Part 4 of a series

Yes, it’s THAT Trump.  “The Donald” is actually behind this Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) program.  A key difference between this and the other MLM programs explained this week is that there is an actual product exchanging hands – nutritional aids.

The Trump Network was launched in the fall of 2009 — actually a re-branding of a pre-existing 12-year-old company — apparently endorsed by Trump himself.

They sell vitamins and supplements, which are popular with many other recruiting MLM companies. It costs $48 to join the program, and then you buy a marketing kit for $497 to start selling. Trump pitches it as a “gift” to the recession-wounded America, and says it is geared toward making Americans healthier.

Like a lot of MLM companies, it’s light on product information and heavy on buzzwords (the recession, the national debate over healthcare, green/organic product popularity). The actual product being sold is an afterthought on the website, highlighting opportunities in the “explosive health and wellness wave” instead.

Becauset they sell vitamins, The Trump Network can skirt being called a ”pyramid scheme” but it still looks that way in practice.  People who join the network earn most of their money from enrollment fees and maintenance costs. The independent “distributors” are then pushed to recruit more distributors of their own. In many schemes of this kind, they are required to buy more inventory than they can probably ever sell, shifting focus toward recruitment as a means of re-couping their investment, which is unlikely.

One MLM resource website did a “review” of the Trump network and explained the “get rich” process:

“You call your sponsor, and they tell you what they were told, which is basically useless, and so you fall for the most gullible, stupid strategies that you could possible engage in – depending on your friends, neighbors, and relatives to make you rich.”

I think one of the most disturbing aspects of this initiative is the judgment of Donald Trump to lend his name to something that is built on such shaky ground. Here’s a guy whose brand is synonymous with the gold standard of quality – why jeopardize his brand by implying  riches are at hand to people who are probably suffering?

Note: some of the debate in the comment section of this post focuses on the real value of the Trump brand name. This is addressed in WSJ article on a court case on this topic: click for article

Part 1 in the series: Multi-level marketing

Part 2:  The teeth whiteners

Part 3: The Twitter follower scam

Part 5: What to do about Twitter scams

8 Comments

• 

  By Marc Winitz, February 11, 2010 @ 8:27 am

  “Here’s a guy whose brand is synonymous with the gold standard of quality…” it’s interesting that you would say that. I don’t think of that when I hear his name. I don’t mean that as a slam, it’s just not what I think of him.
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  By Michelle Tukachinsky, February 11, 2010 @ 8:28 am

  Great post..I think the Trump Network had a $2,000 starting program.. which was much much too expensive. I was shocked when I heard that. $497 is still not cheap.. but certainly not 2 grand. Thanks for the excellent post again. :)
• 

  By Mark, February 11, 2010 @ 9:19 am

  @Marc — maybe I’m out of touch on the brand issue. Probably am. I guess my last experience was the Trump Hotel in Chicago two years ago. The decor was “spare no expense.” Obviously he is cashing in on his name in some strange ways, now. I appreciate you stepping up with a diverse opinion today, Marc!

  @Michelle – Thanks so much for the insight and taking the time to comment today. I wonder if they have actually lowered their entry fee? That would be an indicator that they’re failing. Wouldn’t we HATE to see that happen!
• 

  By Neicole Crepeau, February 11, 2010 @ 5:50 pm

  Hmmm, anyone with a network reality TV show (Apprentice) isn’t someone I’d put in the ‘gold’ category. Sliding more toward the ‘cheap’ category–even if I do enjoy watching it from time to time.
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  By Mark, February 11, 2010 @ 7:41 pm

  OK, OK, I’ve been put in my place!! : ) He’s a bit scuzzy … just like his network. That actually makes more sense.
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  By Marc Winitz, February 11, 2010 @ 7:48 pm

  You should consider writing some more on the topic of “brand”. I only see one post by you on this and I (and I am sure others) would like to see more from you on this.
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  By Mark, February 11, 2010 @ 8:12 pm

  @ Marc Will do. Might be in a few weeks. Have a backlog of posts at the moment. Send me an email if you have specific questions you would like to hear about and I’ll do my best.
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  By FernCFP, February 15, 2010 @ 2:15 pm

  Great Post! so sick of getting clients away from these get rick quick MLM scams.
  Great info here.

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