It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
You go online to do your due diligence before starting your own business and you get bombarded with tons of “market america review” headlines – some good, some not so good.
Concerned, you click through and read MANY different reviews, only to discover the author simply tricked you with an enticing headline and then, instead of giving you the information promised the author proceeds to attempt to sell you on another program.
Rest assured, Market America Inc is entirely legitimate.
JR Ridinger founded the company almost two decades ago in 1992. The company employs over 200 in their main Greensboro, North Carolina facility and over 600 people worldwide including international operations in the Austria, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the US. Over three billion dollars in personal care, health, beauty and other retail products have been sold, earning active distributors over 2 billion dollars wholesale, team over-ride commissions. More than a billion dollars in retail commissions have also been earned.
So holding up a placard saying, “Market America Review” and then somehow bashing or minimizing the company is wholly unfounded and is often contrived.
Market America Reviews – The Hidden Agenda
As you may have already discovered, most marketing america review articles you find online are usually nothing more than a “bait piece” to catch your attention. It is the proven A.I.D.A. copywriting formula at it’s finest (or worst, depending!)
- A = Get a Prospect’s Attention
- I = Hold Their Interest
- D = Deliver Your Message
- A = Ask Them to Act Now
Notice how it worked? Take notes because if you truly intend to start your own business, you will need to master the art of sales and marketing. Seriously.
Because despite what you may have read on the company site or heard from your potential upline leader – products do not sell themselves. Someone has to market and promote the products. Someone has to drive traffic to the online store. Someone must present the business opportunity to a lot of people on a consistent basis if they ever hope to have any chance of building a massively profitable business. And that someone will be you!
The key to building any business all boils down to your ability to expose your products, service and opportunity to hundreds, even thousands of new prospects each and every month.
A few of those people will be interested enough to take a close look. Some will test out the products. Others may join you in your business. But nobody will do anything unless and until you find a way to cost effectively marketing your business consistently and effectively.
Market America Review is Target Marketing
Using a headline like “market america review” is one way to expose your message to people interested in learning more about Marketing America Inc. In other words, you have used a enticing headline to produce a positive result – you have attracted the perfect prospect for your business.
So once you have their attention, it’s now time to deliver a message about why joining your and your team would be a wise decision. Outline your training. Discuss your mlm sponsoring system. Assure them that you are the leader they are looking for, and you may be surprised at how many people will align themselves to do business with you. Negative ads, headlines and articles like market america review work because they literally demand attention from who are already seriously interested in joining. It’s magic, wouldn’t you agree?
Click here for proven network marketing success secrets and the secret attraction marketing system used by many six-figure+ income earners.
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{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }
Ceto, did you READ my post? I really have no opinion about the opportunity presented by Market America other than the company has been around a long time and sells lots of stuff. Does it work? It appears to be working for some… and not for other. The REASON behind this post was to show people a marketing technique. Nothing more, nothing less.
Market America is totally an asshole company. The things they sell are worth it, but in other hand, the way they deal it its totally a scam. Scam all your money even you buy things from them.
A little harsh, don’t you think? I’ve never promoted or had any dealings with Market America but I can assume they operate like most businesses that offer a distributorship. They offer tools and training at a price. New distributors are not forced or even required to purchase these tools and training materials… nor do they even need to stay on autoship until they need the autoship to qualify to receive a check. So I’m not seeing the “scam” here. Like every company they make things available and it’s a personal decision to take advantage… or to be taken advantage of. Thanks for sharing, though. It sounds like you have a not-so-great experience.
I have been with MA for over 7 years. My income with this stellar company is irrelevant for this conversation. For those who have negative views or opinions let’s look at some facts. First the business model (which is not mlm) is the first of its kind and has tried to be duplicated hundreds of times. We as distributors get paid on 100% of our organizations volume (to infinity)! We have no levels or percentages. We have no months end! For those of you out there that don’t know what that means, our volume rolls over month to month for an entire year and even at that point the volume (if you haven’t already been paid on it) which turns 365 days old flushes out. So in other words there is no time restriction. We are also able to place our volume (the value of each product used to calculate commissions) as far downline as possible and place it in any one of our personally sponsored distributors business development centers and get them paid and everyone between us gets 100% of those points because our volume credits every single business center in that organizational line right through the President, JR Ridinger’s business development center. If you haven’t made money with this company or made this business work, do not try any other. We have the most lucrative pay plan on the planet. We have no territorial restrictions. We have access to over 50 million products (we are the world’s largest online e-retailer dwarfing Amazon.com with almost five times the amount of products). We have partnerships with Microsoft and Google handling our internal search powering our unmatched web portals. Like I said before if you failed at this, you failed! Not the company. You must get off your butt and actually do some work. Money just doesn’t come in when you sign the application. You can’t make $100,000+ a year with 10 cents worth of effort get real! The problem is that most people in this country don’t understand the principle of sowing and reaping. You must put something in before you get something out!
Well said, Steve. You always get out what you put in.
It’s funny, really. A lot of people say they want to “make more money” when, in fact, the only people who make money work at the mint. The rest of us must EARN money and we earn money by trading value first. Thanks for sharing.
MA is nothing more just a piece of crap simple!
It’s unfortunate. It sounds like you’ve had a bad experience. But there are thousands, maybe even tens of thousands who have built huge businesses and have changed lives and fortunes because of this company. I’ve never been associated with them in any way… but their record is pretty good.
I don’t Understand your business at all.. I was at your convention one time with a friend and your leadership team told everyone in the audience to leave their spouse if they don’t believe in Market America. What company out there would say such things? I know for me family is more important than work, but after what I heard, sound like company really don’t care for you. All they wanted to do is to recruit you at 100% commission and have you sell their product for them. I understand the structure, but come on now.. Most of the people I see in Market America have no marketing experience nor have any sales experience. I see it as screwing people over to get your commission check. Have you been to some of your meetings? Most of them are old Asian people that speak no English. Market America is networking company. They want you to join so they can get your friends and family. That’s all. I feel bad for some of those people that are spending money on expensive products and looks to me they are spending too much money and time on things they really don’t need. Just saying
Thanks
James – wow! First of all, I’m not involved with Market America in any way, shape or form. That said, it’s still a great company and just because it falls in the network marketing arena doesn’t make it a bad company. How YOU promote the business is the difference that makes the difference. People who are successful in the MLM arena move FAR BEYOND family and friends because success in any business requires sales and marketing.
I never said this is a bad company. I know the structure and I can see how you can make money. It just that a lot of people in this arena is just trying to get everyone sign up.. no interviews & no expectations. Just telling these poor people how they can make lot of money. I just don’t agree with promising everything to people that are not experience. I understand network marketing is to get many people as you can, but I believe you should not have to lie or set the wrong expectations. That’s all
Thanks
James,
Total blanket statement. I am a shop consultant with the company and have had nothing but great experiences. When I share this with someone it is very much an interview and then I provide them with an overview. I am not looking to work with just anyone because there are things that need to be done and if the person I am speaking with is not willing to put in the effort and work, it would be a waste of time for the both of us. Contrary to what most believe, we don’t get paid on people, we get paid on productivity and volume. I cannot speak for everyone involved simply because these things happen but I trust me when I say that “the company is 100% ethical and provides a proven and lucrative opportunity, its the human element that screws it up”. The company does everything possible to police inappropriate and misleading activities and claims and will terminate distributorships because of these actions, but unfortunately corrupt people will be corrupt no matter what the platform. I have never been asked to leave my wife or do anything of the sorts. If I was, I would simply tell whomever suggested this to go somewhere else. However, I was not going to base my success or chance for success on someone else’s experience. In every avenue people fail, they will mostly blame outside circumstances when the reality is they simply fail to do what is needed to be done. I love the statement everyone wants to make money, but they feel the way to do it as working at the mint, not earning it. When I did my homework and got information from the appropriate places they had an A+ rating with the BBB and are working and partnering with some of the most profound figures in nunmerous industries. I am sure in everyone’s place of work or business there is some sort of unethical behavior that occurs or has occurred. And with this I am sure that corrective action is taken. It is no different with marketamerica.com. I just find it disheartening that people believe everything they read online, particularly on blogs. This is a great blog highlighting what people should pay attention to when doing research. When I purchase products online and there are numerous reviews, there is always a bad one. But as long as there are more good reviews than bad I still purchase. I also do my homework when making the purchase ot make sure that if something is to occur I can return it and it is from a trusted merchant. There is no difference in that approach when going into business. There is going to be a cost, there is going to be risk… great or small, and its going to take work. Period
James — Apparently you were not paying attention if you went to a MA conference. I have just returned from the four-day world conference in Miami and not once did I hear ANYTHING about “leaving your spouse if you do not believe in Market America.” In fact, the opposite is true. Family is the #1 reason people are attracted to MarketAmerica! I was told to ask two questions from the people I met – what two things did you do right when starting your business and what two things did you do wrong. Just about everyone said the same thing – go to all trainings and get as much education as possible and be yourself. As to what they did wrong – they tried to change the way things are done and did not work. James, have you ever told anyone that you loved a movie, book or restaurant? If so, you did exactly what an Unfranchise Owner does – lets everyone know how good something they sell truly is! Nothing more, nothing less – and they are getting paid WELL to do so. We are told right up front – work hard, never quit and enjoy what you do! Where else will you make $3600/wk working an average of 10 hours a week? Give it one year – and work hard by merely talking to people you already make conversations with! Listen and then offer an incredible way to change their lives! If they chose to follow, good for them! If they do not – so be it! Move on – don’t waste your time. But remember – you are doing something amazing by sharing a means to take care of your family long after you are gone. Where have you worked where you receive a residual income for the 40+ hours you have given to your CEO for the past 10 years or more??? If you are working hard for them, why not work hard for yourself?? I’m just saying….
I can tell you, i joined MA not for their biz but for some of their products. I can’t say for all their products, but personally i got a lot of great benefit out of OPC3, ORAC, NutriClean and Aloe Juice. OPC3 and ORAC got my nose allergy atleast 50% better, my itch 90% gone and my thumbs with rough skins (with me for more than 20 years n dermotologist said is some kind of skin allergy n required steroid which obviously i didnt use any steroid since that was not going to cure it permanently)…all got better after i took the anti-oxidants…it fixed my own immune system, thus my body fixed those things on its own…i still take OPC and ORAC daily and recommended to my parents and brothers, sisters to use those. But i joined the club not for the biz but for buying the products at a discount.
Thanks for sharing your product testimonial. I’m confident this will be helpful for many people.
James,
Total blanket statement. I am a shop consultant with the company and have had nothing but great experiences. I cannot speak for everyone involved simply because these things happen but I trust me when I say that “the company is 100% ethical and provides a proven and lucrative opportunity, its the human element that screws it up”. The company does everything possible to police inappropriate and misleading activities and claims and will terminate distributorships because of these actions, but unfortunately corrupt people will be corrupt no matter what the platform. I have never been asked to leave my wife or do anything of the sorts. If I was, I would simply tell whomever suggested this to go somewhere else. However, I was not going to base my success or chance for success on someone else’s experience. In every avenue people fail, they will mostly blame outside circumstances when the reality is they simply fail to do what is needed to be done. I love the statement everyone wants to make money, but they feel the way to do it as working at the mint, not earning it. When I did my homework and got information from the appropriate places they had an A+ rating with the BBB and are working and partnering with some of the most profound figures in nunmerous industries. I am sure in everyone’s place of work or business there is some sort of unethical behavior that occurs or has occurred. And with this I am sure that corrective action is taken. It is no different with marketamerica.com. I just find it disheartening that people believe everything they read online, particularly on blogs. This is a great blog highlighting what people should pay attention to when doing research. When I purchase products online and there are numerous reviews, there is always a bad one. But as long as there are more good reviews than bad I still purchase. I also do my homework when making the purchase ot make sure that if something is to occur I can return it and it is from a trusted merchant. There is no difference in that approach when going into business. There is going to be a cost, there is going to be risk… great or small, and its going to take work. Period.
Good point – “the company is 100% ethical and provides a proven and lucrative opportunity, its the human element that screws it up”. Thanks for sharing.
here is my experience with MA.
[pls bear with my broken english]
MA is a not a scam but is a game.. they never force me to join [which i didn't join after all i have experienced].. they presented me with all the great facts and everything… They even told their new comers to think before they sign up.. such as the monthly fee for the store front and the management fee + the minimum requirement you have to made months to months in order to keep your commission…
I was being presented by a very nice friend of mine about MA. and they are really nice and concern about being a business partner with me. They told me, “We are not asking you to sign up right now.. we just ask you to join our meetings and make up your mind later” which I went to almost 10 of the home kickoff, and couple seminars hosting in a hotel around 400-600 people.. great presentation and stuff.. after couple of these events, I was told to purchase the ticket to the International convention at Greensboro [so I bought it from my friend, why not... instead of listening and reading stuff online.. why not experience it myself] . It was a great trip [3 days, $200 ticket.. which is like less than $70 a day/8hr] and we get to visit MA shipping department and how they process their order and such [also a party held afterward at a hotel ballroom free of charge..]…
However, comes to the last day of the convention… is a little pressured.. The meeting after meeting they are hosted in these three days event.. LOL… how can i say it? there is another small group meeting after the meeting after meeting.. where leaders proudly introduce those who purchased tickets (minimum of 3) [1 for self, 1 for left leg, 1 for right leg (which you have to sell to duplicate your business..)].. and yet.. not so interesting… the most interesting part of this is that… a new comer purchased 13 tickets.. I was like.. [i didn't get mine yet] … People there are starting to pressure by saying negative stuff about [not you] but foreshadowing those who don’t take action now and purchase the tickets are failure for life… so out of the blue, I don’t want to let my friend down [which his leader/upline also pressured him to ask me why not make the purchases], so yeah I ended purchased 3 tickets.. which i ended up trashing it on my way home… [because I felt bad to take my friends there and end up putting pressure on them.. however, my case is odd, maybe your friend might be interested in this business.. but just not for me]
As I clearly stated above, they never forced me to purchase those Miami convention ticket. somehow at the end you just feel mentally ashamed of yourself [as they emphasize.. if you can't do this business.. you can't do none of the others... ], then you will make the purchase somehow [maybe because we go as a group.. which i have to face them on my way home.. that is why i did what i did]..
bottom line:
It was a great trip, and ‘ve learn so much sales tips, and how to sale stuff to your friends indirectly..
Because MA offers distributors get paid on 100% of organizations volume if you are the upline of someone who is below you, you can tell your friends to buy from your downline [basically NOT you selling.. but your friend], so you get the 100% as like you are selling it, but indirectly. [comes to integrity.. it doesn’t work for me]
Sales/socializing is not my specialty and this is not for me at this moment… maybe in the future..
hope this helps.. .
P.S. This is all about mental gaming… which they are proudly/accidently revealed during the conventions or during the meeting after meeting. . . is also about fishing and not hunting… they tell you buy small seminar tickets first, then big tickets… then when you add up all your expense from learning.. why not join since you already wasted so much time and effort in it.. but like I said and as they emphasize.. “Experience yourself.. What I said might not be what you hear or see…“ well, this is the slogan that was being use to catch your curiosity in purchasing the tickets..
Thanks for sharing. One of the most valuable things I think anyone can do is to “watch” and “learn” from the marketing processes like you shared here. It’s not that the process is bad – as you say, because no one forces anyone to participate – but it is a process. So learn from the process and adopt what makes sense for you to build your business.
I don’t like the way MA promotes front end loading (which is illegal by the way) by having new recruits purchase $1000-$1500 of products upfront to activate their 3 business centers. MA seems to be more about the hard sell and pushing event tickets on people. If you notice at the meeting after meetings, the group leaders start waving around event tickets like street hustlers. Not my type of organization. I’m all about the soft sell and I look for network marketing organizations that are about honesty and integrity.
Front loading is illegal, but offering new distributors the opportunity to purchase additional products and services to activate additional business centers is not considered to be front loading. The difference is the illegal form of front loading is a REQUIREMENT. In the case of MA it’s presented as an option.
Actually its $450 to get your site started. Which you can pay OR have a party and introduce the people there to these great supplements, makeup, green cleaning products (Snap) etc… After the party most people have the money from what every everyone purchased at the party or you pay what you come up short after the purchases. It’s all explained before you get signed up.
Barry,
Wrong. Again it’s the people you were around, not the company. You will find those people everywhere. It’s not wise to use a blanket statement. Training and events are vital and everyone should attend to know what they are doing. In my opinion they should be required, but they aren’t.
@Rob Fore & Barry & Ron
The events aren’t mandatory, but it is nice to have your partner to go to those events with you if they are really interested in the company and making money. Many of those seminar are meant to be for the new comer who want to bring their friends there so that the host can demand all of those who is master and up in the organization to go up and stay on the stage to show off that there is actually people making money out of the company. Indeed those events are there to enhance distributor to attract more friends and family member to join the company.
As for the upfront purchases are required in order active yourself as a distributor. Also in order for you get the commission, you must sponsor at least 2 people. one on the left organization, and one on the right organization [if you place both on the same side, then you need more than 2]. Although, the company claim that it is a fair to earn by split the money for everyone by capped each organization’s earning limit at certain amount. but the real deal is that in order for you to receive the money both left and right organization must have the same amount of BV and IBV . so even one side exceed the points, you still can’t receive your checks. As for those who been there for ages. cap doesn’t affect them, ’cause the limit clears every week (if i’m not mistaken).
It is basically that the structure of the plan allows people to make money in the long run, and catch those who can’t stay in the game to pay the people who is above them. The plan structure is similar to an accumulating game, which the more people under you the faster you can accumulate your point and earn your check as fast as once a week.
bottom line: if you are not there for the product and just for pure earning. I guarantee that you wont be succeed in the company. their slogan is “build on product, power by people” so as a distributor if you dont use the product yourself, you can’t sell them.. as for me, I tried the product for 6months, and there is not much of help, so i didn’t join. If you went to their events you can see those who succeed in the company ended up using over 100 products daily.. I meant DAILY, not weekly.. 100 products!! so yeah, in order for you to sell, you must get a taste of the stuff that they have.. and it can be costly, but they claim it is worth it if the product can prolong your life.
you can see their business plan on youtube. for more info is best for you just attend to their big coming up events. it is cheap if you really interested in it..
And 1 value lesson that I’ve learned.. DONT LISTEN to what they told you in seminars.. because most of the the leader misrepresent the benefits, you must go for regional conference or bigger.
is it just me or does it seem fishy that the author of this post, rob fore, who continually claims to have no affiliation or interaction with market america, constantly talks about how great the company is and defends it.
Hi Anna – though it might smell, fishy – I’m not affiliated with Market America though I do make my living in network marketing with a team of over 11,000 worldwide.
The reality is they company has been around a long time. They offer great products. If the company was a scam or a fraud or whatever – they would have been shut down a long time ago. MY POINT is there are a lot of great companies. But it doesn’t make a difference. YOU might make a fortune in any company if you get in and get busy building a business. OTHERS might join the same company and do nothing. Success or non-success is a matter of PERSONAL effort. Has nothing to do with a viable company.
Madoff and his ways had been around for a long time too, in fact longer than MA. but i agree that if you know what you are doing(at the top), MA or Amway can make you some money.
I’ve studied MA’s compensation plan. It’s not a scam, it just pays really poorly. Some of their income claims are borderline deceptive, though, but this is not the fault of the company, but it’s distributors.
Here’s what most people don’t understand: the fact that you get 100% of the BV/IBV points that your downlines earn is actually a VERY BAD thing.
Explanation: when a sale is completed, there is X amount of profit to be distributed. Now it’s merely a question of distribution as to where this profit goes. In the case of MA, the profit is distributed equally across all uplines and the distributor who actually completed the sale. Say there’s 9 uplines. The one who actually did the work is now sending up 90% of his commissions. That’s too much of a burden if you ask me.
Everyone likes to envision themselves at the top, but the reality is that almost everyone is far closer to the bottom rung.
Every top income earner, regardless of the company, simply rolled up their sleeves and began building a business. The walked into the deal with a commitment. Not to try, but to do. Get in, get busy and make things happen. Two years, five years, ten years. Everyone start at ZERO and has the same opportunity to make the same LONG TERM commitment and stick with it… or not. Most choose to not stick with it and, consequently, most do NOT make any significant money. It took us FIVE YEARS to build a team (not Market America) of 11,000. If we would have quit in the beginning when we had signed up 18 people and NO ONE did anything… chances are I wouldn’t be writing this post today.
I have been in sales my entire life, I just turned 50 in Novemeber and after 17 years selling real estate which was a very lucrative career until the real estate tsunami in 2007. I attended my first MA meeting last night and went in with a very open mind, I was not jaded in any way shape or form. This was introduced to me by my 24 year old daughter who graduated from a top college in 2010 with a bachelors degree and cannot find a job (at least not one that pays). Anyway, after this meeting I was quite intrigued and am planning on going to additional meetings before I make my final decision. I am huge at networking and great at sales, I know a lot of people so in that respect I feel if I worked under the right team I will make money. My biggest concern is not the investment it is the exclusive products like Isotonixs, Motives etc. I heard great testimonials but I need to know myself they work or at least there is some kind of money back guarantee for anyone who feels the product does not actually deliver on the promises made. I do not know how that works at this time but it is a concern of mine.
I am going to attend some more meetings and do my due diligence prior to making any final decisions. I totally agree with you get what you give in anything, people who think they are going to join and do nothing will get nothing. I can sell snow to an Eskimo if I believe in the product. Within the last 3.5 years between my husband being a General Contractor and me in Real Estate we who have worked our entire lives could lose everything. If this is a lifeline I am going to take it and put 100% into it.
Respectfully,
Cindy
Thanks for sharing, Cindy. I’m especially impressed you are doing your due diligence. Many people don’t – get caught up in the moment – only realize too late they really are not ready to build a business.
I have been a MA distributor for nearly 8 years now. I also have a full-time job that I got around the same time I was starting my MA business. The reason I stayed an active distributor with Market America even though I was not leveraging my time to focus on building my business, is that , quite simply, the MA products are phenomenal! I cannot imagine waking up and not cleansing my face with Skintelligence or drinking my OPC or Acai in the morning. The products from MA are not cheap, but you get what you pay for!!! Can you really put a price on good health?
I have a friend who has offered her MA portal and suggests I buy through her. She is very focused on everything she does and makes the meetings and conventions. I am sure she is working the “plan” but don’t see any evidence she is making much money with MA. I don’t see any advantage to shopping through her portal. The few times I peeked I could find the product elsewhere for a few bucks less and the whole concept of accessing other well known merchants through a middle man (in this case woman) seems cumbersome. I just don’t get it. Wish her and others well with MA but suspect it is a hard sell.
Market America maybe a reputable company but the multiple level marketing (MLM) concept is flawed. It has been my experience the most money is made by selling friends and family a piece of the business. This becomes a problem because you have no one to sell your product to. You will make a one time commission on developing your downline and then where do you go? You will have no one to sell your product to because everyone you know is selling the same product. If this were a true money making venture I would want family and friends to buy from my website and not have websites of their own to compete with mine. You as a business owner lose out when everyone else you know own the same business. When the majority of the money you make comes from recruiting people and not selling your products something is wrong.
Rob… I think you are really on the wrong site to be attempting to make the argument network marketing is a flawed business model… since THOUSANDS of people make six-figure, even multiple six-figure incomes in network marketing. MLM is a very viable business model that has made countless millionaires over the past 50 years. What’s flawed, my friend, is your understanding of how it works.
Rob,
I like how you use CAPITALIZATION to prove you aren’t TOTALLY FOR any MLM concept. Yes, you can make TONS of money and be FABULOUS. It’s totally not HOKEY. Sorry, I’m being an ass…
My real question is: when you’re pitching your sale to get people in the business, do you really feel like you’re doing them a service every time? I see the model, I see how it works, but I don’t think I have it in me to go out to people and sell this know that they will only make money if they get enough other people to believe in the system and follow the rules. Peer pressure seems way to prevalent in these groups…the talk of “don’t you want to support your family” or “have enough money to travel” or the despicable “if you can’t do this business, you can’t do any business” (which I haven’t heard directly myself).
Of course, any business relies on you convincing people that your product is better than a competitors; however, most businesses don’t mix a social component with the business. You go into the business world to do business and you leave to socialize.
Something about turning your whole life into a sales pitch bothers me. Doesn’t it bother you? or you MA’ers?
Or are you going to say the products are so great that you’re being genuine when you talk about them to all of your friends?
Alex, most people who join a network marketing business and have success with it DO NOT promote it in such a way that they try to convince, persuade or manipulate people in any way to buy the products or join the opportunity. Those who approach the business with that mindset will never build a huge business. But do have to consider the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the car you drive and literally every other possession you have in your life was SOLD by someone. Or was it? Didn’t YOU make the decision to buy? Make sense?
Wow. I’ve read through the posts here and see alot of people making negative comments and spreading bad information about MA. I am a proud business owner with MA, and have been in the business for just 6 months. I just earned my first $300 commission. This is not a get rich quick scheme, and anyone who tries to sell it as such should not be in the business. It may take you 5 years to earn enough income to consider quitting your corporate job. Or you may choose to never quit your corporate job, but to simply help fund your child’s education. You set your own pace and goals.
I work a corporate job (we like to call them the 45 year plan job) where I put in a minimum of 60 hours a week. With MA, I apply about 10-15 hours a week on top of that, building my business. Why do I do that? Because I personally know people who have retired from their 45 year plan job…and are now living solely off their MA retail sales and commissions. Plus they are doing the things that many people only dream of. I meet with these people every week. We have structured business meetings, and they are committed to helping others by teaching, coaching and mentoring. As part of this business, you are required to have written, measureable goals. If you are against that type of accountability…this is business is not for you. This came natural for me, and if it had not been required I would have done it anyway for myself. In my corporate job, it’s required of me…so it’s not a foreign concept.
This business is more about helping others, than about yourself. That’s what helped us make our decision. I can offer someone, who is financially destitute, the opportunity to enter into this business…try it out for a year….and if you don’t like it you are out nothing other than the time you invested. I don’t see that anyone has talked about this appretice program. It’s a fantastic way to learn more about the business at no risk, no $ investment.
I don’t see anyone talking about the Non-Profit Organization plan that this company has. As business owners, we have a vehicle that allows us to channel our efforts into helping non-profit organizations in these trying times. Simply by getting their supporters to order every day products, through the NPO’s shopping portal. The NPO’s have no $ investment. There’s no risk for them, just an opportunity to fund raise in a very simply way. It’s simply diverting their supporters to order from them vs. going to Amazon or other shopping sites.
The cash back program, and hot deals makes it fun to shop and find savings. The partner stores that this company has retained relationships with, offer MA shoppers deals that they don’t offer the general public. With the acquisition of SHOP.com, we are about to unveil a shopping site like no other. So I can only say…for those that who were believers and joined this company and got their businesses built in the right way, the gift we’ve just been given through this acquisition will pay back for years to come.
People posting negative comments above, have no clue what it’s like to be affiliated with a company on the leading edge of technology. Do you know what it would cost to have this shopping site custom built, with all the affiliate partner stores intact? I would estimate a minimum of $1M. And I believe that’s conservative. So when I have to pay my $20/month to maintain access to my back office to manage my orders I don’t complain. When I have to pay my annual renewal of $100 to maintain my business…I don’t complain. When I have to buy about $120 in product each month that I either consume or retail…I don’t complain. When I get to take advantage of the the tax benefits and write off’s, I don’t complain. I am grateful for this company and welcome helping educate others in the right way.
This is the most diverse company we have found. Offering areas of focus (Universities) from supplements, to weight loss lifestyle management, to skin care/makeup, to financial services, to website sales, and more. I know people making ALOT of money in this business, and not selling a single supplement…they simply chose a different area of focus that they are passionate about.
I’ve seen reference to upline, downline. You will never hear that reference from me, or anyone else that I’m affiliated with in the business. We refer to each other as business partners, or senior business partners to show our complete respect for the business, and each other. This is a business, we are entrepreneurs. My motto is…you have 2 choices…’work for an entrepreneur, or be an entrepreneur’. Anyone bashing the commission pay structure of this business should draw out their corporate companies organization chart. Now look at that pay structure…that is an example of a true pyramid…who makes the most money? The guy at the top. In our plan, any new business partner that joins our team, can actually make more money in this business than we do. Do you know of any corporate job, or even some of the MLM’s out there, that you can make more money than people in a level higher than you?
My husband and I have chosen to be less concerned about the number of people we bring into this business, and more concerned about the quality. This business is not for everyone, and we treat it like an interview process. We have specific traits and characteristics we are looking for, and we have values and core beliefs that we require prospects to have, or we won’t consider them. We have actually turned people away from this business because they were not right. Now they may find another distributor to enter the business under, but if that distributor was following the process and beliefs of the company, then that person just is not a right fit. It’s no different than applying for a job…this is a business. We choose to work with like minded people, who are coachable and looking for more in life.
Bottom line, is that I appreciate the open dialog going on in the comments above. But I truly wish people were more responsible before posting. I will admit…there are individuals in this company that may use some pretty strong tactics for getting someone to join the business. But that’s not a MA tactic…it’s that particular persons business tactic. We each are independent business owners. MA has simply provided us the vehicle and platform by which to grow our business and I’m sure it’s difficult to monitor 180,000 + business owners activities and tactics. I would recommend if you are truly interested in learning more about the business, but are feeling pressure that doesn’t seem right, that you find a different person to help educate you. This is just such a great opportunity for the right person(s).
Thank you for sharing your passion. It’s awesome to hear the dream, desire and integrity come forth.
I find myself caught between a rock and a hard place here. I was introduced to MA 2 years ago; was brought to a meeting and thought it all sounded too good to be true. I did my homework, I followed up with the distributors, and after a short time I thought it would be worthwhile to put my chips in.
The problem I have is that I went into it very hardcore. Even dropped out of college. I’m in my early twenties, and all of my business partners are in their 20s or late teens as well. We’re a very young group. I saw what seemed like a chance to free myself from debt, and I guess I just thought my friends would see the opportunity like I did. I gave MA a lot of my time for a few months, and very quickly I saw myself alienating just about everyone I knew. It felt very lonely, and the only people I could call my real friends were the people I met in MA.
We are a very young group though. Back then no one was really very mature or knew how to recruit or sell; it was all based on luck for the most part, and a very brutal filtering process that led to most of us only ever socializing with other MA distributors. I’ve since been looking for a better method that would allow for me to be more professional as I conducted business, but I felt like I was reduced to knocking on doors and cold calls (neither of which I’m good at, and if that really is how you have to do it then I need a mentor who will show me; badly!)
About 9 months ago I removed myself from MA and have just been struggling to get myself back on track to accomplishing something. I even dropped out of college just to do the business, but now the timing to go back to school is just not right anymore. Now, a few days ago, I met with my old business partners and we got to sit down and chat. It was like talking to good old friends, and I never once stopped thinking about all the good times I’ve had with my team.
MA didn’t turn my life upside down; that was completely my choice at the time. In hindsight, I never should had been brought into MA to begin with, as I definitely didn’t qualify as a qualified prospect. Now, however, after learning so much and being of that mindset for so long, it’s hard to really go back to anything else. It’s like being allowed to look into Heaven yet knowing you chose Hell because you didn’t think you’d pass Heaven’s Entrance Exam.
So I suppose I’m one of the many who “failed” at MA, even though I still use some of the products. I’m not going to sit here and blame MA for my choices. I’ve seen the model work, and it’s definitely working for my 22 year old senior partner, a little over 2 years younger than me. I’d still like to offer some advice: MA will work if you work it, but dip your foot into it before you jump in. Ask about the apprentice program, as someone else already said it’s a powerful tool that I know my business partners don’t leverage enough of.
I’ll never trade my 2 years with MA for anything else, I just wish the timing could have been better and I had been a little wiser. Maybe it’s not too late for me to try it again, but the world of business requires discipline, commitment, and perseverance. Anyone can do it, but before you have proven to yourself that you have those qualities your not ready to really commit to it. I just wish I knew what my next move was!
Best wishes to everyone working with MA, and any other network marketing business!
PS: When MA says only a few hours a week, that’s REALLY how you’re supposed to do it, unless you are an experience sales person. Don’t dive in full time unless you know how to generate a list of names to occupy your time!
Thanks for sharing, Jim. You said something very profound… “Don’t dive in full time unless you know how to generate a list of names to occupy your time!”
Lead prosperity leads to prosperity. Plain and simple. Building a profitable network marketing business is truly simply once you have a LEAD GENERATION SYSTEM in place to get your opportunity in front of new people every day.
Market America is a sham! They devise way to prevent you from earning your commission. I know I worked for them
Give me a break! Sure…they “devise” plans to take your money and keep you from earning any. Get out of here with that bologna. I started my Unfranchise just less than 5 months ago and already earned my first $300 check…and I felt like I didn’t fully earn it myself (because I didn’t
). Weird what happens with team work and putting economic glue between each other in this business. The simple fact is that not everybody is in the same place at the same time in life. Not everybody is right for this business (or many for that matter). Some people will always be content with just having dreams without action. There is absolutely nothing illegal about Market America/Shop.com and you can be proud to sell the products we do….time freedom and financial freedom all in good time with hard work. Would you go to your traditional job, sit on your bum and expect to not get fired? Only difference in this business is you might as well fire yourself if your not willing to do whatever it takes to get YOUR business off the ground. Like Jim Winkler says here in Wisconsin “Do the work, make the money!” The last sentence sums it all up…should of just written that. lol 
BTW, good blog here Rob! Very informative.
Isn’t it funny how people will join a program and the HEIGHT of their involvement is often filling out the application. Then they do nothing, make nothing and tend to blame the company, the product, their sponsor and even the entire industry. Crazy. This just about says it all: “Do the work, make the money!”
Hello,
I’m interested joining MA , and first want to thank all the people who have posted here, good and bad, as they offer a different point of view that i may benefit from considering before joining.
I’ve attended 2 meetings, 1 local and 1 regional. I’m truly impressed with the culture of the company, the vision, the product line and the many options in which to place your best skills. I really liked the positive energy generated that became contagious and the business mind of ” lets have lots of fun while making lots of money”. For me its very important to enjoy what i do everyday. I ‘m excited about the possibilities of actually getting paid appropriately for the hard work i know i can do. I ‘m aware that it takes hard work to get desired results. I know i have very good sales skills and experience and great contacts that can take me pretty far.
My main concerns right now are, how real are all the numbers that are presented regarding the potential of income ie. $300 – 25,000+ in a 4 week period; and what am i not being told about the company that I should be asking. Something seems to be missing, as it seems like such a good fit for me, almost too good to be true.
I appreciate any feedback.
Yzza – usually, when you see people into ANY company and produce results in the $300 to $25,000 range very quickly – it is because they have a “network” or a huge warm marketing readily available to present the opportunity to. So if you have lots of people you can contact right away, you’ll make money right away. If not… then it takes time to learn and embrace marketing to produce these contacts.
Test to see if comments need approval before being submitted. Isn’t it funny how people will join a program and the HEIGHT of their involvement is often filling out the application. Then they do nothing, make nothing and tend to blame the company, the product, their sponsor and even the entire industry. Crazy. This just about says it all: “Do the work, make the money!”
Funny how that works, isn’t it? I see it every day. MANY join. MOST quit and blame anyone and anything for their non-production. A FEW work and make money.
Very good point…it is extremely important for people to be a responsible sponsor when they join. Most people go out and act out the “ignorance on fire” tactic…leading to all of the things that Martina mentioned. Take your time, train the person, and over time it will duplicate…without duplication, none of this works. We have to remove the get rich quick mentality in the business, and let them know it is a “get rich” over a period of time business…that grows the strongest with stability in your sponsors.
Brilliant post Rob, your right that a title like “Market America Review” will attract the right type of prospect, that’s why I stay a away from using the word “scam” in my headlines when doing company reviews since the word scam attracts people that are skeptical.
“Company Scam” posts will get a lot of traffic. The challenge is YOU might get a lot of cease-n-desist orders from the company you are writing about even if you dispel the “scam” within your post. How do I know?
)
I have a friend every-time I see him he ask me to join to his MA team! Honestly It’s annoying to ask somebody so many times for something that you pretend is going to be “good for his/her future”!…I went with him 3 times to those famous meetings but I think this type of thing is not for me cause I can’t loose family and friends for anything and with this “business” its very possible that to happen!…
In my opinion, your friend is building the business WRONG. We should always expose our family, friends and co-workers to the business and let them make up their own mind. But yes or no… that’s it. Should THEY ever bring it up again, then we can have another discussion. Your friend’s “method” usually is the result of not having a steady stream of LEADS coming in. In other words, they have not learned how to market.
Thanks for the info,,,,I am considering this as a part time thing
I go into everything 1000%, so it’s not an issue of whether it will be successful or not,,,,I am concerned about the remarks regarding minimal payouts, but more research is warrented at this point before I decide
Market American, like any other “business” you might start pays you exactly what you put into it. Plain and simple, Matt. So the key is to really think it through. How will you market, etc. Actually sit down and write out a full-blown business and marketing plan. Treat it like BIG BUSINESS from the beginning and it can and will pay you like a big business.
Rob, you are an absolute legend in the industry. I was just doing some research for a blog post per the training in your Authority Content Profit System and Predatory SEO products and low and behold, I find a post authored by you. You’re all over the place! Guess that’s just a testament that you practice what you preach.
Anyway.. great product and great post. Continued success to you my friend. See you on the next post
Take Care & God Bless!
Thank you, Barry. Creating great content and causing it to rank really is a pretty easy way to drive a hoard of traffic, leads and sales directly into and through your funnel. Most people don’t have the patience but if you keep moving forward – the results become very cumulative. For those who are interested:
Predatory SEO< /strong> – How to Get Traffic, Leads and Sales
Authority Content System – Great Content for Your Blog
Thanks Rob, I will certainly keep that in mind when creating my own content. And… for anyone who doesn’t own your products, they are missing out on a wealth of information and they are most likely doing their business the hard way. On a personal level, my blog went from being ranked over 7 million in Alexa to under 1ook just by tweaking my post, as I learned in these two products. And I did it in only a couple months. That’s actually going to be my next post – how I took my blog from 7M to under 100k in 60 days using Predatory SEO & the Authority Content System. For that, I thank you Rob!
OK…Something is amiss here. If you are not making any money from MA Rob, then pigs can fly…
This whole thing is a sham and the business model stinks. Why would I buy a product from MA for $47.00 when I can get the same product on Amazon for $34.00? What a profit margin, how is the consumer winning in a scenario where we are being overcharged 30%+?
This kinda reminds me of Scientology, except cash is the prime focus not religion which is the excuse to get cash.
So let me get this straight, you are endorsing a company that marks up products 30%, are you serious?
If you could somehow justify that, then you really don’t have a conscious.
Well, Dude – you better duck! Because we are not active in Market America in any way, shape or form. We endorse the network marketing model and all honest companies within the model… and we do that in good conscious. Blessings…
I agree with “the dude” I’ve checked out the site which is called shop.com so far I’ve seen most if not then all the products there a marked at a higher price. What gives? What is the point of cash back anyway when you are still being over charged. Not to mention the cash back is only a few cents for over a $30 dollar product. That’s chump change for me.
Last I would like to add is that I attended their meetings and I don’t believe in their slogan of a 2 year plan. According to the way how their business plan works, it takes more than that, its not nice to fill people’s heads with false hope to grab attention.
I want people to know that MA is not for everyone. I joined a year ago and I will say that if you are not an extroverted type or sales type of person, this biz is not for you because it involves a lot of personal contact. Yes, I know all about the social media aspect of it and how it can be leveraged to solicit more customers, but still unless you are comfortable hamming it up with strangers and finding out what their “pain” is, you will not do well. Another thing I don’t like is the constant pressure to attend training. And you can be sure that the “team” you belong to will heap on the pressure to fly to Miami and North Carolina for their yearly cheer leading conventions. Most of the training sessions involve successful MA distributors trying to convince the rest of us of how easy the business is, regurgitating the same info over and over and over again, ad nauseum. And the conventions are pretty much the same thing but on a much larger scale with more hype and pageantry. By parading millionaires on the stage, they think they can convince everyone that yes, you too can be a millionaire, like the 400 other millionaire distributors. What they don’t mention is that most distributors make much, much less, a pittance you could say. Let’s look at the numbers: 400 millionaires out of 200 thousand distributors. That comes out to .002 chance. Your odds are much better playing craps in Nevada.
But the biggest issue I have is not the wasted time and money on the training, but rather the pricing of their product lines. All of their products are way overpriced. The target market is upper income people with plenty of discretionary money to throw around which is not a big market. Knowing full well that the average person in the U.S. isn’t going to spend $100 a month on vitamins, the only way the company can expand is by going overseas which is exactly what they are doing. With fuel prices only going up, all I can say is good luck with that idea.
If you are looking for a way to make money by convincing people to empty their wallets for overpriced vitamin powder and then empty your own wallet by paying someone to spend hours shoving repetitive information into your head (all the training costs money), then maybe you really should sign up for this business.
I guarantee you that some MA distributor will post a reply comment saying how you can succeed if you only try harder or how they were successful. But personally, this has been a bad experience with a lot of money wasted. Do your due diligence before jumping into something like this!
Ask how many scientists they have employed??? Maybe 1 or 2. Ask what products they produce themselves.
Answer 0. They are a knock off company that has subcontractors knock off existing products in the market and then overcharge for them.
That’s a silly arguement, Dude 2. Does Walmart make the products they distribute? Do doctors make the drugs they prescribe? Does the local tire store make the tires and wheels they sell? Silly… thanks for stopping by.
“Rob” Why do you waste so much time replying to these posts? what do get out of it?
WalMart might not make their own products but the ones they sell are most likely cheaper than any of their competitors. If not pretty close.
They don’t mark up their prices just to claim the item is on sale and you are actually “saving” money when the “sale”price is actually still moe expensive than on another site not to mention even with the “cash back” your STILL paying a premium…….its’ all about how strong and believable your sales pitch is……
Dude 2That’s a silly arguement, Dude 2. Does Walmart make the products they
distribute? Do doctors make the drugs they prescribe? Does the local
tire store make the tires and wheels they sell? Silly… thanks for
stopping by.
@Jim MOST people who join any network marketing type of business will not have success. Not because they are introvert or extrovert – but because MOST people do not understand marketing nor are they willing to learn. That’s the bottom line. Despite what you might have heard… products, services and business opportunities do not sell themselves.
I recently attended the latest convention in MD this past weekend and i can honestly say this business model works….but not for the average Joe. Unless you put in your “hard work” as in mass recruit through group meets, schools your partners will break off and the commission checks will stop flowing in. Most people will level off and end up leaving or simply become consumers of the product. The way the plan is setup is most normal people will break even or lose money the way the commision upkeep scale works at the lower tiers which is the majority of the people.
through out the trip everyone stressed positive reinforcement of the product over and over and over til you actually believe it. at the last day and the meeting after meeting they try to seal the deal. Most people would give in after 3-4 days of this positive reinforcement. But what i see is they give in mostly from peer pressure and fear of disappointing the person that brought them. They almost make you feel guilty for saying no or not buying 3 tickets to NC. ($600)
One thing i did notice is the favorable treatment i noticed people who were seemingly going to join were given. the person that brought me also brought another person who was more interested in joining then i am. They got a lot of special attention, pampered even.
in the end i did not join nor do i plan to. The system works but like i said most people will level off or end up being consumer of the products.
Thanks for sharing. Most program work well for SOME people, but MOST people simply will not make any program work. It is really not the fault of the program – as if anyone is making money, everyone can make money. The key is to learn the art and science of MARKETING and then you will find success in most anything you do.
Awesome, Barry. Isn’t that something? It only takes a few little “tweaks” to the model to start producing incredible results. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
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