Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) “The naked truth revealed”

Most MLM marketers (MLMers in short) are self-proclaimed entrepreneurs by their definition of “Not working for others”. True to a certain extent, it’s no wonder the entrepreneurship failure rate in Singapore is so high. Alvin Sim, the CEO of Exoro, offers his opinion on MLM and explains why it is not helping the entrepreneurial scene in Singapore.

Most MLM marketers (MLMers in short) are self-proclaimed entrepreneurs by their definition of “Not working for others”. True to a certain extent, its no wonder the entrepreneurship failure rate in Singapore is so high.

The concept is simple: Fork out some ‘entrance fee’ to purchase loads of unknown products, while this fee translates into commission which flows upwards. Effectively the higher up you are in the system, the more money you make. Not much deviated from its illegal counterpart, MLM can become synonymous with other kind of marketing shams, such as pyramid schemes.

Common characteristic of MLM products is the significantly long period before visible signs of effectiveness appear. By the time MLMers realize this product scam, they would have already pitched it to at least 20 other people, a little too late for regrets. In the first place, MLMer’s pitch always starts and ends with money, hardly any mention and/or knowledge about the products. These products serve primarily as a trade-tool for monetary transactions and ultimately, it is just a game of passing the bag around.

No doubt successful companies like TupperWare and Amway made their mark through MLM, the only difference is that these companies had really good products. How can one be successful in selling something which he/she doesn’t believe in? Since MLMers only believe in money, forget about the products, I’m just going to set up my own MLM selling money – “Pay me $500 now, and I will give you the rights to pitch this to 5 other people, and you get 5% commission per level down”.

Taking the average statistics of typical MLM companies, the bag will have to be passed on to people at least 7 layers down in order to break even. Driven by greed and the false hope of quick bucks, MLMers force themselves into the mindset that they won’t end up holding the bag. Joining MLM is a very stupid thing one can get himself in, and the only way to exit is to find somebody more stupid than you, to pass on the bag to. Each time the bag is passed on to the next, the risk of losing significantly increases. Ironically, MLMer’s instinctive prey usually comprises of friends, relatives and family – the people they really care and love for. Sad but true, MLM has driven human greed to even betray one’s moral and ethics.

Related Links:
Truth on MLM.