The Journey that Taught Me So Much About Network Marketing
I wanted to write about something different today. Something more controversial.
Let me tell you a story about the journey and the eventual gap year I took in my career (as mentioned in my about page) to explore the world of network marketing, or most commonly known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) / direct sales. I’m sure you’ve all seen / heard / approached by friends who are in some of the many MLM companies.
*If we were to go to lengths to discuss about the legitimacy of the MLM business model, I can go on whole night. But for this post, let me focus on the story and some pointers.
If you want to skip the entertainment (my story) and just want to know how to tell a genuine MLM vs a pyramid / ponzi scheme, it’s at the end of this post.
The story goes like this…
One fine day, I got a message from a work colleague turned friend – Let’s call him Y. It went like this, “Hey bro, free Thursday night? Got a business opportunity want to show you that can travel and make money.”
Tell me that’s not dodgy! The naive and innocent me, who is also looking for more ways to generate income, agreed in a heartbeat. The concept of travel and make money is indeed intriguing too.
At this point, I’ve heard of MLM but I’ve never been approached by anyone before. So this was the first time I was going to see one of them deals.
Thursday night came…
The location was in a place called Merchant Square.
I followed Waze to the address given by Y and ended up in this dodgy looking place. There was not a single soul seen on the streets but cars were parked everywhere.
Y was waiting for me there and he brought me up the stairs towards the 1st floor. Beyond the door, it was an space brimming with people conversing and upbeat music. There was a room with a projector showing people having fun on holidays and rows of seats filled with people.
This was my first experience of a full business opportunity presentation and I found the concept and business opportunity very interesting and is something that I can relate to. I signed up on the spot!
What was the company? It was called WorldVentures.
By signing up, I was assigned 2 websites:
- My own Travel Website where I can book DreamTrips and other travel products
- My Business Website where I log in to the backoffice and also equipped with videos that can be used to showcase what WorldVentures is all about
The Adrenaline Dies Down
When I went back home past 11pm, it suddenly hit me. We’ve all heard of horror stories about scams and ponzi schemes and the lots.
What if this was one??? So I took myself to Google to “research” about the company. Being my first network marketing company, I was shocked by how much results on Google saying that WorldVentures was a scam.
I texted my friend Y and told him I found all these and wanted out. Thankfully, he asked for a meet to talk this over and I agreed. During the meet up, we talked about what I saw online. I asked a lot of questions.
After calmly thinking through, I decided to stay the course and to decide for myself if it was a scam or not AFTER experiencing it. That was one of the best decisions I made that day.
In the ensuing years, I’ve traveled to more places and creating unforgettable memories, made a lot of new lasting friendships within the community, developed personally as a person and had a hand in putting my mind into building a business.
Lesson #1: Google is a poor way to gauge the legitimacy network marketing business (or anything for that matter because everyone has an opinion). Take the information with a pinch of salt and refer to the end of this article for some pointers.
Live the Product, Work the Business
Network marketing provides everyone a chance to start a business for him/herself with a tiny capital, a proven system and can be done on the side. It is akin to a franchise business or an insurance agent, whereby the products are per what the Company offers and our business is to generate income using what we’re given.
I quickly looked through the website and booked a DreamTrip so as to experience the product myself. I mean… it’s luxury travel at wholesale prices. Why not?
Truly enjoyed most of the trips I’ve been on. Yes, there were not so decent ones too, but only one or two of those I’ve been on so it’s no big deal.
Lesson #2: A professional network marketer is an ambassador of the product he/she is promoting. How else are you going to answer genuinely from the heart “so how good is the product”?
I also started to work the business and introduced WorldVentures to my friends. I worked during the day as a salaryman, and worked the business during the night. Most said “No”, some signed up and quit the next day, some stayed a bit longer, and some ignored me on the onset.
Lesson #3: One of the most valuable lessons we’ll ever learn from working the business is to accept rejections (i.e. people telling you “No”). This is valuable in life as the biggest hurdle that stops people from moving forward is the idea of rejection.
Lesson#3.1: Network marketing will show you who you can truly call friends. You will meet friends who may not join you but will support you. You will also meet “friends” who will talk behind you and sabotage you. Be warned.
The Importance of Personal Development
Network marketing kick started my personal development journey. WorldVentures offers 4 major training events in a year, and mini-ones in between. I was hesitant to go for it at first because it costs money! But after going to the first one, it changed my perspective on a lot of things. The way we think, plan and act are all affected by the degree of personal development we have. And to be successful in life, the growth of the mind is paramount. Refer to my post about books you can look for to feed your mind.
The difference between the successful person and the unsuccessful person… is how they think.
Lesson #4: The training and development obtained from being an attentive student in these sessions are more important than the product and the business opportunity as it develops you as a person wholly and eventually the results can be seen beyond just the business and into your life. Cherish these sessions and learn well.
The Day Came…
…when I decided that I was going to quit my day job to focus on it. I gave myself a year, which is what my reserve funds was able to support me if I don’t have any income.
During the gap year, I met more people (including strangers) than I ever imagined I could, went to networking events throughout the year and traveled to so many countries in the year itself.
Just so you know, I am an introvert by nature and this experience made me put myself out there. With a dwindling account balance and lack of income from the business, the stress was immense.
Lesson #5: A painful one. Only quit your day job if you’ve gotten to (or getting close to) a full time income. Reason? Read on for #6.
After a Year
I looked back at the past year and reflected well. I did not regret my decision and it was a lesson well learnt. I’ve seen people getting success in short span of time, but it did not work out that way for me.
Whilst I did make some income during the year, I did not achieve a sustainable income even with reduced expenses. I’d reckon it was due to my personal growth and effort (or the lack of it in this case).
By end of the year, I accepted the result of the journey and moved on from my One Year Project.
Lesson #6: Networking marketing is not built for everyone, but everyone can take a shot at it. There is immense growth required and effort placed to build to a sustainable income. Beyond that, there are also external factors that will influence your results and how much more efforts you will need to put in to achieve success.
Things to note on whether the business is genuine
Funnily enough, ever since I became a representative of WorldVentures, I’ve seen so many more network marketing deals!
Allow me to share my insights and experiences with you.
If you are considering joining a network marketing company and unsure if it is genuine or a scam / ponzi scheme, here’s a few checklist you can look for to give you an indication:
- Does the company have products or services that it is selling? MLM is a marketing channel by tapping into the networks of people to SELL products / services. The core is still the sale of products / services. Stay away if all they promote are “investment” and “business” and “get rich quick”.
- Are the products and business opportunity separated? The business opportunity is for those who want to opt in and is definitely not compulsory. If the deal is about recruiting business partners, then it’s more likely to be a ponzi scheme.
- Can the downline earn more than the upline? A true MLM business allows anyone who comes in later to earn more than the earlier bunch as long as he/she is more capable and hard working. I basically earned more than Y during my time in WorldVentures although he sponsored me into the business.
- Is there a proper training system? MLM companies understand that anyone can join their company as a business partner and so they will put in place the appropriate training to get their reps to be doing the right things.
- Is there a cool off period? It is a rule to have a cooling off period. So make sure that there is, else..
- Ask for the Income Disclosure Statement. Any good companies will have this, which will detail the distribution of income to its reps. You will notice that only a small percentage earn the higher tiered income. This is understandable as the business success is not something that is “easily” achieved.
- Check if the name of the company appears anywhere on the Securities Commission’s Blacklist or Bank Negara Malaysia’s Alert List.
An Additional Point
Unfortunately, the company can be genuine but the representatives who shows you the entire deal may be running it in a way that brings the company to shame.
Examples are: High pressure sales tactic, purposefully misleading you, asking you to commit to more “investments” upfront or load up on stocks.
In a salaryman context, it’s just like how an employee can badly represent the employer by using underhanded techniques that is not approved by the employer thus causing the loss of clients.
If you ever face these “bad reps”, but you are keen to explore further because of the concept or the company, do go and find another representative that you agree with more. You usually can find them by searching online or by attending the business opportunity events.
One Last Lesson: Assuming you joined the right community, you will be able to meet great people, form strong bonds of friendships and definitely have a lot of fun throughout the journey
