Let us forget for a minute about “the who”, or “they” and let us look at the facts and the “whys”. Yes, this article is about sales and marketing. But sales is all about thinking logically and educating people so they can make their own decisions. Here is what “they” say about multi-level marketing and direct marketing, “It is a pyramid scheme”. “They” say a lot of things, don’t they? “We” accept what “they” say without any thought or consideration, don’t we?
History of the Pyramids
What of the pyramids? Did the Egyptians of old erect these marvelous structures? “They” seem to say so. But here are some facts about Pyramids: The world’s largest pyramid was discovered in El Mirador, Guatemala. It is the size of downtown Los Angeles. The Grand Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has 2,300,000 stones, weighing more than 40 tons each, built upon one another to a 135 foot elevation over 13 square acres. There are pyramids in China, Bosnia and Japan.
Napoleon visited the Great Pyramid of Giza in 1798. The first reported discovery of a pyramid in Egypt is 250 BC. An expedition in 1828 was led by an archeologist, Champollion, and a second was led by another named Lespius in 1842. Basically, if you do not agree with their original findings that these structures were built by the ancient Egyptians you cannot get a Ph.D. in archeology today. We believe that the pyramids were tombs to ancient pharaohs and they were buried there as mummies. The Mummy’s Curse and all those great old movies helped us to that end.
Here is the thing though, not one mummy has ever been found in a pyramid anywhere around the world, not even in Egypt. Mummies are found in the King’s Valley far from any Pyramids. The records of the first explorers of the pyramids goes something like this: we dynamited our way into the pyramid; we found a room with what we believe is a sarcophagus; we used pulleys to move the 40 ton stone cover of the sarcophagus and found the chamber empty. It must have been grave robbers. What? Grave robbers snuck in an entrance you couldn’t find and moved a 40 ton slab to steal a mummy and then put it back so you could find it intact when you had to dynamite your own entrance to get in? Now that is definitely a Pyramid Scheme in the first order.
Here is a list of questions from physicist Nassim Haramein (born Switzerland 1962) that might make you think differently about Pyramids;
- If Pyramids were built over the archeologically accepted 20 year time period then a 40 ton rock would have to be placed every 2 seconds.
- The 40 ton rocks were transported across the desert sand by being rolled on lumber. Where did the lumber come from? Europe Depot delivery?
- Egyptians wrote stories in hieroglyphics about life, sex, food, religion and yet, there is not one hieroglyph about building the pyramids.
- Wikipedia won’t even acknowledge Nassim Haramein
- You cannot get a Ph.D. in archeology if you acknowledge or ask about any of the above.
So that is what may be a look into the first Pyramid Scheme. I do not know the answers. I do believe in the process of observing and than decoding what you find to formulate your own opinion. Teaching cannot advance if you repeat the same information over and over again even if new information and ideas have surfaced. Think of Copernicus!
What are “they” saying, what does it mean?
Multi- level marketing and direct marketing are Pyramid Schemes. That is what “they” say. Some people that contradict “they” are Robert Kiyosaki, a businessman who sold 26 million books on business. Another is Donald Trump, you know the Donald, and Warren Buffet, Billionaire. “Well, they are already rich and on top so why should we trust what they say?” Who knows why they would want to help any of us be successful? I do, but that is another article.
Let’s go back to observe and decode. What do they say about Pyramid Schemes? “Only people at the top make lots of money”. What does the corporate structure chart of your company look like? How much does the CEO earn a year compared to you? What does the organization chart of your church look like? How about the Girl Scouts organization or any large non- profit organization? All corporate structures look like a pyramid where the person on top gets the biggest salary for all your work effort. Hmmm?
The first multi-level marketing company
The first true multi-level marketing company was Nutrilite. In 1945, Carl Rhenborg invented the multi-level marketing, door-to- door selling system to market the multi-vitamin, multi- tablet mineral he invented after years of study. Rhenborg found a way to pay people for performance because he could not afford to market his revolutionary health product in the Madison Avenue, Soda Pop Marketing Model. He took it a level higher by giving his representatives incentive to train and recruit more representatives. The birth of 2 income streams and developing your own business team!
Jay Van Andel and Rich Devos signed on and built a network across the country. When the Food and Drug Administration could not get a piece of the action on this growing business and started investigating for the drug companies, Van Andel and Devos left Nutrilite and formed a new company using the same business model with different products. You might know these billionaires by their new company, American Way, now called AMWAY.
What it all means
In the end it all boils down to who you are, what you think and what you want out of life. Know that and then look at the society we participate in. What is the nature of mass events and trends happening all around you right now? How much harder do you work this year versus last year? Do you make more money for working harder? Is your income enough or do you need a part-time job to make ends meet? Does your money go as far this year as it did last year? What are the new expenses coming out everyday? Do you have an I- Phone?
Once you make the decision to act, then you can investigate what works for you. Are there Pyramid Schemes out there? Sure, we know there are. Are there legitimate direct marketing opportunities out there? Yes there are. Maybe there is a product or service you are passionate about and could educate others on their benefits and build a business around that idea for yourself? Pyramid Schemes have no product or service. They focus on the idea of you benefiting from selling nothing to others and so on and so on.
Final thoughts
According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, you are 5 times more likely to earn 100,000 dollars a year in Network Marketing than going to work at a job everyday. You should also note that 99% of all network marketers fail and the fatality rate of all business start ups is 95% in the first 3 years. There are no get rich quick schemes, only get rich quick schemers who labor for years on how to scheme and rarely get rich at it.
So do not buy Comet Insurance, do not buy the rights to the tolls on the Brooklyn Bridge and do not buy the rights to a fee collected from people setting their watch in the courtyard of Big Ben in London. Yes, those are all schemes that schemers have profited on in the past. Like the stories of the pyramids they disappear in the dust and sometimes with your money.
Do your homework and research well. Identify the risks and rewards. Ask the right questions before you make a decision. Most importantly, get involved in changing your own life for the better. Move past what “They” say and discover for yourself, “what you say”!
Have questions, send them to me and I will send you more questions to think about.
Warren Miller