There have always been two business models for building the Amway business, but many people where not aware of this and consequently, they would get the two confused – resulting in frustration and disappointment. Let me first of all tell you about these two models.
The Large Business Model (With Rapid Growth)
During the 80s and 90s, Amway experienced a huge explosion of growth and the numbers of distributors sky-rocket across the globe. Here in the UK was no exception and over 100,000 distributors joined the business and it grew exponentially. At that time, the business was built with rapid growth and it consisted of a four step pattern. This was the pattern:
1. Show the Business Plan – This is where the Amway business plan was shown to groups of people in your home or their home and from there, they decided if they wanted to get involved with the Amway business.
2. Use Books and Tapes – This was for motivation and Education purposes, where distributors could learn new skills and remain motivated in their every day tasks.
3. Functions – There were four major functions every year – two of which were weekend functions – and although these were very exciting, they were quite expensive and involved a lot of travel.
4. Upline Support – The person that sponsored you into the business (normally a friend or family member) would act as your first line of support and as they had been involved in the business for a longer period, they would be able to help you with any challenges that you encountered on your journey.
The four step pattern was an extremely powerful system and make no mistake, it worked. But without going into details, the whole thing eventually got messy and the euphoria of growth in the UK began to decline – largely influenced by an economic recession. Here’s the key take-away from this model – if you skipped or removed ANY of the four parts of the SYSTEM, the large business model would not work and the results would create disappointment – hence irate distributors (not all of them) would bad-mouth the business, creating a negative image of Amway and network marketing as a whole. Now, let’s talk about how to REALLY build a successful Amway business (the way it was meant to be built).
The Retail Business Model (8 Steps to Success)
The easiest way to explain this would be in steps, so here are the steps:
1. Find a Good Reason as to why you would want to build an Amway business and sign up as a distributor (currently free of charge in the UK).
2. Find your Best Customer – Well, that would be YOU! You can’t expect to sell products, if you don’t know how good they are yourself, but I can assure you of this – once you’ve experienced the quality of Amway products, you don’t need to sell anything! You will find (just as I did) that you will talk about how good the products are to your friends and family and as a consequence, you’ll get replies like, “Oh really? Can you get me one of those?” So, become a part-time student and learn as much about your own products as you possibly can.
3. Support your own Business – If you decide to build a business of your own, why would you put money into somebody else’s business? Why would you buy soap powder and cleaning products at the supermarket, when you have access to superior products from your own business? And let’s not forget – as a distributor, you will be buying YOUR products at the wholesale price – and you will therefore be saving money on the cost of your household products. At this stage, you should expect to be saving a fair amount of money on your weekly/monthly shopping expense.
4. Find 10 Customers – This might take you one year or ten years – it doesn’t matter – just go with the flow and enjoy the journey. You will find that your excitement in how you talk about your products will become contagious and people will be intrigued to try out your excellent products. Also, I can tell you from experience that your customers will tell their friends and family about their own experience of the products and they will approach you for further order and/or even bring you new customers. At this stage, you should expect to be earning around £200 to £500 per month in wholesale/retail sales and all of this, on a part-time basis.
5. Keep Finding Customers – Don’t just stop at 10 customers. Keep your ears and eyes open and watch/listen for little clues about how your Amway products will solve other people’s problems.
6. Migrate your Customers – Some of your customers will forever remain as retail customers and that’s absolutely fine. Retail sales are worth 30% profit on average and that will form the mainstay of your income. However, some of your customers will be very interested to hear from you, that they can register as a REGISTERED CUSTOMER and that they will save around 15% on their future orders. Furthermore, they will also be able to access their own online Amway account and they will have the ability to order their own products directly to their door.
7. Make Friends of your Customers – Over time, you will develop relationships with your customers and they will eventually ask you – or you should tell them (if you feel that the time is right) that they can actually get their products at the wholesale price, instead of paying full retail. Furthermore, you may feel that they are ready to hear that they can develop their own customers and make a part-time income of their own.
8. All you now need to do is be a friend to your customers and support their needs. They will stay loyal to you, as long as you stay in touch with them. Keep adding more customers and enjoy watching your business grow.
Keep this Secret – You’ll be surprised how many former Amway customers/distributors from the 80s and 90s still exist and as many of them have lost touch with their distributor, they will be delighted to discover that they can acquire Amway products through you.
If you would like to resume buying your favourite Amway products or even become a Registered Customer, check out THIS ARTICLE for more information.
