I challange anyone to shoot holes in this business.

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Permalink Reply by Nascent Dynamics ( ) on May 31, 2009 at 4:43pm

Hi Lou, that's an interesting challenge.

I checked out the website you posted, watched the video, and read through a large portion of the content on site.

This sounds like a very good MLM opportunity and it has pretty good production value. I tend to see holes in MLM in general, and this one did not appear to be an exception. My business is currently under research and development. However, many of the ideas I intend to employ are to seize on the modern business concepts such as MLM and do it better. So this is an interesting exercise for me.

1) The presentation focusses on the opportunity more than the product or service. You can claim that health and wellness is going to be a trillion dollar market, but that has little correspondence to the challenge people are going to have moving those products and services once they sign up. As a modern business consultant, I intend to help people and businesses adapt to the new dynamics of modern healthcare, marketing, retail, and distribution. All of these require building up business through the established industries that exist today which constitute where and how the money really moves. I worked in the executive capacity for a healthcare consulting and management firm and recognize the emerging opportunities for consumer engagement and cooperation in ventures...however, I predict this will not be MLM in the conventional sense.

2) It appears this opportunity requires investment. My rule of thumb is if the product/ service or opportunity was so profitable, then the proprietors would be willing to bank on the success of their teams by investing in each business respectively until such a time as they were established enough to operate on their own. Basically, why not hire people to distribute for you at your risk? If it is something you know sells within your systems and support, then as the proprietor you stand to profit more for that risk by investing in the success of others. I don't buy the idea people need to put up money to take the opportunity seriously. I intend to offer my services for free as an investment in the success of my clients. If I help them to succeed and make money, they will want to put some of that back into me for the substantive difference I can make for them.

It looks good though for an MLM program. I find your provocative post an interesting way of gaining exposure. Perhaps you will be a success with this. If not, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to work with you on developing some alternatives for your modern business ambitions.

Best,

Anthony Reardon
Nascent Dynamics ( ) Modern Business for the Modern Environment

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Permalink Reply by Lou Noble on June 1, 2009 at 6:16am

Hey Anthony It sounds if you have a pretty indepth business background. I appreciate your indepth look at my site and business.

I would have to disagree with you regarding hiring employees instead of taking the product to market via network marketing. Why lay out capital and pay people a salary or hourly wage to distribute your product when you can pay them a commission only when they produce results? The training is free and the website is free, marketing materials are free to use, All the distributor has to do is apply the elbow grease. Most people won't do a thing. But the ones who do produce big results. Again, its smarter to pay for orders not employees wages.

One correction there is no start up fee either. You must be a customer and purchase the product monthly to sell the product and collect a commission though. It's hard to practice word of mouth marketing if you don't use the products. That is the basis behind referral marketing.

You can retail but the idea is to share the benefits of the products with like minded people who want to build a residual monthly income and grow a team of marketers so you can leverage your time with the efforts of your team members. Work smarter not harder.

Thanks again for the input. That is what I was looking for.

Lou

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Permalink Reply by Nascent Dynamics ( ) on June 1, 2009 at 10:00am

You bet Lou,

Good answers!

Anthony

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Permalink Reply by Steven on June 1, 2009 at 1:40pm

Hi,

I agree with Nascent. And in my opinion, its pouplar belief among public that products offered through MLM are of sub standard quality.

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Permalink Reply by Lou Noble on June 1, 2009 at 2:12pm

Thanks for the reply, what do you base your opinion of sub standard quality on? Is there any research that supports your opinion or is that just gut instinct? The feedback I have recieved from consumers is that "SOME" MLM companies products were of extreme high quality but very high priced. Of course you cant throw a blanket statement over an entire industry with the feedback of a few individuals. Some are good, some poor, some overpriced and some great value.

After all most people I know, say Wal Mart Products are cheap poor quality products made in China, in reality many are good quality products with a few bad apples. This has not stopped people from shopping at Wal Mart.

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Permalink Reply by Nascent Dynamics ( ) on June 1, 2009 at 5:19pm

On that note, therein is the real future of MLM and network marketing...competing with Wal-Mart.

It's a prospect I think I will get into more detail in my own areas, but the situation is something I think all MLM'rs ought to be aware of. Wal-Mart is a competitive juggernaught that has simply mastered the game of contemporary competition. As small and large businesses alike go down in the fight, doesn't that impress upon people the exciting prospect of direct marketing? You can operate with an efficiency of overhead by working from your home and distributing products with close personal service direct to market.

Be careful though! MLM has always been phenominal when it came to personal product consumer markets for items such as Tupperware, Avon, and so on. As a strategic approach for real business, it has proven effective. What you see these days is a lot of small proprietary MLM opportunities being promulgated, but the focus seems to be in selling people opportunities rather than impressing upon them the competitive advantages of direct network marketing and so on. They want you to buy in, but is there something to be said about using this as a business model for whatever it is you want to do?

Let me use this conversation as an excuse to mention MIT's The Beer Game. It's a simulation of product from manufacturer to consumer and the challenge is managing the cost through every step along the way from wholesale, distribution, retail, and so on. If managed poorly, your costs are inevitably passed to the consumer and your competitive position degraded. Wal-Mart is great at The Beer Game, however, they still have the disadvantages of massive retail space overhead. They compete on price, but use that loss leading "price point" opening to upsell many higher end products at prices that are even higher than other similar places. This has proven sound too as you see BMW's parked next to Camry's in their parking lots.

If you could eliminate all the middlemen and the overhead costs, then you stand to be in a position to compete with Wal-Mart. The problem for you is that Wal-Mart knows this and is quietly positioning itself to compete with you whether you know it or not. Did you know that you can now go online and order whatever you want from Wal-Mart and have it shipped to a store near you for pick up with no shipping costs associated whatsoever? If you imagine the capital and intellectual investment being applied to your market niche, I think you would come to an understanding that you need to organize at a level that is far superior to even the top MLM programs out there.

So where is the advantage to be found then? Wal-Mart still has the power of volume buying, comprehensive price negotiation with suppliers, and a distribution infrastructure to contend with. It still costs them money to do this, and your average home-based business could do it better. The advantage is first in direct relationship management you find in network marketing and MLM. You are closer to the customer than Wal-Mart. You also have a lot of other small business owners tied to manufacturing, brick and mortar, and infrastructure overheads. If enough people played their cards right, then they could network with other small businesses to gain the volume leverage Wal-Mart employs while also being able to offer products (and services) at a lower price.

I see this being done organically from the bottom-up on a case by case basis. You decide what you want to offer in your business, you get on the phone to source it, and you network with other people to organize cooperative exchanges and referrals...to whoever specializes in whatever it is your friend or customer is looking to purchase.

The problem with a lot of MLM out there is the product mix. They want you to sell their products, buy them, and to profit off selling a piece of their market through you. The MLM market is saturated with berry juices, cosmetics, and so on. If you really want to profit, then you might consider selling what most people want to buy such as all those things you see consumer goods you spend your money on in your household. If you don't you just might see people being more comfortable purchasing those things alongside your products at Wal-Mart.

I would personally prefer that for my own home than dealing with MLM'rs because I don't have to worry about being solicited, upsold, and perhaps manipulated through my personal relationships. As a consumer I benefit from a one stop shop oriented around the products and can look for the best deals based on what I want. MLM'rs vested in their programs are naturally going to be pressing.

I think you have some good answers for your MLM program, but stand by my points.

1) You need to relate to the market in what you want to buy and how. As creatures of habit, we're more likely to prefer the anonymous discretion of free market choice- the standard buy/sell window shopping experience. It's what you see and want that gets you in the store. An MLM program that puts the opportunity before the product is deficient in my view.

2) Even a no money down arrangement is likely to come with some catch, such as purchasing and using the MLM line of products...perhaps at a nominal periodic fee and commitment. There goes free market choice out the window. If "most people" will not go anywhere with the program, you are fine connecting with the few who will- the problem with that is going to be the dissatisfaction people start to associate with MLM in general, when the real opportunity is being seized by corporations.

Next thing you know, they will be sending their employees to work from home and offering them franchise partnerships to work for themselves when they become profitable enough to do so. It's easy for me to shoot holes through a typical MLM program from this perspective, but the initiative is still up for grabs. It's the people who are doing MLM now with open minds and an interest in getting it perfected to a science that have the most potential to lead a next generation direct marketing/ distribution movement. Seems like you are right on track for that. Good on you!

Best,

Anthony

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Permalink Reply by Lou Noble on June 1, 2009 at 6:53pm

Awesome response. I look forward to your discussions and relationship.

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Permalink Reply by Lou Noble on June 3, 2009 at 5:03am

One last thing. It still is free market choice when there is a purchase commitment required. Here is why. If Wal Mart Gave you 10% commssions on all of your friends purchases that you referred to their stores with one catch, you had to be a customer to recieve the commisions, you would choose either to shop their and make money or not choose not to. Its the same with Discover Card. You have to make a purchase to get your rewards back.

Many MLM's today are online and the only time you are approached is with the intitial offer. The days of stocking up your garage with product are over. It's all processed online and dropshipped to the customer.

You say that the opportunity before the product approach is flawed. I Say look at McDonalds Franchises. They aren't selling Hamburgers they are selling money making opportunities. People don't buy the Franchise because its such a good hamburger. They buy them because they want to make money. Of course you have to have a product that will sell. The business builders are the ones who provide the growth, not individual sales. I'd buy $100 worth of Manure every month, If I recieved a $5000 commission check for refering new business partners.


How much would it cost the average joe to start his own business such as you described in the first part of your post? The cooperatives with other businesses.

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Permalink Reply by Steven on June 1, 2009 at 9:37pm

Hi,

It was not based on instinct rather my opinion based on own perception and experience with MLM.
If I add research papers and scientic proofs backing up my perception it may be discouraging for people taking on MLM model for their business. More over its out of the scope of this discussion. Seems already Antony has taken this discussion initiated with one liner to a scholarly level. Don't think I can add more on that.

I feel that using MLM as a marketing tool is different to building a business solely on MLM model.

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Georgia on June 5, 2009 at 5:30pm

Just putting 2 cents in! I think Network Marketing is here for the long haul guys. Good, bad, ugly. The reality is Warren Buffet owns 3 direct sales companies. His most recent purchase was Pampered Chef which is a MLM. So if this guy who has made more money then god is involved, I was finding one to get involved in!! Just my 2 cents!

Jessica

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