i guess most if not all had heard this term before. as i came across it again recently, i thought it might be good to share this with anyone whom happens to read this blog.i was this close (take out a ruler and look at the smallest measurement, yes i was that close)to going into one such company in Singapore.
when i first heard of MLM from one of my friend several years ago, i once told myself that if i'm not at the top, there's no way i'm going to join. obviously, things had changed since then..
first and foremost, there's something to be differentiated between MLM and the Pyramid Selling.
Pyramid Selling is ban in Singapore, and MLM is not. So what is the difference?
the pyramid works only on recruiting members into the network with a 'membership fee'. this fee is then, of course, pass up the pyramid to those on top, while the downliners go in search of the new bottom layer. there is no physical products or services which is required to sell.
as for MLM, some companies do require them to purchase a 'start-up' kit, which includes the products the company market and marketing and sales training. However, this the price of this 'start-up' varies from company to company.
Moreover for MLM, commission is earned through product sales, and not directly through recruitment.
Under the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act, MLM schemes are illegal unless they comply with certain conditions.
These include safeguards allowing commission to be earned only through the sale of a product and not through the recruitment of new participants.Participants are entitled to a full refund within 60 days.
Anyway, i do recognise that the experience and training provided at each company is valuable and some of the most important and difficult life skills one ought to learn would be sales and marketing.
then why didn't i join?
1. trust me, take some time to cool down after what the presenter had said, go home and really think for a night or a day. when money is concerned, many's natural instincts may fail. there are just too many success stories that one may fail to see those whom tried and fail.
2. no doubt, it's self-doubt. i don't i'm cut for this marketing type of 'job' even though it promises beyond that. maybe i bound to be an accountant, and not a marketeer. hehe...
3. someone did throw me with a question about MLM. "how much percentage of the product sales do you think is made up by people outside the scheme?"
4. there are not 1 MLM companies in Singapore and in other countries as well. There are stiff competition.
5. this is may be a perfect and wonderful way to start with wealth accumulation, the next "BIG THING", but i guess it's not the only.
6. last, but not least, the start-up of this particular company i was about to join is kind of high.
note:
1. although many people may say their operating fundamentals and products are more than similar, these companies are all different, especially in the finer details of how they operate.
2. if one would really want to know more about one such MLM company, it is best to sit down and listen to what they have to offer specifically.
3. gathering information from hear-say from people me, or your friends whom some have distorted views on the whole MLM concept is only secondary.
i really hope that those whom tried will succeed one day and come back to tell me how i had miss my opportunity when it came. I hope i only lost a battle, and had not lost the war. However, there's something which i seriously believe in, "
whatever you do, believe in yourself."
anyway,
here is the some official document from Ministry of Trade and Industry.
"no one tries to fail. many fail to try."
