I get approached most weeks for something to do with health and wellness usa companies by well meaning customers or colleagues and have declined so far
My dilemma is I want a product I can take each day to help me regain energy, and to rid myself of the aches and pains, plus to generally increase well being
I do a lot of physical work and now I am starting to suffer from all the accidents over the years and to many back strains etc
However I know all the MLM companies products are overpriced to pay everybody so do you have a recommendation of a daily supplement that will help me as above
There is one from a company (the latest approach) which caught my attention but as usual its $50 a bottle and they recommend you start with 8 per month ouch!!
________________________________
Gary comments:
On the face of it the product referred to looks as good as any others. Quality is not the issue. What is at issue is the business model and the price of the product. These products are priced to direct the customer into the eel trap that is the business model of multi level marketing (MLM) schemes.
These schemes do not work for the vast majority of participants. MIM schemes generate great wealth for those at the top of the pyramid while leaving countless thousands of people at the bottomwho have lost money. Due to the hard sell methods employed these schemes can be family wreckers. They have the potential to destroy workplace relationships and rub out community goodwill. Poeple have been so distracted their day jobs have suffered and some people have even lost their jobs.
As you read this you will gather that I am not on the Christmas card lists of multi level pyramid scheme marketers. Here are all my articles about these pyramid schemes so that you can get a better idea of what I am going on about.
So, take care and try not to get sucked in by the hype and the promise of overnight wealth. Even if the product is "endorsed by doctors" so was cigarette smoking at one time.
If you are suffering aches and pains and feel your health could generally be better than it is, it is better to develop a nutrition plan that is customised to your specific needs, rather than a one size fits all solution like a vegetable juice drink that costs $50 a bottle.
I do like the Active Elements programme to kick the ball off because it helps me to identify a person's health issues and specific needs. For a general supplement I quite like the Balance Sports Multi for active people. You could add Nutra-Life Fruitful Greens or Berry Brights. These are good value and can be added to smoothies. I like to add a couple of big spoons to a big bowl of fruit salad which we keep in the family fridge. It is delicious when had with my home made yoghurt.
Do you have a question?
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
13 comments:
"eel trap" great phrase
everyone, do your homework on health products, NEVER trust marketing, find independant reviews and research before forking out your cash.
Multi level marketing.
richest people in NZ? the owners of chriscoes. you could buy the items in their christmas hampers for far cheaper yourself, if you invested some money you'd make the interest yourself and save twice over instead of giving it to them,
those who are making lots of money seldom care about those who are making them rich, if they id care then they woulnt be taking so much money from so many people.
Gary, I doubt whether MLM's actually cause poverty, but many MLM's are top-heavy in that the wealth is distributed to the upper echelon while the lower-tiered people end up having to hustle to meet the minimum commitments of their contracts. My observation is is that people get enthused initially, sign up, pitch sales to everyone on their address book for a a few months or so, and end up signing out with a backlog of product gathering dust on a shelf. A lesson well learned. If they lose their day job, then shame on them. As a business model I agree with you that it is flawed: over-priced product with very little margin for the lower levels. Pyramids are enduring structures only when built from the bottom up.
I have been approached by many MLM's over the years, (sportspeople with public profiles and targets for health MLM's) and have participated a few times when I liked the product. I have learned that I am not a salesperson and have no desire to earn a living delivering a sales pitch. I like the simplicity of a clean sale for my purchases. Beware of the fancy catch phrases and big words - synergistic, scientifically formulated, bioavailability etc etc. Health is not rocket science and there are few miracle products that Mother Nature does not offer to us already fully blended to restore vitality to the human body at a fraction of the price.
By the way I like Body Balance myself, and have 6 cases in my garage that I would be willing to sell cheap.
Not sure who gave the information about Body Balance. Prices are less than $25 a bottle, including shipping, with each quart bottle expected to last from 1 to 2 weeks for one person. That's at the recommended 2 to 4 ounces each day. Four ounces is recommended for several months, but you can do what you want. It's a food, not a medicine.
As for MLM: there are failures and dramatic successes in every business model. While it's true that many folks burn out quickly, many others continue on, bringing in substantial monthly incomes. The important thing in MLM is to find a company and product that are outstanding, as well as a compensation plan and real training and support that really makes it possible for the members to succeed if they persist. In my experience, Life Force products are excellent, their business is solid, and their commitment to their members is outstanding.
That said, there are ways to succeed and ways to almost guarantee failure. Lorraine, who posted a reply, had 2 cases of Body Balance in her garage. Since LFI directly distributes their products to consumers and members, it is odd that this is the case. You only buy what you want to use yourself or to give to others.
So I say, learn from the successful, not those who lump all MLM businesses into the same pile.
I just wanted to pipe up here in the US--I'm not sure how the Life Force program is run in NZ. It could be a lot of hype, I don't know. I have always been turned off by that, too.
When I decided to join LFI, I decided I wasn't losing anything. I was going to take the Body Balance every month no matter what, and LFI didn't want anything but the social security # for tax purposes. Nothing else to earn money, and that's still true.
I also vowed I wouldn't become "one of those people." I don't see people as dollar signs, and I don't think my products are Jesus Christ in a bottle. That has attracted people to me, and in fact, I've ended up with downlines that are like-minded. Makes it fun to work with them.
I read your articles about MLM and respect your opinion. I know some of the companies in NZ and I don't blame you for using the word "scam" with them. Here in the States, our Federal Trade Commission has laws about that, and regulates MLM companies. Some MLM rules here
In my mind, a pyramid SCHEME doesn't sell products and takes money from people with the only the promises of big money returns if you give it to them. A pyramid compensation plan is what most corporations and businesses use. Someone's at the top making big money (President/CEO). There are people under him or her (Board of Directors). The levels keep moving down to managers, etc., and at the bottom are the workers who pick the lettuce or whatever. They pick and get wages in return. I sell and I get commissions in return. And yes, the lettuce is marked WAY UP from the cost to produce it, because people have to be paid to ship it, wash it, truck it, etc. Same with Body Balance, which I will tell you here in the States is around $22, shipping included (8 pack).
Thanks for letting me clarify some things, and I wish you only the best with your site, as I see you are selling health products, too.
Hi All, Just saw this now and I will step up as I am thrilled to have the opportunity to write about Life Force and MLM. Thank you Carolyn for speaking so well about our industry and our company Life Force. I've been with Life Force for 3 years now and have steadily grown mu business spending 172.00 a month on an 8 pack of Body Balance, which I gratefully drink and have increased my health, and that of my family, dramatically. I now make a professional income and consider myself to be on the track to a true residual income lifestyle. I work with people I like and I travel to beautiful places for conferences, trainings and vacations. I work at home so I can be here when my kids get home from school. And most importantly I help other people do the very same thing, increase their health and wealth in a fair and depenbale business. Carolyn (above comment) says it well: "When I decided to join LFI, I decided I wasn't losing anything. I was going to take the Body Balance every month no matter what, and LFI didn't want anything but the social security # for tax purposes. Nothing else to earn money, and that's still true."
That's how it works at Life Force and I am so grateful that I took off the blinders and had a look at what they offer. They are a WONDERFUL company! I own my life now and my dreams come true!
Only losers criticize mlm and hear this. I once had sinus problems that would hit me nearly every week, until I used Body Balance. So, send me a case at a good price.
Now, about Life Force, it is a highly rated company and if a distributor would make appropriate efforts in a business like way, there's no reason they would fail. However, mlm failures don't seem to bother about acquiring essential skills for their business. Or they sign up, sit down and do nothing. So, is it any wonder they fail?
Now, about pyramids, the ones who often use that word are seldom correct in their views. These people are hopelessly negative or have picked up a bias. Maybe they prefer ignorance. If goods and services are changing hands, you have a legal transaction. Period. I could say more, but I suspect we are dealing with closed minds. So, why should I waste too much time on them and their ignorance?
Finally, do any of you LFI people have distributors in Georgia. I'm about ready to order some product.
BTW, I am in the business to help people build their businesses. We specialize in training and list building. I would be very pleased to teach your rookies how to build a business. Be advised. I'm going to put them through the paces, but in less than 120 days, you will see an awesome difference in their abilities and skills. Click my name and see how.
Aspinwall.Services@gmail.com
Ken
Thanks for your comments.
I feel you are playing a "blame the victim" line of argument. These people (90%) who invest in these schemes and lose did so in good faith on the basis of false promises. These promises are packaged and presented using the exact same slick business blueprint that is used for sucking people into highly profitable religious movements.
Many of these people lose their life savings, friends, family and job. They work themselves into the dirt. They are victims of barely legal schemes - They are not the lazy slackers that you imply.
Those at the Head of MLM schemes rely on a legion of disciples who will wear themselves out recruiting everyone in their sphere and doing so with a blind religious fervour. This is a great way for those at the top to make a bucket of money but for the actual workers it’s no better than a regular job. The only difference is these workers pay for the privilege to toil!
Over 90% of those who get sucked into these pyramid schemes end up spending more money on their business than they make while the few who got in early at the top get very wealthy.
Please, please - prove me wrong!
Well folks, just like in any business there are winners and losers. Everyone is not cutout to become MLM business owners. It's the same with other professions as well e.g., engineering, law, medicine, skilled trades, etc. (I know what you're about to read states the obvious but sometimes we lose sight of the obvious. ) To perform any function, people require the necessary skill sets & training. Let me ask this: How did you get the job or business you're involved with presently? Well, you acquired the specific training required to compliment your skill set. Similarly, if you want to own a successful MLM business, one should target the business and product that match their particular skill sets and acquire the necessary business & product training. The MLM provides that but the reward is solely performance based. We have been conditioned from childhood to get a job. A job provides a certain security that we all have become accustomed. The reward is your wage or salary and maybe an incentive known as a performance bonus. Pay is traded for your time. Your output is a secondary product of your time spent performing the job. Output is either high, low or somewhere in between at all levels of the company. If you think about levels, all businesses function on the same model. Just as Carolyn stated above (paraphrased), all businesses are pyramids. Even the US Government which happens to be 3 interacting pyramids. All have a pinnacle and base and it’s even on US currency. We call this Capitalism folks. So to say that MLM are “bad” is false. MLM PAYS ONLY FOR WHAT YOU DO. IT IS STRICTLY PERFORMANCE BASED. The bonuses are there to provide incentives. There are no guarantees. I can go on for lines but I think you understand position…Pro MLM.
So, Rick, when you read the articles here and elsewhere about the sorry truth about the high failure rates of MLM participants, you blame them and not the pyramid scheme?
It would seem to me if a person gets in late (at the bottom of the pyramid) there is little chance of making it in the scheme regardless of ability and effort.
Somebody: Please show me that I am wrong.
Just to point out that "the pyramid" makes a lot of assumptions, such as that everyone stays in the business. That doesn't happen. I prefer to think of it as a matrix.
But the most important thing for me is to be in a company in which most of the product is consumed by customers who are not business builders.
The bottom line is that having the conversation with someone who repeatedly says "somebody please show me that I am wrong" is a waste of time if that person doesn't accept repeated and varied arguments that counter the position. Maybe this person is right. Maybe this person is wrong. We can also say that capitalism is inherently unfair, unjust, and exploitative... so only a cooperative venture would be morally acceptable. This conversation seems like a waste or our respective times. So I'll stop wasting my time here (after I send this, of course).
Hi there, I first became involved with MLM and life force some 18mths ago. I was seriously sick, nervous breakdown and thyroid issues. I can honestly say that this stuff saved my life. I agree its not cheap but worth every cent, even as a pensioner, I scrounged to buy it.
You don't have to get involved in marketing the product if you don't want to but why would you not want to share the benefits with people you know, whom it just may help??
I would also like to point out that ALL businesses and companies are MLM. Think about say TJ Max for example or here in Australia, Myers. They all have a "top dog" or top of the pyramid manager and then they recruit others under them to do their "dirty" work.management, sales staff, juniors, casuals etc. As the roles get more and more menial the wages get less and less down to the janitor. You will never make the wages that the general manager or the owner make unless you climb the ladder.
With MLM and Life force you actually do have the ability to make more on the bottom rung than the top if you apply yourself.
Just because you are above some one else in the "pyramid" (which is actually not a pyramid) doesn't automatically mean you will make more money.Its really all about how much you apply yourself, just like any other company position.
How on earth that lady ended up with boxes of stock in her garage is beyond me as this company delivers directly to the consumer. That's the great thing, you don't need to hold any stock, so if she had masses of stock then that's because she chose for whatever reason to do that, why is beyond me??
Thanks for your comments Anon. Most appreciated!
There is no doubt of the power of nutrition and lifestyle alterations when dealing with many of the ailments of modern society including stress and burnout such as you describe.
The problem I have with MLM schemes is not to do with the quality or otherwise of the products sold, but to do with the business model which benefits those who develop the scheme and those who adopt early and therefore end up towards the top of the pyramid.
It is inevitable that these pyramid schemes faulter and eventually fail leaving the vast majority out of pocket while a few very enriched.
My advice is to take care, try to work your way through the hype and definitely continue to seek good health through nutrition and lifestyle measures.
Good luck and good health!
Thanks for your insights. I agree with your comments regarding most MLM companies. As I have been a member of many and taken down the windy road. However as to Life Force International. They do run a very tidy ship and for the little bit of work I do ( I use their product Body balance). People just ask me what I am taking and I tell them. I get a regular cheque. Great renumeration and very sustainable for the company and their customers. This is one company i can recommend after being burnt by many.
Post a Comment