MLM

MLM stands for Multilevel Marketing which was the topic of discussion this morning on the Mix Breakfast Show on MixFM radio. Shazmin (the radio DJ) was saying she is wary of people who are into MLM (she includes insurance agents too!) because they are only interested in selling whatever it is they are selling. To do that, they will spin a tale of being your friend, only being interested in your wellbeing, that their utmost noble motive is the overall prosperity of you! But…once you show no sign of being even remotely interested in what they are peddling, they are gone! Whoosh! Just like that! The friendship is no more, as well as the noble causes for which they have proclaimed earlier.

She was asking what the listeners thought about her view. Was she too cynical? What do YOU think? It was hilarious listening to this guy who called in and said that he is not like that (he is all for MLM you see!). He started by saying that his main motive is for the good of his friends; that it’s only right that he shares the good things he has discovered to others so that they may benefit too. Later on he contradicted him when he said that once the “friends” are not interested in what he has to say, then, quote” Ya-la, the friendship is over!”. Duh?!!! Did I missed something??

Personally I have encountered similar people. One of them was my childhood buddy who ‘suddenly’ kept in touch. It was a couple of years ago and they (he and his wife) came over to our place for dinner and were all “excited” over some MLM plan that they are in. They wanted us to join them. They promised “financial freedom” by the time I am 35! “Heck”, they said, “you can have a 365 day vacation all year round for as long as you live!”. So, what’s the catch? They wouldn’t tell. I was encouraged to go for a seminar where the speaker was an ex-doctor who found that being a doctor isn’t lucrative enough and he has found the “secret” to financial freedom! And he has to SHARE with everyone his new found secret.

Did I buy his pitch? NOPE! Mainly because he insulted my wife’s cooking! (that was a fatal flaw!) and also because, I simply do not subscribe to his principles in life. This is what I believe in:

1. That work is a God-given vocation. Man is meant to work, right from the beginning of creation. It is unthinkable that man should cease to work. Work makes a man active, you retire and stop working, you start to rot. That’s it. Work, is a calling.

2. Financial freedom is a myth. If the MLM plan is SO GOOD, how come I still see lots and lots of people OVER 35 still slogging away?

3. Being a doctor is a calling. Money has nothing to do with it. If that ex-doctor thought that being a doctor was not financially rewarding, then maybe, he heard his calling wrongly. Being a physician is seldom rewarding, financially anyway. Will talk about this more next time.

4. I firmly believe that a guest should never, ever, criticize the cooking of his host!!! Not in front of the host anyway.

So, I didn’t buy into his rhetoric. Needless to say, I no longer heard from him thereafter.

I had a similar experience with an insurance agent last year. He was my patient at the clinic and since he came from my hometown, he asked if we could be friends. And I said, sure, as long as he doesn’t talk about insurance with me. I made it clear that I am not interested in buying ANY insurance, not at the moment anyway. I said that if the subject of insurance ever comes up, that would be the end of the friendship.

It went okay for a while. Occasionally, he does mention insurance and I reminded him of the condition. Till December that is, when he was near his annual dateline and he was a bit short of his target. He came over to my place one night, and went into this irritating litany of insurance sales pitch. Something like “Please la…,.buy la…,help me out la…,buy a small policy la…and on and on”. That really cheesed me off. And I guess he felt it too when he saw me turn a crimson red. As far as I am concerned, the friendship ended there and then.

So, yes, MLM and insurance agents turn me off big time. Like what Shazmin said, it’s hard to make friends when you are an adult, because you become suspicious, what exactly are their motives for being so “friendly”?

I agree it’s hard to make new friends when you are an adult. People have hidden motives. I have been burnt a number of times. People who became friendly with me because I am a doctor, because I can write them MCs (medical chits) if needed, because I can be consulted for any ailments, because I am perceived to be rich ( I am not!), because I can help them with this or that.

Me? Despite being burned, I still would like to believe the best in people. It takes a lot of time and effort to invest in a good long lasting friendship. And sometimes, after all the effort thrown in, I might be disappointed; but, I would still try to pour what I have into a friendship.

Why? Because everyone can do with one more good, sincere friend, with no motive other than your ultimate wellbeing.