Strange headline eh?
When Queen Ini Akpan shared this on our Whatsapp community, I took time to read and digest the post.
Now, I was among those people who feels the need to write and talk about this skim that has gone viral. I needed to ring the bell aloud because I won't be available to counsel casualties... Lolss
Anyways, this post also help me to differentiate between MLM(Multi Level Marketing) and MMM(I didn't bother to get the meaning).
Fire on...
Hold your horses, I am not joining MMM ever. It is the most sophisticated fraud setup of our times and I must say I admire that Mavrodi guy who founded this thing.
It goes to show you that if you have an idea, even a fraudulent one, it will work, but then criminals are some of the most intelligent people in the world.
It takes brains to steal successfully from one person, and then it takes genius to steal from many.
Anyhoo, there's a reason I am talking about MMM today.
The reason is, in everything, from anyone, no matter how much you relive them hold a lesson for you to learn.
It's either you learn something to do or something to avoid.
So what's the one good thing about MMM?
It's this: ....
Let me tease you a little.
Have you noticed how viral MMM has gone? It's so popular that even people in villages are "investing" in it. In fact it's so popular that the Govt and National Assembly are warning people not to delve into it.
It's so popular that even though most people who get involved know it's a scam, they still go ahead and do it, hoping they won't get caught in the web.
I'm willing to bet you know at least one person who has put their money into MMM.
You should ask yourself: why are people putting in money into what is obviously a scam, despite agreeing that it's a foolish risk to take?
It's because... they want it. The potential gain appeals to them
FAR more than the potential loss.
So they will go to any length to find the money they need to make this "investment".
And That Is the Good Thing!
Which is...
People always HAVE money for what they want to do.
Let me repeat that.
People always HAVE money for what they really want.
Read it again, slowly this time.
People always HAVE money for what they really want.
Ever tried to sell something to someone and they tell you, "I don't have money?"
Well, that's bullshit. I long discovered that...
People always HAVE money for what they really want.
The major reason people tell you they don't have money to buy your stuff is because they do not see enough reason, enough benefit and enough potential gain in buying that thing from you.
So they give you an "I don't have money" reason, so you leave them alone.
If they do, if they REALLY want what you are selling, and they are convinced that getting it from YOU will help them benefit, they will find the money and pay you for it.
They will pull out their life savings. They will beg their Uncles and Aunties for money. They will cash in their retirement gratuity. They will borrow from their friends. They will take a salary advance. Heck they will take a loan from a bank.
They will DO ANYTHING necessary to get that money to pay you.
I mean think about it. People are "investing" millions of naira in an obvious scam that's only waiting to crash!
What are the takeaway lessons for you here?
Here it is:
1. Know your audience.
MMM appeals to a certain kind of people - those who have an "opportunity" and "get rich quick" mindset.
These people aren't interested in building solid businesses. They simply want to make money as fast as is possible. They are also the sort of people who have a "victim" mentality - the sort who blame Government and everything else but themselves for their troubles.
2. Create an irresistible offer.
MMM has an irresistible offer - put in any amount of money and get it back + 30% in 30 days without doing anything other than sitting and waiting.
A money-making offer couldn't be more irresistible.
P.S. A new strain of MMM now promises a 100% return in 30 days!
These guys know their audience! :-D
3. Find a way to make your offer viral. MMM's offer is viral. People tell other people, who tell other people, who tell other people, and on and on it goes.
Word of mouth marketing is POWERFUL.
4. Make your offer work.
The reason MMM is spreading like wildfire, even into villages without electricity or internet access is because the offer works. Period.
Of course, it will crash as it in other countries. The model is unsustainable and frankly anybody who believe it's a long term strategy to make money doing nothing is an idiot, but for now the offer is working.
Until it crashes.
So sit down, and take your time to create an irresistible offer for your product. What will you add to it or remove from it, to make anyone in the market choose to buy from you rather than anyone else.
For example: If you are hungry and want to eat really immediately but don't want to cook, and you want Pizza, fast piazza, you go to Dominos and you get it in 10 minutes. That's their irresistible offer. Quick food in record time.
5. Tell your audience about it, so many times, they don't have a choice but listen.
Many of you have a product and never advertise it. Or worse, you spend $5 on Facebook ads and never do anything else.
Take a cue from these MMM guys - they run radio adverts, internet adverts, social media posts, 1-on-1 pitches, etc.
They tell anyone who cares to listen, as many times as they can about MMM. it's only a matter of time, before people say, "let me try"
6. Be Truthful About Your Offer.
The MMM proponents tell new people to "only invest your spare money". Don't invest money you can't afford to lose. They make it clear it's a risky investment, nothing hidden. This creates an embedded element of trust in the offer because people believe you more when you tell them the truth about what you're selling them.
It's an in-born human trait to believe someone who is upfront with you. So tell people exactly what your product can do and what it cannot do, and what they need to do to make it work for them.
7. Have a common enemy your audience has
MMM pushers have a common enemy - anyone who criticizes the model including Government. They are painted as evil haters, who don't want others to progress. They get ridiculed and cursed out.
This makes people who are yet to join wonder, but why people are against it. Surely if people are against it, especially a largely mistrusted entity like the Government, then there must be something about it worth looking at.
It's psychology! If you can identify a common enemy your audience has, by all means make them a focus in your marketing and tell your audience how that enemy wants to keep them down forever.
For example, if you sell natural health supplements, the common enemy is Pharmaceutical companies who are only interested in making money so they manufacture chemical drugs what only temporarily remove symptoms but never cure the ailment.
If you're selling a business startup course, the common enemy can be greedy employers who pay their staff less than they're worth or Government or scammers.
Etc.
So there you go.
But let me have your thoughts. What do you think? Comment below.
Post Credit: Anonymous
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