question, if it is not one of the
     large, reputable companies like Avon or Amway?