Business Opportunities Weblog

Why is Melaleuca so frightened of being called an MLM?

By on April 24, 2006 in MLM Site

Is it because saying “This is not about Multi level Marketing” is such a great line to prospective recruits?

Catchy isn’t it?

You say, and I quote: “Lets break down the phrase Multi-level marketing. It means in its most absic [I think you mean basic] form, that you market to multiple levels. Meaning that you buy somethign [sic] and then re-sell it.”

“Multi level means that you market to multiple levels… that you buy something and then re-sell it” ???????
What a pathetic definition, Mike. Could you not come up with something better.

I’m sorry, I have to say it again, “… that you buy something and then re-sell it.” Oh, my god, you crack me up.
I suppose that means all retailers are MLMs???

They all buy stuff and then re-sell it.

MLM is making MONEY from multiple levels. Just like you can in Melaleuca – you know, all those generations you try to recruit and then SELL them on your products and then SELL them on the opportunity.

Melaleuca is no different from any MLM; Amway, Herbalife, DS Max etc etc – they are all the same and offer no better or worse opportunity then any other business. You even support this claim yourself Mike. You say, and again I quote: “Dont forget folks just like any business, you have to work at it.” Exactly, Just like ANY other business. No work, no money. So, why bother joining; and having your friends and family hate you and be embarrassed at how you constantly SELL SELL SELL your OPPORUNITY to every single person with whom you come in contact.

I am happy for you all to succeed, and I sincerely hope you do, but please do not insult my intelligence by saying something is not what it most assuredly is.

- Mark – Sydney, Australia

network marketing companies

Ty Tribble has added 3,680 posts to Business Opportunities Weblog.

Another Idea: How to Start a Business Form Sales And Business

  • Hillel

    I would like to know if you have heard of this new company called Agel
    check this out http://www.agel.com

  • http://www.rmbarry.com/research/melaleuca_oil.html Miles

    The URL is a site I was at recently…it has some good research there about Melaleuca oil (I’m not affiliated with them at all).

    I do know a little about why Melaleuca doesn’t want to be lumped in with MLM companies though. Firstly, there are other companies that have given that have given MLM a bad name, so they obviously would want to differentiate themselves as much as possible. They are similar in that it is direct selling and problems come about since they’re harder to control unlike a regular employee. And that’s probably always a challenge with that business model.

    A primary way they’ve differentiated themselves though is that people don’t have to carry inventory (all sales are direct from the company) and a majority of the revenue comes from actual product sales as opposed to enrolling other people into the business (or whatever term they use for it). They also don’t claim that people will get rich doing it–it’s for people who want to make some extra money on the side.

    I know a little about them because my aunt buys their cleaning products and gives them to all of us. She heard the ‘business pitch” but she’s retired and wasn’t interested. She likes some of the products though and I admit that even though that kind of business isn’t for me, I like the the laundry detergent and the protein bars a lot.

    Anyway, I’m sure they’re valid criticisms and I’ve only tried 5 of their products. I wasn’t crazy about the mouthwash, but the laundry detergent and protein shakes/bars are better than anything I’ve found in stores (really). I haven’t tried any of their other things yet.

  • http://www.rmbarry.com/research/melaleuca_oil.html Miles

    By the way, I’m not saying the negative comments aren’t true–I respect that. I’m just relating my personal experience and what I know. We have some of their other cleaning products around the house but I admit I only do the laundry and not much else of the cleaning, so can’t comment on how they compare to store bought products.

  • Cathy

    Why are some people so afraid of not calling Melaleuca an MLM?

  • Cathy

    Why are some people so afraid of realizing that it’s ok for a company not to want to be too associated with a particular industry?

  • http://mlmblog.typepad.com/blog Ty

    If a company doesn’t want to be associated with a particular industry, it shouldn’t have chosen the industry’s business model.

  • John

    I must agree with Miles in the fact that there are people out there that for whatever reason are not giving people they talk to the whole Melaleuca story. There is no way that Melaleuca can keep track of what they are saying, but you have to give them some credit because at least they are trying.

    I also have to agree with Cathy and do not understand what Ty is afraid of. If people would take the time to learn about a company before talking about them there would be a lot more properly informed, successful people out there.

    With Melaleuca you are a customer who, if you want to – it’s not required, simply shares the store with other people who then become just customers. Melaleuca’s customers NOT your customers. How is that anything like MLM? It seems to me that it is more like Costco, Sams Club, Kroger, Safeway, WalMart, or your local dollar store than MLM.

    Not to mention their credentials. No MLM is listed in the Inc 500 Hall of Fame or the Better Business Bureau Hall of Fame. No MLM has received the Blue Chip Award from the US Chamber of Commerce for Inovative Marketing. No MLM has had 21 years of steady, increasing growth. No MLM has received the Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau for their Integrity.

    My point is that you can say what ever you want about Melaleuca and that will still not make it true. Plus, anyone who actually tries to check them out by talking to customers, management, customer service people, the BBB, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Attorney Generals in any state, CNN, USA Today, just to name a few, will see that with Melaleuca there is no bad news and, no matter what you think, the fact remains that they are not MLM.

    To those of you who will probably comment to this that I am wrong, I say that you were either mis-informed by the person who told you about Melaleuca, or you didn’t really do your research, or both!

    Have a great day and I wish you all the best in whatever you do!

  • Saul

    I totally agree with you John, thank you for stating the credibility of Melaleuca… no “MLM” company out there keeps growing steady like Melaleuca after 22 years…and by the way, if you want to know more about Melaleuca there is a book you can purchase with the whole story of the company….just google Melaleuca story book and you should get the results…

    Remember, the mind is like a parachute, it must be open to function properly.

  • http://none Hemingway Forbes

    I am firstly not affiliated with Melaluca. Do I use their products? Absolutely. Why? Non Toxic. Exceptionally products ranging over a number of items usually bought for personal use and for household use. NOW. Bottomline MLM not. One could say that with a number of Companies but the FACTS show Melaluca as different. In fact their people do make money for referral. They also refer quality product and make fodder out of a number of so called competition. Do the Due Dilligence. It pays. As to Blogs and so call expert opinions bottomline is ignorance is bliss. You are ignorant Jimmyboy. People who talk like you are usually losers in any field. I know for a fact you have done NO Due Dilligence based on your comments. Get educated. In fact get a life loser.

  • David

    Say what you want but Melaleuca is not a MLM.
    You refer people to the company with a catalog, via the website, in person, etc.
    I am affiliated with them.
    Do I do the business? Well, I try but my family and other career comes first.
    I do not sell the products (MLMs do). I do not keep an inventory (MLMs do). There is even a CAP on what I get as monthly commission so as to discourage inventory-loading. My company has no breakaways (MLMs do). I & my upline make $0 commission when we buy sales aids (MLMs like Amway do). Would you want to be associated with a the stigma of MLM (with has had such a bad reputation in the past) if you are not? Someone that says that Melaleuca is a MLM just doesn’t get it (or does NOT want to get it).
    I have heard said at Melaleuca-sponsored meeting, “If your friend does not want to join Melaleuca, that is fine, they are still your friend” and “Melaleuca is NOT the most important thing in your life” (which means that there are other more important things such as family, religion, etc. This is not the case when I have gone to other meetings for MLMs.
    Good Luck in whatever you chose to do & God-Bless.

  • http://whoisazmi.com/blog Azmi

    I’m not a affiliated to melaleuca but i’ve bought some products of melaleuca and they are quite good actually.But it’s a little bit pricey though.

  • matt m

    Most of the counterarguments here are laughably logical fallacies- claiming that Melaleuca is not an MLM because there are things that some other MLMs do that it doesn’t (akin to claiming tennis isn’t a sport because you don’t wear a helmet). However, there is one necessary and sufficient condition for being an MLM: You have an upline, you have a downline, you’re an MLM. Face the facts…

  • Jen

    Melaleuca let’s each person be the center of his or her own business meaning they can and often do advance higher and make more income than the people in their support line. How many MLM’s do you know that work like that? And having a support line and an organization of your own is not much different than let’s say Bill Gates being at the top of his food chain unless the peons working for Bill have a chance of doing better than Bill. Ever gonna happen? Not a chance. With Melaleuca, I can and do so much better than several of the people in my support line. Just more information since you seem to WANT to know so much about Melaleuca and clearly don’t.

  • Chuck

    Melaleuca’s pay structure is setup like an MLM but is that the defining factor? Real estate brokers have agents working for them and they receive commissions from those agents, but no one considers real estate to be an MLM. Insurance brokers work the same way, so I guess insurance agents are also part of an MLM also.

    MLMs have created a reputation for selling people hopes and dreams but not delivering them for 80% of their enrollments. I don’t blame Melaleuca for not wanting to be lumped in with them.

  • http://chrissheldon.awugreen.com Chris

    Think of it this way: Just like a real company. Who makes more money the Employer or the Employee? In Most cases it’s the Employer who makes the most money. Why? Because he/she is leveraging his/her time off efforts of other ppl.

    ” I would rather earn 1% off a 100 people’s efforts than 100% of my own efforts.”
    John D. Rockefeller

    A Job will pay the bills and depending on your student loans then it may provide a mediocore lifestyle. J.O.B = “Just Over Broke” I mean think about it. Let’s say you have the best job in the world with all the education….how much time did you go to school for? How much are you debt now? Let’s say you have a great job and your income is $250,000 a year. The follow up question is what would happen if you stop working let’s say for a month will you still get paid? Most likely not. That’s because linear income is when you trade time for money but what will happen when you stop working? The money stops. If your in Sales then your only as good as your last sale.

    With a MLM company assuming you did your homework and chose a legit company that has been in business longer than 5 yrs, if it’s less than 5 yrs old then it’s a good chance they won’t be around for a long time, since 93% fail in their 1st 5 yrs. When you start a MLM it’s like going to school except the different is your earning while your learning. Let’s say you stuck it out for 10 yrs since you would probably need that much education to earn 250k in a real job. Your most likely to reach the top position of the company in 10 yrs. Assuming you make the same 250k the difference is, it’s RESIDUAL. Once it is built correctly then you can take your month off and still receive your income. That is true leverage. Not to mention the income is willable so now when you die your leaving a legacy for your family.

    With MLM company you earn 1099 income just like if you owned your own company. You get the leverage your time off efforts of others. The difference is you don’t have to worry about all the liability & overhead a traditional company has. With MLM you just focuss on production and developing leaders to duplicate. Not to mention with a traditional company your always there, and depending on the type of business you’ll need capital to get it started.

    In fact, a traditional company is more like a pyramid scheme than MLM. How is that? In the corportate structure you have CEO, President, VP, Regional Managers, Supervisor’s blah blah blah… but can the VP make more money than the CEO? NO Can the Supervisor’s make more money than the VP’s? NO hence pyramid CEO is making most of the money. In a MLM ppl below the person on top can actually out produce the ppl on top and therefore make more money. It’s an equal opportunity.

    Hopefully this will shed some light for those of you who do not understand the concept.

    Melaleuca is not a MLM thank god but they sure created their own trademark America’s 1st Consumer Direct Marketing Company.

  • http://chrissheldon.awugreen.com Chris

    Melaleuca basically has all the pro’s and none of the con’s. I just really love the concept. Nobody gets hurt. Principle VS. Profit.

  • tricia

    i love melaleuca products and will ALWAYS purchase them, so much better than what you find at the grocery stores by far. check out my blog about the product reviews http://www.melaleucaproductreviews.blogspot.com