The upline said we must hold a “grand opening” as soon as possible after getting started in our Amway business so everyone would know that we were Amway distributors and could order products from us. This was also the time to sign up new IBO’s who were interested in starting their own business.
We chose a date and decided to hold a BBQ in our yard. Amway does not sell the typical stuff people would have at a BBQ - hamburgers, buns, condiments, salad, cake, ice cream, etc. Seeing as how Ambot had high expectations of a huge crowd off we went to Costco to stock up for the BBQ.
Grocery bill tally for the BBQ Grand Opening - about $150.
We used our computer to print up invitations and gave them out to a lot of people including all neighbors within a block of our house. Ambot actually knocked on doors and spoke with the neighbors and handed them an invitation. He also sniped a few people who lived further away who happened to be walking past our house while we were outside gardening.
The grand opening was an afternoon event from 1pm to 5pm. Our first guest showed up around 1. He had other plans so was just planning to grab a burger, take a look at some of the Amway products, and hear a little bit about the business.
Actually this fellow was about as close as we ever got to signing up a downline with the exception of the one friend who signed up and then quit a couple of weeks later. This fellow came to a board plan and was interested and liked the IBO’s and their fakey nicey nice act. Then a mutual friend told him Amway was a scam and he backed off. Ambot was pissed off at our friend who had the gall to say Amway is a scam.
Funny how he agrees with that statement now!
Then the backyard got quiet for a couple of hours. Ambot went into the house and watched TV. Things picked up closer to 4pm. Some of our hungry elderly neighbors were happy to come over for free food. One of them even noticed some of the products displayed on a table and triumphantly, disgustedly declared “this is Amway”. A neighbor and his two young sons came over too. The fellow had never heard of Amway so Ambot gave him a good run down on the business. He was sure he’d found a prospect. Wrong.
Bottom line is as far as promoting the Amway business the grand opening was useless. A total bust. Fortunately most of the food we bought could be frozen or had a good enough shelf life that we were able to consume them later.
Some of the upline dropped by that evening and when they heard that the grand opening resulted in no prospects or customers they tried to get us to hold another grand opening as soon as possible. Nope. Never happened. We could have held a million grand openings and the attendance and results wouldn’t have changed. This was exactly the same thing as happened when we were involved in Amway several years earlier. We invited everyone we knew and lot of people we didn’t know too and maybe a handful showed up for the free food and never resulted in any sales or signing up new IBO’s.
Unfortunately Ambot didn’t learn his lesson the first time around. How’s that quote go? Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
"Some of the upline dropped by that evening and when they heard that the grand opening resulted in no prospects or customers they tried to get us to hold another grand opening as soon as possible"
ReplyDeleteYep. Sounds like the Amway/WWDB I know. If something doesn't work, beat your head against a wall and try it again.
LOL Anonymous! Just cause something worked for Ambots not sixties and seventies doesn’t mean it’ll work today. But yeah they’ll keep doing it over and over. Busy work for Ambots.
DeleteThis notion of a "grand opening" is a typically asinine Amway idea.
ReplyDeleteIf you throw an open-invitation barbecue, it's obvious that whoever shows up will be more interested in the free food than anything else. Your up-line must have been a first-class asshole not to realize that.
People don't go to barbecues to hear about a business plan. They don't show up to look at an array of soap and cosmetic products. But in the dream-world of Amway, there is this crazy notion that the guests will drop their hamburgers and sodas and rush over to the display table to ooh-and-aah over some plastic bottles and tubes. And after that, they'll all rush to sign up as Amway dealers. What insanity!
That's the Amway mentality -- do something out of utterly forlorn hopes that are hopeless.
I’m with you Anonymous. Free food and no dishes for me to wash up later - count me in!
DeleteThere’s no such thing as a free lunch. Generally you’re stuck listening to a politician or a sales pitch.
Is it worth it?
Maybe but not when it comes to Amway shit. But that’s a good visual you created. BBQ guests dropping their burgers and sodas and rushing over to ogle overpriced shitty Amway products and sign up to be IBOs. And that’s how Ambots believe it’ll happen. That’s what happens when you live in fantasy land.
What's the usual cost for those Amway products and what do they think they'll become millionaires by selling products like that? Was there ever anybody else that you know who became rich and talks how'd it work and is it ethical enough?
DeleteAnonymous- the usual cost for Amway products is 3 to 4 times higher than a similar product sold at a regular retailer. And don’t listen to Ambot bullshit that Amway’s high prices reflect their high quality. Amway’s high prices are so everyone in the upline gets a piece of commission. The only ones getting rich are Amway’s owners.
Delete