MLM / Network Marketing / Chain Marketing — My date with one

Its Sunday today. A friend called me to tell the “business” she is in and how happy and great her life is since then. I thought of it as a startup and took the chance to meet the people involved in it. Traveled 12 Km to a CCD. Turned out they had taken over the whole CCD. It looked like a job fair. The meeting began which turned out to be that the business she is in is an MLM. I sensed something fishy as she refused to tell what her business was which was keeping her so happy before the meeting. Well if its for you or not is for you to decide.

Disclaimer: Not for light hearted people pursuing MLM. Take the truth with a pinch of salt.

TL;DR :- I obviously did not invest the Rs 400,000 in MLM (am not crazy, would not do any useless task for money) and thanked them for providing me insights about this thing.

Things to ponder-

• You are never going to get rich by the job
• You will still have just few lakhs (not even 100,000$) even after working for long. (Have to think thrice for a Europe trip and can only afford a car with the EMI). Everyone wants to be at the top of where ever they are
• The day you stop job, your source of earning will stop. So you need something to sustain your family and you
• Networking is so f important. Know the people. It always helps and build a trust with them. The referral system in the apps is the networking model. Just go out and talk to people. Best playground to learn and test your thing is to have good networking system
• Man hours of a person are limited. The amount of money one makes is directly proportional to their skill and time they put. Why companies make a lot of money is because they have a lot of man hour. So to earn more money, you have to increase your man hour. But there is a constraint here for salaried people. So you can hire people to do your job — (thats why Referral systems are amazing {will be in MVP for my next app})
• MLM people are so awesome at marketing! They will make you buy their product. Just try to get these people on marketing team.

What is MLM / Network marketing / Pyramid Scheme?

Its called Multi Level Marketing. Focus on the word marketing here. Its the process of getting in the human pyramid from the bottom (investing 4–5 lakh, as of March 2019) and convince more people to come in line below you (just like you) so that you can make money off them when they do the same process.

They say that word of mouth is really powerful and thats how they earn but its bullshit! The only way one earns is if more and more people come below them in the chain.

Here is how they mostly work: You sign up and pay the buy-in fee to receive your startup kit, and then you start clogging everyone’s social media feeds about your new venture and beg your friends and family to join you on your “journey to financial success”. You host a bunch of fake parties and wine tastings or worse, you meet up one-on-one to catch up and the whole thing turns out to be nothing more than a demo and sales pitch where you guilt your friends into buying stuff they don’t want or need. After you subject them to that, you then try to recruit them to join your team of consultants, or whatever term your particular MLM uses

Say there is a company A. It wants to sell its product — travel package (of say Rs 2,00,000)

They approach the MLM company — QXYZ and tell them that for every product of theirs they sell — They would give the MLM company 40%. Company A sells the travel package (earlier 2,00,000) for 3,00,000 to MLM Company.

The core job of this MLM company is to get people, make them buy their product and train them in order that they can make others buy it. So that MLM company gets money. But their core job is to make it all sound good, with support mechanisms and trainings. To show you visions with mathematics. Hail GP! Back to story.

So Company A’s products are being sold, MLM top level people are happy, MLM company is happy — they are getting their cut on each sale. The only sad people are the ones who could not motivate other people to join this pyramid rat race and the people at the lower level who are still looking for crumbs. Poor them.

People say that company will run away —I say it may happen or may not happen. I don’t see the reason of company running away. And they aren’t doing anything illegal. So no reason to worry in that direction.

The people in the chain are given a reason to sell this. The Financial model is amazing though. But it doesn’t account for emotional thing. The people who I know are doing something great with their life. I cannot tell them to start with marketing and get in this rat race. And if I don’t do that, then I don’t get my money. Its a circle. Also money is not everything people. Personally, I cannot go down to MLM level for money. Think about the task which you are doing. You aren’t going to be in any TED talk, publications, etc. Also I personally didn’t like the kind of people who were there today. I really don’t want to become one of them. A selfish money laundering person. I really cannot sleep if by mistake I hurt someone. I cannot live with the other person’s swearing and disgust for my self gain. The worst part is that they would justify this with “that they gave the other person a chance to succeed” and its not their fault. The only reason why this model survives is because there are a lot of unaware middle class people who can easily be lured. Its like making the pyramid of dead bodies as below.

Remember the pyramid created in the battle of bastards — something like this

Even though they would become rich, but I have no idea for what they wake up in the morning, how can they live with people swearing them for the losses they have made them because they were not able to get people beneath them.

If money is everything for you and emotions and real connections don’t matter to you — go ahead. Its a great way to earn quick money. I am happy for you. Become Rich.

Below points are those which people pursuing MLM would not like and would uselessly defend it — because you have invested the money. Just try to think from an open mind. There are other ways to earn money too. Well salute to your coaching techniques. Just don’t be the Amway aunties and follow your passion.

• Please MLM people don’t call yourself entrepreneurs. For the entrepreneurship, there should be some product. Your only skill is to convince other people to buy the thing and recursively call this function again. Which makes you cunning but not entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs add some value to this universe and solve a problem of which you aren’t doing any.
• Please don’t take names like Microsoft (they just built your portal), Manchester United (For some connection) just to get one person under you and tell him to drastically change his life.
• Stop calling Steve Jobs as one of you. He f founded apple and created a dent in the universe. Just think what you are doing. Getting people under you!
• You are great at selling but sell the product to someone who needs it. Not to make a chain and make people below you miserable.

If you are that great, I have some great products which are useful to public and I need some help in selling them. Do something useful with your skill guys.

You can contact me on me@abhinavrai.com