Carol Clifton .com

I ran across this blog the other night. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone sum it up better. Arbonne is simply focused on selling new distributorships instead of products. In any MLM the way to make the most money is to get other people into the business. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can make 100k a year without tons of work, most of which is spent recruiting new people. I SELL PRODUCTS. That is where 75% of my income comes from. If someone is interested in the discounts, or opporunity of becoming a distributor than GREAT. I certainly don’t run around harrassing everyone I know to sign up for Senegence. Thanks again to “J” for this great article:

It is true that the information here may influence people’s decision on whether or not to begin an Arbonne business. As a result, many Arbonne consultants will have to answer some questions about the concerns raised here. It may be necessary to fully disclose the facts about the biz in order to persuade potential recruits to join.

For example, inform them that while you have been satisfied with your results, far less than 1% of consultants make it to NVP. Explain that it takes significant time and work to make it to DM, and they will not earn much (if anything) for their time and efforts for a long time if they are building it the right way.

While 10 hours per week is what most consultants aim to spend, it often requires more than that, (much more), particularly when getting started, (and sometimes after getting promoted). Let them know that at some point, cold market prospecting will be a necessity to maintain position, because they will run out of friends willing to spend money every month. This may involve them needing to take up extracurricular activities and getting acquainted with people they don’t know and wouldn’t normally talk to in hopes to recruit them at some point. They may be okay with this when you tell them that some of their friends will no longer want to be around them anymore if they are constantly “dripping” on them.

Inform them that large upfront investments are risky, and that promotion from fast track front-loading leads to fast crumbling of teams. Let them know that the likelihood of them losing any money spent up front is great, and that their odds of recouping their investment are greater at a slot machine in Vegas than with Arbonne (and, in fact, slot machines are less work).

When you’re talking product and patents, you may need to disclose that Arbonne buys formulas from other labs and chemists, and that these labs also develop and sell formulas to Arbonne’s competitors in the industry. Please explain that Mr. Botiglierri does not work exclusively with or for Arbonne, and he in fact develops products for several other cosmetic companies as well, meaning there may be similar formulas available from other companies.

For those that want to know if it’s like Amway, instead of saying “No, of course not,” try saying, “Well yes, it is. It’s multi-level marketing. In fact, our CEO has Amway on his resume.” When they ask about saturation, explain that some areas are already saturated, as this is inevitable, as the goal of any corporation is market saturation — it is how they make money. You can only hope that they don’t live in one of those areas. Oh, and there are no sales territories. They might be living next door to someone who has already sold the whole neighborhood.

Be sure they understand that they won’t be allowed to sell on the internet without using the Arbonne template website and paying the Arbonne fee for it. And be sure they understand that although this policy used to be enforced, eBay now has anywhere from 1500-3000 Arbonne product auctions going on any given day, where the products can be purchased for a discount of 50-80% off retail, usually sales tax free.

Don’t forget to add that even though these obstacles exist, the consultants have absolutely zero power or ability to do anything about them, as they are in reality at the mercy of Arbonne corporate, because that’s who makes the rules. Be sure to include that Arbonne has the ability to change their compensation plan at any time, for any reason, or just sell the company and leave them with a bill for a Mercedes and no paycheck.

So, in short, disclose that the success rate is low, drop out rate high, financial risk is great, competition is fierce, and almost any Arbonne product can be purchased online anywhere in the world much much cheaper without having to pay the $29. All of this with zero control over any of it. But that’s just capitalism, right?

Other than that, it’s a really great business opportunity that you’re totally satisfied with and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.

Arbonne Anonymous - A Modest Prosposal

Carol Clifton - Senengence