# Archive > Open content archive > MLM Industry Forum >  Opportunity for whole SA

## saentrepreneur

As a young South African, 20 years old right now, I started doing affiliate marketing. I noticed one thing. Most of the South Africans I talked to just told me I'm doing MLM or in Pyramide Scheme. I didn't listen and continued doing my business while staying in my lane. I started making good money working with europeans and Americans. My question: How do I recruit good ambitious South Africans? This is the reason there's no African dream. We allways hear of the American dream, where one can achieve everything, but we Africans just don't like to try new things. Can someone tell me what I'm not understanding/doing wrong? B.t.w The company is called Karatbars International.



Humble regards, 

Saentrepreneur.

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## Basment Dweller

Can you provide an example of what type of affiliate marketing you are doing?

My understanding of it is that you are using other marketers to help generate exposure to your product and pay them an affiliate commission per click or whatever the deal is. This is an excellent form of marketing because you don't have to pay upfront for advertising fees but pay a commission when you convert a sale.

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## saentrepreneur

Karatbars International GmbH is a completely legal and fully registered company based in Germany, a country which has some of the strictest business laws in the world. Karatbars is classified as an "E-commerce" company, a category also recognized and regulated by by the World Trade Organization. Karatbars has been in existence since 2011 and has consistently met or exceeded all laws and guidelines applicable to the industry. Through its affiliate program, Karatbars International now operates in over 110 countries worldwide, and that number continues to grow.

In order to purchase Karatbars gold online, one must first register by creating a free account and then place orders for their gold. One also has the option to become an affiliate member. If one chooses to become an affiliate member and then refers others, one can then earn commissions on sales in a variety of ways, at various rates, according to the type of affiliate package that one acquires.

There are no purchase requirements from the company, no capital investments in the company, nor any sponsorship requirements. The 12 Week Strategy is an optional earnings incentive system for new affiliates, and there is no added cost for this. Unlike with Multi-Level Marketing schemes, Karatbars affiliates do not purchase gold for re-sale to friends and family, nor do they maintain an inventory of any products for re-sale in order to earn their commissions. Karatbars affiliates also do not buy gold strategically when gold prices may be lower in order to sell high later for profit. Karatbars affiliate members are also Karatbars customers who acquire gold for themselves and their families, for their own personal benefit, as a valuable asset.

Gold is a legitimate, proven, hard asset which retains its purchasing power, while the value of paper currency steadily decreases. Karatbars International is committed, therefore, to putting gold bullion of the highest quality, into hands of the masses in small, practical units as a personal savings plan, and as a hedge against inflation or sudden currency devaluation. Karatbars affiliate members are there to help others in that process.

If you truly understand the steadily diminishing worth of paper money or "fiat currencies" and the timeless value and purchasing power of gold, then we believe it is time to empower yourself and to take personal control over your wealth and financial future by getting out from under the debt based fiat currency system. One can easily begin to do this by converting paper and digital money into affordable, portable, storable and usable Karatbars gold bullion: real gold currency!

Karatbars International is a category creator in the gold market with an innovative product line, and it is a strong, financially independent, and rapidly expanding company, with an outstanding marketing system, which offers very generous and unparalleled benefits to its customers and affiliate members.

Karatbars International pays all earned commissions to its affiliates each and every Friday on a branded Mastercard. You can order one when you become an affiliate, or it will be sent to you once you have earned 35 Euros (or more).

Karatbars is essentially a grass roots movement of common people who are moving out of perpetual debt slavery, and upward into financial health, prosperity, security and freedom. We are firmly and jointly rooted in our common understanding of the problem of fiat currencies, and of the value of the most stable and sought after substance on earth, which is gold, and of its capacity to sustain wealth and purchasing power, and to serve us as a real currency. As such, it is a life preserving substance. It is a true measure of our personal wealth, and a real expression of our common bond and of our common wealth.

The suggested 12 Week Strategy has been very successful for many, many people to acquire gold and increased prosperity. The more people who work at it and are successful within the plan, and with the volume of gold and packages being purchased, the more commissions are generously paid out to the entire Karatbars family, from top to bottom, and then back up again. That is no "ponzi scheme". It is a WIN-WIN-WIN strategy for all concerned.

The whole system is built around the principle of the movement of money (upwards, downwards and laterally) and the velocity in which that money moves toward gold. This movement is organic and cyclical and it benefits ALL of us. For that reason, we stress team work, helping each other, and not internal competition.

We affiliate members and customers are, in essence, the shareholders of the company, and we have influence upon the operations. We are the life blood, and we are family, working together for our common good!

IN SUMMARY

You may sign up for FREE and can still earn some commissions if you refer others to Karatbars.

There is NO requirement to purchase anything, nor are you asked to personally sell gold or other products.

Becoming an affiliate member, and thereby, becoming eligible to earn greater commissions, is entirely voluntary.

Participating in the 12 Week Strategy is also entirely voluntary.

The 12 Week Strategy focuses us on team work and on personal commitment to follow through.

The 12 Week Strategy inspires us to help others to acquire gold and to achieve their goals, as well as our own.

The 12 Week Strategy gives us the road map to lift others up, and in turn, we become leaders with a purpose.

Regardless of the affiliate package which you choose, you will thereby unlock the door to life-long earnings.

Your earnings will be paid out to you on your pre-paid Karatbars Mastercard each and every Friday.

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## Basment Dweller

Sorry couldn't read all that, I'll leave this up to other posters.

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## HR Solutions

Was that long "explanation" an example ...... because I lost interest. ?





> How do I recruit good ambitious South Africans?


This question is not easily answerable due to a number of reasons .......... A lot of "young" South Africans are not ambitious - A lot of ambitious South Africans will not do affiliate marketing - etc etc etc


PS ..... Oh I nearly forgot - we are living in a fast quick gratifying world ........ Not many people want to or have the time to read long stories like above ....., therefore your valuable time spent typing that is actually wasted !

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## Dave A

> The suggested 12 Week Strategy has been very successful for many, many people to acquire gold and increased prosperity. The more people who work at it and are successful within the plan, and with the volume of gold and packages being purchased, the more commissions are generously paid out to the entire Karatbars family, from top to bottom, and then back up again.


I confess this (and a few other points besides) *does* make it sound like an MLM reward plan rather than affiliate marketing (at least by my definitions of the two). 
And perhaps I'd better explain that:

To my mind affiliate marketing is essentially a company-to-marketer pay-per-conversion setup.
The moment you get into team sales rewards, you're into the territory of multi-level marketing.

While lots of people are allergic to the mere whiff of a multi-level compensation plan, the presence of multiple levels isn't in itself a bad thing - it really depends on how the compensation plan is set up.

I'm not going to try to go into depth on what makes up a "good" MLM plan vs a "poor" one here, but there is little doubt that if it is an MLM plan, and you are trying to market it as an affiliate plan, you're probably not going to market it in a manner that will produce good results.

Believe me, there is no shortage of South Africans of all ages with ambition. Frankly, taking you at face value - sounds like you might be one of them  :Wink: 
All you need to do is find more people like you.

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## Basment Dweller

> To my mind affiliate marketing is essentially a company-to-marketer pay-per-conversion setup.
> The moment you get into team sales rewards, you're into the territory of multi-level marketing.


100% correct.

I'm very excited about affiliate marketing but completely turned off by MLM. I've been down the Amway road many years ago and resolved never to entertain it or anything that resembles it.

Typical MLM snake oil salesmen tactics, claim it's affiliate marketing, pique interest, then offload a 2000 word copy pasta diatriabe about something else resembling MLM.

OP, do more research and speak to people who are experienced in business. MLM 'gurus' prey on enthusiastic youngsters like yourself with flashy presentations asking you to 'recruit' people starting with friends and family. Once you expose yourself as a MLM zealot to the world, you will be shunned and ostracised and its very difficult to recover your reputation when the scheme fails and you have to withdraw, it's embaressing, I know from experience.

My advise is to stay the hell away from MLM schemes and rather start sell insurance if you have to, to learn the game.

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## Basment Dweller

Sorry I was a bit quick to judge here so just took the time to read OP's description of this organisation: Karatbars International GmbH.

Lots of fluff talk in there. Something about selling gold, using affiliates and a '12 week Strategy'. Claims it's NOT a MLM or a ponzi scheme but a WIN WIN WIN for all. They appear to purchase through a Mastercard.

Still confused.

Checked website, company founded in 2011.




> The whole system is built around the principle of the movement of money (upwards, downwards and laterally) and the velocity in which that money moves toward gold. This movement is organic and cyclical and it benefits ALL of us. For that reason, we stress team work, helping each other, and not internal competition.


Sounds like prosuming (i.e. I buy you, you buy, we all sell, scheme) but can't be sure if it's MLM.

I'm suspicious.

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## saentrepreneur

I respect the fact that everyone has his own opinion. I've got a downline of 7'000 people and accumulate gold weekly. Those who fail are always the ones who start calling it fraud and scam. Of course it also depends on how the compensation plan works, but karatbars isn't that hard. I didn't recruit any of my friends or family, because I know what can happen. We've got MLM in the system, but it's still an e-commerce company. I'm not here to argue about that. But I recieved good answers from you guys and I thank you for that. I'm just not marketing it good enough in Africa. It's because I didn't grow up in Africa and also that I don't live there. I've gotta change my way of thinking. Thank you guys.

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## HR Solutions

Oh so you just in Jhb temporary ?

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## Dave A

> I'm very excited about affiliate marketing but completely turned off by MLM. I've been down the Amway road many years ago and resolved never to entertain it or anything that resembles it.


I confess, I'm kinda the other way around, at least on the affiliate vs MLM aspect.
With affiliate programs there's no leverage, and effectively you're not building a business - you're essentially self-employed.

I'm with you some of the way on the Amway aspect - it certainly comes with challenges. But condemning the entire MLM industry as a result is like saying "retail is bad and I'm never touching it again because I opened a shop (selling x) once with (y) strategy, and lost money." 

Sometimes I think success is a bit like a combination lock. The real trick is getting enough components in alignment that is starts producing results for you. And happily there are all kinds of combinations that work. And work well.

At the end of the day, I think the keys are to try to keep an open mind, to pick carefully, and to do what you do with enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism. 

Unfortunately far too many people miss some element in that mix...

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## Basment Dweller

OP you state this:




> I started making good money working with europeans and Americans.


This:




> I've got a downline of 7'000 people and accumulate gold weekly.


Then ask this:




> How do I recruit good ambitious South Africans?


Have you tried applying the same recruitment strategy to get South Africans as you did to aqcuire your European and American clients? I can't see any reason why people will respond to the same incentive differently just because the one is South African and the other is American.

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## saentrepreneur

Yes, I don't live in Joburg anymore.

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## saentrepreneur

I know it sounds strange, but that's the truth.  But maybe it's because of the currency and life standards. People are willing to pay amounts like 300 euros over here, but I believe 300 euros are really a lot in SA. That's +4'000R.

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## saentrepreneur

> I confess, I'm kinda the other way around, at least on the affiliate vs MLM aspect.
> With affiliate programs there's no leverage, and effectively you're not building a business - you're essentially self-employed.
> 
> I'm with you some of the way on the Amway aspect - it certainly comes with challenges. But condemning the entire MLM industry as a result is like saying "retail is bad and I'm never touching it again because I opened a shop (selling x) once with (y) strategy, and lost money." 
> 
> Sometimes I think success is a bit like a combination lock. The real trick is getting enough components in alignment that is starts producing results for you. And happily there are all kinds of combinations that work. And work well.
> 
> At the end of the day, I think the keys are to try to keep an open mind, to pick carefully, and to do what you do with enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism. 
> 
> Unfortunately far too many people miss some element in that mix...


Thank you for stating your opinion. Just because one didn't make, doesn't have to mean others can't too. I've allready made what I invested a long time ago. I'm chasing my dreams and the MLM industry isn't that bad if you know how to make yourself a name in social media.

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## saentrepreneur

> Was that long "explanation" an example ...... because I lost interest. ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This question is not easily answerable due to a number of reasons .......... A lot of "young" South Africans are not ambitious - A lot of ambitious South Africans will not do affiliate marketing - etc etc etc
> 
> 
> PS ..... Oh I nearly forgot - we are living in a fast quick gratifying world ........ Not many people want to or have the time to read long stories like above ....., therefore your valuable time spent typing that is actually wasted !


No one is forcing you to read it. If you don't want to, so be it. Others will. Thank you.

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## HR Solutions

> Yes, I don't live in Joburg anymore.



So your location is not really Jhb ...

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## saentrepreneur

> So your location is not really Jhb ...


Correct. Why does that matter?

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## adrianh

It matters because it means that you misrepresent yourself from the outset.

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## HR Solutions

> Correct. Why does that matter?



So why did you put Jhb as your location ?

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## topmanorg

> As a young South African, 20 years old right now, I started doing affiliate marketing. I noticed one thing. Most of the South Africans I talked to just told me I'm doing MLM or in Pyramide Scheme. I didn't listen and continued doing my business while staying in my lane. I started making good money working with europeans and Americans. My question: How do I recruit good ambitious South Africans? This is the reason there's no African dream. We allways hear of the American dream, where one can achieve everything, but we Africans just don't like to try new things. Can someone tell me what I'm not understanding/doing wrong? B.t.w The company is called Karatbars International.
> 
> 
> 
> Humble regards, 
> 
> Saentrepreneur.



Karatbars is just like the other network marketing companies out there. You must brand yourself and promote yourself rather than promote the company itself. In other words you need to build relationships with persons in order to successfully market the company to them.

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## topmanorg

Karatbars is just like the other network marketing companies out there. You must brand yourself and promote yourself rather than promote the company itself. In other words you need to build relationships with persons in order to successfully market the company to them.

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