Business contact sidelining in MLM...?

[numberwang]

I did a little background googgling on a potential business contact & transpires that as well as the main business where he is MD (which I might be using) he's involved with some MLM scheme as a sideline...

A search on the scheme reads as pyramid selling/get rich quick scheme.

On the one hand, as long as the work his firm does is to the agreed cost/quality/timescale I am happy & I've met a very happy customer & the work looks good.

I feel slightly uneasy though in terms of his credibility, I'd rather he was a nudist than a pyramid seller in his spare time Should I be concerned?

NW

 

[wevet]

If the person is trading in fraudulent way (pyramid rather than MLM) then asl yourself: what is the potential effect on me should that person be prosecuted and convicted of offences under the Trading Schemes 1996 legislation.

If they are involved in an MLM scheme then, provided it does not affect their performance of the contract with you, such involvement is irrelevant.

 

[mhall]

Don't be ignorant of MLM - some of the best businesses are MLM. Pyramid selling is illegal and you, I guess, have no proof he is doing something illegal.

MLM is hard work and I wouldn't have a problem with anyone involved in it as long as it didn't affect the service they gave me

 

[mattsaw]

I would be slightly concerned from the perspective that MLM seems to have the propensity to turn perfectly normal people into complete weirdos who try to sell to everyone they meet at every opportunity. I've been trapped several times at various functions with inappropriate and unrelated sales pitches from complete strangers.

 

[mhall]

I would be worried if a business person didn't try and sell to me at every opportunity. I don't like the attempts to sell me a dealership or whatever they call it, but have no problems with them trying to sell me a product

 

[My Owl 1]

I did a little background googgling on a potential business contact & transpires that as well as the main business where he is MD (which I might be using) he's involved with some MLM scheme as a sideline...

A search on the scheme reads as pyramid selling/get rich quick scheme.

On the one hand, as long as the work his firm does is to the agreed cost/quality/timescale I am happy & I've met a very happy customer & the work looks good.

I feel slightly uneasy though in terms of his credibility, I'd rather he was a nudist than a pyramid seller in his spare time Should I be concerned?

NW

If it is pyramid selling then dont touch it with a barge pole it is illegal.

If it is kosher MLM then it is legal and fine. Dont get confused with building a team in MLM's like mine as pyramid. It isn't.
MLM Business
People join to sell products or services, no matter when they join they all purchase said product (their stock) from the MLM firm for the same price as all other members.

Pyramid Scheme
Rather than purchasing the stock from the firm, you were buying stuff from someone further up the chain, added your mark-up and sold it on. This was fine if you were near the top of the chain and could buy the item cheaply, but obviously the further down you were and with all the people above you having added their mark-up before selling the product, the more it cost you to buy and it was harder to sell on - people lost a lot of money because they had paid way over the odds for the product which they then couldn't sell.



Hope the above quote helps you to define which it is .

Best Wishes

Avril

 

[mattsaw]

I would be worried if a business person didn't try and sell to me at every opportunity. I don't like the attempts to sell me a dealership or whatever they call it, but have no problems with them trying to sell me a product

Really? That's very short sighted. Where is the benefit in trying to sell to someone at the wrong time and only succeeding in pissing off a potential customer?

The old adage of what is the very least you hope for from a prospect always rings true. A sale, or an invitation to contact them again?

 

[mhall]

Really? That's very short sighted. Where is the benefit in trying to sell to someone at the wrong time and only succeeding in pissing off a potential customer?

The old adage of what is the very least you hope for from a prospect always rings true. A sale, or an invitation to contact them again?

My point is that they need to qualify better and there is a world of difference between being a potential customer, which I am as most MLMs have a damn good product, and a potential "downline" which I am not as I have been there, done that, and have no interest in doing MLM again - although I will state that, if run properly as a business and not a hobby, MLM is a very good way to earn your living and a substantial one at that.