Why I am sticking to ICI
Some of you might know that I am involved in various MLM businesses. Some good, some bad and other which went down.
Although I took a decision at the beginning of the year to focus more on my web sites, I keep on going back to MLM. It makes so much sense. I know some people dislike MLM businesses but I just love the advantages it offers.
Last week I saw that the Photo Shop in the mall closed down. They did not make it. The spent millions on equipment, they paid a fortune in rent (which sank their business in the end) and they worked very hard to make it work. If I look at that and I look back at my MLM income I realise how fortunate I am that I got involved in MLM years ago.
I also worked very hard for a couple of years but by doing so I built a strong foundation for my business. Today I can earn more than the shop owner and I do not even have to buy expensive equipment nor pay ridiculous rent.
There are those who never make it in MLM. My opinion is that they do not believe that they can make money with it in the first place and that is why they fail. If you want to make it in MLM you need to believe in your product and your business. You cannot sell the concept with half a heart.
Many people ask me which MLM is good or ask my opinion about a certain MLM. My normal answer will be that there are not really a good or bad MLM. There will always be somebody making a fortune from a MLM business while others fail. Your success in a MLM is mostly determined by your effort, not by the company or product. It is important that you choose a company or produc whicjh you like. If you have a passion for what you do you will find it easier to make a success.
OK, the company might help to make it easier for you. Some companies are in it just for the money and offer little support or communication to their members. A company who offers good support and communication makes it easier for the MLM’ers to succeed.
Over the past 6 years I tried various companies and concept because the one looks more promising than the other. I tried the big ones with big commissions and I tried the small ones. I learned that the big expensive ones with big commission is very hard work. It is not that easy to persuade somebody to part with R60K just to join a MLM business. Although you can make a million in a year with those big ones I started to dislike them. I prefer the more affordable ones where I can see others succeed. To me it is not only about the money I earn but also to see that others make it.
There is one company that has been standing out above the rest during the past 7 years. This was the 3rd MLM I ever joined. They have a brilliant product and offers good communication to their members. I stopped promoting it 5 years ago because at the time the commission was a bit low. They also went through a bad patch at some time with bad admin.
But they stood the test of time and during the past year the changes they made impressed me so much that I decided to actively promote them again. I think they learned their lesson and they surely made some wonderful changes. I might also mention that during the 4 years I stopped promoting it my income from this MLM nearly doubled. That means that while I was doing absolutely nothing my business extended. Keep in mind that I first spent long hours and hard work to build the foundation and afterwards reaped the profits.
The company I am talking about is ICI. ICI is the marketing arm of StratEquity which is a subsidiary of JSE listed StratCorp. They do not have a physical product like most MLMs. Their “product” is called the “Wealth Creator Subscription Plan”. This is a product where each member contributes a fixed monthly fee. Their money are pooled in an account and every 3 or 4 months the company buys them shares with that money. Where other MLMs sell a consumable product (normally over priced) ICI actually offers you a product which can increase in value over time.
On the other hand the fact that you receive share makes your risk smaller. You pay a minimum of R225 per month. They buy you shares every now and then which means that your money is nether tied up with them, you get your shares and you can sell it if you want to. So if you are tight on cash you can always sell your shares and get back the biggest portion of your monthly contribution.
I know you can also buy shares with Satrix and some of the banks but ICI is the only one which offers you the opportunity to earn an ongoing residual income by referring new members to their business.
When you join you will receive a business pack which contains some pamphlets, tools and a professional DVD. On the DVD is a presentation which you can show to your prospects if you cannot drag them to presentations. BUT on the DVD is also an excellent training program which teaches the new recruits exactly what to do after they joined the business.
I think something that distinct ICI from the rest is their frequent communications. I found that with some of these MLMs you join and then nether hear from them again. If they did not take your debit order each month you might have thought that the did not exist anymore. With ICI you get a professional full colour newsletter by post each month. Once you have an active downline they also send you a downline report once a week showing you how many people you have on which level and also what your net growth for the week was. Close to the end of the month you also get a commission status SMS and most of all each time somebody joins somewhere in your network you will be notified by SMS.
Some MLMs came and went but ICI stood the test of time.
You can get full details about commission, potential earnings and costs at http://www.icinetwork.net/pietpetoors/ or on my own personal web site at http://www.sharenetwork.co.za
Hi Peiter, thanks for your excellent postings, I am keen on MLM and am currently a member of A2W. it is fairly new but has stood the test of time in it;s nearly three years. It has credible management and is affordable at R2500, it has a practical product and reward program is very good. Like you say I would like to retire early from my current job and MLM is the way.
I will have to check into ICI.
Thanks for the tip
Doug
@Yvette – ICI is a business opportunity where you get shares in return of your monthly subscription fee. You can also earn more money with it for referring new clients to the business. There is a full explanation at http://www.sharenetwork.co.za
MLM is a way of marketing a product where you involve a whole team. The commission earned is distributed among the team on different levels. Some uninformed people tend to confuse it with old fashioned pyramid schemes, thus you can read the article at http://pietpetoors.com/blog/what-is-a-pyramid-scheme/ because it will give you a good idea on how MLM works and what it is.
Sorry for this, but can anyone tell me waht ICI and MLM is????
While reading the comments on iMod someone mentioned the funnel system and when I looked at it I thought about your comments that you like affiliate programs and thought this sytem would benefit someone who has multipe mlm of affiliate programs they are marketing. I don’t normally place links on comments and ask you to remove it if you would rather not have links on comments but it seems such a wonderful system that I can’t resist: http://SpaceMLMSecrets.com?a=1390050
@Johan – Although affordability plays a big role it is not only about affordability. The product, the company in charge, the system, etc also play a big role. Although I am sticking to what I have at the moment I do look at other opportunities. I will send you an email so you can email me the details.
If you were given the info regarding a most affordable MLM, is there any chance of you registering and implementing it?