Lessons from Amway…
Amway is the powerhouse in the network marketing industry, the big dog. They are the top company in terms of revenue, and they have a 60+ year history.
They’ve been there and done that and they have set several important precedents in the industry, especially their historic court case with the FTC in 1979.
Many top earners in many network marketing companies started in Amway. That’s where they learned leadership, people skills and network marketing.
The lessons and skills that Amway reps learn from their motivational organizations are very valuable and can be applied to build a successful business in MANY different industries.
I am eternally grateful for the lessons I learned during my 2.5 years with the company. No, I’m not a rep anymore, and haven’t been for more than a decade now, but the skills I developed helped me immensely in my military career and my entrepreneurial endeavors.
What I want to do in today’s post is share some of the top network marketing lessons I learned during my time in Amway.
I didn’t learn these from the company itself, but from the motivational organizations (mine was WWDB).
Top 10 Lessons from Amway
I don’t expect you to agree with every single point I am about to share in this article, but I know some of these points will resonate with you. They are listed in no particular order.
# 1: It Takes Time to Build a Successful Network Marketing Business
I have studied the stats of many Amway top earners (Diamonds) and the common trend I have noticed is that almost all of them took FIVE TO TEN YEARS to make it to the Diamond level. Some took even longer than that.
Very few successful distributors were an overnight success (a select few were). They paid their dues, stayed consistent, and worked with one company for many, many years UNTIL they reached the top.
The key takeaway here is that good things take time.
This ain’t the lottery. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Successful businesses aren’t built overnight.
Most businesses in the real world take a year or two just to make a profit and five to ten years to make a solid, stable income. Network marketing is no different. Considering you are doing network marketing part-time, this is a really good deal.
# 2: It Only Takes a Few Key People to Build a Dynasty
This lesson isn’t unique to Amway, but it’s true in Amway, just like any other network marketing company.
In Amway, you need 6 serious people to go Diamond, and just three serious people to go Emerald. You can make a substantial income at either pin level.
In other words, you don’t need tons of serious people to make it big. You just need a few “who get it” and are willing to work as hard as you do.
Most of the top earners in the company make MOST of their income from just a few key people, even if they’ve personally sponsored hundreds.
The key takeaway here is that everyone has a number. That is the number of people you will need to sponsor to find your few key people.
For most people, they will need to personally 100 to 300 people to find their few key people. Over a five to ten year period of time, sponsoring 100 to 300 people is not really that big of a deal at all.
If you sponsored 3 people per month, you could sponsor 300 people in about 8 years, 4 months. Not bad for a little part-time business.
Even when you sponsor hundreds of people personally, most of your income is going to come from 1-3 of those people. That’s just the way that network marketing works.
# 3: MLM Really Can Provide a Long-Term Residual Income
There are TONS of Diamonds in the company who have earned a long-term residual income with Amway.
Not all of them did, but many did. In fact, there are many Diamonds in Amway who have been at that level for 20, 30, even 40 or more years.
How impressive is that? When you build your network marketing business right, with the right company, it can last for decades.
Just to clarify, most of these Diamonds still have to do SOMETHING to maintain their business. Some still work full-time, because they love it. Many revert to part-time. Some even do it “some” time.
Assuming you’ve built strong leadership legs and have good depth, you can step back a bit and enjoy the ride. But in most cases, you can’t walk away completely. This applies to just about ANY type of residual income.
# 4: Developing a Strong Team Culture is Paramount to Your Long-Term Success
The Amway culture is fun and exciting, and extremely effective. People are VERY loyal to their motivational organization/line of sponsorship.
They are proud to be part of a team. Their culture of meetings keeps people plugged in and connected.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but during my time with the company I felt like I was a part of something much bigger than myself. It was a great feeling.
If you want to succeed in this industry, you need a strong team culture. You need something that people want to be part of, even if they don’t get a check.
Remember that people want to belong to something bigger than themselves. Create that type of environment and you will reduce attrition and keep people around longer.
# 5: Get People to Events Every 90-Days
Within Amway, the AMOs (motivational organizations) have major events every 90 days. These are called major functions.
The major functions are Spring Leadership, Free Enterprise Day, Family Reunion, and Dream Night. At these events people come from all over the world to connect with other distributors in their line of sponsorship.
These events are very inspirational and motivational. I like to call them social proof, because it’s hard not to get excited when you see 10k to 20k people in one arena or building, all with common goals.
I’ve found from personal experience that doing a major event every 90 days is a great way to keep people charged up and motivated about their network marketing business.
The bottom line is to get your team members to events. Even if your company doesn’t offer events, get people to some type of MLM event, a generic event, or a team event.
This helps build people’s belief. Many people make a decision to build it big at an event.
I’ve also heard that for every person on your team you get to an event your team will grow by about 100 people in the upcoming year.
# 6: The Business is Best Built Face to Face
Even in the internet age, the business is best built face to face. I truly believe that applies to every network marketing company.
This is the ultimate relationship business and it’s hard to do that online. When you can sit down with someone and meet with them and share ideas, and build a friendship, it’s much more effective than communicating by email or online.
The key takeaway is that this is a people business.
Yes, you can use the internet like I do to meet people, but don’t forget to add the personal touch.
Recruiting people online, in my experience, is much more difficult for most people than starting with their own warm market. After all, if you can’t recruit someone you know, how can you expect to recruit a stranger?
If you just want to build online and don’t want to talk with people, do affiliate marketing, not network marketing. Don’t think you can just hide behind a computer and not talk to anyone. That won’t work.
# 7: You Need Third-Party Tools
The major controversy with Amway is the tools business. I have mixed feelings about that myself, but my key takeaway is that tools are a vital part of building any type of business.
You need third party tools that you can share with prospects and team members. The Amway Motivational Organizations do a great job providing these tools.
Yes, they are sold at a profit, but they’re still important.
Be the messenger, not the message. Use third party tools with your prospects. Remove yourself from the equation whenever possible. Keep the business simple.
Don’t be so good at giving presentations that your prospects think “I could never do what you do!” What you want your prospect to say is “if that guy can do it I will crush this thing!”
# 8: Dream Building
Quite perhaps the best lesson I learned during my time in Amway is the power of dream building.
They talked about dreams so much in Amway that I sometimes got sick of it. Looking back now, with much more wisdom and life experience, I realize how important dreams are.
When you can get your prospect or new distributor dreaming about their own future, amazing things can happen. A powerful dream will allow someone to overcome huge obstacles to achieve success. Without a big dream, most people won’t do much with their business.
What is your dream? What is your why? Do you have a vision board?
I would also tell you to NEVER show a presentation to ANYONE, until you find out what their dream is first. Once you know someone’s dream, you can show them how what you have to offer them can help them reach their dream. That’s very powerful.
# 9: Personal Development
Amway is the best in the industry at getting people working on their personal development.
Amway teaches people to read daily, listen to a tape a day, set goals, counsel with your upline frequently, and to attend all events.
They have a major focus on improving yourself. They teach people that you must improve yourself if you want your business to grow. I couldn’t agree more myself.
The best part of network marketing is the personal development. I am eternally grateful for the person I have become on my journey.
Make a commitment to improve yourself. Draft up a personal development plan and be committed to getting better every single day.
# 10: Company Leadership
I have so much respect for the founders of Amway. Rich Devos and Jay Van Andel were great leaders and entrepreneurs. They were visionaries. They had character.
You see so many companies come and go in our industry because of poor management. It makes sense to team up with a company that has ethical, smart, and visionary leaders.
Yes, the field leadership is important as well. But without a knowledgeable Captain(s) in charge of the ship, it will get lost or sink.
Make sure when you are evaluating companies you check out the company’s leadership team. This one thing alone has a HUGE impact on your long-term success.
Final Thoughts
In review, these are ten valuable lessons I learned from Amway. Each lesson has had a profound impact on my life and network marketing business.
Even though I am no longer in Amway, I still have tons of respect for the company and cherish my experience.
What are your thoughts? What is your favorite lesson on this post? What lesson can you think of that I missed? What lessons did you learn from Amway?
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com