One of the primary reasons I believe Amway is not a viable investment is because of the company's unfair multi-tiered pay model. I've heard that Amway pays out approximately 30-33 percent of gross to its independent business owners (IBOs), but I believe this is unjust because you are rewarded more for sponsoring others that move volume than you are for actually selling things. Consequently, I believe that so many independent business owners are frantic to sponsor others, and that in some cases dishonesty and trickery are employed in recruiting, which contributes to Amway's poor reputation. The lack of emphasis placed on actual retail sales of products to people who are not IBOs can also be explained by this. Some organisations continue to adhere to the "purchase from yourself" attitude, which emphasises personal use rather than commercial sales.
This multi-tiered pay model also favours a small number of individuals at the expense of the others. If an IBO works extremely hard and sells/uses 100 PV worth of goods, that IBO would receive a bonus of $9 or $10 from Amway (plus any retail earnings), and the layers of upline would share approximately $90 amongst themselves. What I don't understand about this is how it's fair, especially when IBOs appear to state "do the work and get compensated." In this scenario, you perform the work, and your uplines receive compensation.
Rather of providing everyone a 20-25 percent bonus, I believe Amway would be more efficient if they gave everyone an 8-13 percent bonus (33 - 20 or 25), with the remaining 8-13 percent going to the highest achievers. I feel that this would allow someone to significantly alter their purchasing patterns while also gaining some benefit. It would also be beneficial for IBO retention because a 100 PV would entitle you to a monthly incentive of approximately $60. If you sold 100 PV to clients, you would receive the retail profit in addition to the bonus. I feel that there would be a greater emphasis on selling rather than sponsoring in the future. It would relieve IBOs of the need to seek and sponsor new members, and I believe that Amway's reputation might be restored in this way. While there would be less emphasis placed on "becoming diamond," individuals who did reach this status would still be eligible for generous awards.
I believe that the implementation of this sort of compensation would also eliminate the necessity for a never-ending supply of CDs and seminar materials. Sure, product expos and some teaching on salesmanship might help, but I believe that compensating the "majority" of IBOs would keep them interested in doing business and would lessen the need for tools. I believe that this is a win-win situation for the vast majority of those involved in the industry.
I'm sure some Amway apologists will find fault in my line of reasoning, but I believe this is a long term sustainable solution for Amway. Any and all comments are welcome.
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