GET OUT: 97% of Multi-Level Marketers Fail
- Jun 6, 2017
- 4 min read
When you’re done filling my inbox with bullshit about passive income, take a look at this. 99.7% of Multi-Level Marketers (MLM) will lose money from their venture according to Direct Marketing Association’s recent study. If you’re in the one percent who make more than a dollar, expect an average annual income of $5000 according to the same study. Despite being a statistical waste of time, reputation and money, the masses crawling into inboxes and arranging misleading meetings or trips to Jamaica swells by the millions. So, why do MLM companies continue to grow?
I was 18 when I was first lured into a multi-level marketing presentation. At the time I really needed a job having recently been fired and down on my luck. I was invited to an ‘interview’ for a ‘big opportunity’ that my best friend and I jumped on it immediately. The office? A swampy apartment hosted by a man in distress. He sweat profusely as he tried to force a very rehearsed charisma out. Then offered us drinks. I didn’t touch mine. My friend being who he was, jumped on his immediately. After being told how I could make ‘passive income’ with ‘business minded people’ like myself, I opted to leave. My demeanor said it for me, and after surviving his roofie smoothie, my friend caught on to my discomfort. With his back against the wall the guy then pulled the big bangout.
“Did you know that you can win a trip to Jamaica?” He said. I didn’t know, nor did I care. He told me about how someone he knows, who is so lucky, won this year and took ‘awesome pics’. We left and never saw the basement dweller again.
I was 26 when I moved to Houston. I knew that opportunity waited for me here, Jamaica trip or not and have a plan to make it happen. First I needed a job. Four months at my sister’s apartment alone with my thoughts and the ceiling fan. I was down on my luck. I finally got a job interview far from her apartment, and jumped on the opportunity. When I got to the office I was surprised to meet a very young man in a very nice suit sitting in front of me. He offered me water, I passed.
“Do you like money?” First thing he asked m. I busted out laughing; that’s just not protestant-american convo ethics. I respected the nerve, so I answer.
“Yeah.”
He then told me about how lucky he has been to find this company. How much of a success he is and how I can have the watch he’s wearing (it was expensive looking, mine was cooler though). Guess who won the trip to Jamaica and is now living off passive income? Him. He even showed me the awesome pics. This wasn’t a job interview at all.
A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to meet with a young lady who was ‘starting a business’. Since meeting entrepreneurs is important to what I do, I jumped on it immediately. As we began preparing for the meeting I noticed a few telltale signs.
She was vague as to what the business was
She spoke about the ends (trips, PASSIVE INCOME, success), not the means
Her profile mentioned some alarming titles. ‘Professional traveler’(smfh) etc.
We sat down for the meeting. Not because I wasn’t aware of what she was going to do or who she was, but as a researcher, I was now curious as to why. Why do people join these organizations?
We got into a very in depth conversation about our lives. Well hers really, I just listened. Then she told me about this card that’s ‘coming out soon’ that is going to ‘change everything’. Blah blah blah blah. Trip to Jamaica, blah, we’re like a family blah. She even accidentally showed me a slide displaying her World Ventures pyramid scheme in a chart. A chart shaped like a pyramid lol.
I laughed for most of the presentation. Not in a mean or condescending way. A mutual laugh when she shared that during my trip to Jamaica, a helicopter can save me and take me to a hospital. Another mutual laugh here and there at particularly ridiculous propositions. Then we started talking again.
Not about the bullshit Worldventures smart card or her trying to leech off me, but about our lives. I wanted to see if there was something I could point to and say ‘that’s why’. That’s why a seemingly rational person can not only fall for this, but dedicate her time and efforts to trying to leech off my back in the name of a grungy 1999-lookin ass ‘smart card’.
Now if it disappoints you then I’m sorry, but I’m not going give details about her personal story. Wouldn’t be right. What I can say is this. These companies seem to prey on desperation, operate via deception, and have a particular blood-lust for young people. They promise community, and fill the void for communal activity we almost all lack. They make deceiving your friends and family into an Easter egg hunt. They structure their pitch into deceiving the lowest common denominator because if you’re sucker enough to pass the first presentation, there’s nothing you won’t believe.
I had a chance to see three people at differing rungs of the climb. The winner at the top, doing well, safely in that one percent that make money. The young lady who has been recently drawn in. Optimistic about what she’s doing and excited about her future in Jamaica. Then the ghost of MLM-future. A nervous, desperate man, scrambling to make something out of his losses after months in a program that preys on him. Lacking the bravado of the winner and his watch, the optimism for lying of the young lady and her pyramid chart, or the peace of mind of someone who’s doing something he believes. Tricking high school graduates with false-flag opportunities sunken in desperation.
Anything built to grow from your weakness will not give you strength. If I offend friends and family who participate in this organizations, so be it. I’m writing this to let you know that you’re being taken advantage of until you’re ready to start taking advantage of others. If you’re in an MLM program, GET OUT.
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