BUT….BUT….BUT…..it’s a “Network Marketing Company”….. in a whispered voice

Young Living is classified as a Network Marketing company.  No, I’m not apologizing.  I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t tip-toe around it.  I haven’t always felt this way.  Before I heard Carrie speak about what the oils did in her life, I was biased AGAINST network marketing companies…. or multi-level marketing.

“Yeah, NO….not going to be locked into spending a monthly amount.”

If anyone approached me about one:  Amyway, Melaleuca, Mary Kay, Shaklee….just FORGET about it.  My response has always been, “I don’t do network marketing.  MOSTLY: I’m not committing to spend any certain amount monthly.”

However, once I experienced the oils, I neither cared how I would get them, or what they cost.  Now, I’m just as cheap, I mean frugal, as the next person, but really…. the hope that they offered was priceless. Now that I’m fully vested (a distributor, and promoting oils as both a ministry and a business) I still fully believe that the hope and the changes they have made in my life, the lives of my family and friends ARE priceless.

Exactly what IS network marketing anyway?  Success Magazine describes it as a method of direct sales where companies rely on their independent sales force (or distributors) to spread the word about both the company and the products.  Instead of paying for massive multi-billion dollar advertising efforts and retail outlets, they pay their distributors to BE that force.  Advertising is done on a one-to-one basis for the most part.

Why has it gotten such a bad rap? As I said in another post, “Some people are afraid of network marketing saying, “it’s a pyramid scheme”.  Pyramid schemes were actually outlawed in the 70′s.  A pyramid scheme is based on the promise to consumers/investors  of large profits based on recruiting others to join, but not based on any real investment or real goods.  Two things are red-light spotlights that there is a pyramid scheme in play:  inventory loading (encouraging the purchase of large inventory by the supplier) and a lack of retail sales.  There was also a distinction made between MLMs and pyramid schemes with the landmark decision that Amway was a legitimate.  This was  due to requiring distributors to buy a relatively inexpensive sales kit and there were products distributed.  They came up with the 70% rule/policy.  This policy requires each distributor to sell or retail at least 70% of its purchased inventory each month. The Commission declared that it (MLM)  was a legitimate  method of marketing. A Ponzi scheme is very close to a pyramid scheme as it revolves around continuous recruiting, the difference is that there is no product to sell and it pays no commission to investors who recruit new “members”…instead, the promoter collects payments from a stream of people all who promise the same rate of return on a short-term investment.  There really is not investment opportunity  the money is used to pay obligations owed to the longer-standing members.  It’s also referred to as “stealing from Peter to pay Paul.   Both pyramid schemes and Ponzi schemes are illegal because they will always fall apart.  You cannot recruit new members forever.  MLMs are unlike pyramid and Ponzi schemes because there actually IS a product and the company pays commissions to a long line of distributors.  Your commission is based on actual sales and not on an abstract idea.”

In a network marketing company, the power is in the network.  So it benefits me to make sure that everyone under me understands all about the products, their uses, their benefits, and how to market if they are also interested in building a network.  So I don’t “SELL OILS”  I tell people how to get them at the best possible price and teach them how to use them.

We’re all always network marketing anyway.  You tell people about movies you enjoyed, books you like, restaurants you frequent, the church you attend, your favorite doctor and hairdresser, the babysitter you trust (well, okay..you might not share that one…you might want to keep HER to yourself like I did!).  You talk about the things you like and find value in….you just may not get paid for it.   Groupon pays you to advertise you purchased there and if enough of your friends do, yours is free.  Kickbacks have come to me from the chimney cleaner, a diffuser company, zyto compass.  Some chiropractors offer referral discounts.  I have personally offered referral fee kickbacks for midwifery services and I know many other midwives that do the same thing.  So if you’re GOING to be network marketing, what’s so bad about being PAID to do it?

Some of the benefits of a direct selling/MLM business according to Success Magazine:

• Booming industry, always room at the top
• Proven system for success
• Start a business for $500 or less
• Flexibility and time freedom
• Earn what you’re worth
• Maximize your earnings with residual income – (Did you know that to an extra $300/month in residual income you’d need to have $48,000 in the bank?  That is very easy and do-able with Young Living.)
• Rewarded to help others
• Become a BETTER you

Why do some people treat network marketing like a dirty word? This company is very proud of the fact that they are NOT an MLM… they say they  “We source each oil from top suppliers around the world, buy in large volume, and negotiate the best prices possible. We then pass those savings on to you, the consumer!  When you purchase a bottle of essential oils from Plant Therapy, you are paying for the oil and a very modest profit.”  You’re not paying the up-line, you’re not paying for a cruise or a car or a company jet. It is our intent to get our oils in the hands of the people who need them by making them affordable to everyone.  So, they are a MIDDLE MAN….who get their oils from “who knows where” and mark them up at “A VERY MODEST PROFIT”….. so instead of helping my FRIENDS in my community to earn income, I would be giving THEM a very modest profit…..wonder what that markup is?  Wonder how they know if these oils are planted, grown and harvested with HEALING intent and not just for perfume grade quantity?  Wonder if I could go to THEIR farms or see THEIR testing facilities?   So I could buy THEIR Lavender at 10mls for $11.99 or Young Living’s Lavender (at distributor price)  15mls for $23.50.  When 10 times more Lavender is SOLD than is HARVESTED….I want to know my source, thank-you-very-much!  I still wonder why they think “a modest profit” is better for THEM than it is for ME??  I don’t think the OTHER oils are less expensive because they are NOT network marketing companies, but because they are not planted, cultivated, harvested, distilled and packaged with the utmost attention paid to the healing properties…. with healing INTENT.  I think they are grown, harvested and sold with the intent to produce the most oil for the least money/energy/investment.

If you don’t want to market the products with Young Living, you don’t HAVE to.  You’re never required to purchase a certain amount or tell a certain number of people, if you only want to consume the products.  As a matter of fact, I saw a recent statistic that 85% of people that purchase Young Living essential oils never sign up anyone underneath them.  Being a distributor/consumer only is no reason to shy away from an MLM if you want to try the product or you want only to BE a consumer.  I will also say this…I never wanted to market/teach/promote and neither did any of the people I know that are currently involved.  It just grew out of a passion FOR the product.  I just liked the idea of getting my oils at a better price or even paid for, then once that started happening there are so many more people that REALLY NEED these products!

I used to purchase Arbonne products.  I loved their skin care line and their progesterone cream.  However, when they went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy that  took them off the table for me.  I’m not going to support a company that doesn’t fully pay its creditors and yet wants to continue in business.

Most retail companies use advertising campaigns.  Their advertising plays a prime role in selling their goods to people and they must have stores to house their merchandise so there is that overhead.  They use newspaper, television, computer, mobile phones to get their message across to the consumer.  They will usually use paid actors to be spokespeople for their products.  Why isn’t there a public outcry against purchasing from retail outlets that use big money to promote their products?  I mean, we could get the product a whole LOT less expensive if they didn’t pay that $$ to promote it, right?

Who looks down on Ford for paying Alan Jackson to endorse their product?  Or Chevy and George Straight, or Dr. Pepper and Garth Brooks…. Priceline and William Shatner.  Visa and Morgan Freeman.  Allstate and Dennis Haysbert.  (But hey….don’t complain about the Mayhem man!!)

or Coca-Cola and David Arquette, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Bill Cosby, Paula Abdul, New Kids on the Block, Aretha Franklin, Bill Gates, Roy Orbison and more….HEY, if they didn’t have to pay THEM so much $$, then we could buy Coke for just pennies…. why isn’t everybody  whining and complaining about that?  Look at all those big-name people advertising for Coca-Cola…. shoot, that product must be practically free before all the advertising!

Who won’t buy Nike because they pay Michael Jordan to pitch their shoes?  Like, WHAT??  NO WAY!!!  I’m not buying NIKE SHOES when they pay HIM ALL THAT $$…. why, we could buy THEM for pennies.

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird for McDonald’s.  THEY SHOULD NOT PAY THOSE CELEBRITIES ALL THAT MONEY AND THEN WE could just buy a McDonald’s hamburger for 5 cents!  We’re OVERPAYING!!!!

Hey…there’s even Bob Dole for Viagra…. how much IS that LITTLE BLUE PILL anyway???

How much is Michael Jordan paid for all those endorsements anyway?  “Although he’s been retired since April 2003, pro basketball legend Michael Jordan continues to pile on the earnings from celebrity endorsements. Excluding the money he makes from promoting Hanes underwear, Ballpark hot dogs and other brands, Forbes estimates that His Airness “continues to earn $45 million annually, almost entirely from Nike.” Annual sales of his Jordan brand of sneakers are said to be in the $1 billion range, putting MJ on pace to “hit the $1 billion mark in career earnings in the next four to five years.” 

Let that sink in…..$45 MILLION ANNUALLY….almost entirely from NIKE.  Go ahead and “Just DO it” Michael Jordan, as it sure is working for you.

Is there anything wrong with that?  Not really, not if that is what works and it is completely legal.  If that is the way that company wants to market its product, then more power to them.  But don’t believe for one second that standard retail advertising is morally better or less costly than network marketing.  In network marketing you have people that are purchasing the products and using them and believe in them…..and THEN they are paid for it, not celebrities that are chosen for their high profile and then GIVEN products and PERKS to use and promote them. Many more celebrities including John Wayne and Ronald Reagan have been paid handsomely to lend a familiar face to an advertising campaign, sometimes with spectacular results.

How about this guy?  Roger Federer entered into a deal that stands to be the most lucrative tennis endorsement of all time according the Sports Business Journal. The deal, which spans ten years, “could be worth as much as $13 million a year”.  It was reported in October 2009 that Federer was earning $30 million per year from endorsement deals that included “Nike, Wilson, Rolex, Gillette, Jura, Mercedes Benz and NetJets.” Retaining the services of a celebrity to hawk your products is a tradition as old as advertising itself.

So yes, Gary Young, Founder and CEO of Young Living Essential Oils set up his company to be marketed and advertised by the consumers of his product, instead of paid celebrity spokespeople.  And I, for one, and very glad he did because not only did it enable me to be able to purchase these high-quality therapeutic grade essential oils at a discounted price, but it also enables me to earn an income while doing so, an income that is only limited by my own imagination and has the ability to go beyond my wildest dreams if enough other people catch the vision of health, wellness and abundance with me.  To borrow from Nike:  Just do it…. Possibilities abound……

How about you?  Would you like to join my team?  Here is a link to signup, choose the Premium Distributor Kit and I’ll send you a welcome package to go along with it which will include SURPRISES.  I’ll also contact you to see how I can help you achieve your goals.  You never have another requirement as a distributor, and very minimal investment if you want to earn income.

Sources:

• http://www.network-marketing-works.com/
• http://www.nexera.com/top25/  top 25 network marketing companies
• http://www.success.com/search/content/network%20marketing
• http://www.success.com/article/business-to-consider-direct-sellingnetwork-marketing
• http://www.success.com/article/direct-selling-offers-flexibility-and-financial-freedom
• http://voices.yahoo.com/celebrities-spokespeople-famous-people-in-355305.html?cat=35
• http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/uncategorized/business-leaders-athletes-best-celebrity-spokespeople-10977/http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/moneyinvesting/news/10-best-celebrity-spokesmen
• http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/fyi/12-rich-celebrities-moonlighting-expensive-spokespeople
• http://www.voicewind.net/index.php/tag/arbonne-bankruptcy/
• http://www.voicewind.net/index.php/2010/01/31/bankruptcy-types-arbonne-chapter-11-restructuring/