Prepaid Legal Scam?There are two sides to the pre paid legal services scam story. First we have the legal services aspect to consider and also the business opportunity side to consider. Let’s take them one at a time.
Pre Paid Legal Services Scam
Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc is a publicly traded company (NYSE: PPL) that has been providing subscription-based legal plans and services since 1972. Today, the company serves over 1.5 million customers in the U.S. and Canada. For $26 or less each month, families and small business owners have direct phone access to a local law firm to obtain advice and counsel. Legal assistence is provided for virtually every thing you can imagine including document review when buying a house or a car, setting up a will, handling problems with insurance company claims, dealing with identity theft issues and more. Much more. Various riders are also available including a legal shield rider, home busines rider, and even a corporate record keeping option.
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So you have to ask yourself? Here’s a publicly-traded company serving over 1.5 customers. If the legal services they provide were not on the up and up, if they did not work with high reputation law firms, they company would have been forced to close their door a long, long time ago. Instead, they have been alive and well for over 38 years! Scam. Fraud. Worthless? Impossible.
Pre Paid Legal Scam
Now let’s take a look at the business opportunity.
According to the Media Moogle site which provides a variety of PrePaid Legal information inclduing articles, lawsuits, complaints, pyramid scheme accusations, and more… the company profits decreased 8% in 2009 but, during the same time period, the number of new sales distributors enrolled decreased 17.8%. Which is odd, actually, because when most network marketing businesses actually see a significant increase in their distritorship base during bad economic times. Because when times get rough, people often start looking for ways to make extra money and a good mlm opportunity the preferred choice of many.
Of course in ANY network marketing opportunity you will have a tiny percentage of the active distributors who make a significant living. Most will never make a time. It’s just the way it is. A few will make millions, many will make a good living, and most will fail to produce a profit. Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the so-called pre paid legal scam claims. It’s a viable business that has stood the test to time for over three decades!
That being said, as you may or may not know, I also own one of the most popular mlm leads sites online. So over the years we have worked with hundreds of distributors from virtually every network marketing opportunity on the planet and the majority of the feedback I’ve received over the years is the attrition rate for pre-paid legal services is pretty steep. And when you are trying to build a business suffering from a high attrition rate – it’s like trying to fill a bucket full of water that has a leak at the bottom. If you can fill it faster than it is leaking – you’ll show a profit. The challenge is you can never STOP actively filling the bucket!
Makes sense?
So if you are seriously considering starting our own business, you can readily discount all the pre paid legal services scam claims. They are bogus. It’s a good, stable, well-respected company with a proven track record.
However, before you jump in with both feet you really need to stop and consider exactly how you will promote and grow your new business. What’s your marketing plan? How do you intend to advertise and promote the legal services (to get new customers) and the business opportunity?
The best way to start is to contact all of your family, friends, co-workers, business associates and local business owners. This will keep your expenses down and, if approached properly, you net a few good clients and perhaps a few good business builders. But what are you going to do when you exhaust your warm market?
Listen - most people fail to build a profitable network marketing business because they never really sat down and figured out a way to consistently promote the product, service or opportunity… cost effectively… over an extended period of time. And new leads, new prospects, new customers and a steady stream of new business builders is the name of the game.
So the first thing you should do before starting any new business is to determine exactly how you intend to market and promote the business.
The key is to find a way to drive dozens, even hundreds of new visitors to your web site on a daily basis which is often easier said than done because there is a lot of competition online for that same traffic. Perhaps the best way is to use an attraction marketing system to funnel the traffic to your web site. Done properly, you can literally generated leads on demand, create an addition stream of cash flow, and promote your new business all from one marketing funnel.
Leads and traffic is the name of the game. So before you join any business, make sure you have a clear idea and plan for how you will generate leads and traffic on a daily basis. My Lead System Pro offers a proven step-by-step system to help you do just that. Take a look. You may be surprised, even shocked to discover how simple it really is to make money online.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello,
The information regarding PPL’s drop in recruitment comes from their own annual report. I am curious as to your source for this statement below.
“Which is odd, actually, because when most network marketing businesses actually see a significant increase in their distritorship base during bad economic times. “
I really like the honest facts on your blog about prepaid legal services.
I have used their services for over 5 years now and not a distributor.fact remains fact ,that in every network marketing industry, some will make money and other will not.That does not make a particular business a scam . Thanks for throwing light on this subject
Hi, im considering starting to work for pre paid legal because ive been in contact with one of there reps…
anyway im worried about not being able to find enough people to sign on or be on my team..i do know im a very good people person and been considered a leader in life, but im only 20 years old and i look even younger like 15, so i fear that ill be paying for the services but not make money and there for still be broke like i am now…unsure how to continue
Alias (how funny is that?) – better would be to start asking yourself more empowering questions like, “Why am I constantly meeting and attracting new leader to my business” and let your subconscious figure out the how.
I am considering working for Pre-Paid Legal as well. My concern is I will not find any people to sign up, or I will run out of people in the long-run. It makes sense that you need to master the art of promoting on the internet. So, what is your advice on joining the service? Are you against it? Or only against it if you do not master the art of promoting? Would you recommend me joining? Thanks!
Cecilia – good for you for looking ahead and realizing success in network marketing boils down to becoming an effective marketer. I would suggest you start with my attraction marketing bootcamp and go from there.
We’ve been PPL members for 24 years… great service in all regards.. we signed up recently to be associates.. whether we can make money with services is yet to be seen… I’ll check out your lead services.. thanks. lynda
Awesome, Lynda. Congrats on starting your own business. You might want to check our MLSP – which the online lead generation we use. Pretty incredible.
I like this article. I’m a member of PPL myself. I suspect that too many people just throw the word “scam” around. A friend of mine who was an associate once complained that while he prospected door-to-door, one guy who claimed he was an attorney said he figured PPL was a scam just because you have to pay a monthly fee for it! And a woman I used to date labeled it a “pyramid deal.” Many people say that about MLM, confusing the two.
You’re absolutely right, George. Too many people form bad judgements against the industry really for no reason. If charging a monthly fee made something a scam, then cell phones and cable tv is a scam. And illegal pyramid schemes get shut down pretty fast. That’s just ignorance talking.
Hey Rob, good info here about PPL. I’ve been an associate for almost 2 years and have gone well thru my warm market list with nothing to show for it except experience in taking rejection in stride. I’ve looked at a lot of the lead generation sites online and it seems a common trend that you spend an initial amount of money, usually for some training or a book or video, and then to go further you must spend more, and then more etc…. I’m just wondering if you’re program is different? I’d like to see a site that has a flat rate with everything a person needs from start to neverending! Thanks
Jason, there is no such thing as a “turnkey” online lead generation system. It doesn’t exist. So usually you are paying for a nice splash page or capture page and then you must invest additional time and effort to promote that site/page to drive leads to it. Internet marketing is in no way, shape or form a passive activity. I use and promote the MLSP system and have been for a year. I probably spend $150 per month to promote the program. Seems like a lot but the results are insanely profitable. Over the past year we have earned tens of thousands of dollars, created a 2nd 5k per month income, pulled in over 7,000 leads and have sponsored dozens into our primary. I do not think you will ever find a “flat rate” program because if generating leads online were that easy… pay a fee and it was done for you… why would anyone sell that system? They would use it to build a huge business and plug their entire team into it.
Interesting that, in your endorsement of PPL, you managed to slip in adverts for your own products and services. There’s a word for people like you. You’re called a “shill”.
(I wonder how long this comment will stay online before it gets mysteriously removed).
What we promote is a way for people seeking to take their network marketing business to the next level – an opportunity to do so – which may be PPL or any other company. MOST people do not make any money in MLM so our goal is to simply guide people into a solution that works.
Very nicely written article. I think it would be important to mention/update that Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc is now known as Legal Shield, which is a privately held company. Terms may have changed.
Thanks Fred – good catch. I appreciate you pointing that out.
Absolutely horrific.. People all over the world are looking for “Get Rich Quick” schemes and they forget that nothing comes without hard-work and sacrifice.
I am so tired of the traditional network marketing companies, where you must recruit in order to make the real money. I don’t want to join a company and make just enough to cover my product costs…I want to represent a company that underpromises and over-delivers!! To many companies fall into the fraud category, because of their selfish founders that prey on the little guy trying to get out of the rat race. It’s time the world is given a truly Product-Driven MLM where all can succeed and EARN an honest living…
Cali – I have to agree with you that most people are looking for the EASY BUTTON to solve their financial issues and there simply is not one. However I must disagree with you on the point of many companies being fraudulent – if they were they would be shut down. Plain and simple. And if you decide to embrace the network marketing model – regardless of the company, product or comp plan – the only way to make serious money IS to recruit people. That’s the nature of the business. If you don’t like that aspect – don’t do network marketing. Focus on affiliate marketing instead where you get paid solely and only on your marketing abilities. No leverage there and at least you don’t have to recruit people.