Reagardless of whether you are talking about Emerald Passport, Liberty League, Coastal Vacations, Eventis or any of the rest of the opportunities known as Direct Market High Ticket Item companies, most or all of their distrbutors are using some form of GUMP Hunting.

Leaders and/or teams of Emerald Passport, Liberty League, Coastal Vacations, Eventis and many other on line business opportunity companies are touting what is preceived by the novice as an easy road to riches. They need to know the truth.

Is GUMP Hunting ethical? I'll leave that up to you to decide after reviewing my article below:
__Mike C.
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G.U.M.P. Hunting - A Network Marketer’s Answer To Riches Or Road Kill?

In the last few years, there are a large number of “Network” Marketing companies and teams that have developed so called “Systems”, specifically designed to prey on a GUMP’s naivety, by promising a zero to little effort marketing “system” that will make them RICH.

WARNING! Recent “Recruiting Systems” may be hazardous to your …

In the last few years, there are a large number of “Network” Marketing companies and teams that have developed so called “Systems”, specifically designed to prey on a GUMP’s naivety, by promising a zero to little effort marketing “system” that will make them RICH.

Recent “Recruiting Systems” may be hazardous to your potential for success.
For the average business opportunity seeker, GUMP hunting may lead to and early demise of their career.

Regardless of how you define Network Marketing, Multi-Level Marketing or even Direct Marketing, the real key to success has never changed. It has been and always will be, learning how to “Network” Market effectively by increasing your own credibility through relationship building.

If the acquired skill of networking is indeed the key. Since the Internet has broadened the scope for the potential to network, why are there even more people failing at Network Marketing? Because the industry is evolving, (dissolving?) into GUMP Hunting instead of building a “Network” Marketing Organization based on the credibility of relationships.

- - - A look at the original concept:

Network Marketing (NM), also known as Multi-level Marketing (MLM) is in concept, a simple method of selling products to the end user that allows a company to maximize revenues without paying for advertising. Their products are sold by virtue of the advertising cost being absorbed by their distributors.

This allows companies to minimize costs and maximize profits, thereby providing for the potentially huge distributor earnings you hear about. Think about how many millions of dollars, a company using conventional advertising and marketing methods will spend on just one 30 second TV commercial during the Super Bowl.

So does the Network Marketing or MLM business model make sense for the company? Absolutely! Pay people to personally recommend their products to their friends and family and then pay them a little more in commission overrides, if they can get their friends and family to do the same and so on.

Will that concept work for the new Network Marketer? In the early years, the “Just share the opportunity and products with your friends and family model’, definitely worked. It worked well for those with the desire, drive, work ethic, focus and willingness to be continually learning.

The potential of experiencing exponential growth in commissions is no longer theory. Naturally, those who were centers of influence with a larger circle of family and friends had more potential than those who weren’t.

Still, the model was proven to work when it was based on building a marketing organization through credibility of one’s established relationships.

There are entirely too many big money earners in Network Marketing that have proven organization building through the credibility of one’s established relationships to doubt the viability of the basic model.

As a result of the MLM Company’s products always being personally endorsed and recommended by a customer’s friends and family, the customer loyalty and retention rate should be superior to that of a company, and its distributor’s competitors, who use conventional marketing methods.

But mention Network Marketing or Multi-level Marketing in most circles and you will experience reactions from intense dislike spewed forth with statements like, “Frauds, scams and pyramid schemes” to, “Great business model, levels the playing field for the common man, or I have a friend that made in a lot of money with MLM”.

So, Relationship Networking + high quality consumable products + over ride commissions, does equal unlimited income potential …. RIGHT?

So why is there such disparity in the reactions? Because the failure rate of NM or MLM distributors became atrocious. It is common knowledge the Network Marketing Industry suffers a 90-95% distributor attrition rate.

Somewhere along the line, “Relationship Networking” was removed from the equation and replaced by hard core sales.

The process morphed from friends “Sharing” an opportunity based on the credibility of their relationships, into strangers selling an opportunity based on their ability to manipulate, convince and close the sale.

Over time, the salesmen became the big money earners by using their sales skills to convince strangers they could be successful with an opportunity by following a proven system. When in reality, the old proven the “Relationship Networking System” would only be taught so it could be used to bring the salesmen large numbers of distributors, to sort through and find other salesmen.

- - - Enter the Internet:

There are hundreds if not thousands of well established companies marketing their products and services on line, using Network Marketing compensation plans. There are a lot of excellent companies, providing a real opportunity for their Independent Representatives to earn a good part time or full time income.

Unfortunately, many have let the salesmen ride rough shod over the networkers.

Why? It allows those companies to develop revenues faster. How? By allowing their salesmen to GUMP hunt.

What are GUMP’s? In the parlance of the telemarketing boiler rooms of high risk stock brokers, the acronym G.U.M.P., is defined as, “Good Uneducated Money People”. (In no way associated with “Forest Gump” :)

Many netizens, whether searching for an opportunity or not, have been subjected to the bait of a GUMP hunter.

They may have either been directly solicited by or have been introduced to, a fancy Hi tech looking flash presentation that hypes the potential of developing a 6 figures plus annual income by simply plugging into a “System”.

These opportunity presentations are emphatic about the “System”, doing most or even all the work required to earn(?) a six figure plus income.

So what’s wrong with that? Nothing, if for the majority, the “System” worked as it was supposedly designed to work.

Unfortunately, most unsuspecting GUMP’s that fall victim to these pitches, not only find the “System” doesn’t work as advertised, but actually does quite the opposite. Instead of the “System” making them money, it causes them to loose money. In entirely too many cases the GUMP looses fairly large sums of money.

Now you may be thinking, “Well of course they loose money. They don’t WORK the GUMP Hunter’s “System”. Quite to the contrary, there are many that make a concerted effort to learn and WORK the “System”.

While it would be convenient to lay the blame on the GUMP, fact is, it’s fairly easy to see why that is not the case, in most instances.

The unfortunate fact is, by the very nature of their methods, these “Systems” actually accomplish exactly the opposite for most that fall victim to and then try to work them.

To substantiate my claims, let’s take a look at the “System”, the GUMP hunter uses.

- - - The “System”:

The GUMP hunter, impresses upon the Novice GUMP Hunter the necessity for driving traffic (Other unsuspecting GUMP’s) to the “Presentation” web site.
How? By using the company/team recommended lead brokers.

The lead brokers, for a fee, ($5 to $10+ per presentation info request) will do a shotgun (email) blast that will heard/drive other un-suspecting GUMP’s to the presentation site, or in this case the bait. (Guess who’s also making money on the leads.)

- - - The Presentation/Bait:

Complete with melancholy music, the presentation starts with an emotional appeal designed to have the GUMP consider their current state of affairs.

The music picks up tempo, then pictures of happy people are displayed, flying in with mini testimonials as to their elation over having found a “better way” to attain their wants, dreams and desires.

The music mellows slightly; then the expert voice over guy will ask a question, usually having to do with why some people make all the money while others fail.

Of course, then there is the vague mention of the product, it’s massive potential at the front of a growth industry, and how combining Internet Technology with the companies cutting edge “System”, will make achieving their dreams a reality.

Some presentations even go so far as to make statements like; “And there’s no selling, telling, answering questions, or ever picking up a phone.”
Finishing with stating the GUMP owes it to themself and their family to request more information NOW!

At this point, the GUMP may be asking him/herself if there might be some small chance this could be what they’re is looking for.

Nothing seems to be in the least bit deceptive at this point to the GUMP.

What we see is basically just a good advertising piece to create enough curiosity in the viewer to want more information. There’s nothing wrong with that. Right?