The Dream

Summary

"In 2-5 years if time and money weren't an object in your life what would you do? Where would you go?" Emerald Bo Short Tape "Practice" PN1105

No doubt, if the prospect or IBO has seen the 2-5 year plan, they have made acquaintance with "The Dream". "If time and money were not an problem, what would you do?" is posed to the listener. The prospect is encouraged to let their mind run free, imagining and visualizing all the awesome possibilities. Quite likely, most of the time spent on the presentation of the Amway/Quixtar Sales and Marketing Plan is dream material; tales are woven, stories and jokes told, freedom extolled. The j.o.b. is likely shunned and there may be been musings about trips to exotic places, new cars and nice houses. Typically the presenter speaks about the days when they were broke, bored and tired of their old job; the job that got them nowhere. Near the end of the presentation the numbers are shown: certainly how the Platinum makes their money (the 6-4-2 or 9-6-3 plans) and perhaps how a Diamond's wealth is made by helping 6 People get free.

The Diamond (dream) lifestyle is based upon the concepts of residual, or ongoing, income; which is basically the culmination of the purchases of their downline. The prospect is told that if they have a dream and are persistent, they can have this lifestyle too. The plan appears simple, the chances of success high and the very thought of being able to "work hard for 2-5 years and take the rest of your life off", very appealing.

"How was I running? I was running on the dream because we walk by faith alone." Executive Diamond Distributor-Louie Carrillo- Tape: "Every Dream has its Price" DBR1151

Jump back to the home page

All the details about "The Dream"

Many distributors will lead you into the "dream building" phase of showing the plan with leading questions, to which you can't say no.

"He talked about lifelong financial security and asked a bunch of loaded questions such as "Do you care about your children?", "Do you have an open mind?" Yeah right, like I'm gonna say "I hate my family and I'm a closed minded bigot."" AmQuix Prospect - Site Visitor

The dream is the overwhelming motivation for doing the business. The dream is what pushes distributors on and on to do things that other people wouldn't consider normal or proper. The dream is the motivation to push people out of their comfort zone to contact their friends and eventually to cold contact. The dream is fulfilled by showing the plan to anyone and everyone; as many times as needed to go Diamond. The dream is what helps put your rational thoughts behind you and makes you open to their new ideas and behaviors that are crucial in recruiting other people and keeping out "negative thoughts"..

The dream is easily shattered when the IBO stops believing that they can make the business work.

"If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count" Dexter Yager Crown Direct Distributor Quoted by Executive Diamond Louie Carrillo Tape SOT627- Quit Quitting on Yourself

"I have been involved in Quixtar for a few months and absolutely love my sponsors, who make no profit. I have been feeding off their belief from the beginning. I want to believe but just can't." IBO Site Visitor

"You'd be a terror for sure if YOU BELIEVED. I'd say diamond material." E-mail from Executive Diamond Louie Carrillo to me.

This is precisely why distributors are told to avoid negative people and treat people who do not see the wisdom of the business as "losers". IBOs need to feel superior to those not seeing the wisdom of the plan, lest they question themselves after the numerous "no's" they will encounter. AmQuix is done on faith alone as there is little factual data available on incomes or pin retention rates. The first few years are usually money losing years due to the negative sum game of a networking only business. IBOs trying to figure out business and economic reasons why the business works will be labeled as having "detailitis". The IBO or prospect seeks information to justify in their mind that the business is logical and rational. IBOs focusing on why it works will have a much harder time in the business than one who accepts it on faith. The business if far from logical and rational. Given the lack of competitive advantages of the product line pricing, it really thrives on irrational behavior, rather than good business fundamentals. These behaviors are outlined in the "save 30% page".

"I admit I was caught up in the hyping of the "dream" and delayed investigating the hard facts about this business." IBO site visitor

High level distributors believe the only important criteria in achieving diamond is just one's desire or one's dream. The chart below shows a correlation between the market acceptance of the AmQuix products and the number of new emeralds and diamonds. When the sales growth slows, the number of new diamonds and emeralds falls. From the historical data available to me, 1999 was the worst year for new diamonds and 2000 was the worst year for emeralds.

 

In your early days you will be asked to "confess" what your dream is to your upline. Later on if you should question what is going on, your dream will be used against you to help keep you in. In handling objections IBOs are trained to turn the dream on their prospects:

From the training tape "Practice" PN1105 by Emerald Distributor Bo Short.

"If all you talk about is houses cars and jewelry, YOU WILL NOT BUILD THE BUSINESS. You're not doing this for a house. You're not doing it for a car. You're not doing this for a diamond ring. You're doing it for time with your family, You're doing it for security in your life and you're doing it for freedom. That's why you are doing it. You may want a nicer house, but I guarantee if you got in this for a car, you won't build it for a car. Because when the going gets tough, the car you are driving is fine. You know what you're going to build if for? Time. Security. Freedom.

I talk a lot to people about time. It's easy to talk about the houses and cars. That is why I start off there. But, I say this, listen those are really fun things. But, you won't do this for that. Let me ask you something that is valuable to you. Do you want more time with your children? Well of course! I dare you...here's what I'm thinking... I dare you tell me tomorrow you changed your mind because you don't want more time with your children. But, you can tell me tomorrow you didn't want the car. That's the easy way to get out of that one. I going to put in a situation where we're gonna talk about something truly important to you Truly important to you. It's your time. It's your freedom. It's your security. It's your children. It's your spouse. It's your own feeling of self-satisfaction knowing you've accomplished something valuable in your life. And, I'm gonna bridge the gap, and those are great things, but let me ask you something important. This is more important than that stuff. That's just stuff. You can get that stuff doing anything well. I tell people that. You can get that stuff doing anything well. Do you want more time with your family? yes Do you want more freedom? yes Do you want more security? yes Let me ask you this. Would you be willing to work 2-5 years, 8-15 hours a week to be able to get that? "Well absolutely!" Great, let me show you what we are gonna do. Then I show the plan.

After showing the plan, I say remember that information I told you about? Let me go get it. I go outside. Folks after 45-50 minutes the two most important minutes are gett'n ready to happen. An, I'm not even in the room. I'm not even there.

When I leave my wife says this...listen "Bo won't tell you this but he's building a huge business". What is the key word? "Building" You could be brand new .."building" a huge business. She doesn't say he's already built a huge business. She says "listen Bo won't tell you this but he's building a huge business. And if he's offering to help you , talk advantage of it." Credibility. You can't edify yourself. But somebody else can edify you.

As soon as I walk in. I walk in with an overnight kit. And now when I walk in I'm somebody! It's amazing. Sandy says for two minutes..."let me tell 'yall something. Bo won't tell you this but he's building a huge business. If he's offering you help, take advantage of it".

From the training tape "Practice" PN1105 by Emerald Bo Short.

Objection: "I won't go out and contact people"

Answer: "Can I ask you a question then...and you be real honest with me? Two nights ago when you and I sat down. You said to me that you wanted more time with your family...and you wanted more security. And, I asked you if you would be willing to work 8-15 hours per week for two to five years and you said absolutely. What changed?

Objection: "I don't have time the time right now"

Answer: "Man I can appreciate that. Can I ask you a question though? What part of it don't you have the time for? The part where you said you wanted to see your spouse retire early or put your kids in a better college?"

"Overcoming the objections is nothing more than having something valuable they wanted. That's why anything...if, if it was just a car or house everything I said you could have knocked down. Everything...'.we changed our mind but we don't want a house'. 'We don't want the car'. But, time with your family and security you can't knock down. You can't do it. And if you can, you wouldn't build the business in the first place.  You overcome objections with valuable things."

Most of us are looking for greener pastures aren't we? When the prospect sees the plan for the first time, rarely is the true and complete cost of the program spelled out and so the prospect really can't make an intelligent choice. The IBO showing the plan says "you only need a dream, and to be persistent. You just have to buy from your own store and teach 6 others to do the same." The program sounds so simple and so logical.

Once the new recruit is immersed in the hand shaking, back patting, apple polishing, "you're gonna be the fastest Diamond we've ever seen" culture, the new IBO may be quite taken with the social, and encouraging aspects of their group. The new recruit truly gains a sense of self-esteem and self-worth from the business. Perhaps, because this feeling of self-worth is new and exciting, when the true cost of the business eventually becomes evident, (higher PV demands, business costs, tapes, functions, STP 5-6 nights a week), then the inconsistencies between reality and the very first plan that recruited them, are usually ignored.

They don't want to lose the feeling of belonging. This is also when rally cries, like "all you need is a dream!" and "if you have a dream the facts don't count!", begin to sound very sound and logical and touch their deepest heart. And so they defend the business and their actions, with similar statements. They feel justified in behaving like this because they have been told they are doing exactly what the Diamonds and Emeralds did. The skeptical minds receive illogical arguments, urban myths and cold shoulders when sound, logical business fundamentals are presented to them. It is difficult for believing IBOs to argue with facts and figures when the business is such an emotion-based phenomenon. Often, all they can do is speak the Amway-ease, or Am-speak they have learned from tapes and upline. This is all in the unconscious hope that they can protect their precarious sense of self-worth.

 

Jump back to the home page

 

Back to the home page