Amway Global - Customer or IBO?

Many people who register to distribute Amway products are taught to "buy from yourself". Of course using the products you sell is a good idea because you gain familiarity with the products and you may be able to explain and promote the products. However, one of the issues with this is some IBOs are taught to use the products exclusively without selling products to others. This makes them customers and not IBOs.

Buying products is not a business activity. A business exists to sell goods and services to customers for a profit. That's it, plain and simple. Any other activities that you engage in such as listening to a tape, attending a function or reading a book, might be educational in nature, but it is not a business related activity.

Many many IBOs are mislead by upline into thinking that simply buying their own goods is a means to succeed in Amway. One somewhat prolific but grossly mislead IBO (Tex) thinks that he can buy his way to prosperity. He is dead wrong and his results prove it.

If you are being taught to "buy from yourself", almost exclusively, you may want to step back and analyze your profit/losses and see if you are accomplishing what is shown in the "plan". IBOs who engage in the buy from yourself philosophy are basically building a product based pyramid. Keep in mind, are you a customer or an IBO?

Amway Global - What Does Upline Teach?

Every once in a while, I encounter an IBO who appears to be building an ethical Amway business. We are normally able to have a frank and honest discussion about how things are done. However, the more common bloggin experience is with a rabid Amway supporter with some zany ideas. Because these "sold out" IBOs spount unusual and outrageous claims, the only conclusion I can make is that they heard it through their upline. Here are some of may favorites:

"My upline said that the whole function was a tax write off. So you know what that means. Duh? I get all the money for tapes, books and functions back on my tax return. The government pays for your education in this GREAT business! It doesn't work like that in college. So who is the stupid one now?"

"If my AWESOME upline told me to jump off a cliff, I would because I know there would be a huge pile of money at the bottom to catch me."

"Just because you wear pink underwear doesn't mean you have to go dumping your garbage on everybody else."

"I AM going to be retiring in the next 6 mths no matter what you guys say. Greg (Duncan) said in a night owl that the world is full of people trying to tear other people down and that's all you guys are doing. Well, I won't let you win."

"I chose not to go to university. My upline said that it was for the best"

" I am going to be retiring in the next 6 mths making $5000 a mth. So eat that crybabies!"

Amway Global - The Facts About The Amway Global Opportunity

1. Amway Global reports that the average "active" IBO earns $115 a month.

2. Most Amway Global business owners make nothing or lose money by paying to learn how to build the Amway Global business.

3. Most Amway Global products are bought and used by Amway Global business owners.

4. Amway Global products are for the most part, more expensive than Walmart or Costco.

5. Most Amway Global business owners do not sponsor other Amway Global business owners.

6. Some Amway Global motivational leaders make more money selling seminars and cds than by moving volume in Amway.

Amway Global - Save Money?

One of the selling points I remember seeing in the Amway presentation was how you can save money. In fact, the speaker always said you save 30% by purchasing Amway products. Therefore by simply purchasing through Amway, you would instantly put $67 in your pocket.
$67 = $7 rebate and $60 = 30% savings on 100 PV.

This was an outright lie. You do not save 30%. It is a myth. I suppose if you are comparing IBO price and full suggested retail, it may be 30%, but it is not a savings of 30% buying the same or similar products elsewhere. I posted a price comparison of some same and/or comparable products some months back and you can get much better prices shopping at Costco or Walmart. IBOFightback, Amway's (unofficial) PR champion (And Zealot), wrote a post about how you don't save money shopping though Amway, therefore it's value is questionable.

So unless you actually check out the prices, be wary and don't simply take the word of someone presenting the plan. Check and verify for yourself.

Amway Global - Your IBO Goals?

It is my observation that many IBOs get involved in Amway for one reason or another but for whatever reason, it seems that IBOs tend to lose focus of their goals and focus on other things. Based on personal experience, it is my opinion that this happens because uplines will teach you to "evolve"your goals into something else.

Many IBOs are recruited by being told that jobs are bad, will wind up leaving you broke when you reach retirement age. Investments are too risky, business is good but too expensive. Why not start an Amway business with little start up costs? On the surface that sounds like a nice suggestion. It will make sense to some people, especially those who are young and possibly those who seek a "little more" out of life. We know that some people are very successful in Amway and that they have a lot of cool stuff, including nice homes, etc.

What happens to many IBOs though, is they start the business fired up. They buy and use products, they are out trying to show the plan and sponsor people. But alas, they find that there are many challenges. Former IBOs have left a bad taste in people's mouths with deceptive recruiting. Others followed the system only to spend money on seminars and tapes and not achieve what was promoted. Even when you sponsor people, many quit, some do nothing. It gets very discouraging after a while.

Then your upline might change the focus of your involvement in Amway. "It's about friendships", "The money isn't that important", "I'm a nicer person". This is a slight of hand to get IBOs to forget why they actually joined Amway. Probably to gain more time and money by earning "residual" income which will allow you to spend more time with family and loved ones. Ironically, in many cases, that which you desire more of - is what you end up losing. Time and money spent at functions and meetings and recruiting cannot be made up.

So IBOs, set goals. 2-5 years is 24-60 months. The 2-5 year plan is a plan to go diamond.
Set goals. Such as sponsoring 1 person each month. Keep track of expenses. If things do not go as planned, think about cutting back on expenses. If you are CORE but your business is not growing, seriously consider not attending expensive seminars. It is more likely that you will end up with more red ink than increasing your volume by attending functions and listening to cds.
If you have been involved for some time and you group volume is 300 PV or less, you seriously need to analyze your efforts to determine if your involvement is worth the time, effort and money. Set strict goals and stick to it. Otherwise your business is likely to become a money pit.

Amway - What Are Your IBO Expenses?

Do whatever it takes? That's what many IBOs and prospects are told when they are presented with the Amway plan. However, it is my understanding that you can get started in the Amway opportunity for under $50. If you see other figures, you may contact the corporation to check. Certain groups will sell products with their regustration kits so the price may be quoted as higher. Some groups may add in some motivational tools as well.

But aside from registration, what are your expenses? It is my guess that from the Amway Global perspective, there are no other required expenses. Some IBOs don't even bother to order products!

Where IBOs and prospects must beware of though, are the business tools and instructions that some groups sell. There are various (for profit) organtizations that promote and sell these types of motivational and instructional tools. Some of these organizations may include WWDB, BWW, Network 21, LTD, etc etc. These tools may bepromoted as vital orthe key to your success.

Despite what your upline or sponsor may tell you, these materials are purely optional and they are not likely to make a significant difference in the experience of most IBOs. Most IBOs would be better off not purchasing any of these materials. Most IBOs would be better off focusing on selling Amway products for profit.

There are some IBOs who participate in these systems and succeed, but the IBOs who achieve anything of significance (Diamond and above) are a small fraction of 1% and they are few and far between. A dismal achievement rate given the amount of money invested in these systems by IBOs.

Amway Global - Supporters Have to Justify Themselves?

Over the last few years, there have been many discussions between Amway critics and Amway supporters. In some cases, both sides have made its points, but one thing I have observed is that many supporters seem to have to "justify" their position by making ridiculous comparisons.
Let me explain and give some examples.

A common point of contention is the average income of an IBO. Amway reports that they did a survey and the average income of an IBO is $115 a month. Amway counted only what they considered "active" IBOs, and disregarded about a third of all IBOs in their count. In defending this income, some supporters will make ridiculous comments such as many IBOs don't do anything so $115 is a lot. What is also not mentioned is that a diamond who might earn $10,000 a month or more, will drive the average up. It is my guess that the median income of an IBO would be $30 a month or so.

Another common justification is for supporters to call someone's job a pyramid or to call social security a ponzi scheme. This is a deflection and doesn't change things about Amway. A 1979 court ruling found Amway to be legal. However, the Amway business opportunity has many parallels to a pyramid type of operation, even if legal. Calling someone's job a pyramid doesn't change this.

Many supporters apparently have achieved nothing of significance with their Amway business. They justify this by saying it is not relevent to the discussion. I beg to differ, especially for those who have been involved for more than 5 years. There should be something to report, especially for those who proclaim that their system works. Where's the fruit?

If you are continuously justifying your position, it makes me (and potential recruits) wonder.........