MLM Network Marketing Training-Evolution of MLM and Network Marketing-Part 2

The MLM Amway Image.

Amway’s Recruiting/Public Image/Marketing: Amway’s “Dream Night”: Amway’s seminars convey a strong sense of you can succeed; you can achieve all your personal and financial goals with our help. Here’s an abridged recounting of one Dream Night session, albeit by an underwhelmed participant, published at Baffler Excerpt.com: “Dreams Incorporated: Living the Delayed Life with Amway,” by Matt Roth, first published, in full, in Baffler, issue 10, 1997: “Dream Night was not the first Amway event I had been to, but it was the most hallucinatory.

It began with the triumphal entrance of the Amway Diamond couples, half-jogging through a gauntlet of high-fives to the theme from Rocky, as the audience whooped and hollered and twirled their napkins over their heads. “. . . We gawked hungrily as real-life Amway millionaires strutted about sprawling estates (proudly referred to as ‘family compounds’) and explained that such opulence was ours for the asking.” ” . . .

The Amway approach supposedly avoids impersonal door-to-door sales, as each distributor need only sell directly to a small customer base of friends and family. Business ‘growth’–and an ascent to the flashier ‘bonus levels’ (Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, Executive Diamond, Double Diamond, Crown Ambassador)–comes mostly through expanding one’s downline.”

“In theory, this odd marketing system ensures that benefits accrue not to Madison Avenue slicksters, but to ordinary folk capitalizing on their close-knit community ties–a scheme that seemingly reflects the small-town, Protestant populism of Amway’s co-founders, Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel.”

The article also notes Amway’s troubles with the FTC back in the 1970s, then goes on to report on the company’s reform: “The reform efforts seem to have paid off. Today Amway is portrayed as a model business. A spate of articles in newspapers around the country have crowned “multilevel distribution” the Third Wave of marketing: If it looks like Amway, we’re now told, then it’s not a scam.

Trade magazines laud Amway as a high-quality manufacturer; the United Nations has given it a rare Environmental Award; Jay Van Andel, the recipient of a score of business awards, served a term as president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Ted Koppel has cited Rich DeVos as one of America’s premier philanthropists . . . .” (At the bottom of that article see some helpful footnotes pertaining to FTC’s ultimate ruling that Amway is not a pyramid scheme.)

I personally can recall an early Amway strategy, albeit, I recall it only vaguely. During the late 1960s and into the 1970s, my parents would receive invitations to “dinner parties” or “cocktail parties” from some neighbors and casual acquaintances. After enjoying some refreshments and chitchat, the host or hostess of the party would ask everyone to take a seat, then announce he/she was in the midst of a life-changing experience and wanted to share it with friends. No doubt some additional recruits were obtained this way, but many people just felt duped and ambushed.

There are still Amway parties — actually many MLM’ers throw parties — but I believe it’s now much more standard to tell invitees that that’s the basis for the party — a strategy that makes much more sense because, like Amway’s “Dream Night” seminars, you’re preaching to a crowd that’s already interested, or they wouldn’t be there. (Another rule of marketing is, don’t waste your time trying to sell to someone who just isn’t going to buy — ever. Move on to warmer leads and prospects.) You can also see a brief bio of the company at Amway’s Web site: http://ameradream.com/amway.htm “

As carefully planned by Rich and Jay, the second generation Van Andel and DeVos families took the helm during the ‘ 90s. Steve Van Andel and Dick DeVos succeeded their fathers as Chairman and President. Distributors witnessed a similar trend, with the second generation of many distributor families taking on important leadership roles.” This underscore’s a cornerstone of Amway’s marketing message: that Amway is a family-friendly, family-oriented business, and it’s a strong factor in Amway’s always successful recruiting efforts.

Both Amway and Herbalife have successfully marketed strong messages of self-empowerment and “You can do it!” spirit, allowing them to build legions of distributors. ” ‘Amway is more than just a company, it’s a movement to help people help themselves,’ ” Amway co-founder Rich DeVos told writer Paul Klebniov, in Klebniov’s not-entirely flattering profile of Amway, “The Power of Positive Inspiration,” which appeared in the December 9, 1991 issue of Forbes Magazine. http://www.amquix.info/forbes_december_9_1991.html DeVos also talked about how that “Movement” has brought Amway success around the world: ” ‘In Mexico, people will ride a bus for hours to come to an Amway meeting because Amway will give them a shot at success. Most of these people have believed for generations that they would never be anybody, because the rich guy on the hill told them they’d never be anybody. But the Amway business has come to symbolize for great numbers of people their chance to get out of their rut.’ ”

Also from Klebniov’s article, an outline of how Amway is structured and what motivates its associates: “Perhaps [DeVos] can’t keep his eye on a million distributors, but he does know how to inspire almost every last one of them. The underlying principle is simplicity itself: Persuade the distributors that their interests and Amway’s are exactly the same. . .” “. . .here’s how it works.

Distributor A recruits distributors B, C, D each of whom recruits three more distributors to work for them. If this recruiting pattern continues ten times – that is, there are 11 levels in the distribution chain – then the fellow who started the network, distributor A, would have 88,572 distributors working for him. If each of these people sells, on average $1,000 worth of products, you’ve got an $89 million marketing organization stemming from that one distributor A.

At offices, health clubs, beauty salons, churches, Amway recruits. . . .” “The lion’s share of money earned by Amway distributors is pocketed by 2% of the sales force, the organization’s 35,000 so-called direct distributors. These distributors typically have about 50 downline distributors channeling orders up to them. Direct distributors gross a minimum of about $35,000 a year. The really big money – bonuses of up to $300,000 and more – is made by a handful of kingpins at the top of the heap . . . .” Another powerful component of Amway’s success is making its distributors feel that they are part of a team or a family:

From Klebniov’s article: “But Amway goes a crucial step beyond mere money. It offers its recruits membership in a community of like-minded people – entrepreneurial, motivated, upwardly mobile people who believe in their country, in God and in their family. ‘This country was built on religious heritage, and we had better get back in it. We had better start telling people that faith in God is their real strength of America!’, Richard DeVos writes in his book “Believe!”.

Amway distributors are bound by a set of shared beliefs reinforced by myths, icons and documents.” This helps explain why Amway’s detractors call it a “cult,” but the depth of the company’s appeal to its distributors and potential distributors is profound.

Amway has succeeded, in great part, by keying in on and recruiting people who share the company’s founders’ beliefs regarding religion and family. This homogeny regarding fundamental personal values has allowed Amway to create a great sense of a-company-as-a-family for its workers.

Blessings…

doug Firebaugh / PassionFire Intl http://www.passionfire.com

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