Network Marketing and Direct Selling are huge businesses here in the Philippines. People make a lot of money here and I can’t count how many times I’ve been invited by friends and total strangers to join. I can still remember being dragged by a close buddy of mine to a supposed “gimmick” only to find myself in a seminar for one network marketing company selling skin treatments. Suffice to say that friend of mine had to treat me to Saisaki because if he didn’t I would have piledrivered him to hell and back.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Network Marketing
First, let me just say for the record that there’s nothing really wrong with Network Marketing, especially if the products being sold are actually good quality. In fact I did some selling before (but didn’t really recruit) for one company which sold meal replacements for weight loss. However they do cross the line sometimes when they give their recruitment pitches. I’m not just talking about the company sponsored pitches, this is also for the individuals who aggressively try to recruit. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that some people and companies peddle half-truths, lies, scams, and even use the names of popular finance authors and gurus so that they can just get you to sign-up. This is a practice that I detest to the high heavens.
Allow me this chance to debunk most of the stupidity that some people force on you during pitches.
Recruitment Lie #1: Rich Dad, Poor Dad book author Robert Kiyosaki’s “Leverage Principle”
In order to join a network marketing company, you usually have to pay some sort of up front fee for the initial batch of products which you will be selling. It’s your investment. If you can really afford it, then by all means go ahead and invest and try your luck. However one annoying piece of advice that I got from one recruiter was that he told me to use the “leverage” principle of Robert Kiyosaki. He told me to borrow money from relatives or even from financial institutions so that I can initially fund my “bright future”.
You only “leverage” when you’ve really studied the business opportunity and you are not going to be buried in debt afterwards, especially if you’re having trouble making ends meet. Here’s a fundamental truth: not everyone succeeds in network marketing. Don’t hastily borrow money to sign-up just because you really got sold on the pitch. Study the product. Is it really something that can sell? Do you have an immediate market that you can sell to? Make sound business decisions based on logic, not on emotion.
Don’t shell out money because they’re selling you a “better life”. You’re buying products that you will have to sell. Make sure you can sell them because you’ll just end up in debt if you don’t.
Recruitment Lie #2: Education is useless. Quit school and work for us instead.
Now this merits a dropkick.
This is by far the worst advice I’ve ever heard in my life. To confirm this is being said, just go to the recruitment talks. Let me go back to what I said earlier – NOT EVERYONE SUCCEEDS IN NETWORK MARKETING. So if you quit school, there’s a big chance you probably won’t go back. You are literally throwing away a more secure future for a very big risk. Education doesn’t guarantee you financial abundance, but it’s one hell of a safety net that you can always fall back to. Finish your studies first guys. Mahiya naman kayo sa magulang ninyo. Nagpapakhirap sila magtrabaho para paaralin kayo tapos aalis kayo dahil lang may nakita kayong pwedeng pagkakitaan?
Yes, there will be people who make millions in projects like this but don’t think that it’s easy and that it’s something everyone can do. This is really hard work and it’s actually quite a toxic business because a lot of network marketers get a bad rep because they try to recruit everyone around them too aggressively.
If you believe in the product and in your heart you know you have a market to sell to, then go ahead. If you have the extra money to invest, then do so. But if you will have to put yourself in debt and you’re not too sure about the prospects, please think twice.
And lastly, to students reading this: FINISH SCHOOL FIRST. Don’t take that risk. You need the safety net, now more than ever. Or else you will get powerbombed by life.
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LOL at the gifs! Haha, but really, this is a great post.
Some recruiters exert extra effort to make the recruitee feel like an idiot for declining their “life-changing business opportunity”. Such arrogance!
By the way, try the figure-four leg lock to cripple a pesky recruiter.
ey dude, kulang pa yung drop kick reaction mo for the Recruitment Lie #2. yes, it deserves a drop kick! pero you need to follow it up with these: spine buster, Double underhook DDT, RKO, Batista Bomb, chokeslam, pedigree. in that particular order. then pagtayo niya ulit, sweet chin music agad. quiting school is totally stupid.
Oh lolz! Me and Rob overheard this guy trying to recruit new members to join. Here’s a snippet of their conversation:
Super Recruiter: “oh, ano na?! Kumuha ka na, nagiisip pa eh. Sige ka, pag ikaw nasaraduhan, mababa ang kikitain mo.”
Dumb Blonde: “Hrm….sigurado ba yan? Medyo malaki ung ilalabas ko eh. Tapos di ko naman matutukan.”
Super Recruiter: “Akong bahala sa yo! Ako backer mo eh! Ano ba? Syurbol yan!!!!”
Scenario # 2:
Super Recruiter: “Alam mo ‘Tol…” (whips up pen and grade 2 pad then writes) “ang mga kumpanya nagpapayaman lang ng sarili nila. Pagnagtrabaho ka, yayaman ka ba? Sila (owners) lang ang yayaman dyan!”
Smelly Guy 1: nods in agreement
Super Recruiter: “Diba? Pag nag negosyo ka naman, uutang ka, ang yayaman lang ung mga banko!!!”
Smelly Guy 2: nods in agreement and sheer enlightenment
Super Recruiter: “Oh kitams, agree si Benjo (name changed cause it was too horrid to begin with). Pero dito sa kumpanya na ito, lahat yumayaman!!!!”
Smelly Guy 1 and 2 is now head over heels over Super Recruiter! Wow!!! I <3 u Sir!!!! bwaahahahaha
@Colin and Alvin: Yan yung sinasabi ko eh. They’re not selling you the product. They’re trying to sell you a “bright future” which is really just wrong.
@RKO: LOL!
#1 Lie of this MLMers: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SELL!!!
And one thing I hate most is working with people who lie.
When a friend recruits me I always say. . . kung ayaw mo ng away. .. huwag mo akong kakausapin tungkol diyan sa MLM mo.
MLM becomes scam when prospects are given false hope…when the recruiter was not transparent…
“He told me to borrow money from relatives or even from financial institutions so that I can initially fund my “bright future”.”
- this is absolutely insane way to raise funds and invest it somewhere you are not familiar with.
IMO the business trends Direct Selling and NM are actually in globally but you need to assess the company first before getting into its loophole.
Leveraging will help an individual if he’s only aware of what he’s/she’s doing which I think doing the right business ethics but yep I agree in order for them to attract people they schemed false success stories.
Shame on them actually. Honestly I’ve been in NW 2 years now and I’m not very active in recruiting people but aggressive in pushing our products which I still earn quite decent pay.
FYI if the company only focus on their recruitment phase I would doubt their existence.
Cheers!
Hi Carlo! Musta na?
Allergic ako sa MLM. Hehehe!
You might want to add that all their products are super-over-priced. It has to be because you’re paying for the commissions of your upline. If I’m not mistaken, you pay double compared to what you find in the grocery.
Another thing I didn’t like was they wanted you to sign up for membership for a networking group aside from the product providers. Faster daw if you join the networking group. So this networking group is racking up membership fees selling other people’s products.
@Pepin: Hey man nice to see you! Are you still playing Judo?
I agree with the cost. Tends to go up because you’re paying for commissions as well.
@Bricksand: That’s what I also did with Herbalife. I just sold products, never bothered with recruitment.
I am a staunch follower of Kiyosaki and am saddened by the fact that some networking marketers misuse his business advice/concepts to fill their quotas of sales/recruits. Half-truths are still considered misinterpretation. And if you really know the ideals of Kiyosaki’s teachings in business, then they would know that he would be the first to tell them they are wrong and agree to what you said: “Study the product. Is it really something that can sell? Do you have an immediate market that you can sell to? Make sound business decisions based on logic, not on emotion.”
He too had his pitfalls with his business and even he knows the need for WISE investments. Which is why he created his books and concepts: so he can HELP people understand the meaning of investing and business, eventually making an impression on those who want to follow that particular path in life. If these people who quote his books so readily have the same reason in mind then good and well. Unfortunately, it’s not always the case.
Thank you very much for this article. Will be reposting this with your permission. Keep up the good work! =D
Go ahead Myra. Cheers!
You hit it in the head, Carlo. Hope you won’t mind if I repost this too.
Thanks Tony!
Leverage is a double-edge sword… it can help you but it also can hurt you if you don’t know how to use it properly.
Nice article….heard lots of testimony about this certain guys a driver, janitor, housemaid, OFW..sold their electric fan so they can join and now enjoying the comfort of aircon….ended up using “pamaypay”.
i’ll repost this bro! nice article… in my case, I’m into networking business din. FERN inc, makers of FERN-C and fernslim. I can truly market this product because i’m a nurse and I’m in a health promotion business. With this company, I was able to help a lot of nursing graduates and registered nurses who doesn’t have work because there are to many of us! now i’m doing this business well and we have helped people not only financially but also in their health…
Network Marketing is a very good way to promote your products in a short period of time.’:-
there are so many scams running on the internete so watch out”;
Network marketing is really great for easily earning cash in a short period of time.’;.