Back in 2012 I was wondering what I could do to get some extra cash each month.
My wife had a friend that was doing well in her network marketing opportunity.
Irene (my wife) talked me into going with her to a presentation with her friend. It was Melaleuca. I had never heard of it, but my wife wanted to try.
OK. The products were good, but a little pricey. They needed enough profit to pay everybody involved.
We bought enough every month to qualify for commissions. We did this for about six months. The stuff was beginning to pile up in the house. We had to buy more than we could use. Irene talked one of her girlfriends into joining also. We made a small commission off her purchases, but not nearly enough to cover what we had to buy.
I was getting sick and tired of the whole thing. We quit.
Now, I realize that some people go into these things with a lot of enthusiasm. They recruit many of their friends and neighbors to join. All goes well for a while, until the friends and neighbors get tired of buying over-priced products that they don’t really need. They quit (like I did). The recruiter stops getting commissions. The whole thing collapses. Nobody is happy. Everybody says “Never again.”
It seems we’ve all been there.
So why did I jump back in? Not the same company, of course, but another network marketing opportunity.
Well, the answer is not a simple one.
The Back Story
I ‘m a real estate broker. I sell businesses. One of my clients wanted to increase his sales in anticipation of selling the business.
I did a review of his customers and found that he had a very high turn-over. People came and went. He thought that it was “normal” for his type of business. I asked him if he had any long-term customers. He said “yes.” So, some customers did stay, they weren’t all transient. He just needed to make more of them “permanent.”
How was he going to accomplish this?
I’m not just a seller of businesses, but I am also a customer of many businesses. Just like you. So I reviewed my own experiences. The grocery store where I shopped had a loyalty program to keep me coming back. My gas station also had a loyalty program. I started looking around. Many businesses had loyalty programs of one sort or another. Some appealed to me, but most didn’t. I did NOT want to keep a card in my pocket that needed to be stamped ten times to get me a FREE hamburger. It just wasn’t worth the effort and inconvenience.
When I was young many businesses gave GREEN STAMPS as a loyalty program. It was pretty good because you could get the stamps at many different stores. The only down-side was licking all those stamps and pasting them into a book. Uggh!
At the time I was helping my client with his problem, a connection of mine on LinkedIn wanted me to look at his “opportunity.” I said I would look, but he should not expect me to join. You know the saying: Once bitten, twice shy?
But I took a look. And, guess what? It was the answer to my client’s problem. A loyalty program that I would join. No stamps to lick, no card that needed to be stamped ten times, It could be used all over the world. And the best part was that it had many of the businesses I already frequented. And it had an app for my phone that showed me where I could use it and my membership card was also on the app.
Perfect.
The Details
But how much did this fantastic program cost?
The answer to that question is “it depends.” It depends on whether you join as a shopper (customer), a merchant (the one giving the loyalty benefit), or a marketer.
Naturally, my “friend” on LinkedIn wanted me to join as a marketer. That way he could make a little money on my activity, but I chose to join as a shopper, which was free. Free to join, and free forever. All a shopper wants is a loyalty program that pays him, not the other way around. Well, this program met that expectation. Totally free for the shopper.
And for the merchant it is a bargain as well. Some loyalty programs are very expensive to set up and to manage. This one is very cost effective. Some might even say cheap, but there is nothing “cheap” about the program except the cost.
The company supplies the merchant with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program that is among the finest available. Most are very expensive, but this one is included.
The merchant gets to “share” customers with other merchant members. And there are millions of customers all over the world. Just like Green Stamps, but no stamps to mess with.
But if you want to be a merchant marketer there are nominal costs. I increased my membership when I understood just how good this program was. You can join as a shopper (for free) and upgrade your membership at any time.
You may be wondering why I up-graded after I said that I wouldn’t. Well, the answer is money. A lot of money over time.
The compensation plan for marketers is based upon a geometric progression (like compound interest). It is actually several geometric progressions woven together. The longer you are involved and the more activity you have the further into the progression you move. I have been involved for about six years. The numbers are looking better every month.
Every complaint that people have about network marketing companies has been addressed. You don’t have to buy any over-priced products. There is nothing you will have stack up in your garage. You can “miss” a month (or even a year) without being “dis-qualified.” If you “earn” a commission in a month that you are NOT commission eligible, the commission will wait for you. As soon as you become commission eligible again, the “missed” commissions will be paid to you.
Because the commission structure increases many people think this is some kind of pyramid. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that ultimately the commissions are paid by the merchants. And the merchants are happy to pay because they get the benefit of the world’s best loyalty program.
The comp plan is very sophisticated. I would not dare to try to explain it to you. You need to join as a (free) shopper. Then you will be “eligible” to look at the marketer program. The company has very professional videos and slide shows to teach the basics. Then I could coach you on the “fine points” of the comp plan.
I fully expect to earn in excess of one million dollars per year within the next couple of years. My accomplishment is a function of the effort I put in. Your results will be dependent upon your efforts entirely. This is NOT something for nothing. But it is extraordinary.
As a matter-of-fact, I think this is so good that I plan on opening a retail business so that I can be a merchant member. The future looks very good.
It Just Gets Better and Better
After six years I can’t believe that I have more enthusiasm NOW than I did in the beginning. That is probably the best “test” of the program.
If you have friends or family in another country, you may want to join so that you can “give” a free membership to them. This might be the very best opportunity that they will ever have. They could join for free and become very wealthy. Because people shop everywhere, because everybody needs to eat, because the money is from the merchants, very poor people can actually improve their circumstances.
Some second- and third-world countries have very low wages. Even professionals might work for less than $500 per month. Your friends could make more than that with just a little bit of effort and good fortune. It might take them a year or two to get to that level, but certainly worth the effort, especially since they can start with nothing, just shopping and giving “free” memberships.
We have a saying in real estate: “You are only as good as your last ‘deal.’” And most network marketing opportunities have the same attitude: you only get paid for your last deal. But the comp plan for this company puts more emphasis on your future deals. And if you “do” enough now your future can be put on auto-pilot. Because the commission structure is predicated upon a geometric progression, and because there are components of the comp plan that grow and pay without any activity by you, you can achieve a situation where you will remain commission eligible and will earn commissions even if you don’t do anything on your own behalf for a period of time.
It is for this reason that I see this as a retirement opportunity. You do the work now, then you “retire” and collect your benefits. This is definitely my plan. It could be yours, as well.
Will I benefit if you join? Probably, but my benefit will be much less than your benefit. It is all in the numbers. I will benefit if I get a lot of people under me. That is how network marketing works. But you will also benefit. You could simply benefit by getting loyalty rewards from the merchants, or you could get additional benefits by having other shoppers under you.
Ultimately, you would want to become a merchant marketer and tap into that geometrically progressive comp plan. Then, all the shoppers under you (whether you signed them up, or they signed up under someone in your lifeline) would be contributing to your success and well-being.
The rewards are counted in pennies, but they compound into very large numbers. Take a penny and double it 30 times, to see what I mean. This is the value of a geometric progression. This is the value of compound interest. This is how great fortunes are made, a penny at a time.
Take the first step. Join me as a shopper. Get some rewards. Think about how this could help someone you know.
Remember: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Take that first step.
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