Who gets the Pyramid Quack award? Kim shares how to answer an age old question! On our conference call the other day, people wondered how to talk and act so that people would stop asking “Is this a pyramid/one of those things?” One way is to stop, forever, saying and doing the things that evoke this image in the minds of others. Here are two quacks that signal a pyramid might be nearby.
One quack is the mad focus on recruiting. For years, it’s been all about getting people to sell and recruit.
“The money’s in the recruiting,” they’d say from the front of the room. “There’s no money in customers.” When companies put most of the pay into recruiting, you will end up acting like you’re a pyramid type. Here’s why doing that quacks like a pyramid… NULL “a pyramid scheme is…[where] the need to subscribe newcomers outweighs whatever benefits the products or system has to offer. Many MLMs sell distributorships more than cosmetics [name your product or service – KK].” –Coercion: Why We Listen to What “they” Say, Doug Rushkoff. For example, if a person earns 5% on a $100 customer order, 5 bucks, versus $100 on a $750 recruiter order, what will they try to go after? Everyone wants to optimize the use of their time, and getting a $100 customer order is not easy, and takes time. May as well go after the bigger one, and earn more. What these short-sighted company owners and upline forget is that everyone runs out of recruits after they go through people they know. Then what?
Customers, if someone earns 10-40% on the orders, will be smaller potatoes, yes, but they also last long term.
Many people are customers for YEARS. So multiply that $10/customer x 100 months and see what they’re worth long term…That’s the basis of the AOL, XM Radio, Sirius radio and cable TV business models – regular, monthly customers you work hard to get ONCE. Then the income keeps coming for those who stick. Here are two fixes for quack #1: 1. Let everyone know that we do two things to make money in the network marketing business:
- Get customers (earn a percent on their orders)
- Get sales reps who want to get customers and more sales reps (earn a percent on their orders)
2. Encourage all companies with products that are good enough that you’d use them, even if you weren’t selling them, to up the pay to a minimum of 10% on regular product orders from customers.15% is better. I don’t mean for the one time retail sales, but for the auto-ship customers.
The other quack that’s recognizable instantly is the urge to turn every person you meet into a recruit, including all customers.
That’s where the perception of our business as the one where you ‘abuse your friends and relationships’ comes from. It’s not selling them the product as customers, it not leaving them along about doing the business. Only one in 100 wants to do commission sales of any kind. Everyone is a customer. When will people in our industry recognize that and let customers be customers? The fix for quack 2: -Do not present the product and the business to the same people(!!) Heresy, I know. But PICTURE your audience for a moment— a cross section of the population, regular people, including us.
99 of every 100 are pushing their palms toward you and saying “No, I don’t want to sell.”
And what are we taught to do? “Share the product and business opportunity with everyone you know.” How many of you have lost your customer prospect when you told them about the business? And they keep right on telling you to present both to everyone. Isn’t that silly since only 1/100 want to sell ANYTHING? No wonder they don’t respect us. Is this kind of behavior showing respect for our audience?
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Kim Klaver (also know by her stage name Ms. Stud), is the Mastermind behind BananaMarketing.com (formerly MLM911.com) and is the author of all the books, tapes, tips and articles you will find on that site. Kim travels all over the US entertaining and motivating the troops, "New, New MLMers", with her radical tips and no hype techniques.
Kim's book, If My Product's So Great How Come I Can't Sell It? is truly a must read. You can have a free 23-page introduction and learn how to purchase the book at her website with our affiliate link, here: BananaMarketing.com. (It's down on the right.)
John Fogg wrote this about Kim and her book:
"Nothing I know of will make more of a profound and profitable difference, faster- in your business and for your people's business- than learning what Kim will teach you about presenting your products the "right" way to the "right" people. Once you know THAT, you will be more successful than you've ever been before- ever!" Kim's message is both Powerful and Immediately Profitable!"
The website now gets 5 Million hits a month and has been featured in countless magazines, websites and newsletters. You can read her blog here: KimKlaverblogs.com
Kim earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Harvard.