The Kismetic Strategist

In my early adult years, I was an IBO in Quixtar, now Amway Global.  Like so many before me, I failed, staying in only because of its cult like qualities. But I digress.  I want to discuss the great lessons I learned from the great MLM giant.

1. Sell people on the vision, and focus on the emotions. In those living rooms, the discussion started on the dreams of the prospect; by focusing on, and unleashing, this passion, we were able to associate our company with these aspirations; this despite lacking any evidence of real success (financial statements, anyone?)
2. Identify the real decision maker. The ideal prospect is a young couple: some of the reasons include their optimism, the doubling of efforts, and the effect of partnerships on business success.  But the biggest reason, in my opinion, is the ability to target the more emotional one: if the couple consisted of a breadwinner and a more emotional caretaker, targeting the aspirations of the caretaker made it more difficult for the breadwinner to refuse.
3. Look at the resources you have. The first thing a new Amway IBO did was make a list of 100 contacts.  What is interesting here is how many people we know: often a new Amway IBO would deny knowing many people, only to slowly realize they have a lot of weak ties (link to benefit of weak ties).  Applied to business, most of us probably don’t want to turn all of our friends into clients, but it is a great example of looking for gems in our own backyard (link to Jim Rohn?)
4. Help others first. Focusing a sales presentation on the dreams and aspirations of the prospects is a little conniving, but it also directs your own goals toward others: by encouraging and aiding your underlings to move toward their goals, you eventually improve your own position.  This is a fundamental idea in the book Never Eat  Alone, and it has guided me in most of my dealings.
5. You are a reflection of your associations. I resisted this idea for a long time, but in hindsight it was very accurate: spending many evenings with the same few business partners, I picked up some of their quirks.  Fortunately, I was mentored by someone who had a lot to offer, beyond his interest in Amway.  Applied to the real world, you should associate with those with whom you want to mimic: if you want a career in acting, why are you hanging out with those finance folks over there?

Overall, it was a valuable experience: I didn’t create my dream of financial freedom, and I burned some bridges, but I learned a number of lessons that continued to serve me later in my career. 

Readers: have you ever had an experience (Amway or otherwise) that failed at its intended goal, but taught you invaluable lessons?