Network Marketing and the Hypometer

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't worry, "I'm In" has not turned into a purveyor of junk email. The introductory paragraphs of the following article are included as an example only.

Dear Friend,

I have just discovered a absolutely phenomenal way for you to walk up to your boss tomorrow morning and tell him to "take this job and shove it!" because you're sick and tired of being sick and tired.

In the next few paragraphs, you will be exposed to the most lucrative MLM company ever created. It will make all your wildest DREAMS COME TRUE! The majority of MLM companies tell you they are the best ... the greatest, with the best, hottest product and compensation plan. Don't believe their pitch until you consider us. Believe me, this really works ... honest! And, you will make more easy $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ than you ever thought possible !!!!!!!!!

If you have ever wanted to join the most phenomenal MLM business in the entire solar system - one that is poised on the verge of spectacular growth - you must seriously consider this. If you are in another MLM organization, demand an immediate refund on all products and join me today. This concept leaves all others in the dust. It is the opportunity of a lifetime. It is absolutely THE LEADING/CUTTING EDGE opportunity ever devised! We're light years ahead of everything else. There is no competition. This is not a 6-4-2, 1-8-4, 13-12-6, binary or vertical compensation plan. Who cares? It is the ****ULTIMATE**** 1-on-1 plan. The amount of money we're making is the most awesomely incredible that I have ever witnessed.

This is absolutely the ULTIMATE SMALL BUSINESS/HOME BUSINESS available. You can operate this out of the comfort and convenience of spare room in your home. We have the most extensive, comprehensive training videos available. You do not have to shell out one single penny to start. What makes this even better ... all the recruiting is done for you by seasoned professionals. That's right. You don't have to pick up the phone to make any calls. The size of this market is unbelievable ... huge. There isn't an adjective in the dictionary that comes close to saying it truthfully.

There are no credit card problems. Why, you won't even have to walk to the mailbox to pick up your first month's check because there are none! That's right. That is no misprint. This compensation plan is all in beautiful, spendable, crumpled-up cash. You know, those little pieces of green paper with pictures of dead presidents on them. Those slaving at 9-5 jobs controlled by a BOSS receive them in very small quantities. However, I have seen the plan and it guarantees at least $20,000 cash your first week with absolutely no investment and practically no time involved. The only FAT in this program is how FAT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT WILL BE IN A FEW SHORT DAYS! If someone comes to you with an offer to at least triple or quadruple your income within the next 30-90 days, turn the other cheek because this program will, AT MINIMUM, sextuple whatever you are now making.

There is no inventory to stock. You don't have to put up with market resistance like in other MLM's ... that means there will never be another REJECTION!!!!! NO MORE NOES!!!! At minimum, at least 98% the world's Internet population wants and needs this. This product is so HOT, HOT, HOT that you will have customers pounding on your door 24 hours a day! You'll have more customers than you can handle! It is 100% natural and the testimonials indicate incredible results after just one purchase!

Corporate officers have personally assured me that I could have a downline numbering in the thousands within 10 to 14 days, and you can too. Duplication is so simple because it comes naturally. We will make you a HEAVY HITTER in a matter of a few weeks! What's so great about this is that you don't have to deliver the merchandise. There will never be a worry about buy-backs because there will never be any! That's right -- absolutely NO RETURNS! No one will ever complain of high prices because we concentrate on VALUE. This allows us to guarantee a 100% repeat customer rate. Your customers will receive a toll-free 1-900 number (you receive royalties on that, too) to call and the merchandise is shipped to their door faster than a pizza delivery service!

Have you ever seen so many positives in one company? Remember the saying that when opportunity and preparedness meet you are guaranteed of success? Well, this is it! If you have ever wanted to retire in the lifestyle you've always dreamed about, I strongly you register with us (remember ... absolutely never a cost to you). So that everyone having a computer with 'Net access is made aware of this offering, I am posting this to 14 newsgroups 6 times per day as will my downline.

Preposterous? Totally absurd? Not really.

After enduring another terrible thrashing on the golf course administered by my 15 year-old son, I sat down before this tired old 'puter to see what's new in the world of cyberspace alt.business.multi-level. Humm. Nothing much. Still the same 'ol stuff. In one corner was the proverbial whipping boy - Amway. In the other corner was the tag team USANA and Equinox. Not to be outdone by any stretch of the imagination is the entourage from Infinity, Metaleuca, and Life Plus.

Think I made all that up? Not on your life. That was a possible introduction to a MLM company gleaned from several hundred Internet posts within a week or so. Let's take a look at them with a surgeon's scalpel. Though I have taken information from the Internet, this doe not mean it cannot mirror what you have done, are doing, or have been instructed to do, etc.

Overall, the document is a bit unbelievable . If there is a superlative adjective needed to top all others, it will come from the pen of a network marketer. I lost track of the count for "GROUND FLOOR", "HOT", "OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME", "BREAKTHROUGH", "EXPLODING", "New Discovery", "NO RISK", "Never Lose a Downline", etc.

I didn't realize how many keyboards have defective $ keys ... they seem to stick in the down position quite often. Watch the words that are used to convey your message. If you are targeting an audience where there is no visual, personal contact, then you will have to paint a believable picture. The market your are targeting, unless is a tour bus from Mars, is very savvy. They have been bombarded by the media and previous MLMers and two 4-letter words uppermost in their vocabulary are "hype" and "scam". They can smell them a mile away. Do you realize the market potential for someone who could develop something like a "hypometer" or "scamometer". Now, that would be a BREAKTHROUGH product!

In many instances, I have responded to newsgroup posts that seemed interesting. At least they caught my eye. How was the majority of information returned? Humm. There were some addressed to Robt Seers, Bob Seres, Bo Cers, etc. And, folks, this was from simply transcribing a simple address from an e-mail response! They were written in an incredible assortment of implements: ink, marking pens, pencil, and what looked like a Japanese brush. Upon opening the envelopes, out fell these copies that were light, crooked, crumpled, smeared, etc. It looked like someone hunted through the trash to get me something. There were audio tapes with inked-out return phone numbers. Sheez. Pardon me, but this is not professionalism and it is by no means giving your business the image you intend. No, you do not need professionally manufactured letterhead, but getting the name correct is the first important hurdle.

I did not realize that businesses could be built with absolutely no product, even the absolute minimum inventory to service close customers. I must quickly inform the new K-Mart CEO of this before he closes a bunch more stores. I have never seen a Meijer's open without something on the shelves. I do not imply that you must back the cars out of the garage and stock to the ceiling, but an amount to cover close customers is not too much to ask. Does this criteria also include not purchasing the product for personal use so you have some clue to its benefits for others if not for yourself? That's like saying to a customer "it's a wonderful product but I wouldn't take it." What are they to think?

I did not realize that absolutely no fees are necessary in some organizations. I wonder whether that has anything to do with the dropout rate. That implies getting something for absolutely nothing. Easy in ... easy out. When someone puts $50 - $100K on the table to open a business, you better believe they will put some long hours to make it successful rather than treating it like a hobby and whimpering and crying to the world that MLM didn't make them any money, it doesn't work and, therefore, it's a scam. If you have your money invested, wouldn't you do what it took not to fail?

What's this about not talking to people about the product or service! Spiffy concept. Does it work? Does this imply that you are not proud of your business and product line? I didn't know so many customers are clairvoyant and can find you even if you didn't want to be found. When people aspect of the network business is removed, it degrades to a price war, and you simply cannot compete on that ground. It is the personal customer service you render that drives this business. I did notice a very appropriate Internet tagline from a nutritional supplement distributor: "There is no substitute for the human touch." How long will you wait for a Spiffy-Mart to get the item you like when the store a block away carries it, too? Not too long. That's why keeping a reasonable inventory on hand for close customers is a prudent method of operation. Remember, being "garage qualified" does not count.

I also read one about letting someone else build a downline for you. That's tremendous. Is this some sort of turn-key operation? I have had my share of NOes in my 15 years in MLM, but let me tally the number I found this afternoon:

a) No cost to enroll.
b) No inventory.
c) No customer contact.
d) No cold calls.
e) No divulging what the business opportunity is.
f) No product delivery.
g) I think there were a few more here before I started to develop my own MLM from the best I saw out there.

My wife and I have been involved with network marketing - MLM since 1979. At various stages we have been with Amway, and now a dual MLM with New Vision International and Matol Botanical. We ignored the "walk on the beaches of the world with us" scenario that our sponsor regurgitated and took a realistic look at the effort involved, the return, and the risk. At no time did our IQ drop below our shoe size where we sold the TV, assumed a second mortgage, alienated family and friends, traveled to the ends of this planet to attend conferences, and then cried "foul" when the roof fell in just prior to declaring bankruptcy. Isn't that like someone smoking or drinking for 50 years, discovering a physical ailment developed because of the abuse, and then crying "but no one warned me!" Excuse me, but at some point people are going to have to start taking responsibility for their actions and quit pointing at the other fellow. Of course MLM doesn't work. Just like GM and IBM don't work. It's the people that move the system.

This business is not going to happen overnight and there are not going to be immediate riches. You will not sponsor mainland China over the weekend, no matter what you zealous upline says. This is going to take time and don't let anyone kid you that it isn't. It will not be built an hour per week, squeezed between Oprah, the news, the Jetsons, Beverly Hills, the bowling league, and whatever sport is current. You are going to have to make sacrifices and set priorities because there is an infinite amount of things competing for a finite amount of time.

If you are going to put your name on the dotted line, don't let someone else run your business - as in giving you a ready made downline or build one for you. That idea reverts to typical business concepts where someone else controls what you do. If someone does build a downline for you, what are going to do with it when motivation is necessary or questions need to be addressed? Who takes over? Do you simply tell them to read a few pages in these books or listen to an audio cassette and hope that gets you off the hook? Face the fact that you own a business - just like GM, IBM, and McD's are businesses.

You are going to "get into the trenches" to build this business successfully. I don't care how sophisticated we become; whether we have a cell-phone or fax machine; whether there is a CD-rom on our 28.8 voice/fax/modem hooked to a 32 meg Pentium+ with a 1.2 gig drive; whether there is a satellite dish beaming weekly meetings to our living room; etc., etc., etc., the fuel that runs this business is the good 'ole eyeball to eyeball, weak-kneed, sweaty-palmed confrontation between you and a prospect where you are going to have to open your mouth and possibly - heaven forbid - talk to another person. Gadgetry is wonderful for those who like to tinker, but remember your business must be duplicatable to be successful. I have seen distributors gadget themselves to death (I confess) only to witness a frail, retired widow without a laptop move product by the case on sheer enthusiasm.

Well ... I've used about all the words I can find tonight. I have enjoyed writing this. Usually, I'm before groups or one-on-ones explaining various business concepts and presenting prospects with a realistic look at various income options. I'm also in one-on-ones dispensing nutritional information. Whether the prospect chooses preventative or curative medical paths is up to them. They are adults. I give enough information for them to make an informed decision regarding their financial and physical future. If the time is right for them ... if this is the point along their financial measure where owning a network marketing business makes sense to them, I welcome them into the organization, we develop a workable plan of action, we determine responsibilities and commitments, and we take off running to have them quickly reach the first milestone in their new journey - profitability. I work with them hand in hand so they can quickly assume control of their business and I can feel comfortable leaving them to focus on bringing another person to that level.

Where does satisfaction enter the picture? When a customer or downline comes to me and says ... "Thanks, Bob. You made the difference." At that point, it's well worth all the effort.