Just Picture It Now

First, I want to address this myth that 150,000 RTA’s produced $9.3 in Travel Commissions. I’ve been over and over how this works, time and time again pointing out that Travel Commissions are not reported to the SEC until YTB is paid and has money in hand. I booked a small group in August of 2007 to sail in August of 2008. Until final payment is made, some 60 days prior to sailing, YTB does not realize commission in hand. Therefore a booking made in Q3 of 2007 will not show up on the SEC filings until Q3 of 2008.

John’s a smart guy, and certainly knows this, but the question keeps popping up to see who’s going to simply spit out “You don’t understand.” The reality of John’s years of experience in the Travel Industry however means that he does understand, but simply wants to put the question out there for those who truly don’t understand, and won’t take the time to investigate themselves how Travel Commission have always been paid in the industry.

Done.

Now on to this $55.3 Million that we pay the field for building the business. To be honest what I’m somewhat surprised with, is how short sighted John, or for that matter just about everyone who brings up this variance is. I guess it’s to be expected in this day and age of instant gratification and this myth about Network Marketing being a “Get Rich Quick Scheme”. If you’re not making the big bucks within your first few months, you’ve been scammed and John, among others are perpetuating that myth.

Can you keep a secret?

What if I told you that the average person wasn’t going to “get rich quick” in this business? What if I told you that the SEC financial numbers actually prove that if you treat this like a traditional business model, and given just a slightly more long term approach, you and everyone else in your organization will be just fine. Don’t think so? Trust me Bueller, this is not a day you want to skip class because it could give you an opportunity of owning your own Ferrari rather than having to borrow your father's. (Or in John’s case a Cocaine White Bentley.)

So how much more time is slightly? That could vary yet for the purpose of this post and example we’re going to use a time frame of one year, simply because these are the numbers we have access to and what everyone but a few seem to miss when looking at the numbers.

First we need to look at the numbers everyone is talking about, and for this particular exercise we are looking at the 9 months ending September 30, 2007. As you can see, short term, 9 months, it looks pretty bleak. Clearly, not everyone who paying all this money is getting all of their initial investment back within the same period of time. Most who oppose Network Marketing want you to stop right there. They don’t want you looking at ALL the numbers because if you do, it looks quite promising.

Take a look at the column to the right, the one that shows 2006 numbers, and the percentage of growth YTB has had over the same period the year before. Notice the increases of 207%, 172%, 251% over the year prior for “income” and increases of 183% being paid out to the field, also known as “expenses” show an entirely different story.

Here’s another little secret I’m going to share with you…all you have to do is get your foot in the door and play the game to take advantage of these percentages. Those that got in the game and worked this like a business in 2006 where paid off the efforts of those that got into the game in 2007. Some took advantage of this, while others got in but didn’t play the game or didn’t want to put forth the time and effort to profit off of some $55.3 Million from YourTravelBiz and $9.3 Million from YTB Travel Network. In other words, $64 Million went to somebody in the company or a percentage of the 39,613 who joined in 2006 capitalized on the 105,756 who came on board with YTB in the first nine months of 2007.

Somebody put these people in their YTB business and there is nothing that says that it can’t be you.

What John and others are counting on is that you don’t look past the initial nine month plan, spiting out that “the numbers don’t lie”. And to a degree he’s right. If you make an average of 1 sale a month to start, that’s $50 per month. Six months later, you’ve only made $300 but invested $900. (Now expand that to investing $69 Million and only receiving $55 Million in return.) Mathematically John’s right, but the problem is he stops right there. (And so do people in YTB, but we’ll expand on that on later question and post.)

Just like the years of losses that YTB had for what seemed like ages, people got wrapped up in what appeared to be the bottom line, and didn’t see the big picture. Today, YTB is profitable and making money, and so can you if you can handle sticking with the game long enough to get past the initial investment period. Some do it very quickly, but the vast majority that have joined my organization have been slower in becoming comfortable and confident enough about YTB that you are really doing the average person a favor for signing them up in this business. (This blog is riddled with reasons why, take a look around.)

Today, YTB is profitable, and you can be profitable in this business too, if you give it the same dedication and time that other successful people before you have given it.

I’ve shared here before that I’m a Recovering Alcoholic. Back when I first sobered up in 1989 I use to go to a meeting were a guy had some 25 years of sobriety. Everyone would ask “Sam” how in the world he became what we referred to as an “Old Timer”. Sam would get all worked up over this question, and his voice would go up an octave or two and he would respond with “Don’t pick up…and don’t die!”

The same principle applies to Network Marketing folks. Don’t pick up this glass of Kool-aid that they are pouring for you. You have to be consistent, you have to work at it, be consistent, and you have to give it time before you really see any fruits of your labor to become one of the “Old Timers” in Network Marketing. If John or anyone else in YTB would keep going at the same pace as the first 6 months, you’ve made $1600 without any further investment. (Please refer to the 12 Page Compensation package to see how.)

Now before all of you Anti-MLM’ers start pouring all this “it won’t last”, “YTB will run out of recruits” or that “the pyramid will eventually collapse” Kool-aid over my head, somebody needs to give me just one example of a Network Marketing Company that’s collapsed because it’s run out of recruits. I hear this bunk all the time, but nobody seems to come to my aid when I ask this question. (Funny how that works.) In truth, Network Marketing (or any company for that matter) collapses because of poor management or bad business practices; it’s never collapsed because it’s run out of people to sell too.

It’s always been a source of amusement for me when people bring up a Government Agency such as the SEC who perpetuate this myth, and they should know…the origins of a pyramid scheme was actually traced back to the French Government in the early eighteenth century. I wonder if the Government can explain away the following examples.

122 years ago, (1886) David McConnel started the California Perfume Company, based out of New York. In 1906 he had 10,000 sales representatives selling 117 different products. The California Perfume Company changed its name to Avon Products in 1939. How many people do you know that sell Avon today? At what point do you think it’s going to collapse because Avon will run out of people? (I’ll even let you guess at when it’s going to run out of just Women!)

102 years ago (1906) Alfred C. Fuller was another former peddler who greatly influenced future sales organizations. Fuller started the Fuller Brush Company and hired 270 dealers throughout the U.S. to follow his business plan on commission only. By 1919, the Fuller Brush Company had made $1 million in sales; by 1960, $109 million. In 1992, the door-to-door sales method was replaced with an innovative new direct marketing plan called Fullshare, with a chance to generate unlimited incomes by sharing those products with others and developing their own marketing networks.

74 years ago (1934) Carl Rehnborg started the California Vitamin Corporation selling what today are known as vitamin supplements. In 1939 the company changed its name to Nutrilite Products Company, Inc. (Today owned by Amway/Quixtar)

52 years ago (1956) Dr. Forrest Shaklee developed a method of extracting minerals from vegetables and used MLM to distribute his products. 44 years ago (1963) Mary Kay Ash creates Mary Kay Cosmetics. By 1996, company sales were in excess of $2 billion dollars.

(A special thank going out to Tim Sales & First Class MLM for this information.)

None of these companies have run out of people, and yet they all seem to be competing for the same people that YTB is somehow going to run out of. While the new kid on the block, YTB already has more than 44 people making between $250,000 and $3,400,000 in income for 2007, and this week we move into Canada. Those that want to bring up this myth about YTB running out of people any time soon, I have two words…

“Save it.”

When and if the time ever comes that YTB is down to its last person on earth that hasn’t joined YTB, maybe you should be concerned because I’ve already got dibs on John Frenaye. Until that time comes however, YTB have some 303,000,000 recruits to go after first and that’s just here in the US.

I wonder if Sam would want to join YTB? I’ll have to look him up after all these years because I can just hear him now when someone asks the question about how to make it in YTB.

“Don’t pick up…and don’t die!”