The state has cracked down on pyramid selling for more than ten years. Why is MLM still active? What magic did the MLM staff get? Through a large number of investigations and interviews, the reporter uncovered the mystery one by one.
A series of data learned from folk anti-communicators shocked reporters-
At present, there are at least tens of millions of people engaged in pyramid schemes in China, and there are more than 2 million people in Guangxi alone. Guangxi Laibin, Guigang, Yulin, Guilin, Liuzhou, Wuzhou, Beihai, Nanning and other cities have basically become synonymous with pyramid schemes, with more than 654.38+million MLM personnel gathered in each city;
Except Tibet, there are a large number of pyramid schemes in all provinces. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pyramid schemes have gathered in most large and medium-sized cities and some counties and cities in Guangxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Northeast China, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia.
MLM practitioners are expanding from laid-off workers, farmers, migrant workers and veterans to college students, senior intellectuals and retired cadres. ...
The state has been cracking down on pyramid schemes for more than ten years, and there are countless major campaigns. Why is MLM still active? What magic did the MLM organization use to make the participants deny and stick to their opinions?
The state's "covert support" is pure fabrication.
According to the reporter's personal experience and investigation, "state secret support" is the first magic weapon for all kinds of pyramid schemes to confuse people.
The concept of "illegal pyramid selling" has long been deeply rooted in people's hearts. The first move used by pyramid selling theorists to dispel the psychological defense of newcomers is to emphasize in various ways that the "cause" they are engaged in is not pyramid selling, but a new thing secretly supported by the state. As for why the country should support it, the theoretical basis put forward by MLM organizations in different regions is different: Shaanxi will say it supports the development of the western region, Northeast will say it revitalizes Northeast China, Henan will say it supports the rise of central China, and Guangxi will say it develops Beihai ... And all MLM organizations are talking about several reasons: the country should deal with WTO, protect national industries and crack down on foreign-funded enterprises such as Amway. ...
When investigating pyramid schemes in Guilin, Guangxi, reporters often heard that "chain sales" was a new thing introduced by former Minister of Economic Relations and Trade Shi Guangsheng from Singapore on May 2, 1998 and piloted in Guangdong and Guangxi. After returning to Beijing, the reporter wrote to Secretary Shi Guangsheng, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce for verification.
Shi Guangsheng's secretary replied that the so-called "chain sales" introduced by Shi Guangsheng was pure fabrication.
The reply of the Ministry of Commerce is: The Ministry of Commerce is shocked by this statement, and they will strictly investigate it; The so-called "chain sales" in Guangxi is tacitly supported and acquiesced by the state, which is even more nonsense; Except for the 20 direct selling enterprises approved by the state, the state can never support anyone else to engage in direct selling activities. The list of 20 direct selling companies that have obtained direct selling licenses can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. As for the 16-character policy of "allowing existence, low-key propaganda, controlling development and strict management" repeatedly emphasized by MLM personnel, it can only be empty talk of MLM elements.
The Fair Trade Bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce prohibits the relevant person in charge of the MLM office from basically agreeing with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce's answer: it is absolutely impossible for the state to support the so-called "chain sales" in Guangxi, and the state's attitude to crack down on pyramid schemes is firm. Except for 20 enterprises that have obtained direct sales licenses, the state will not acquiesce in pyramid schemes anywhere; As for the statement that pyramid selling is to deal with WTO, resist foreign investment and protect national industries, it is all deceptive; The state is stepping up efforts to crack down on pyramid schemes.
Subsequently, the reporter called the Industrial and Commercial Bureau of Guilin City, Guangxi Province as an anonymous informant, asking whether "chain sales" belonged to pyramid schemes and whether it was secretly supported and acquiesced by the state. The person in charge of Guilin Industrial and Commercial Bureau laughed: It's all nonsense! Guilin Industrial and Commercial Bureau is absolutely unambiguous in cracking down on pyramid schemes. When the reporter went to Guangxi to investigate, MLM staff told me countless times: If you go to the local industrial and commercial bureau to report, they will ask, is there any restriction on personal freedom? If not, go home without doing it yourself.
Then, is the identity of two retired cadres from the same hometown that the reporter met during the investigation in Guangxi true?
The reporter called the county office to verify that this person did work in the county office and later transferred to a county insurance company. But when the reporter inquired about Li Yuanchao's resume, he found that Li Yuanchao's alma mater was Shanghai Normal University, not Beijing Normal University as the retired cadres of the county party committee said, so it was impossible to be with his classmates. The reporter also called a county public security bureau and got the answer that the off-line and cousin of the "old cadres of the county party Committee" were indeed retirees of the bureau.
During their stay in Guangxi, another "fact" repeatedly emphasized by MLM staff is that the chain sales in Guangxi are supported by China Chain Store & Franchise Association, and the MLM books they produced are printed with the speech and inscription of the president of China Chain Store & Franchise Association. The reporter called the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, and the relevant person in charge of the association was very angry: they are all fake! China Chain Store & Franchise Association has nothing to do with the so-called "chain sales" in Guangxi!
As for the so-called "Guangxi local government encourages local people to buy houses by means of interest-free loans in order to develop chain sales, and then rents them out to people who do chain sales" and "MLM people make free phone calls to each other", the reporter called the mortgage business departments of Guilin Industrial and Commercial Bank, China Agricultural Bank, China Construction Bank, Guilin Mobile Communications Company and Guangxi Telecom Administration anonymously for verification, and the answers were: No!
"Why don't you arrest us?"
In the investigation and interview, one question that MLM personnel keep asking is: If what we are engaged in is illegal, why doesn't the state arrest us? Previous battles did show that after a round of battles, the detained and expelled MLM personnel quickly returned to the "MLM front".
After interviewing the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and other relevant departments, anti-pyramid selling experts and anti-pyramid selling volunteers, the reasons behind pyramid selling were finally slowly restored.
Up to now, the legal basis for punishing pyramid schemes is only the Regulations on Direct Selling Management and the Regulations on Prohibiting MLM promulgated in August 2005. The provisions on punishing pyramid schemes are vague, and the maximum economic penalty is a fine of more than 500,000 yuan but less than 2 million yuan. If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. According to the relevant documents issued by the State Council to crack down on pyramid selling, the legal basis for investigating the criminal responsibility of pyramid selling is the crime of illegal business operation in Article 225 of the Criminal Law. This article stipulates that violators shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, and if the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years.
However, the reality is that the top leaders of MLM are secretive and it is difficult to catch them in the election. It is very difficult to obtain evidence and convict occasionally, because MLM transactions are single-line contacts without any transaction vouchers, and it is difficult to deter MLM elements in the end.
Usually MLM classes and parties are organized by people below C. These people are caught in every communication action, and the number is huge, and they are basically victims. The national policy is persuasion and education, which can not reach the level of sentencing. In the end, they can only be released unharmed after being arrested at the police station, or their daily necessities are confiscated, persuaded and educated, or discharged from the hospital halfway. But in the end, it further created a brainwashing excuse for MLM leaders: Do you think the state is secretly supporting it? Many newcomers just listened to their sweet words and plunged into pyramid schemes and refused to look back.
In addition to imperfect laws, poor communication is also related to the current institutional defects of the state in cracking down on pyramid schemes. The main executive department of the state to crack down on pyramid schemes is the industrial and commercial bureau, followed by the public security bureau, and the sentencing basis is the crime of illegal business operation. The industrial and commercial departments are not law enforcement departments that are not qualified to arrest people, and the public security departments ignore the market operation, which leads to unclear rights in cracking down on responsibility and difficult sentencing and conviction.
Another objective situation is that the staffing strength is weak. In an interview with the Office of Prohibiting MLM in the Fair Trade Bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the reporter found that there are only four staff members in the departments responsible for MLM in more than 30 provinces across the country. The fair trade section of local provincial and municipal industrial and commercial bureaus often has only one or two staff members. Take Laibin City, Guangxi as an example. Earlier, some media reported that there were only two staff members in the marketing department of the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce, but they had to handle 65,438+10,000 pyramid schemes. Therefore, at most, they can only cooperate with the state and local government departments to raid MLM classrooms, persuade and educate the arrested MLM personnel, and occasionally help rescue MLM victims. As the staff of Guilin Industrial and Commercial Bureau of Guangxi told the reporter: "MLM is a mouse club. You call here, he goes there again, and there are people who command remotely abroad. There is nothing we can do about them. "
On the one hand, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly issued a document year after year to crack down on pyramid schemes. On the other hand, the legal foundation is imperfect, the transmission system is flawed, and the manpower allocation is weak, which often leads to a gust of wind model. In the end, it provides brainwashing basis for MLM leaders, leading to more MLM.
The five-level three-quarters elimination system is just a "myth of getting rich"
To induce people to do pyramid schemes, we must solve two major problems: First, is it illegal or criminal? Second, can you make money? The rhetoric of "the state secretly supports" dispels the fear that newcomers will not break the law. So, what is their second magic weapon to brainwash new people? Five levels and three temperament of "making people rich in a short time"
At present, five levels and three controls are the most widely used bonus distribution mode in various pyramid schemes in China. Although there is a slight difference between the north and south pyramid schemes in the Yangtze River (a few pyramid schemes in the north adopt six levels and four controls, the base for buying a product in the south is basically 3,800 yuan, and that in the north is 2,900 yuan), the bonus distribution system is almost the same, basically evolving on the basis of five levels and three controls.
When brainwashed, MLM said that "five levels and three temperatures" won the Asia-Pacific direct sales award, which was invented by mathematics graduate students of Harvard University in the United States and is the most humanized direct sales model at present, and so on. What is the truth?
By interviewing well-known direct selling experts, the reporter learned that "five customs and three temperaments" was a fraudulent business game invented by Japanese businessmen more than 30 years ago, which caused extremely serious social events in Japan, and also caused quite serious social problems in Taiwan Province Province after it spread to Taiwan Province Province. In the 1990s, Taiwan Province Xintian Company brought this model to the mainland, causing serious social problems, which was banned by the China government. Five levels and three temperament are typical pyramid schemes and fraud modes that are explicitly prohibited by the state!
The so-called five levels and three qualities are five levels and three promotion stages. English letters e, d, c, b and a are used to replace the five levels from low to high, and Chinese names correspond to trainee salesman (1 ~ 2 copies), business supervisor (3 ~ 9 copies), business director (10 ~ 64 copies), business manager (65 ~ 599 copies) and senior salesman respectively. The first promotion stage is from E to D to C. As long as the sales share reaches (10), the promotion will be held on the same day of the month. In the second promotion stage from C to B, two conditions must be met, one is that the share of products sold must reach 65, and the other is that two direct business directors must be trained and promoted on the first day of the following month; In the third stage, from B to A, two conditions must be met: the sales share reaches 600, three directly affiliated business managers are trained, and the promotion system is implemented every other month.
According to MLM personnel, the five-level and three-control system is an isosceles trapezoid elimination system, and each person can only develop three downlines. When the total sales share reaches 600 and meets the promotion conditions, it becomes an A-level, which is called an isosceles trapezoid platform. On the platform, it is almost a success, because on the platform, you can get a basic salary of 60,000 ~ 65,438+10,000 yuan plus an indirect commission per 380 yuan. I'll go to A by logoffs, I'll take a step back, and each one will get a commission from 57 yuan (1.5%). The other one goes offline to the platform, and I take a step back, and each one gets a commission from 38 yuan (1%). I went to the platform for three cancellations, and I took 19 yuan (0.5). This is the origin of the "off-site system" that invested 3,800 yuan and gained 3.8 million yuan.
Five grades and three temperaments are a set of complicated mathematical calculus traps, and most people will be confused and lose their judgment.
Ye Piaoling used to be an A-level boss, independently manipulating the team and participating in perfecting the "theory" of five levels and three temperament. However, he has become a volunteer now. Ye Piaoling told reporters that "being out" is a big lie, and no one can really be out.
The biggest trap of "five grades and three temperaments" is that there is no commission when you get off the production line and level yourself, which can't be said in MLM class, and it will take two or three months for Grade B to "understand".
Ye Piaoling said that there are three downlines under the B-level manager. When he is promoted to level B, the downline will be promoted to level B soon. Generally, after two or three months, all three employees can be promoted. Therefore, after being promoted to Grade B, it is possible to earn 10,000 yuan a month in the first two or three months, but soon there will be no commission. From grade B to grade A is a long process, which usually lasts for one year or even two or three years. During this period, it costs a lot of money to eat, live and train a team, so the final B-level income is very small, sometimes only tens or hundreds of yuan a month. However, in order to get out of A, many people chose to endure, and some people chose to quit with regret. Can that get to a (platform)? In the same way, after I joined A (Platform), I may have made hundreds of achievements in the first month, but because I was promoted every other month, when I was promoted to A, my downline was quickly promoted to A. Therefore, the monthly salary of A-level 200,000 is a mirage.
Ye Piaoling told reporters with her own personal experience that reaching the first level can get back the capital at most. According to the algorithm of five grades and three temperaments, Grade A can get back 200,000 to 300,000 at most, but dozens of people in your family have invested far more than this, regardless of time and feelings. The reporter got a general answer from several other people who finally chose to quit A-level.
So, who are the five grades and three temperaments finally given to? Nethead (trader) is the biggest winner. As can be seen from the bonus distribution mode of five levels and three controls, 3800 yuan for each product is divided into 45% and 55%, 55% is the commission at all levels, and the other 45% is said to be the cost and tax, but it is actually the net head. To get 3.8 million net heads, at least 2,200 people need to be developed (3.8 million ÷ 3,800× 45% = 2,200). In the words of some people who know the inside story of pyramid schemes, pyramid schemes can only make money if they go it alone (as the head of the net)!
However, Ye Piaoling told reporters with her own personal experience that in fact, the net head has to earn 3.8 million yuan, and there must be more than 2,200 people who have really developed. It costs a lot of money to form a team, rent a classroom, tidy up yourself, stay in a hotel, rent a car, help the underworld and help the party. Real money is not as much as you think. What can really make money should be the local people who rent the house to MLM staff and provide MLM staff with services such as eating and drinking Lazar.
A direct selling expert told reporters that pyramid selling can really make people at the top of the pyramid make money (in fact, it is an illegal fund-raising act), but they said that the probability of making money is 1%. Five levels and three temperaments are a digital game, which will be a great success. Some people simply call it a scam in which several people sit on it and circle money!
Where the hell is Big A?
During the investigation in Guangxi, MLM personnel mentioned to me many times that people who went to the platform (Big A) were arranged by the government to receive unified training in Nanning, Guilin and Liuzhou, which was rarely seen at ordinary times.
But where did they actually go?
Ye Piaoling and several other anonymous A's told reporters that those so-called A-level bosses told the following people that they were concentrated in Nanning, Liuzhou and Guilin, but they were actually hiding. They usually hide in Tibet, and their whereabouts are secretive. They often change their mobile phone numbers and contact the offline line. Even the closest downline (wife or husband) can hardly know their whereabouts. Why are they afraid to meet people? Because after reaching the A-level, the inside story of pyramid schemes will be thoroughly seen, but their behavior has been involuntary. Netheads (behind-the-scenes traders) will threaten them (they all have various underworld protection forces), and they must never reveal the truth. They must continue to cheat. Even if you show up occasionally, you have to borrow money to wrap it up, put on a brand-name suit, wear a huge fake gold ring and necklace, and rent a high-end BMW car ... Sometimes, in order to convince the following people that they can really make big money, Big A will continue to pull one or two of their closest people (spouse, children, brothers and sisters, etc.). ) Go to your own team to stabilize the team.
In addition to the threats and inducements from the net head, worrying about offline retaliation is another important reason why Big A has been hacked all the way. Because hundreds or even thousands of people behind each big A are basically family members or relatives and friends, the reason why they give up their original studies and careers, take out all their savings, and even sell their property to join the "pyramid scheme" is entirely to listen to his myth of making money. If they find out that this is a scam, how they will react can be imagined. In the words of people who have experienced it personally, pyramid selling is just like taking drugs. Although they have suffered greatly, they still have a chance to recover their capital.
There is another reason why Da A is missing, and that is to avoid legal sanctions.
Where is the real way out for big A? The reporter got the news that they either lived in exile, or privately pulled a group of people to go it alone, or stayed and continued to deceive people. Those who stayed had to crowd out each other, intrigue and even fight.
What does MLM rely on to "win" people's hearts?
The reason why MLM can attract many people to be obsessed with it is also related to a set of management models in which MLM elements are constantly improving.
The first is to use pyramid selling courses to create a "friendly" atmosphere and stimulate people's desire to "pursue success". Many people who join the MLM team come from the lower classes. They are easily infected by the collective atmosphere of the MLM lecture hall and find a sense of belonging and respect. For those small and medium-sized business owners, they need more success and admiration to gain recognition, and MLM organizations will concoct another temptation of success according to their needs.
Second, copy lies. The important feature of MLM management is "replication". Copy some "theories" and "stories" online to offline, offline to offline, and so on, and then people around you will tell the same words and stories. In a closed environment, a newcomer hears the same statement. Over time, he will naturally lose his normal judgment.
Third, use herd mentality. When pyramid schemes brainwash newcomers, they often say a few words: "So many people are doing it." "Millions of people are fools. Are millions of people in the water?" For the average person, it is difficult to keep calm.
Once again, under the guise of national justice. MLM elements often put on gorgeous coats on MLM packaging, such as resisting foreign investment, protecting national industries, solving employment problems, etc., and the temptation of a golden opportunity to make money is enough to defeat the psychological defense of any ignorant person.
Finally, the reason why the fraud of MLM organization can continue is closely related to the "mystery" in MLM organization and management. According to the regulations of MLM management, the first level only knows about the first level, and it is strictly forbidden to inquire about the next level. There is a single line between the upper and lower lines, and the lower line is absolutely subject to organizational management. Therefore, although the people above Grade B are intrigued, the people below are unaware of it and continue the illusion of humanized management. It can be said that mystery is the core of the whole pyramid scheme.
Direct selling is just a non-mainstream marketing model.
An argument that MLM personnel constantly emphasize is that "chain sales is a new pilot thing secretly supported by the state", and the direct selling model represented by "chain sales" is the inevitable trend of economic development and the fifth economic wave. ...
Is direct selling really the general trend of world economic development?
Many marketing experts told reporters that direct selling is just a non-mainstream sales model. Direct selling in the modern sense originated in the United States at the end of 19. Part-time selling cosmetics and other small commodities to subsidize the family is a means for some housewives. Therefore, it only applies to certain industries and enterprises, and cannot become the mainstream of the world business model.
Niu Haipeng, a marketing expert at Renmin University of China, believes that direct selling is not a good marketing method, and only applies to some special industries (such as insurance). Most manufacturers do not choose direct selling mode. The well-known Dell company also adopts the direct sales model, which is quite different from the interpersonal sales model adopted by Amway and other companies. Niu Haipeng said that the cost of interpersonal communication can only be higher, because although the traditional model costs money to advertise, the advertising information may be seen by 654.38 billion people at the same time, and the cost of sharing a single product is much lower; Direct selling is only a minority, and most people can't make money. Most people in the American direct selling industry have low incomes, and direct selling products are not easy to sell. Therefore, in many developed countries, except for a few cosmetics companies such as Avon, the "direct sales" model is rarely adopted.
Robert, an American expert in direct selling, said in an interview with Yang Qian, a professor at Beijing Institute of Business Administration, on June 5438+ 10, 2005 that in the era of underdeveloped business, door-to-door direct selling was very common. However, with the popularity of large supermarkets and online shopping, door-to-door direct sales is no longer necessary. In the late 1960s, direct selling disappeared in the United States. Only a few companies, such as Avon, do a good job. Their products are usually personal care products or very professional household items specially designed for women. The sales of direct selling companies account for only a small part of the US market share. In the 1970s, multi-level pyramid selling appeared in the United States, but it was very common for multi-level direct selling companies to implement pyramid selling.
Only MLM staff will tell others about the ASEAN international market, how much they have invested, how much they have received, etc. Generally speaking, it is in Liulai Development Zone. This place name is also fake. If someone falls for it, first call you to Liuzhou, and then turn around and tell you that you have finally reached the largest pyramid scheme den in the country: the word Laibin City is almost certainly invented by pyramid schemes. If someone calls you to this place, please be on your guard!
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