It is not unusual in the 'Amway experience' to encounter deception, non-disclosure, misrepresentation, manipulation, and abuse. The 'system' knows how to keep weak minds in the business, and demonize those who leave.

[Myth and the Amway Experience]


You represent buying power to an Amway distributor. When an Amway distributor coaxes you into signing up under him/her, that person will receive some percentage (an override) of virtually everything you purchase from Amway, as well as motivational tools from Amway Motivational Organizations (AMO). Not only that, and more importantly, you represent his/her doorway to financial independence through time-compounding. In other words, you duplicate what they're doing, and the people you recruit do the same, ad infinitum.

In order for people to make significant money in Amway they have to recruit new people to be Amway distributors. There's just not enough profit on selling Amway products on a retail basis, nor interest in the US for buying Amway products, to generate much income. Overrides from distributors consuming Amway products themselves , and (primarily) AMO motivational tools, are the only things generating any real income. Also, for upper level distributors to be able to perpetuate the illusion that everyone will "make it" if they just stay in long enough, the ranks of distributors must continually grow.

Amway distributors use a practiced and deliberate process to get you to look at the Amway business plan, and hopefully into the business. Since most people have already heard about Amway, and don't want to have anything to do with it because of its bad reputation, Amway distributors' techniques to get you into the business continually evolve. A current scheme is as follows:


The Contact

Amway distributors need fresh meat continually - that's the nature of the business. To get new bodies they resort to all sorts of techniques and methods - Frequent the malls, go to this place, go to that place - wherever there's people they can strike up a conversation with, that's where they go. What they're looking for is a name and, if they can get it, a phone number. Anybody's fair game, but people in their 20s and 30s are most sought after. The real prize is young families.

The whole goal is a name and/or phone number, not always an easy thing to get from a complete stranger. Thus techniques are taught, like "Don't I know you from somewhere?", and "You look familiar to me." Yes, it does get this contrived.

Another technique is called FORM, which stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, Money. Amway distributors are taught to concentrate on these topics when contacting strangers as these are the things that people like to talk about. An they will try to use one of these topics as a pretext to develop conversation and some kind of rapport with you. The more rapport the better. It is much easier to get a phone number from people that believe the person talking with them is genuinely interested in them.

It doesn't matter if you're on vacation, or doing business, halfway across the country. It doesn't matter what the conversation is about. The whole purpose of the conversation is to get your name, and if possible a phone number. And yes, they will call you from clear across the country.


The Phone Interview

The purpose of phone interview is to find out if you're looking for ways to make extra money, and to set up an appointment for the Overview if you are. Every attempt is made to try and not tip you off that the business is Amway. The rationalization for this bit of non-disclosure is that people are "closed-minded" to Amway, and it's in their best interest if they're not exposed to the A-name too soon, so they can have a chance to see Amway in a new light. Of course, the "new light" is a carefully staged presentation in a controlled environment where you will hear only the info they want you to hear, crafted in a way that makes Amway appear different from your preconceptions.

Amway distributors get together on Sunday night for "team calling". This is where a group meets at someone's house and takes turns calling prospects between the hours of about 7:30PM and 10:00PM (this is apparently when most people are found at home.) Amway distributors' endearing term for this activity is "Phone Wars". As they pass the phone around, score is kept on a tripod, or wall-mounted, whiteboard. A call is rated either a Yes, No, or Callback - a Yes indicates an interview was set up; a No means the person wasn't interested; and a Callback is when no one answers, or the person didn't say yes or no. Amway distributors are even known to run and flush the toilet when someone rejects their overture. This apparently livens up the evening. The overall success of the evening depends on the final whiteboard tally.

Team calling is apparently Amway-distributor leaders' response to the paralysis that occurs when the subconcious realization of the innappropriateness of calling almost total strangers, who many times are met under hypocritical pretenses, on Sunday night about a questionable business opportunity, confronts the conscious will to do the dastardly deed. Alone by the phone the subconscious can easily win out. The upper level Amway distributors, knowing there's strength in numbers and compelled to action lest they starve, muster their troops and get the ol' team comraderie going to apparently block out the still, small voice of the conscience. It's always easier to feel like a fool or a degenerate when you're surrounded by a dozen others doing the same thing.

Before the advent of more sophisticated recruitment techniques some Amway distributors are rumored to have flipped through the phone book while telling a cohort to put their finger on a name. Then the person would call the chance-appointed person and say, "Someone pointed your name out to me and said you might be interested in making some extra money."

If you get a phone call like this, an Amway distributor got your name and phone number from a contact made with you earlier, or from someone, or somewhere, and is trying to get you to help him become rich. Aren't you special!


[ring] [ring]

CONTACT

  • Hi, [your name]. This is [Amway distributor's name].
  • I own a local business, and am always keeping my eye out for sharp people to expand with.
  • This is a shot in the dark. Do you ever look for ways to [make extra money] [diversify your income] [broaden your income base].

IF YOU ASK "WHAT IS IT?"

  • We use a franchising-type environment and time-compounding to create recurrent income.
  • I work in conjunction with a worldwide educational & marketing firm that developed this system.

IF YOU PERSIST

  • There's different aspects to this business; people get into it for various reasons.
  • I cover a lot a material to give just an overview of my business. There's no way I can do it justice over the phone.
  • I'm not looking for any money or commitments; I'm just looking for sharp people to work with.
  • Right now I'm only checking interest, so if you're interested let's sit down in person and go over some basic concepts and profit potential. I can cover what I need to in about 20 minutes, 30 max.
  • What's your schedule like this week? [book overview]


Notice that every effort is made to tell you as little as possible about "the business". This is for good reason. Many people would hang up if they knew it was Amway. Another reason for this approach is Amway distributors are taught to exude "posture". Posture is an attitude - Amway is all attitude, little substance (yes, Amway distributors will tell you this). Being vague helps the Amway distributor stay in control of the conversation because you can't focus in on anything. If you try to gain control, the Amway distributor will simply "take it away". Manipulation, of course.


IF YOU STILL PERSIST (You Loser!)

  • Listen, I didn't think it would hurt to give you a call, but I can see we're not seeing eye-to-eye.
  • I'm talking about a lot of money here, and am only looking for people that are willing to do what it takes.
  • If you change your mind give me a call. I can't guarantee anything, but I might have an opening for you then.
  • Maybe you know someone who would like to earn an extra $2000-$3000 per month.


This last tactic is known as "taking it away". Amway distributors are taught to maintain "posture" by taking the opportunity away from you (the loser). The intent, of course, is to make you think that you are about to lose your chance at a great opportunity, and hopefully cause you to blurt out, "OK. I'll meet with you." Of course, this tactic is entirely deceitful - Amway distributors have more "openings" than Carter's has Liver Pills. An Amway distributor saying "no" to someone who wants to get into Amway is about as likely as a Chicago Bulls groupie saying "no" to Dennis Rodman.


IF YOU ASK, "IS IT AMWAY? (I can't believe we waste our time on losers like you!)

  • What do you know about Amway?"


This is when the Amway distributor will listen to your story and empathize saying, "I used to feel the same way. Let me tell you what I found." Now the Amway distributor will "go to guns" to tell how great Amway really is. (you're still a loser, unless you repent and become an Amway distributor).


The Overview

The purpose of the Overview is to see if you're open to the way Amway distributors do business, and if you are, try to get you to the next step in your transformation into a distributor - the Open Meeting. It is usually conducted at some local restaurant like Denny's or McDonald's, or even your home. Again, Amway distributors are trained to not use the A-word (Amway) during the Overview unless they have to. Then it's "go to guns".

Generally, the whole process is couched in deception - non-disclosure is the key. This is called the "curiosity approach", and will hopefully result in you feeling like they have something you don't.

What follows is an example of an Overview which takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes. Everybody's is different, but you will recognize common themes and statements in just about any Amway distributors spiel. Notice that the A-word is not used during this Overview. Overviews are designed to prick your interest without giving you too many details. The whole goal of the Overview is to get you to a "private business meeting" - weekly staged presentations with only one purpose in mind, showing you the plan in a room full of hundreds of Amway distributors dressed in business suits.

Some Amway distributors actually book back-to-back appointments, spaced 30 minutes apart, and spend all night at Denny's. Some even over-book with the rationalization that a certain percentage will be "no-shows". If two show at the same time, tough, one waits.


The Put At Ease
What I want to do is go through some basic concepts about my business. This will take about 20 minutes. If you like what you see and want more information, we'll go from there. If not, let me know; I don't want to waste your time or mine. I'm not looking for any money, or commitments. I'm not trying to sell anything, or sign you up for anything. What I am here to do is give you a business overview. I don't have time to go into detail and answer a lot of questions. This is the first part of a 3-part process for receiving all of the information you'll need to make a quality business decision. Is that OK with you?

A little about my background. I've been in [whatever distributor's real job is] for ... years doing .... I realized that ... isn't going to get me what I want in life. Also, there's not any loyalty or security in the corporate world anymore. So I started looking for ways to diversify my income, and have something to fall back on.

Introduction
My business is [anything but Amway]. I'm part of a global net of businesses that are building a grassroots pipeline for goods & services from over 1200 top companies. Last year nearly $7 billion flowed through that pipeline. I have access to 50 US states and over 70 countries. I have business associates doing this business in every country that's colored green. My expansion goals for this year are India and the Philippines. I'm currently looking for a handful of sharp people in this area who want to work part-time building their own business. If you decide this is something you want to do, that's great; if not, that's fine too. I'll find the people I'm looking for. My goals right now are (1) to see if you're open to the way I'm doing business, (2) see if there's mutual interest in working together, and (3) layout what I'm doing openly and honestly so that you can make up your own mind.

The Lead-in
OK, I mentioned goods and services from over 1200 companies. This is the kind of things I'm talking about - everything you'll find in a typical home; furniture, clothes, food, appliances consumable commodities. I have access through my business to all of these things at discounted prices - over 10,000 products, even new cars for only $50 over factory cost. Not only do I receive discounts when I buy from myself, I also receive bonus checks each month based on the amount I buy.

With all these things I could be a stay-at-home shopper and not even have to go to a retail store. "Stay-at-home" shopping is buying from catalogs, TV, or the Internet. Here's an article entitled "Trend Spotting" from the December '96 issue of Entrepreneur magazine. "Futurist Reveals 16 Forces Shaping America". One of her top picks is Coccooning - People stay at home building safe harbors that afford protection against the uncertain - even dangerous - outside world.

Cocooning is a big reason "stay-at-home" shopping is a major trend right now. People would rather stay at home and order something out of a catalog, the TV or the Internet, than drive to the mall and fight with traffic, crowds, and checkout lines. 1995 marked the first year that catalog sales exceeded retail sales. That tells you that this is a major trend. Things like the Internet are rapidly accelerating this trend.

Trends are important because they tell us what the future will be. This article says, "When you understand the future, you'll make fewer mistakes." People who recognize economic trends early, and act on them, position themselves to reap the greatest financial rewards. That's what I'm doing - I'm teaching people how to position themselves in the changing economy so they can reap these kind of rewards.

Create Credible Context for Direct Marketing
This diagram shows how foreign competition and trends are causing the distribution network to evolve. Here's a typical distribution network. A manufacturer makes something, sells it by the train load to a jobber, who sells it by the truckload to a wholesaler, who sells it by the case load to a retailer who sells it by the box to you and me. Every time the product changes hands it's marked up. These guys don't add any value to the product, they just get paid for handling it. Those handling costs get passed on to you and me. Something that costs $5 to make ends up costing $40 at a retail outlet. Very inefficient.

Sam Walton cut the middlemen out of the picture, buying directly from the manufacturer and selling directly to the consumer. Because of this Walmart saves billions, and passes some of the savings on to us in the form of reduced prices. Interactive Distribution goes a step further and eliminates the retailer - the consumer becomes the retail outlet. This is much more efficient - 60-80% of the markup is cut out.

Bypassing the retailer and selling directly to the consumer is called Direct Marketing. The alignment of cocooning, foreign competition, and the emerging information age make Direct Marketing an idea whose time has come. It's the wave of the future. I call it the Democratization of the Marketplace because the big boys are being bypassed and the average person is being empowered.

Getting rid of the retail outlet, you and I don't have to pay for building overhead, advertising, energy costs, insurance, employee payroll, and theft losses. For example, Walmart made over $1 billion in profit in 1996, but lost over $5 billion to theft. You and I end up paying for that.

Selling directly to the consumer eliminates 60-80% of the markup because of things like that. Nearly $7 billion flowed through our system last year; ( of that amount was redirected back to the consumer network in the form of discounts for personal use, and bonuses as incentives to open new outlets and expand the distribution network. This is where we derive our profits. This is where my business gets its money. Dollars that used to go towards these things now go into my pocket for expanding the network and creating new business.

We use franchising concepts to open new outlets and expand our business. Everybody loves franchising. Anything and everything is franchised now. Franchising represents only 3% of total businesses, yet over ( of all retail and service revenue in the American economy. Franchising has made more people financially independent over the last 30 years than any other form of income.

Try to Make Amway Look Like a Franchising Environment
My business is modeled on the most successful franchising system, McDonalds. Ray Kroc founded McDonald's, and developed franchising as we know it. Back in the 50s he was selling milkshake machines out of the back of his car to the McDonald's brothers in Chicago, and liked their restaurants so much he bought them out.

Somewhere along the way Ray tapped into an idea that made him very wealthy - Set people up in their own business, let them run it themselves, and take a portion of their profits. The more successful they were, the more successful he was. A win-win situation. Ray helped a lot of people become millionaires, and in the process became a billionaire.

To help ensure their success he created an environment that gave the new business owners everything they needed to be successful - a successful business system, a reliable source of supplies, and a team of experts to teach how to run the business and be successful, and incentive - they keep 96% of the profits. The uncertainties and guesswork are eliminated. This system is a formula for success - No McDs restaurant has ever failed.

People don't go to McDs because they have the best food, best service, or nicest restaurants. They go because they want fast, predictable food. Ray Kroc took a business that gave people what they wanted and developed a system to duplicate it. The key to McDonalds wealth is duplication.

Duplication opens the door to unlimited growth and unlimited income. When Ray Kroc died in 1984, there were over 8000 McD's. If he was only receiving $1/restaurant/day he was making $8000/day. Today there are nearly 17,000 McD's with one added every 24 hours. McDonalds is a wealth-generating system.

Relate Franchisee/Franchiser to Our Business
My business is based on these same concepts. When you plug into our system, you'll take advantage of a proven, successful business system. You'll have access to over 10,000 quality products & services that you and everybody else wants or needs on a continual basis. A team of experts will provide the knowledge how to run your business and be successful. Your business sponsor and his associates will provide support and help you build your business. You keep 100% of your profits.

Just like McDonald's, our success is tied to your success. We don't get anything for bringing you into the business, we benefit when you make money. We don't skim 4% off your profits. For helping you succeed, we receive Performance Bonuses based on your success. This compensation method is approved by the Federal Trade Commission, and prevents us from becoming an illegal pyramid.

O world-wide support system is in place to facilitate your business expansion. You can duplicate your business as many times as you like in the form of franchise-like outlets. Unlike franchising, your outlets can open new outlets, which opens the door to compounding growth and income.

Our Business
Here's some of the companies that supply our products and services. [show brochure]

We have 9 different catalogs. This is one of them. [show & go through catalog] I don't go door-to-door. I'm not into selling. What I do is leave one of these with whoever I choose. When they see something they want they dial a 1-800 number, place their order using their credit card, and it's shipped to their house. I'm not even involved in the transaction. I have an access number which gets the customer into the system, and tells the computer that this is a retail customer. A check amounting to the difference between wholesale and retail is mailed to me. Dollars that used to go into advertising to get that customer to buy from the manufacturer, now go into my pocket, for getting that customer to buy from the manufacturer.

Durable goods business from these catalogs represents about 5-10% of my business. If I want something I buy it from myself, receive a discount, and put the money in my pocket, not somebody else's. Products carry an unconditional, 100%, 1-year money-back guarantee.

The other 90-95% of my business is consumable commodities - stuff we use everyday in our households. [go down consumables list] Again, buy from myself and pocket the savings. An unconditional, 100%, 1-year money-back guarantee on every product. These are the goods that make this business work so well. And it's these items people continue to buy even when there's a downturn in the economy.

Ways to Make Money
There are 3 ways to make money in this business.

  • Receive discounts on products purchased for personal use.

  • Catalog sales

  • Receive Performance Bonuses based on business volume.

Find Out If Open-minded About Expanding Business
Let's pretend this is your neighborhood, and this is your house, and you've decided to start your own business and buy things from yourself that you are already buying at retail outlets. Now you'll receive discounts and Performance Bonuses based on the volume of goods you purchase. Is buying from yourself going to make you rich? Of course not.

One way to increase your business volume is to pass out catalogs to people who buy from catalogs. You can make money just like LL Bean, Spiegals, or Sears. A better way is to expand your business in the form of franchise-like outlets and receive a percentage of the money that's currently flowing from your neighbor's homes to these retail outlets.

Compounding Growth Lead-in QuestionS
[ask questions]

Time Compounding

  • Leveraging a proven, successful system to multiply one's efforts.

  • It's perfect for the average working person and time-constrained professionals

  • Time compounding creates recurrent, walk-away income.

  • It provides the long-term effect of money working for you instead of you working for money,

Goals

  • Working part-time, you can make substantial income honestly in a short period of time.

  • Create walk-away income

  • Expand your business into 50 US states and 70+ countries

  • Build inflation- and recession-resistant business

Concerns

  • $80 - $160 startup cost (refundable if not satisfied)

  • Not required to carry inventory

  • A team of people already in place will teach you the business

  • If you are busy and have a full schedule, time-compounding can help you get your time back

Two-Five Year Plan

  • This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. I'm talking about 8-12 hours/week for 6-18 months to generate $2000-$3000/month of extra income.

  • we'll show you how to open up 6 outlets earning $2-3000/month within 2-5 years, which will put a minimum $100,000/year in your pocket. The sky's the limit from there.

To Be Successful

  • Change buying habits

  • Associate with people to expand business

  • Listen to those already successful who will teach you the business

  • Work 8 - 12 hours per week

Wrap Up
[look at watch]

I'm running late, I've got to finish up. Have I shown you something that you want to get all the information about before making a quality business decision?

[If the answer is "yes", invite to weekly "business meeting"]