MLM Due Diligence - Tips, Suggestions And Tough Questions To Ask
By Bruce Deery |
Often when people are exploring a business opportunity, they fail to do a thorough Due Diligence. Consequently they often make a poor decision that can be costly in terms of money, time, effort, frustration and disappointment. I know. I have been there. Below I am going to share with you some tips, suggestions and tough questions that you can ask. Hopefully they will help you avoid some of the mistakes I made in the past.
TIPS:
Do not listen to friends, family or relatives.They be well intended, but are likely to be misinformed, or uninformed and simply passing on second hand information.
Do not sign up at a home meeting or hotel meeting. In particular, do not sign up
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at a Regional or National Meeting. The reason being that guest speakers are likely to have been recruited by the company and paid a recruiting bonus to be a traveling, charismatic, motivational spokesman for the company, whose primary job is to recruit people. They are terrific Dream Sellers and know that eighty five percent of the audience will be right brained. That is to say that they make emotional versus logical decisions. They will skillfully play to your emotions. Take your time and think it over. Do not take "anything" at face value. Do not allow yourself to make an emotional decision that you may regret later. Remember that you are making a Business decision. SUGGESTIONS: Do your own Due diligence. Do a thorough search on the internet - the company, the owners, the product, company reviews on Ezine Articles. Do check with the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce where the company is headquartered. Do a thorough Google search of the company's and the owner's legal history. This is very important. What you see on the surface is not always what you get. As the expression goes,there are often sharks in the water. Do check out consumer advocacy websites like http://www.mlm-thewholetruth.com and http://www.pyramidschemealert.org Do check with your state's Attorneys General Office. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS. IT IS YOUR MONEY AND YOUR FUTURE: 1) When you started the company did you pay a "signing bonus" to attract top producers to be the "pied pipers" for your company and are they still active?
2) How many reps have actually signed up since day one?
3) How many are still with the company?
4) Are you willing to disclose the average yearly compensation by rank, including those reps who have earned nothing?
5) What can I expect my first year annual expenses to be, including the opportunity fee, advertising, promotional materials, business cards, replicated website, access to the back office, my monthly auto ship, renting hotel rooms and the cost of attending regional and national meetings?
6) What percentage of your product or service is sold to non representatives?
7) How long do your non representative consumers continue purchasing before they discontinue their auto ship?
8) Have there been any legal problems or class action suits?
9) Do the owners have any past or current legal problems?
IN ADDITION:
* Can I purchase similar products for less from a local retail store?
* What percentage of a rep's income comes from product sales versus
recruiting?
* Does the DSA ( Direct Sellers Association ) represent consumers or the members of the
DSA? * Why is it necessary to pay an opportunity fee when I get a sales job for literally any company free and they will pay a salary and expenses or at least a draw against future commissions? Preferably you should ask these questions to an owner. If they are willing to answer your questions and you are satisfied with the answers and you believe that you can be passionate about the product, go for it. Otherwise, I would encourage you to continue your search. There are plenty of good, legitimate companies that will give you candid, straight answers. Bruce is a long time Consumer Advocate, and seasoned Sales/Marketing Executive. In 2008, needing a PLan B he transitioned to being a full time Internet Marketing Educator,Trainer and Coach. He specializes in helping newbies, baby boomers, downsized executives and serious entrepreneurs who wish to earn 5 figures per month, at home, on their computers, without having to Sell.
it's members, no one has to attend. I have been a member of this group for the
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