Multi Level Marketing OR Snakes And Ladder

Multi Level Marketing (MLM) is once again a hot news and this time it’s not just with the participants but media is also involved – investigation, print report, interview and so much of exposure. I feel Multi Level Marketing should now be rechristened as Snakes And Ladder Marketing

Soon after my college one of my friend was joining Amway around 1993 and I use to attend some of these session with him. I was never ever convinced with the idea. No doubt Amway was wrongly sold then (that’s the way I look at it) – no idea whether is it still the same case. Between 1993 and 2000 odd, I came across many Amway guys who use to literary chew my brain out. The best part was starting the conversation as to how would I like to retire or what if I had my own business.

After my close association with my friend and few third degree torture I was well educated and use to have select questions which none of these aspirant were able to revert on.

Are you selling me the product or asking me to join? Why when I don’t like their products? What is the revenue percentage of re-sales volume in India V/s percentage of new joinee and so on. I have due respect for Amway as a company but no idea why the company doesn't push and encouraging more re-sales.

I use to work at Lower Parel, Mumbai and visit a hotel in the nearby area – the young son of the said hotelier was the latest abuser that I encountered last year. Around 1995-97 I recollect of even coming across Japan Life – Wow – magnetic bed worth around one lakh during those days and I don’t know how people use to sell it – or should I say buy it.

The concept of MLM has been around in India for quite some time largely with local / regional presence in form of chit funds, cosmetic products, real estate schemes, investment schemes and what not. However in the last couple of years the trend has increased and we have seen many such scheme getting launched. The best part is in spite previous personal experiences or ample awareness, people overwhelmingly participate.

I feel the key reason is we have more than 100 crores of population to cheat or fool. And the concept is very simple even if you are able to make 100 Rs after distributing the down line from even 0.05 percent of the population we are talking about making not less than 50 crores !! That’s a big money and worth a bet.

And see the other side, if you are a participant, you can be either the one who had made money last time and want to join again, or are lured (it may be wrong when I say majority of us would be quite aware about the high risk) or are genuinely IMPRESSED OR you really don’t mind taking that small risk!!

What I liked about the recent trend is the use of technology by these operators. Isn’t it great that after Super Lotto (online lottery – though it’s official as I understand) we are now having MLM getting tech savvy. The newer schemes are getting floated on web – Speak Asia, Ram Survey and many others which I may not know. We should not be surprised if the next scheme is available on mobile and SMS!!

But one thing is sure MLM is nothing but a Snakes And Ladder game wherein we try to maximize money and the operator is a snake who take away every time you try to reach on top – what say!!

Address – What does it mean to you?

In the last one month I had a real terrible time – all concerned with “Address”. In our common language – address is referred to the location of residence, office, venue and so on. All through from the date I have got matured, I have taken this seriously and have ensured to provide vital details, landmark and other necessary elements to be called as “Address”. However in the last one month this topic has come and hit me more than 4-5 times, can you believe it and more over for no reasons of mine. Let me share with you and I am

sure we all have gone through this at least once in our life time either someone is trying to locate us or we are trying to locate some body.

Over the last weekend, I had enrolled with a leading personality from internet media background who also has a seed fund and himself also being an angle investor had organized a Business Plan workshop at Pune. The address / location of the venue was so very well known that it took me around 2 and half hour to reach the work shop. I am with holding the name of the person and details of the venue for good reason – am I am sure this was not intentional and it was incidental.

Firstly the invitation for the workshop did not have any contact number to reach the organizer to locate the venue in the ticket and email confirmation sent, secondly the venue by the name had more than three location in the city. Fortunately after a running around the one, I reached at the right one. The right one itself had many nuclear venues and no one around new the place I wanted to reach. After an hour of search, a senior gentlemen from the venue helped me by speaking to a director of the institution and finally I reached drenched – 2 hours late for a 4 hour work shop!!

Moral: I fee why don’t the organizer realize that it make sense to provide complete details as well as contact number of such venue with multiple similar names and is it not necessary to name a point of contact.

A week before that, my dear mom decided to go to town – Mumbai as she wanted to visit a relative who had shifted from one home to another. I as an obedient son told mom to ensure she takes phone number and details with her as I was to drop her on the main road and she was to take off from there. On reaching the location I felt and realized that she was just having the “landmark” as the destination point to reach. Hell what ? I was pissed off as my entire schedule went on a toss but I had no choice and I asked my mom if she is carrying the number of the relative we will call her and take their residential address, one more surprise.

She was so confidently not carrying it saying it’s a famous place and she will reach. I called back home took the contact number and called the relative who gave the name of the building, floor and land mark. I reach the land mark and to my surprise right in front of the landmark I found the building with a similar name with a word in the middle missing, so took a guess and asked the people on the road for help. Few guided me to go straight and upon reaching the location, it was a big factory getting converted into residential property. However, the entry to the desired building was not from here.

We had already waked for an about thirty minutes in hot sun and again started walking back to check out on the right entry point but by then we were so very pissed we took the cab and headed straight back to station for home. Moral: Why can’t the invitee and visitor take a pain in asking for finer details like nearby building, old name of the building / location. At times, absence of such basic information deceive you. We take this casually and feel that if needed upon reaching the location we will call up relevant people for more details if required, but my experience is either the phone is not reachable or battery is down and so on

One more example, I was registering my company and for the purpose of same, needed DIN – Director Information Number. For which you need to submit your identity proof and address proof. The fun was the name in the identity proof and the address proof has to be exactly the same. Now see the irony, we have shifted to a new residential location and hence either some of the legally acceptable documents are either in the process or updation or not updated. Those that were updated where messy like my mobile bill where I have given the land mark as “Opp Eicher Motors” – at the time of giving the mobile bill as proof I saw it says “Opp Eicher Water” and similarly a couple of more mismatches in case of other documents

Moral: A golden rule - give a address in bank, voter id, ration card, pan card exactly same with same land mark – else you never know these holds no value Here goes one more, as I have mentioned in the above example that we have shifted to a new residential location, for changing my current (proprietary) account address – I went through hell – in case if you want to change it you need a proof of document coming at the said address that you give.

Do you know documents like property documents / agreement (even though you are owner) is not a valid address proof, if you leave in your parents house and don’t have an electric bill, bank statement and other listed address proof acceptable coming in your name – in the eyes of these institution you are homeless!! Moral: Create a master list of such address proof and ensure you have one of them with desired details which can be again used . Above are just few of them, all of us would have faced this. But I fail to understand all those who leave on rental house and conveniently change it when they want – how do they manage it!!