To ask for MLM success stories?

[TheLoudGobbyOne]

This is not a TAAT so please don’t report this for that. But its inspired by the ongoing MLM thread where a friend of the OP who is/was a teacher has/is giving it up to work for an MLM scheme.

And I was just wondering: does anyone know anyone who has had success from this? There are countless horror stories and warnings to make it obvious MLMs are more scams than successes but surely they are benefitting some people out there otherwise they would not exist?

I am not asking this because I am questioning joining one or remotely tempted or intrigued by it before anyone asks! Just purely wondered if there is anyone who knows someone who has been successful in these and how much work they put into it

I did a cards & stationery one for a couple of years, but I didn't recruit anyone as I had no desire to do so. I stopped because I was getting more busy with other things, and I was only making a half-hearted effort at it. I was rubbish at asking people to have parties, and realised that I'm not terribly social so probably not the type of person suited to such things. I made enough money to basically get the products I wanted for free.

It does really annoy me though when people say that MLMs are just pyramid schemes, you're being had, etc. I paid an annual fee which I think was £50, and I bought my stock, which I then sold for a profit. I did not pay any money upline to anyone - yes, my upline could potentially receive bonuses based on my sales, but the bonus was paid by the company, not by other reps.

Like I said, it was profitable enough that I had all the stationery and cards I wanted, free of charge. With DCs in primary school you get through a lot of birthday cards, so it was fine for me. I didn't buy a Mercedes, but I wasn't out of pocket.

A 30k salary sounds good but as others have said it means no sick pay, no holiday pay and no employment rights among other things.

Not for me, but if I am looking to buy the occasional Avon item or Usborne book I have people I know who I will buy them off. I guess that's how most people find clients. Neither are pushy and both say they make a little bit, but not enough to quit working. The MLM covers a few nice to haves.

I guess it really depends on having a good product that people would buy anyway, and not harassing your friends.

No. I don't know anyone these days who has invested in these schemes. I was a bit shocked to find Body shop has gone down that route.

I didn't mention names because MN has been the subject of law suits in the past.

@AlexCabot

MLMs are big on the "fake it til you make it" and "law of attraction" school of thought so even the people doing badly are encouraged to lie on mumsnet social media about how well they're doing to attract down lines.

Using empty boxes to fake big deliveries, taking selfies on car showroom forecourts of their 'new' car and even pretending to stay in luxury hotels by nipping into reception for a selfie.

It's an industry built on deception.

I know this is true of some MLMs but not all. No I'm not involved in one, but I do know people who have worked in MLMs and none of them have ever done this

@AlexCabot

A 30k salary sounds good but as others have said it means no sick pay, no holiday pay and no employment rights among other things.

The same as a self employed person then? Or someone on a zero hour contract? Not an unusual position to be in.

Chesnutsquash that's why I posted up the evidence.

I know two people who got in at the bottom with utilities warehouse many years ago, both men. They have in the past done very well out of it. No idea if it is even still going. But they were offering a good deal on something we all need.

I know someone who makes about 11k a month with younique.

However. She’s high up. She’s got like 400 odd people selling. They take lots of trips. But they pass it off as a perk. When it’s not at all. She conned me into doing it. I hated it. I hated selling it. I hated trying to push it onto others. It’s awful awful. I tried it for about 10 days.

Another friend of mine did it and reckons she makes about £400 a month. If that. It’s ridiculous

There are none! The woman I've quoted in the last post seems to be an arse licker of the highest order and basically recruits her Arbonne reps and sells rubbish.

My relative who 'sells' Juice Plus - I don't think that's doing great either - but she's my relative so I'll give her a pass on that.

I really do think the people at the top make a lot and the people at the bottom don't.

My friend does well enough out of Avon - to life changing but a welcome supplement to minimum Wage

My cousin is an 'area manager' for body shop, she even posted a picture of their 'manager's meeting' on zoom today, where they all sit at home with their lanyards on. It's a load of bollocks. She has tried to recruit me so many times- even I could be an area manager apparently.

Actually I agree with PP that mentions Usborne books. They are delightful.

A lot of the ‘I made £600 last month’ doesn’t factor in how much they paid for the products. If you paid £500 for the products and sold them for £600, you made £100.

I don’t know anyone who has been successful. I know several people who bought into these schemes and lost money and friends.

@gwenneh

I worked on the corporate side of direct sales for a while; they're a small (about 1200 active recruits) subsection of a much larger international food brand.

I know about half a dozen, maybe slightly more, people who make six figures out of it and probably another three or four who did, but moved into the corporate side.

They all have the same personality traits -- the ability to talk to anyone, about anything, and to do more than just parrot back the party line. They are very, very good at motivating people and they. never. stop.

They all know how to create an experience for customers and know how to teach that to the people they recruit -- that's where the real success begins. They understand that unless the people they recruit are successful, they aren't successful, since that is literally how it is structured. So they have figured out how to communicate the things that work for them to other people.

The successful ones all coach their downlines to have those same traits because in the MLM, no one becomes successful on the back of their own friend group, it's all about external networking.

But yes, I know a fair few people who go on the actual expenses-paid trips, drive the cars, and get cheques that were larger than mine! They do exist

The woman I know who does the Arbonne stuff, yes she goes to Vegas and on other all expenses paid trips but a lot of these seem to be 'rewards'.

Her whole FB page is sickening - all inspirational quotes etc but I have since heard from someone that she tends to use people - and the 'huns' who are her besties of course she will praise them to the skies.

She also works as a dancer/performer/actress and this is also on her linked in - so assuming she can't be doing that well there. I think she may teach yoga too. A more unpleasant character you couldn't wish to meet. She's American and has that American 'live the dream, aspirational vibe' maybe people in UK are drawn to that?

I did Usborne Books for a while because the local person who did it before had stopped and my kids loved Usborne's stuff. I made next to no money but it did get a lot of free books for my kids, and for their school and nursery.

Then The Book People started selling Usborne collections at a fraction of what we as agents could buy them for, so it seemed kind of pointless and I stopped. And told all my previous clients to use The Book People.

I know someone who did very well out of Stella & Dot before they left the UK. Not sure if that was an MLM or not. It was such lovely stuff though and I liked how most of it had bits you could remove to change the look. Eg a pair of dangly earrings that were really statement but you could twist the bottom off and wear them as studs etc.

The problem with Usbourne is you can get the same books or very similar cheaper elsewhere.

@ThatsMeChickenArm

Actually I agree with PP that mentions Usborne books. They are delightful.

Some of the books are quite good but the MLM arm of it certainly isn't delightful - it's as bad as all the rest.

The only way anyone does well is by signing up other people and screwing them over. The whole model is manipulative and I know one girl who has put a lot of money in to "her business" to make minimum sales targets. She has tried to recruit most of our mutual friends and is always frustrated that people dismiss what she does as a pyramid scheme. The woman who signed her up is apparently doing well but still no white Merc.

I know someone who sells Avon. She lives in the same village she grew up in and mainly sells to her old school friends and (mainly) her mum’s mates who she has known forever. Her business model appears to be go round to their houses with her toddler for a cup of tea and a chat and also drop off “autumn blush” or whatever or picks up next month’s order.

She makes between £100 and £200 a month from it. I suspect it you divided her profit by the amount of time she spends on it then her income would be about £2 an hour. But she doesn’t see it that way. She sees the Avon as an excuse to go and see people she likes and get her through long rainy afternoons with her toddler. She also suspects that quite a few of her customers like her toddler a lot more than they like their “autumn blush”

It’s not a business success in the traditional sense but it seems to work.

I know of 1 person who has been doing the same MLM for some years now, can't say if she's successful or not though. All I can say is that she's concentrating on recruiting rather than selling. If you mean success as in lot of money then it doesn't appear to be the case.

I know of one who does Avon at work, she makes a couple of hundred a month by leaving the catalogue in the staff room and that's it. She's perfectly open about the fact that she doesn't make tons of money from it, but in the sense that she isn't losing money and she gets a bit of spare cash for the kids etc. She has succeeded.

YABU because there aren't any.

Unless you are closely acquainted with the people who have set up a MLM, and probably living in Utah.

All these people who have friends making money, or know people who "seem" to be doing OK - 99% of people lose money. So what's more likely - you miraculously know the 1% who make a pittance, or your acquaintances are being economical with the truth?