the lady that is contacting me has just sent another email saying that she has lots of contacts in here and that she'd like ME to sponsor them.
Could that also be just crap? Did it happen to you?
Thanks.

No, that hasn't happened to me.In fact the guy who sponsored me seems to be avoiding me!

I think ( in my more enlightened retrospect) that he had a set plan....to interview several candidates until he had a signed up "batch" of them, and then put them through the "training" together ( quicker that way)...well my mother passed away last year, soon after I signed up,so I dropped out of the training.Now I'm ready to get going again but I get the impression I'm just an inconvenience as I don't slot in nicely to "the plan" any more.

It's possible that your contact has people "lined up" for you,though if that is the case I don't see why she hasn't signed them up herself Or why she hasn't told THEM to sign up with her as she's got YOU lined up. Ask LOADS of questions.You can sign up by just spending £50 or about $100, you don't have to buy the $ 400 combi pack.

As I say, I think the products are good, I spent about £250 on products to sell last month and a bonus of £17 magically arrived in my bank account from FLP.

Their latest [b:7ed2f3970c]"desperate for good publicity"[/b:7ed2f3970c] craze is getting their distributors to make loads of money for [b:7ed2f3970c]charity[/b:7ed2f3970c].This translates as those at the bottom of the pyramid slogging away earning loads of positive publicity for an MLM company while those at the top get richer and richer .This is because the charity functions involve [b:7ed2f3970c]selling the products [/b:7ed2f3970c]and [b:7ed2f3970c]people will buy more [/b:7ed2f3970c]if the profits are going to charity.This way the poor lowly distributor earns nothing but further up the pyramid the bonuses mount up.

Here I am whingeing away.The thing is I really do need to earn some money for [b:7ed2f3970c]myself and my 14 year old son [/b:7ed2f3970c]as I spent years in a cult where I gave a lot of my money away and I have very little savings or pension.FLP advertised themselves to me as "needing a business partner" and I signed up as a way of earning a living not working for "charity".

Now I'm starting to feel embarrassed about needing to earn some serious dosh out of all this ! Honestly!

I'm am going to give it a go though ( if I say it enough times maybe I'll actually DO something! ) :D

Best wishes to you Carioca and let me know how you get on.

I deleted a post.

This is not a board to promote an MLM business or related products.

Hi Mod.
I missed that post you deleted and now I'm full of curiosity ! Are FLP on my trail? Have I been denounced as a traitor to the cause?:)Was it publicity about FLP or another MLM company?

No. It just seemed like promotional discussion inappropriate for this message board according to the rules agreed to.

Well I knew that Forever living was a bit of a pyramid thing and dare I say it a bit of a scam and I just feel sorry for my parents who joined and tried convincing me but I have always been weary of these sorts of things and it just goes to prove it with Lexy's postings. However I think that the best way to do it if you are already in it would possibly to get a free webpage done and have a recruit button and let people make their own decisions about it and I agree the products are great but Holland and Barrat sell products which are basically the same and they are usually an expensive outlet but their aloe Vera stuff is still a fraction of the cost of this forever stuff.. My parents will not have it that they have been fooled into something not quite what it seems. I always think that anything that looks too good to be true is exactly that.

Why not show my posts to your parents.

There's no need IMO to feel sorry
for your parents. They've only become an FLP distributor that's all ! ( not joined a suicide cult! )

They should just keep aware and informed and not let the wool be pulled over their eyes. The NO CRITICISM or NEGATIVITY policy of FLP is a cult tactic which can prevent us from using CRITICAL THINKING.

They should be very careful not to overspend and compare the FLP prices ,as you are doing, with prices in the REAL WORLD and then make informed decisions about whether they are good value or not.

They may decide that the good quality of the products outweighs any price disadvantage......but they must never lose sight of the fact that no matter how ,friendly and helpful FLP seem to be and however many incentives they offer...at the end of the day IT IS A BUSINESS....and they are keen for customers to spend MONEY. For every £/$ your parents spend, somebody further up the chain is getting a bonus.

Younger recruits are popular as they are likely to spend more on the make-up etc ( for which the FLP prices DO actually compare well with the real world) and have more disposable income.

Anyhow best wishes and good luck to you and your parents. Lexy.

I just spent ages typing out a reply and then the post screwed up and asked me to login. I should have known to type it in word first coming from an IT background. Stupid me

Just testing this one goes before I re-write that novel!


Just backspace. It should still be there.

EZ[/color:ccfc4491e6]

I tried to go back but alas it was lost. I thought I'd write a quick reply in (word this time) and it turned out to be bigger than the first post! Sorry if you get bored.... ;-)

Hi Carioca, Lexy and everyone else.

I’ve been doing research on FLP as I’ve recently signed up to be a distributor – a bout 3 weeks ago.

I’ve been doing some research into the company and I’m hoping to offer a balanced opinion of what I’ve experienced so far.

Firstly, the products. There is no scientific research. This is still a concern for me although the number of success stories seem to be massive. That’s why I’m trying the products for myself, along with my very sceptical family to see what happens. That said, no-one seems to have an issue with the products, only the pricing so I’ll leave that there.

I was initially very sceptical that this was a pyramid scheme but am fairly sure FLP isn’t that as you have to sell the products to make any money (unlike a pyramid scheme where they want your investment). No product sales = no money. It seems they’re basically trying to get everyone to buy their products through recommendation instead of advertising. I’m still a little uncomfortable with it all, even though I can’t put my finger on why yet. Maybe because there isn’t any scientific research?

My experience differs from Lexy’s though in that a good friend of mine told me about the business and he is a man of integrity and honour – much like myself. We’re both life coaches which is an ethical business (although some idiots still let the side down).

Basically, he was honest about what the business entailed and I’m not your average distributor. I only joined because I’m training to be a fitness instructor and thought that the supplements and drinking gels can genuinely help people with their health. Sure, I’ll make some money on it but it is a business after all and quite simply, I don’t need that money so anything I earn is a bonus. Recruiting (sorry SPONSORING in company speak) is not something I actively intend to do with my friends and family, but mainly with clients who want a business opportunity or seem interested. If family friends want to join then clearly I’ll do it but I’m not up for hassling my friends and family because they won’t appreciate it. Basically, I’m not your average FLP distributor as the money has limited interest for me but getting good products to people does (once I’m convinced the products are good – not totally there yet).

Lexy – If your still doing this business then I’d suggest skipping your upline manager (who sounds like an A-hole) and talking to his manager, and if that doesn’t work then talk to his manager.

I’d hope that a good manager would help you expand your business and sell your products. I’m very sceptical of someone who just wants to recruit for profit and not actually sell the product. Surely the reason to do this is to sell as much product as possible – even if you’ve done your quota? If the products are as good as I’m led to believe then not offering it to someone who could be helped by a product such as an Asthma sufferer or an IBS sufferer is unethical?

I think my only problem with all MLM schemes including FLP is that there are unethical people in the business who are recruiting, passing on their bad habits and so on and so on.

I went to a training day recently and I have to say although it was a bit over the top, it was pretty much motivating people and giving them advice on both products (very good) and how to recruit (mixed bag on that one).

There were some genuinely nice, helpful and friendly people and one or two (including one of the speakers) who I got very bad vibes from. Basically, FLP is going to make you rich and if you don’t do it then more fool you kind of stuff. Really not my bag.

I think you just have to enter this business with open eyes. Yes, the plan is to recruit as many people as possible which to the company means they sell more of their products. You can always say no. I do. A lot. I certainly haven’t dressed in the company idea of business attire yet and I don’t intend to. Maybe if I was presenting, but to go to a training day with your peers and colleagues in a suit? No thanks.

Pretty much, my criticisms of FLP are much smaller than my old job anyway, where I was in a “pyramid” structure and never even got a chance to get promoted because I didn’t stick to company policy. At least at FLP I can run things exactly how I want to, even if that does mean I probably won’t make any significant money until 2009!

I think this business does take a lot of hard work, just like any other business and the rewards for some seem to be huge, but only if you stay in long enough and keep working. Fortunately for me, I only do it to help people actually take the products for their health so every time something comes up I’m not comfortable with, I just say no, and it really hasn’t caused any problems so far.

I think the hardcore elite FLP crowd might think I was being difficult but my advice is stick to your principles and you can probably do well in this business as you’ll be able to sleep at night.

Lexy – maybe if you do keep up this business you could be the type of person you’d liked to have been sponsored by – someone supportive, honest who actually wants their recruits to do well for themselves, and not just to make you money.

I hope that’s a balanced opinion of my experience so far. Yes I think MLM including FLP have their issues but then so have every other business I’ve ever worked for and FLP seem to have less (I used to work in Investment Banking and that really was a profits stay at the top business).

If anyone in FLP sees this then I’ll probably have my distributor status revoked but what the hell – I’m only telling the truth as I see it.

One last point on the balance issue – I think the top level manager dieing from cancer is a little unfair. No-one is immune from the lottery of cancer, be they taking every health product their company provides or the average Joe on the street. If Aloe Vera prevented all cancers then we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion. Not meant to be flippant, but the strongest, healthiest people in the world can and often do get cancer. I know you said it was disconcerting that he died, but I’d just say it’s unlucky. If all of the board died then that would be disconcerting.

Anyway, if anyone’s interested I’ll post again as get more acquainted with FLP.

I do believe your point about questioning everything, Lexy and that is what I intend to do. Fortunately for me, I don’t need the money so I can pretty much do as I please (I suppose we all have that free will, we might just believe we need that money).

Carioca – the person sponsoring you giving you people to sponsor makes sense to me. Although she won’t make as much money as sponsoring them herself, she may be more likely to qualify for a bonus trip away if you sponsor more people (playing the bonus system if I’m a little cynical) or she is actually a really nice person who wants to see you progress quicker because extra income could give you extra incentive at the critical early stages when you have just joined (the much nicer view). You decide which reason it is.

If anyone wants to repost or email me direct with any experiences, I’d be keen to hear them!

Oh – one last thing. I’ve actually been critical of a couple of things and although they didn’t go down too well, they certainly didn’t turn on me and some people actually started to think about it. Again, I think it’s the slight lottery of which area/team you’re in. Mine seem open-minded enough not to make me run away although I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out in case that sort of behaviour does happen.

Cheers, Steve

See [www.vandruff.com]

This explains why so many people lose so much money in multi level marketing schemes.

Rather than blaming individuals, it is usually the business plan that is to blame. Most MLM schemes are set up from the start in such a way that they typically produce meaningful profits only for the people at the top.

If there isn't any objective, peer-reviewed and published scientific research/studies utilizing control groups to back up product claims, but instead essentially anecdotal stories and/or personal testimonials offered as proof, this can easily be seen as a "red flag."