At least it's not a High Anti-Oxidant Meal Replacement Cookie.
October 25, 2011 5:00 PM   Subscribe

I have an 'opportunity' to get training in a business that has the slight whiff of MLM, but seems to have some legit parts too. Should I give it a shot?

I have worked in the past as a teacher and technical trainer. I love it and am really good at it. I get weirded out by some of the more woo woo or who-moved-my-cheese type motivational crap people do, but the more straight stuff I really like because I know it’s practical and helpful. Anyway, I just came across a company that trains and subcontracts presenters to present their material in schools. I have seen the material in depth and am 100% for it. I’ve also talked to people who have gone through the training who have confirmed both the quality of it and its utility in classrooms. Most educators would recognize the research behind it, so overall it seems legit.

The company’s business model is putting me off a bit though. I have to pay to attend a train-the-trainer conference - not so strange in and of itself, and at $700 pretty standard. There are no additional training fees or material fees, but I expect there to be some initially unreimbursed travel costs as a lot of legwork and self-promotion are required. Basically, I will not make a single dime until I successfully market myself and book my own gig. (At which point, there will be A LOT of dimes. Training fees in schools are quite high, so I do trust their numbers.) I would then split my speaking fee with the company and make a commission on materials sold. I have seen some hints that once I'm "in", I'll also make a commission on the fees of any new trainers I recruit. (yeah, I know...) From talking to former trainees, and from the company’s own information, only about 15% of people who attend the course ever go on to book a training – which is comparable to other perfectly respectable trainings like OSHA. (Also, many who attend are teachers who go back to… teaching.)

I’m now on an email list for an upcoming training, and of course started googling the hell out of the other attendees to see if I was being too paranoid about the quality of people the company is attracting. What I found was a mix of actual teachers and business trainers on one hand, and a wacky bunch of opportunists on the other, like real estate agents, phd’s in confidence-building, students of quantum mind power, and Yahoo experts. I woke up with a nightmare last night, worried that I’m about to embark on an elaborate Amway scheme.

Other details: I’m unemployed at the moment (just finished a master’s degree), and have a little savings and lots of time and energy to do this on the side while I keep looking for ‘real’ jobs.

So:

1. Am I a poor MLM sucker, or is it worth a go?
2. Is it dumb to spend this much money ($700) when I have no income?
3. What else would you consider before deciding, that I haven’t thought of?
4. Do you have experience with anything like this? How did it pan out?

Thanks.
posted by Lot's ex-girlfriend to Work & Money (12 answers total)
 
"I have seen some hints that once I'm "in", I'll also make a commission on the fees of any new trainers I recruit."

Run.
posted by RobotHero at 5:08 PM on October 25, 2011 [3 favorites]


You had me until you said you'd make a commission on new trainers.

Sorry, it sounds like more than a "hint" of MLM.
posted by xingcat at 5:09 PM on October 25, 2011 [10 favorites]


Training trainers who will then train trainers to train trainers... When I put it that way, it doesn't sound like anything BUT a MLM plot.
posted by HuronBob at 5:11 PM on October 25, 2011


I am admittedly a non-expert, but it seems to me that, given your experience, you could do the legwork and marketing-yourself and self-promotion and booking-your-own-gig without the aid of this company.
posted by box at 5:13 PM on October 25, 2011 [4 favorites]


"Pay for the training necessary to sell the company's stuff" is a red flag. "Split the earnings and commission" is a red flag, especially when coupled with "book your own life." Sharing recruit-money is a red flag.

However, you're not an MLM sucker because you're just reading their email and googling.
posted by rhizome at 5:15 PM on October 25, 2011 [6 favorites]


Best answer: I was getting a pink flag until the commission on new trainers. Then I got a big, red, boldly waving flag.

I have never, EVER regretted turning away an "opportunity" that had a "whiff" of MLM about it. I have always sincerely regretted accepting the one "opportunity" that did.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 6:15 PM on October 25, 2011 [3 favorites]


Best answer: The legitimacy of the product is NO argument that a business is not MLM. Indeed, legitimate products are the prerequisite for an MLM not putting its leaders in jail.
posted by MattD at 6:31 PM on October 25, 2011


Run away. It sounds like their main requirement for trainers is "has $700 to give us." As someone with a Master's degree and teaching experience you're qualified for way better jobs than that.
posted by mmoncur at 8:06 PM on October 25, 2011


Real jobs don't require you to pay them for the 'opportunity' of working (or training). You're the mark in this scam.
posted by jpeacock at 9:43 PM on October 25, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Real jobs don't require you to pay them for the 'opportunity' of working (or training).

Yes, but being an independent trainer isn't a job. It's self-employment. Millions of people each year go to "train the trainers" events. The fact that this is transparently MLM also does not make it a scam. So, I was actually prepared to say "it seems to me that if the content is legitimate, and if you are constructed as the type of person who can successfully market your own training sessions, I would not necessarily run away. You can simply do the training and then depart from the MLM path."

However, you can't. Because of this part: "I would then split my speaking fee with the company and make a commission on materials sold." The commission on materials sold is fine as they are their books and tapes or whatever. You can also just not refer any trainers to them. But it's actually the speaking fee split that is the red flag no-go for me. You are not training to be an independent trainer under that system, you are joining the Borg.

Sorry, do not want.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:37 AM on October 26, 2011


Response by poster: Yes, but being an independent trainer isn't a job. It's self-employment. Millions of people each year go to "train the trainers" events. The fact that this is transparently MLM also does not make it a scam. So, I was actually prepared to say "it seems to me that if the content is legitimate, and if you are constructed as the type of person who can successfully market your own training sessions, I would not necessarily run away. You can simply do the training and then depart from the MLM path."

Thanks so much for saying this. People outside the training industry may not be aware that it's set up this way, which makes it harder to separate it from a scam. I've been "legitimately" employed as a contractor with a firm that most people would recognize, and it was for the most part the same scenario, except there was a separate sales force and I just showed up when I was needed. In that case, I can assure you the company reclaimed much more than half of the speaking fee.

Thanks everybody for the comments.
posted by Lot's ex-girlfriend at 10:07 AM on October 26, 2011


Just for a different perspective, I train for an organisation here. People pay let's say $1200 for a 12 week training course. There are generally 9 - 15 people per course. I get paid $300 per class. The organisation gets the rest. This is totally legit. They also do all of the marketing, registration, venue hire, and admin for all of these courses.

I also run an occasional training course myself, more or less consolidating the 12 weeks into one intensive daylong bootcamp. I do all of the marketing, registration, venue hire and admin for this course. I certainly do not split my fees with the organisation. These are not their students, they are mine.

In both cases, I am teaching with my own materials so the scenario is slightly different but still, the split seems unethical to me. YM in your industry MV.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:07 PM on October 26, 2011


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