MLM, of course, stands for MultiLevel Marketing or multilevel network marketing. It is a method of selling where in, basically, someone hires you and you have to hire others in return. Or more appropriately, someone recruits you (your upline) and then you recruit others in return (your downline). Thus, there is hierarchy. The ones above you make commissions out of your sales and you, in turn, make commissions out of the people below your ranking. There are usually ranking titles that you strive for based on sales and people recruited. For instance, you start as an associate. After 3 hires and 1 sale you progress to a Director, after 3 more hires and 2 sales you become a Junior Director and so on and so forth. And, in reality, these are not limited to parents. Nor are they limited to Filipinos. These are in fact American-founded legitimate companies. We Filipinos just have a penchant for joining them.
Let me see. For as long as I can remember there is always somebody who has been inviting members of my families to see a demonstration. There was a wet/dry vacuum cleaner that was made by Amway. There were jewelries sold by the length. You name it they’ve got it. Personally, my husband and I have joined two financial MLMs (WMA and Primerica) and one nutritional supplement (Noni juice). We almost joined a phone or telecommunication MLM (does Excel ring a bell to anyone?).
What is the siren’s song that we just can’t resist? Well, for one the promise of wealth and abundant life, the one reason why we have immigrated to other countries in the first place. Mention the phrase “financial freedom” and you’ve got my undivided attention. So, several years later, are we rich and famous? Er,…No! But we are wiser.
Newly arrived immigrants beware. Those who have fire in their eyes and ready to take on corporate America. The companies we had joined are bona fide companies and well structured. They may even be listed with a ticker symbol. Primerica for instance is under the Citigroup umbrella. Their claims that you can be millionaires are not founded in air. They have people who work for them as proofs. They even get featured in magazines such as Success and Money Magazine. However, being an “Associate” is not for everyone. It takes a sales person. Sadly, that is what we are not. Do not let any potential recruiter tell you differently. These are companies with products and services. The only way to get them to the masses is to “market” or sell them. They may hedge about the truth (in one instance I directly asked and she denied any selling involved). They may use another sugarcoated term, but selling by any other name is still selling. I suppose I was slow at the time. It took a second Tom Hopkins seminar for me to figure out, oh, hey I’m trying to sell this stuff. For those of you who are not familiar with Tom Hopkins, he is the leader in selling seminars. He wrote books on the topic that you can buy at Borders or Barnes and Noble. How to Master the Art of Selling and Low Profile Selling: Act Like a Lamb, Sell Like a Lion. He held seminars with foremost motivator Zig Ziglar author of Success for the Dummies.
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