MLM

Dreams...

Never sleep at 0500 when you know you have school. Bad stuff will follow. Very serious bad stuff.

I spent my time during boring lessons to learn about MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). Basically, it's a modern conning scheme that prowls upon human greed. I was laughing away at the stupidity these so-called businessmen bring.

Imagine you're a normal guy still tame to the world. Then a friend approaches you; being nice and all asking about yourself. And two scenarios will occur.

Scenario 1: Would you like to buy my products?
Scenario 2: Would you like to work at my place?

The second one is the main basis of MLM. They'll take you to their workplace as promised. All around you are workers of the same age. Then some 'Manager' will introduce himself and his products. They will then practise their presentation skills to show you how to sell your products. Right to the very words that they say; potential employees will have to say such. Call this a brainwashing scheme to make people believe your product. An average salesman would not even go as far as to promote their false-claimed products at a very high price.

Then the next stage is the company's propaganda. You will be briefed on why you should work with them and how lucky you are gonna be. Here are some sweet-talk they're gonna say:

1. Do you want to be a Manager right at the age of 19?
2. Why work for 40 years and retire 10 years when you can work 10 years and retire 40 years?
3. Do you want to own a BMW? Someone your age has already attained it *shows you company photo*.
4. Why work for money when you can make your money work for you?
5. You can set up a group with your friends and the more they sell, the more you're gonna earn.
6. I'm earning 20K/mth, and I still have not graduated from Poly.

Sadly, people were driven in by these.

Most MLM follow the same hierarchy. Firstly, you will be a common member. All you have to do is to sell one product and your commission will be a measly percentage of the sale. Boom, you're promoted to Manager. Next stage: sell three products and be promoted to Executive Manager. In addition to the commissions from your sale, enslave newcomers and gain their extra commissions. Promote high enough and you are entitled to a company car. All these sound fruitful for youths, but they're only 'titles'. My mum's a housewife, and she's entitled to Marketing Manager. These promotions are as useless as the scheme itself.

The recruiters will eventually pull you in with whatever lame excuses they got. But they're prone to a weakness: their identity. The meeting is like an illegal drug trafficking; you cannot reveal what you were doing or where you're at. Once their secret's out, news of the MLM company will spread wide and then suffer great setbacks. If the poor uninformed are sucked in, they have to be prepared to con their families and friends just to get themselves to the top. Eventually, once their company fails, the ants will follow suit. All their profits and gains will be gone just like that, and they will have themselves to answer.

So recent news told the tale of the soon-to-be clamping down of MLM companies. But some poor young workers do not notice. They are trying to pull more suckers in. Main tactics are: "Hey, you wanna work?" *show bankbook account with 5-digit figures* *put on DP their cold hard cash fabricated and displayed nicely*. Sad, but true.

If any of your friends are doing those, you should know what they have been up to. And it's only a matter of time until you see them say: Eh, you got money or not? Can help me?

Salam.