If you are
reading this there is a good chance you are looking to get involved in
multilevel marketing (MLM), or you already are. I do realize many people
reading this could be a friend, family member, or just someone interested in
reading about MLM. Either way, I believe you will find that I analyze
information and give a fair and balanced review. Today I am going to look at a
couple of books written by someone that claims to be proficient in the field of
MLM. Her name is Kim Thompson-Pinder,
and she appears to be an Avon
distributor.
I could have picked anyone, such as Danny McDaniel (ex Advocare
distributor that helps his wife sell products and uses God as a means to lure
people in). But I thought I would see if other MLM professionals share the same
type of deceptive and misleading tactics. The reason I selected Kim is because I
have been encouraging people to take advantage of Amazons free books, and Kim’s
book was one of them. Not to mention the book had something to do with MLM. So last
night, I downloaded the free Amazon Kindle App, and the free book
titled “10 Things You Absolutely Must Know Before Joining A MLM or Home Based
Business”. I am not going to say that it was a complete waste of time, but her
motives appeared to be less than genuine. But not everything was bad.
The author offered some good advice that I believe many people would find
intuitive, but that is not always the case. For example, she advises anyone
that decides to join MLM to save money to cover the cost of the starter kit
instead of using a credit card. She also encourages the reader to choose the
right MLM based on your interest and the actual demand of the products. I would
have to agree with her thoughts, although I am not sure if anyone really has to
read her short book to come to that realization. It seems intuitive that
selling something that is in demand would be better than selling something that
is not. Also, selling something that runs out and needs to be replenished would
be a must. For example, would you be better off selling vitamins or a poster of
Motley Crue? I am going to go with the vitamins. She also brings awareness to monthly
auto-ship. Some companies require a guaranteed monthly order to be set on
auto-ship. Others, similar to Advocare, do not promote auto-ship. They just
require a monthly quota to qualify for commission bonuses. Of course, towards
the end she not only brought in God, she included a prayer. Unfortunately, by
now, that just does not surprise me. But what did the reader really learn from
the author?
Well, to tell you the truth, I did not see much other than the three or
four things I pointed out in the beginning. If you were looking to understand
why or how direct marketing works, or what compensation plans are the best to work with. You
probably closed the book thinking thank God I did not pay for this. Sure, she
offers a little insight about the types of pyramids associated with MLM such as
unilevel, breakaway, forced
matrix, and binary. Sorry, it
is a force of habit to use the term, pyramid. The aforementioned links will
give you a better idea of what each plan has to offer. But I assure you, none
of what she talks about should be first on the list. Making the decision to
enter MLM in the first place is the real important decision. Not what MLM you
should join and what person you should join under. Taking advice from someone
that really wants you to join under her, and pretending she did not put a
connection to herself in that book is probably a little misleading. But, that
was an intuitive conjecture, and something I promised I would stay away from.
What is clear, she is involved in MLM and that creates a conflict of interest.
It would be like asking a barber what barbershop should you get your hair cut,
his/hers, or the competing shop next-door. Somehow I think you get the point.
The reason why you want to avoid
accepting information from someone that is in an MLM is because most of them do
everything possible to circumvent the truth. At the end of the book the author
tells the reader that she did not put her information in the book because she
gave up her spot for someone else. All throughout the book she presents
information from people she refers to as “Featured Spotlight”. For instance,
Stephanie Dooley claims to be a successful distributor for a fortune 500 global
beauty company. What Stephanie is really
trying to tell you is that she is an Avon sales representative, and that she is
probably associated with the authors Avon Group. If you go to her website I
just provided, you will see the phone number matches the one in the book. If you
read the book, you would know that makes three Avon representatives used as
“Featured Spotlights”. Unfortunately the deception does not stop there.
The author indicated that the age and credibility of the company as
being number 2 out of 10. She then goes on to tell the reader that 95% of all
new companies fail in their first 5 years. I am here to tell you that out of
all the deceptions used, that one takes the cake. Putting MLM companies on the
same level as any alternative business in my opinion, is intentional deception.
Anyone that participates in companies such as Advocare, Market America, Avon,
or any other MLM company you can think of knows already what I am about to tell
you. All of them have a 99% yearly failure rate, not 5 years. You do not have
to take my word for it. Tracy Coenen is a well
know forensic accountant that has been studying MLM failure rates for a long
time, and has compiled a bunch of income statements for your convenience. I
also have a guest article I wrote with a co-author somewhere lingering around
Tracy’s Website, although I really did not get any credit for it. Comparing MLM to a real business is ridiculous. With
that, the actual failure
rate for a equivalent small business is actually around 50-60% after 5
years, not 95%. But her unrealistic brainwashing does not stop there.
Many of the con artist that find success in MLM use a company’s years in
business as a means to show stability and strength. Advocare is a fine example.
Danny
McDaniel uses that tactic all the time, as does many other distributors. So allow
me to be the one person to tell you the truth. Advocare has been in business
for a long time, I will concede to that. So have other MLM companies such as
Avon. Unfortunately, making your decision based on the years a company has been
in service will not make your MLM career any easier, nor will it ensure
success. The majority of people that decide to take the plunge, drown every
single year. That is a cold hard fact, and unfortunately will not change
regardless of how much you believe you can do it. I know people like Kim
Thompson-Pinder want you to believe that if you only trusted yourself and did
everything right, you will succeed. The same can be said about Danny McDaniel.
I wish I could tell you that MLM companies can be successful for everyone.
Advocare has been around for more than 20 years and every year only 99 percent
succeed. That means around 1% are successful. People like Kim need to come
across as if they have good intentions, and all the answers. They practice
every day on how to intentionally deceive people, and it works. Then they
incorporate one of the most irritating aspects of MLM.
It is one thing to use deception to lure people into a business you know
or should know they will most likely fail. But to use intentional deception and
portray oneself as religious is beyond repulsive. How, on one had do you
confess your love to God, and then intentionally deceive one of his children
with the other hand? I know, they will tell you they believe the system works
and it is proven. Then they will point to the length the company has been in
business, and to some scientific medical advisory board. Neither of which support
their claim. Or they will give you success stories from the 1 or 2% that have
succeeded. The reason why many of these companies are still in business is
because of well crafted con artist. Here is the cold hard truth. They know that
if you truly believe in their faith in God, you will trust them and join. Why
would someone that believes in Jesus Christ tell you a lie? Well, I will leave
that up to you to decide. Then I read Kim’s other book titled “How to Have 100
Recruits on Your Team in 6 Months”, and things did not get any better. Please,
allow me to explain.
Do not worry, this is going to be much shorter than the other book
because there really is nothing worth reading. She starts the book off with a
disclaimer indicating your success will depend on your ability to sell the
product, your effort, and your personality among other things. Of course she
does not guarantee your success. Then on the next paragraph she tell you that
she wrote the book because she does not want you to have to struggle like she
did for 12 years. I probably could stop right there, right? So let me get to
the math that in her opinion will allow you or me to recruit 100 people in 6
months.
Kim goes on to say that in order to recruit 100 people you have to talk
to 1680 people. Then she goes on to say “I promise to tell you the truth”. So this is the math she uses in her book.
1.
Talk to 5 people every day= 25 people a week= 100
people a month
2.
Do events where you can meet around 15 leads a month
and 10 people join (she used 9) 10 people * 6 Months = 60 (She assumed 9 would
join each month and in 6 months she would have 58 new members) 9*6= 58 ? Hmm
3.
Teach and train the recruits to recruit the rest of
the 100.
This is where I tell you that I am really confused. If you talk to 100 people
for 6 months you would have spoken with 600 people. If you speak with another
15 a month you would have spoken to another 90. Correct me if I am wrong but
600+90 equals 690, right? If my math is correct she is one thousand short. I will
assume she was exaggerating, and stop being so critical. Unfortunately, that is
it folks. Nothing new was presenting, and I wish I could tell you something
different. Then she goes back into the same hogwash she used in her other book.
The reason why she was not successful is because of self doubt and other
issues that prevented her from success. She was essentially hindering her
ability to make it in the MLM industry. She tells the reader to kick aside the
self doubts and the procrastination and believe in oneself and others will
follow. I have to admit, others will follow, but that will not change the fact
that most that do will fail regardless of personal issues. So let me sum this
up.
Neither of Kim’s books would be worth any amount of money. If you are
serious about joining MLM I believe you would be better off asking me for
advice because I will not lie to you. Yes you can make money selling products.
But Kim does not talk about selling, she talks about recruiting. All the MLM
companies talk about recruiting. Some companies force you to recruit two and
sell to customers. But they also promote helping your recruits in recruiting.
Others like Advocare promote recruiting wide and three levels deep, opening the
opportunity to earn overrides and bonuses. Each level can go as wide to
eternity.
This is the truth folks. MLM for the past 50 years has seen a 90%
failure rate every year. Either way, if you decide you want to join MLM you know the
chances of making money and that is the truth. I have nothing to gain or lose
by telling you the facts. I am not telling you not to use their products. If
you want to pay the ridiculous price, then that is on you. But do not tell me
you signed on for the discount while you are out trying to sell the product to
other people. Worst of all, please do not claim to be religious while you are
using rhetoric you know or should know is false.
If you have read the book and want to share your thoughts I look forward
to reading your comments below.
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