iLearning Global Dumps Network Marketing Business Model

My Story Part 1

I’d like to share with you, my experience of having the rug pulled out from under my business…

Yesterday began like any other day, another day filled with excitement and enthusiasm for my new business. I recently joined David Wood’s  iLearning Global “Online Prosperity Master Mind” team. Wednesday was the day for our teams weekly Ambassador group webinar. “Ambassador”  is the level of acheivment in the company that all iLearning Global reps strive to strive to obtain. During the webinar there  was no hint of what was to transpire later in the day even though one of the founding members of the company(Eric Allen) was leading the webinar. I even exchanged emails with Eric after the webinar to inquire about forming a mastermind group in the Wichita Kansas area.

Again, no hint of anything out of the ordinary was detected. So I went about my daily business building activities, writing e-mails, sending out a 6,000 piece advertising blast on Viral URL. So, I’m in the middle of writing an how-to article on the PeopleString.com website when I received an e-mail from Dave Wood titled “Emergency Webinar for Dave Wood’s list in 30 minutes. To be honest I thought this was probably just another sales hype e-mail,  was I ever wrong.

So, 7 PM rolls around, the webinar begins and David begins to speak. His voice is shaking and now for the first time I’m realizing that something is really wrong.  To make a long story short David delivers the news the iLearning Global is ending the network marketing sales program effective immediately. I immediately tried to log into my iLG back office and found that it was no longer active. While David was still talking I received e-mails from Eric Allen and from iLG corporate confirming the situation.

What it all boils down to is simply this….. The iLG corporate big wigs came to the conclusion that the service was not worth $179.00 a month. In fact, the price will be lowered to $39.00 per month for existing marketers, and $59.00 per month for new customers.  Wait a minute…. the price of the exact same service is dropped from $179.00 to $39.00 per month!?!  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where the other $140.00 is going.

It’s going into the comp plan.

See the following quote from the official iLearning Global e-mail

“Much has changed in the marketplace during the past two years.  When we began, streaming HD quality video was a unique and distinct advantage, public perception of online video training and higher end pricing was the norm, speakers continued to protect most of their content and the global economy was still perceived as strong.

While we have continued our quest to be the cutting-edge leader in our industry, we find ourselves facing a vastly different environment.  HD video streaming is more common, authors and speakers are giving away a great deal of content, online communities are low-cost or no-cost and discretionary spending is at a record low.  All of this has challenged our pricing structure, particularly under our network marketing model.

We have taken great pride in being able to offer so much for so little and yet we find ourselves struggling to remain competitive and congruent in our value.  Functioning within a network marketing model makes pricing and value changes difficult due to the compensation plan“.

So there you have it.  My business, and the business of dozens upon dozens of other entrepreneurs were literally ripped out from underneath us without notice, on the strength of two quotes from the marketers agreement:

“Per the Marketer agreement terms and conditions section five (5) and Policy and Procedures section 11.4, we are providing a 30-day notification of the termination of the network marketing model”.

“From Terms and Conditions Document point five  (5) which is available at marketer.ilearningglobal.tv:  “… iLG reserves the right to terminate all Marketer Agreements upon 30 days notice if the Company elects to: (1) cease business operations; (2) dissolve as a business entity; or (3) terminate distribution of its products and/or services via direct selling channels.  Marketer  may cancel this Agreement at any time, and for any reason, upon written notice to iLG at its principal business address. iLG may cancel this Agreement for any reason upon 30 days advance written notice to the Marketer.”

“From the Policies and Procedures section 11.4, which is available at marketer.ilearningglobal.tv under the doc tab: “…iLearningGlobal.TV reserves the right to terminate all Marketer Agreements upon thirty (30) days written notice in the event that it elects to: (1) cease business operations; (2) dissolve as a corporate entity; or (3) terminate distribution of its products via direct selling”.

When was the last time you actually read an agreement that you were entering into?  Even if you had read it, would it have made a difference in your decision to join the company or not?

One of the things that saddens me the most about this whole stinking mess is that a very influential and powerful business leader who previously would have nothing to do with network marketing is probably now kicking himself in the backside for letting his name be associated with iLG. I’m referring to Mr Bill Bartmann who released a very powerful and compelling iLearning Global video testimonial  that was more than likely a overwhelming factor in many peoples decision to become an iLG marketer. Yet another black eye on the face of network marketing as a legitimate industry. Unfortunately we’ve probably lost the support of one of the most wealthy and influential business leaders in America. Very sad indeed.

To learn what our team is doing to recover from this unforseen event click here.

Related posts:

1. iLearning Global dissolves Network Marketing Organization
2. Use Twitter to Build your Network Marketing team
3. Realistic Short Term Goals equal Network Marketing Success!