Historical discussions of the ACN opportunity from Scam.com
Below you will find a fair use condensation of material from the scam.com forum. The views expressed are those of the original posters and not the editors or publishers of this site.
More detailed info can be found at ACN MLM networking business.
ACN Australian Communication Network versus Peter Bowditch.
ACN Scam.com discussions 2007-a
ACN Scam.com discussions 2007-b
ACN Scam.com discussions 2008-b
ACN Scam.com discussions 2009-b
ACN Scam.com discussions 2009-c
Concerned About American Communication Network
07/09 - One of the things that concerns me about ACN ( my son has been a rep- for 7 months) is that it is touted as a business that will create lots of free time to spend with family, etc. So far my son is busier than ever -- gone almost every night, traveling to conferences on weekends, traveling to create new accounts elsewhere.
He tells me he has to do this to build the business but so far all of this time has not produced any profit. How many months and years does he have to keep this schedule and lose out on precious time with his young family?
I don't get the free time thing -- from what I hear reps have to live on bonuses because residuals are so low even with hundreds of customers. This means reps always have to be recruiting new reps.
Is anybody in ACN out there making a living on residual only? If so, how long did it take you to make it?
Contract can change at any time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9AYzM9kpzQ
ACN Profitability
08/09 - ****Let’s evaluate the profitability from a quantitative perspective. *****
The commission rate for the first 3 level is 1/4% and 0.5% for level 4, 3% for level 5, 5% for level 6 and 8% for level 7. Say YOU find 2 reps and these 2 reps finds 2 reps each up to the 7th level.
Say each rep, aka customer, signs up for 20 services each just for example sake. By the way, the “20″ is not random, i get this number from the meeting slides. Anyhow, that means, the team will be composed of 128 people and 2560 services signed up with ACN.
With excel, it shows that the commission for YOU will be $11031. Not bad huh? But the catch is here. Suppose YOU are a bad rep and could only recruit 50% of the 128 people, which is 64 people and stops at level 6.
YOUR commission will then be $3249 and not $5500 they advertised. If YOU do much worse and could only recruit 10% or 12 people (level 4), YOU will make $87.4 and not $1100 they used in the example.
Hence, unless YOU have reps at level 7, YOU are far away from making $11k/month.
Nonetheless, $87.4/month is still not bad, at least it pays off the $499 sign-up fee+tax and other admin/misc fees in about 7 months, of course after you meet the requirement. Although there are some misleading info in their presentation, the commission is still decent.
The question to ask is, can YOU do it?
For example's sake, say YOU are a star performer like the previous example and you reach reps down to level 7. Assume that there are 3 people per household and each household signs up for 5 services: 2 cell phone, 1 video phone and 1 internet services.
In a city of 3million population, there will be 1 million households, and 5 millions potential services available. 5million potential services/2560services = 1953 star performing reps like YOU. i.e. An additional star performer will not be possible given a city with 3 million people.
Still, 2k reps can make $11k per month. It’s not bad huh? Think again. This means that the entire city will be using ACN only and companies such as Bell, Rogers, …etc will have 0% market shares. (I’m from Canada) Let’s face it, it’s impossible.
Let’s suppose that ACN can capture 5% of the market. That means only 97 reps can make over $11k/month. Last Saturday in Montreal’s quarterly meeting, there were about 3k people attending.
Let’s assume that that’s the number of reps in Montreal. The success rate is 3.23% (i.e.: 97/3000). It’s not bad again huh? Not everybody is rich as Bill Gates in this world after all. Nevertheless, this number is only good if ACN’s market share is 5% and only 3k reps are in Montreal.
The ratio will be smaller if ACN has less than 5% market share and more than 3k reps in Montreal area. I honestly don't know what's the market share of ACN in Montreal. But, my statistic class taught me to use a sample size of 30 people.
So, go ask 30 people arond you and see who's with ACN and see what's the sample market share ACN has among your friends and family. ACN has been around for at least 4+ years in Canada. Thus, we can't say that it's a "new" business.
I think most of the people who joined ACN neglect the basic math behind those fancy numbers ACN trainers promote. I simply want to point out the likelihood of success given the known variables.
If you are a dedicated rep and be among the 3.23% who succeed in this network marketing scheme. I’ll be truly happy for you. You deserve it.
Edit: There should be 255 people (not including yourself) in the downline. But the math after that remains. 50% of 255 is 127, which means $2432 in commission per month. 10% of 255 is 25, which means about $60 per month.
Unbounded Success with ACN
Sure, your example is valid if the city had walls, and you aren't allowed out of them. I bet I'm not the only one trying to get reps in Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The world is much bigger than 3 million people.
Do you tweet? Facebook? Myspace? Linkedin? There are soooo many ways to reach people outside of your own city that it's getting funny.
The only reason you will fail in this business is if you stop meeting people. If you confine yourself to one city, you will stop meeting people.
Statistical Analysis of ACN Claims
Anyhow, among 300 million (US population by the way), not all are adults or people who can afford that addition monthly fees. How about we say 2/3 of them are the potential customers? I think this is pretty optimal, isn't it?
Again, I assume ACN will reach 5% market share. Unless Microsoft is involved, I can hardly believe any business could reach monopoly. Since I don't want to calculate with "minimum" assumptions, I assume that the fictitious "YOU" could build a downline as such: 3, 9, 27, 81,243, 729, 2187, which makes a total of 3279 customer/reps.
Is it closer to an optimal assumption now? Don't tell me that the optimal is 10, 100, 10000,... We know that's not going to happen.
So,
300mil*2/3*0.05/3279 = 6099.421
The number above is the number of people who can reach a downline of 3279 reps. Since ACN has been around for so many years, I'm sure that a handful of people might have already achieved this and let this number of successful people be X.
So, the available spots left are 6099 - X. This remainder could be smaller if people are already enrolled to ACN because they'll not be in your downline. Or, there are less than 2/3 of that population who would consider or afford this service.
I admit that the 5% market share is arguable. However, if this technology is not being popularized at the get go, it probably would take a long time to take off or never will.
Pay Yourself with ACN Services
How many times did you sign up for your current telephone, mobile phone, TV, internet, or security services? How often do you pay the bill?
So they helped you one time but are now getting paid monthly if you actually use your service or not? Its just fees for data acquisition right? Why NOT pay yourself monthly for things you are using anyway?
False Profits blog on Trump as MLM spokesman.
http://www.falseprofits.com/files/438e29e0a6fb54286b76f7b7e06457fb-16.html
Negative Views of ACN Unfounded
If you listen to anyone on here that has negative things to say about ACN, they are either lazy individuals that do not put forth the effort into their business and just expected it to grow on its own or they just are not informed on the latest technology with ACN.
Either way, you make the call. I love it. My wife loves it and we cannot wait to be truly...."financially free."
ACN Bonuses
The bonuses are awesome but you have to be able to "play the game." Always stay one rank or one step ahead of your downline.
Once you let them pass you, you will not be able to make bonuses off of their downline until you gain the rank.
ACN Hype Doesn't Make it a Scam
The reason people believe it is a scam is because how they joined to start up. Many people were hyped, or led to believe something that with little effort they could hit ETL or TC or whatever the case may have been, and just sit back at collect the checks.
That is not how it works. It does take a lot of work, since it is a business (your business) with no clients. You're building it up from the bottom, just like everyone else.
It's not as simple as hard work and following the business plan. Many people have proven that, so just be aware of that and keep your expectations realistic.
I'm not saying you can't do what you're planning with ACN, just be realistic about it and don't get caught up in the hype.
Recruiting Your ACN Downline
08/09 - I've always thought that was ridiculous. It's like you want your downline to do well, but not TOO well. Get a superstar recruiter and everything is awesome until he passes you in rank and then all of the sudden, you earn nothing on his downline production. Fantastic. lol.
One more reason why coded comp plans are the way to go. You don't lose rank and you don't get cut off from your downline when you find someone who is better than you at the business (and trust me, you want to find a LOT of people who are better than you at the business).
ACN Competition Comparison
Mathematically, ACN is way above and beyond LYA in compensation. Simple math.
Uncoded System at ACN for Residuals
From what I understand, once somebody reaches the same level as you, you are completely cutoff from that leg. This is an uncoded system. One decent part of this uncoded system is when a couple of those legs do catch up to you then you will get promoted and you will retain those legs again.
If you're a TC and one of your ETLs hits TC, then you would lose the bonus income from that leg (may have generational overrides, not too sure of the comp plan anymore), but would still retain the residuals from the entire team down to the 7 levels, of course.
Now, when your last ETL hits TC (in a separate leg), then that should promote you to RVP and you would take all of those TCs with you and continue to get paid on their production, until they hit RVP.
ACN's Disappearing Residuals
You also should know that wireless (in the US), home security, and satellite TV all purge from the system after the contract expires. That means the residuals disappear.
I may have missed it, but I don't remember anyone saying that ALL income gets cut off; however, I did say that production gets cut off (meaning bonus payout), which is true.
Bonus payout also happens to be the largest portion of most people's pay checks, so it is a BIG DEAL when that gets cut off. My ex's upline lost $10,000 a month when my ex hit TC. That is a BIG DEAL.
5 year plan vs 40 year plan.
Think about that, would you rather work hard for 5 years and collect that residual income for a very long time, or work hard for 40 years and collect half of what you were making for your retirement?
Forget what others have to say.
Where are their pay checks? Why is it that they didn't have success in ACN even others have and continue to do so?
It seems that the only people who really complain about ACN are those who didn't do the work necessary to be successful. This is network marketing not NOT WORK marketing and it's easier to point the finger at the company than at one's self.
Especially when ACN is one of the easiest companies to become successful in.
It's the way you "explain" your numbers. You make it sound as though YOU as a rep are going to earn $375 from a Satellite customer in your downline. Go back and read your post again and you'll see what I'm talking about.
You always talk about "overall payout" from 1 customer. But what you aren't clarifying is that you're including the MAX residual potentials.
You're suggesting that a person would be qualified and earning the 10% on personal volume (which it takes $10,000 in personal billing to get to - which I doubt you're at or very many if any in ACN), then you're suggesting that EVERY person in the upline has all 40 customer points and is earning their MAX residuals too on their downline.
It's the way that you get your numbers across that are misleading. That was my point!
We offier much better hand sets and packages for the consumer, that is a fact.
We offer better national coverage ( there are many places in the US that Verizon and Sprint, DONT have the best coverage ).
Our % totall payout is much higher
ANd the main point is the MAth of what a rep REALLY gets paid on is HUGE
Verizon has a churn of about 1 % ( look it up its public ), LYA has a churn of over 5%, HERE IS IS THE SIMPLE MATH
ACN rep gets a customer, after 6 months, they still get paid on 94% of there customers, LYA, only less then 70%, after 1 year, ACN rep STILL gets paid on 94% ( if the customers stays on for more then 6 months, the rep gets paid the full 2 years even if the customer leaves. at LYA, you get paid on less then 40% of your customer base
After 18 months, ACN rep, still gets paid on 94% of there customers, LYA, less then 20%
MUCH better choices for consumers ( hand sets and packages ) and MUCH higher payouts to reps, THAT IS WHY we are doing it this way.
At Lightyear I'm earning 4% on my entire volume (regardless of level or code - gotta love compression). If I have a customer on my 10th level that is billing at $100 a month I'm earning $4 per month.
A 4-Star RVP in ACN would be earning $.60 cents a month. An SVP would be earning $.80 cents a month. After 24 months I would have earned $96 from that customer in Lightyear. An RVP in ACN would have earned $14.40. An SVP would have earned $28.80.
Please tell me how $28 is better than $96.
Also don't forget, there will be a percentage of customers that also continue on PAST their 24 month contract!!!! That means the commissions CONTINUE. In ACN they disappear.
Matt says that they are teaching their reps to go back to their customers and get them to do an "extension." Right, like that's going to happen.
ACN has the same deal that Fortune, 5Linx, and others do with Simplexity. Why does ACN break up an up-front commission that they receive and disguise it as residual?
You can become a Simplexity affiliate and sell the same thing ACN sells for free. Just visit www.Simplexity.com and find the "affiliate" link at the top. Look familiar? It's the same thing.
You can't pay residuals unless you are billing the customers and collecting revenue monthly. Simplexity certainly doesn't pay residually to its affiliates, so why is ACN claiming to pay residuals on a product that they DO NOT receive monthly residual revenue themselves?
Didn't Lightyear sell through Simplexity before releasing their own wireless brand? They had the exact same relationship with Simplexity that ACN, Fortune, 5Linx, etc have now, all paying those companies the same thing.
Anyone can be a Simplexity affiliate, and everyone gets paid up front for their sales. Why does ACN break it up over 2 years to their reps when they have themselves already been paid?
What makes ACN different from any other Simplexity affiliate? I can be a direct Simplexity affiliate, and it's FREE. I don't need to pay ACN $499 to do it.
A 4-Star RVP in ACN earns 1.5% on open line residuals past the 7th level from wireless - correct? Yes! So, 1.5% of $40 per month = $.60 cents per month (.015 x 40 = .60). Fact.
An SVP in ACN earns 2% on open line residuals past their 7th level from wireless - correct? Yes! So, 2% of $40 per month = $.80 cents per month (.02 x 40 = .80). Fact.
Where is the "tiny truth" in that which doesn't deserve you to answer it?????
Okay, let's go with another example.
Matt, an RVP in ACN with a wireless customer on the 5th level spending $100 per month on their total wireless bill = $1.20 per month correct? ACN pays 3% on the $40 per month CV of wireless on the 5th level, correct? Yes! $40 per month x 3% = $1.20.
Me, a PD in Lightyear with a wireless customer on the 5th level spending $100 per month on their total wireless bill = $4 per month.
Matt, you're an MBA, is $4 per month more than $1.20?
Shoot, even on your beloved 7th level where ACN pays 8% you'd be earning $3.20 from that $40 CV each month - while I am earning $4.
Matt, is $3.20 more than $4? No.
So, there are your facts, side by side.
AN SVP makes 2% SVP commission PLUS 1 1/2% RVP equaling 3 1/2% on standard telco in their open-line.
AN SVP makes 3% SVP commission PLUS 3% RVP equaling 6% on VideoPhone in their open-line.
Regarding the the supposed launch of "ACN Wireless." I remember it was supposed to be Q4 of 2004, then Q1 of 2005. It never happened.
ACN finally partnered with Simplexity, which is a good thing since it offers great phones on any of the networks. The part that doesn't seem really great about that is it doesn't bring any money to the company on the whole.
Since it is an affiliate program, you're still giving the money to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile. Am I right on this?
WE ARE a much bigger customer for Verizon ( MUCH BIGGER ) then LYA is, we play golf, have drinks and spend time with the same people.
ACN had a Joint press release when we did the ACN - Verizon Agreement ( the same one you have ), go google it, i am sure you can find it.
http://psc.wi.gov/apps%5Cvia%5Cdocument%5C5TI1021%5CACN%20Agreement.pdf
In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s MCI contracted Amway to market their “Family & Friends” long distance service.
In the 1980’s Sprint launched their wireless PCS division with a network marketing division called Network2000. When both MCI & Sprint gained enough customers to give them a solid financial base, and alternative marketing channels became available, they terminated their MLM agreements.
In 1988 Excel Communications was founded and in 7 years became the 4th largest phone company in the US. In the early years Excel was a reseller for companies such as Frontier, but bought its own network in 1997.
By 2002 competition and ever lower phone rates in the long distance market began to put a real squeeze on profits. In 2004, Excel's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. By 2005, Excel emerged from bankruptcy after having cut loose its MLM sales force.
American Communications Network (ACN) began operations in the U.S in 1993. It extended operations to Europe in 1999 and to Asia-Pacific in 2004, and now operates in 20 countries. ACN began operations as a reseller for LCI Communications.
In 2007 ACN began offering wireless phone plans as a reseller of major carriers such as
Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, AT&T, Nextel, Alltel, and T-Mobile.
They now claim to be the world's largest direct seller of telecommunication services. Their main focus product is VOIP and video conferencing services, using their videophone. They also act as a reseller for internet and satellite TV services.
At one point they even received an endorsement from Donald Trump and paid to be featured on an episode of Celebrity Apprentice. Shortly after that, Trump pulled his endorsement of ACN to focus on a nutrition company to be rebranded in his own name. If you check around the web, there are quite a number of complaints surrounding customer service issues and the video phone itself.
Another major player was Lightyear Communications, which filed for bankruptcy in 2002. In fall 2003, while still in bankruptcy court proceedings, Lightyear Network Solutions branched into the residential sector with a new division called Lightyear Alliance.
Also in 2003, Lightyear Wireless was created as a division of Lightyear Network Solutions to focus solely on wireless services. Basically, they resell service from Verizon and Sprint.
Recently, there was troubling news that a couple top Lightyear distributors decided to move on to a non-telcom company and they and Lightyear Wireless are now in litigation over their former business relationship.
www.free-press-release.com%2Fnews%2F200907%2F1246779717.html
09/09 - Robert offered a ticket for someone to verify facts and a $1 million challenge. OMG...talk about putting your money where your mouth is. The problem here is we have a group of internet heros and real life zeros.
The difference between LY and ACN is that in LY there is VERY little breakage (because of compression) while ACN the company gets rich off of all the failure. In LY, the people who take their business seriously and get qualified (10 customer points) are rewarded.
People who don't, don't. Very simple. It's the same in ACN Matt. If a rep doesn't have their 40 points then they aren't qualified to earn their income. What percentage of your downline has 40 points Matt?
So, who's making all the money that's supposed to be paid out on those people's 5th, 6th, and 7th level? Oh, that's right, ACN the company is. Too bad you guys don't have compression. It would make your residuals skyrocket.
If you don't believe me about the dynamic compression then perhaps you should watch our comp plan training video? Go to: http://www.visionteaminc.com/CompPlanTraining.html and fast forward to about 33 minutes into it and you'll see Ron Mattingly the Director of Sales and Training for LY talk about the compression.
Listen how he uses the $100 example in the compression explanation. Why does he use it? Not because it's the average but because it makes it easier to understand when explaining!
Now, you may think, nobody has a video phone yet, so it is an untapped market. While this might be true, you could potentially make some big money. With wireless, everyone already has that. All they have to do is redistribute that spending.
Wireless is already in the budget of most people since they are already using it. ACN does have their own wireless store from Simplexity, which is a bit different that what Lightyear has done.
ACN RVP's and SVP's get paid to infinity levels.
4% commissions in LYA apply only to 8 compressed levels.
The above are accurate statements upon which we can all agree.
If there is another RVP under an RVP, they still get paid to infinity, but at a lesser payout. Same for SVP.
4%'s don't get paid on other 4% in LYA. Meaning there is no generational commissions paid for equal ranks. If a 4% sponsored a 4%, the top guy is cut off completely. No generational pay at all.
WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS, YOU DON'T LIKE IT MUCH, BUT NOW IT'S TOO LATE FOR YOU TO DO ANYTHING. It's called a break away comp plan. I could not even imagine working such an awful plan.
An RVP in ACN is paid on 2 levels of RVP downline. The 7th level of the 3rd RVP below.
EVERY comp plan must top out someplace. We are playing symantics now.
LYA has no infinity payout PERIOD!!! They pay 8 levels compressed. Might it be paid too infinity if you have reps not getting their qualifications done? Sure, but that still doesn't make it an infinity payout, it's a compressed 8 level payout.
ACN does pay to infinity subject to so many equal level promotions beyond 7 levels. Can it end like the 8 level compressed? Certainly and always will because it must.
Is it still an infinity....it's certainly not 8 levels compressed or 7 levels fixed...so it's infinity subject to a stair-step breakaway. LYA is a standard break-away with no stair step.
The "do me a favor" will no longer work for most products ( it will for LD or for LD/local for example, BUT not for and wireless services becaue the majority of the time there is money involved or some type of committment involved. We used that more in the old days when there was NO cost or commitiment of any kind to the customer.
an 8 level compresion will NEVER pay out as deep ( levels) as our plan will, because we have 3 RVP and 2 SVp payouts, our leaders get paid on 30, 40 70 and in some cases over 100 levels, THAT will never happen in LYA and if you build a massive
group, you will have legs that deep.
09/09 - When I was in acn i had about 600 reps in my business. out of those 600 reps i would say maybe 3 were 40pt 7 level qualified. so only a couple ppl actually saw the full residual. NOt everybody is a customer gathering machine.
Why does an ETT need 40 points to be paid to 7 levels, but an RVP3, RVP4, and SVP only need 5 points to be paid on all of it? That doesn't make too much sense to me. With the 5 points, does that include full residuals on the 7th level too?
The concept is that the larger residuals are at the highest levels, and yes the 5pts makes you qualified for all residuals (including 7th level and beyond )
How are people supposed to know about "secret" comp plans? How do you expect anyone to apologize for not knowing something like that, especially when it's something that doesn't even make sense?
40 cps for the lower levels but only need 5 for all the upper levels? C'mon. Get real. That's like saying, all entry level workers need MBA's but CEO's only need high school diplomas.
If we told pople its 5pts and then they have to get 40pts, THAT WOULD be over promising. If people are in the mind set they need 40 pts and then its 5 pts as they get higher in the comp plan, THAT WOULD be over delivering. WHICH one would you like ??
Second of all, most people do not understand comp plans, why confuse them with higher positions when they barely understand the lower ones ??
So I guess that is fair for all of the ETTs, ETLs and TCs that have to hit 40 customers and their leaders only have to have 5 points. The ETTs, ETLs, and TCs also have less of a residual from it considering the RVPs and SVPs have their "infinite" level residual and the rest do not. See what I mean?
Sounds like the rich get richer since the ETTs, ETLs, and TCs have to get more customers and they still get less of a total residual. Doesn't make any sense at all.
Shouldn't the RVPs and SVPs at least maintain the 40 to be qualified for their residuals, at least to make it more fair, since the ETTs, ETLs, and TCs must do it, why give the top positions more money for having less personal customers?
Why do ETLs have to maintain their 15 points to be qualified and still not be 5-7 level qualified?
Is this the qualification:
TT - 5 Points (not qualified for ANY team residuals)
ETT - 5 Points (not qualified for ANY team residuals)
ETL - 15 Points (qualified for level 1 and 2 residuals only)
TC - 5 Points (not qualified for ANY team residuals)
RVP-SVP - 5 Points (fully qualified for ALL residuals)
Since residuals are 10 points for levels 1-2, 20 points for 3-4, and 40 for 5-7 (except for RVPs and SVPs, they're special).
Does not make any sense. Am I missing something here???
We focus our new reps on the first 3 positions, nothing else, once they hit TC, we invite them to the home office for a corp. training ( corp and founders ), they find a way to get there, we pay for all hotels, food and transportation.
That is when we go over what their new responsibility is and that is where we explain everything else they need to know for the next 3 positions. ( now most of them already know what the qualifications are for the next 3 positions, they learn that from there up line, but we go over it anyway )
RVPs and SVPs only need 5 points to be qualified for full team residuals. TT thru TC needs 40.
Like I said, once they hit your position, they will cut you off from their team. True, this could be a few levels down, and you would be cutoff from that bonus income that their leg produces. That is what I said before.
If your income was $10k per month before and somebody hits your position and they end up taking $9k because they are your superstar, then you get the $1k. That is a huge hit to your check.
Yes, you will still get pay from the other legs that you would have, until of course they hit your position. Now, once enough people hit your position your pay would jump quite a bit since you wouldn't be cutoff from their production any longer.
Once somebody codes you out you are cutoff from the bonus income from that person's team. If you helped them gather all of those reps to get them to your position that kind of hurts you, doesn't it?
Yes, you're trying to build people up so you can get promoted, but getting completely cutoff from that leg would hurt.
You would still maintain the residuals as long as you have the 10, 20, or 40 points (unless of course you're an RVP or SVP, which we all know only requires 5 points for complete residual pay).
No, we have multiple generational bonuses at TC and above to make sure you DON'T get cut off.
Getting small generational bonuses doesn't even compare to the THOUSANDS you potentially lose in TCABs, now does it?
And since when does someone have to get to the top of the company to make their opinions valid?
Are you telling me that in order to be taken seriously I would've had to keep bringing people into a company with a comp plan that I was extremely against, knowing full well that the plan is top-heavy and that most people wouldn't make a fair income for their effort, just so I could make it to top, and that would somehow magically make my opinions more valid?
Now THAT, to me, is ridiculous.
There are only two people in our company. Winners and quitters. It works out for everyone whom doesn't quit....PERIOD!!!
It's just unfortunate that some were misled by the lies of others to leave.
I went to the seminar this saturday as a favour to a friend.
After an hour, first impression was why are they talking about how much money you can make without telling people what work is involved.
It just didn't make sense. The next hour they explained the whole ett/tc/whatever the hell it was and how the real money is made when you get down to level 7. To be honest, it didn't make sense to me at the time and I can't imagine how someone would be able to understand the compensation plan in an hour - especially if this was the first time they had heard it.
It seemed to me that a lot of people there had very little and saw ACN as their dreamticket to a better life. It also seemed that the presenters recognised this and exploited it to the hilt.
There were a lot of standing ovations when a presenter came up to speak. It was a weird thing to experience to be honest. Standing ovation because someone has made lots of money? A very surreal experience to say the least.
To successfully recruit reps, you have to sell the dream to your friends and family right? Now as we all know, there is a very high percentage chance, new reps will not make much money if any. In otherwords, maybe 5% of recruits (if even) make a decent living from ACN?
With that in mind, I would find it very difficult reaching out to those close to me, encouraging them to join ACN and hand over $499 while knowing there is a high probability they will not make any money and are more likely to lose their initial $499 investment and maybe more.
Just doesn't make sense to me. Unless the person values money and wealth above family and friendship. Maybe that is what it takes to get to the top.
I did find this page about understanding the ACN compensation plan:
http://www2.acninc.com/join/302.pdf
http://www2.acninc.com/join/301.pdf
This doesn't talk about TCABs at all. Also, it doesn't say that ETTs don't earn CABs when they personally sponsor a new QTT, is that true? Same with ETLs.
I say that it said TCs will make an $80 CAB when a new QTT is spnosored anywhere in their organization and $25 for a generational override. Do TTs ,ETTs and ETLs not get these?
According to the comp plan, TTs, ETTs, and ETLs do not get CABs.
10/09 - trying to explain every last detail of RVP and SVP is usually pointless. Its more than the average mind can handle, and most people are just worried about getting that first $1K under their belt (which is then what you need to teach them to do).
As many can see on here, its easy to be overwhelmed at first, at which point there is paralysis by analysis.
If you are a super recruiter you can and will make a lot of money in ACN. If you are not so super... good luck with that.
As far as being excited "considering the odds against you" what exactly is wrong with that? Do you expect ACN (or any network marketing company for that matter) to have an event that sends out a message of "BE EXCITED! BE PUMPED! BUT REALIZE THAT ONLY 2% OF YOU WILL MAKE IT!"
I think any company that puts that message across is stupid. ACN does a wonderful job at making you realize that you can do it. Which anyone can if you have belief in yourself and your abilities. but if you don't beleive you can you won't. I can't say this enough MINDSET IS EVERYTHING!
People come to conventions and they feel super-human while at the event. But the minute they get back to the "real world" the excitement fades. The fear creeps back in as well as the self-doubt. If these people can't get over their fear and self doubt that is not ACN's fault.
You cannot compare ACN and similar organisations to a typical Corporate structured company. Even the lowest minion in the organisation starts getting paid the day they join the company.
As soon as they start working, they get rewarded. That is not the case in ACN.
If you're in sales you gotta have confidence in yourself and the system you're representing. If you don't have it, you will fail.
You can work your butt off, but not have the confidence, and people will see that. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.
10/09 - Someone like George Zalucki and Art Napolitano have proven that eventually your residual will surpass your bonuses. $350,000 in residual income proves that it will happen.
It is clear their residual has surpassed their bonuses. Again just stick around long enough and eventually things will happen.
Also, people should realize it isn't just the $499 when you start ACN.
Here are some other fees that you may not be told about. You do not have to get these services, but they are the "recommended" services:
ACN Video Phone - $99 one time fee ($29.99/mo with 2 year contract)
ACN Web System - $29.99/mo (not included in $499)
These MLM comp plans are so complicated I can't tell if I would be making a good business decision or a horrible mistake.
This is a FACT. If someone tells you that you can make BIG money without recruiting they are either a liar or a rookie.
11/09 - It actually is NOT always easy to get customer points.
Why?
1. The cable companies are smart and bundle voip, cable tv, and internet well. People like this convenience. ACN has NO solution over this.
If your family members or friends have Cox or AOL Time Warner, you're NOT going to win. I've only met a few people who have cable internet and a traditional phone line that you can convert to Voip.
2. ACN does NOT provide cable internet. DSL is lame, not just because of the reliability, but because it relies on traditional phone lines. So if you want the ACN's DSL and Voip, you'll still have to pay for traditional phone lines. NO savings there!
And if you're trying to sell voip to someone with DSL, you CANNOT transfer their original number to the VOIP without losing their DSL connection. They'll have to get a different number for their Voip and pay for another phone service.
3. Or what about your family members and friends who have the bundled DSL and phone with AT&T or Verizon? The only thing you can help them with is long distance. Whoop de do! $1-2 dollar savings for them!
4. Video phones are still a novelty. You can save your money using Skype and any affordable webcam.
5. Cell phones are difficult because people are in 2 year contracts. Unless you have a crystal ball to see who is out of the 2 year contract or are willing to pay their $150-200 cancellation fee, you're NOT going to win.
We certainly condone owning two positions if you are going to be a player.
Overriding your own position was something we used to teach, but we teach another strategy to maximize income today. All of which can be documented.
They taught my daughter to harass my wife to sign up by saying :"Don't you want me to succeed." She did this with every member of our family and is now an outcast, not welcome at my house.
The other part of this is that she can't separate business issues from personal issues. This is all business but she takes it personally.
Your daughter sounds like an amazing and courageous person. Congrats to her for protecting herself from negativity and seeking a better life.
If you love your daughter, then support he in all her dreams of financial betterment.
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