When you promote yourself on the internet, you can get all kinds of responses. And you can’t always be sure of what you’re going to get. Every now and then you might get a reply that turns into a waste of time. For obvious reasons, I try to recognize those kinds of queries as quickly as possible and send the prospects on their way.
In particular, I reserve a special virtual trap door for multi level marketers so that I can dispatch them the moment they appear. Having to spend time evaluating dubious online schemes is time I never get back. So friends and neighbors, allow me to share with you some tips that might save you some time as well.
- When your first contact is by telephone rather than by e-mail, that can be a tip off. Most business people prefer to make an initial query by e-mail to establish whether or not you might be able to provide what is needed. It saves time. MLM’ers are never that discriminating. They’re willing to invest their time in a one-on-one dialogue because they’re basically trying to close a sale.
- When you ask for a website, and you get a link to a video instead, that’s a common tactic of MLM promoters. The “introductory video” will likely be a multimedia sales pitch dressed up as “information.” MLM sites present their companies differently than the standard sort of business website we’re accustomed to.
- If you manage to find the company’s “conventional” home page, and it takes you more than two clicks to find out what that company actually sells, that’s a good sign that it’s a MLM business. They typically focus on their methods, strategies, and potential for profit rather than the product itself. The “thing” they sell almost seems like an afterthought.
- One of the most reliable things you can do is a Google search on the company in question. If you get several pages of results from different sites, all apparently part of the company, that’s usually a dead giveaway, especially if it’s a company you’ve never heard of. A lot of links to YouTube videos is also a good sign. MLM companies operate best as a non-centralized network of individual entrepreneurs each promoting the company through their own marketing channels.
- This last test can create some amusing results. Use Google again, but this time enter the name of the company and follow it with the word “scam.” You’ll find dozens of blog posts and “articles” discussing the MLM company. And contrary to what you might assume, the articles are usually favorable. This phenomenon has come about because MLM companies like to engage in flame wars, accusing each other of unethical practices. It’s revealing evidence as to how savagely competitive the MLM world truly is.
“Let the buyer beware” is always good advice when it comes to the vast marketplace of online commerce. That goes at least double for multi level marketing companies. Deal with them at your own peril.