Pre Paid Legal

General Real Estate Investing
41

Hi everyone. Thank you for all your input regarding this company. I personally think that the whole pre paid legal services idea is pretty unique and I could definitely see why this idea has taken off like it has.
While the concept seems really valuable to me, I still have a few concerns. Just yesterday, my friend calls me up to tell me of her experience with a pre paid legal associate. She had acquired a membership before I even found out about this biz opp, that’s why she didn’t buy the membership from me . Anyway, she ended up terminating her membership and her pre praid legal consultant called to ask why. When she said she got what she needed out of it and didn’t feel she needed the service any longer, she canceled her membership. From what she said, this pre paid legal consultant got really mad and hung up on her. So she called him back and asked him why in the world he had been so rude. This is what he told her"
“When someone buys a membership. the associate gets paid as if that person kept a membership for a whole year. But if that person cancels, the associate has to pay Pre Paid Legal the money back that they had advanced to them”
APparently, that muct happen an awful lot if this guy got so upset! Now, couldn’t someone get in a heap of trouble if that money was already spent? HOw does this work???
I have to say that this is one of the issues that is holding me back from wanting to give this my all.
Joe, can you comment on their compensation package and tell me if I have the ‘chargeback’ issue right? And if so, how do you avoid disasters where you have to pay a large amount of money back if someone cancels?
My other questions is this. What kind of training/literature is out there that teaches the associate how to see the product rather than the recruitment of the biz opp. While I understand the whole MLM concept, I would like to know that this product can sell itself succesfully.
Thank you all again for all your input

JayDee

42

>> From what she said, this pre paid legal consultant got really mad and hung up on her.<<

WOW, so I wasn’t the only one that was slapped by a rude hang up… This is professionalism?

By the way…
>> Since you still have your membership, please use the customer care line if you are dissatisfied in the future. Tell them about your experiences if you haven’t already done so, please<<<

Joe, I have never been one to keep my mouth shut when I am dissatisfied.
I go right to the top.
I wanted them to immediately fire that stupid attorney who seriously messed up my case.
My loud complaining only brought a “we are SOOOO sorry and we promise to improve our service in the future.”

As if that statement would make everything all right …it was only said to shut me up so that I wouldn’t spread any negative publicity about their company.

After reading these posts it seems like it’s ALL about money with PPL and NOT about customer service. What kind of immature people are they hiring to behave like this?

Jeff said >>>I would think 4 bad experiences with them was enough.<<

I should have been like Jeff quitting after 4 instead of suffering though 6 bad experiences.
Looks like it’s time for me to cancel “their great service plan” as soon as I can find a decent local attorney with integrity and manners.

43

My experience with prepaid legal was several years ago and I was not impressed with the legal assistance that was supposed to be provided. It was a simple case where a seller was refusing to honor the exercise of option. The attorney seemed clueless and then proved it.

I’m not commenting on the MLM aspects, just the service when you actually need someone. I can’t believe that a good attorney would sign up to provide discount services. Good attorneys get referrals by word of mouth. Much like in workers compensation, the attorneys who are there to help are the ones who probably lack the motivation and/or skill to make it elsewhere, unless of course they are involved in the MLM structure.

44

I was in the upper ranks of PPL about 15 years ago when they were celebrating their 20th year in Arlington, Texas. Had lunch on many occasions with Harland Stonecipher, visited corporate HQ in Ada, OK. Great operation, tremendous concept and it works. They lost me as RVP in '98 when they changed the commissions and I went from residuals of 15K per month to 5K. Coincidentally, this was during the transition from NASDAQ to the NYSE. Highly recommended from a consumer standpoint, beware as an associate that they don’t change the rules in midstream as they did me ajnd lots of other successful veterans.

45

Investor Lady,

FYI, we did fire one of our provider attorney firms last year due to an abundance of complaints, so your comments DO go noticed.

Unfortunately, there are some associates out there that do not act professionally all the times, even at the upper levels. Like any corporation, those individuals, if identified, are reprimanded, and let go if necessary. The people on my team are top notch. I recruit professionals and do quite a bit of business-to-business sales.

If you want to cancel your service, I promise I won’t get upset… :wink:

46

Joe-egg

Seems you’ve been there for quite a while.
Wold you like to share how much you eanr a month from your PPL efforts? :slight_smile:
And verify it, hmmmm???

No offense, but this topic is getting boring already.
The donkey is dead. DISMOUNT!

47

I don’t think that it’s getting boring. Not for me anyway, considering I need to know everything I possibly can about the busines before I decide if I want to jump in head first or not.
So keep the thread going!
Joe Egg, can you tell me how exactly the chargebacks work and how an associate wouldn’t run into a huge problem with this?
Thank you
JayDee

48

PPL pays like any insurance company…although there are only a few months premiums collected up front, they pay their agents as if the policy has been in force for a full year. Residuals are tied directly to the “PERSISTENCY” of the policies you’ve sold. If that policy stays on the books for years, you receive residuals on it. If it cancels in 6 months, this will generate a chargeback of unearned premiums. Hope this helps. FWIW, IMHO…if you like the concept and the existing commission structure, go for it. Again, they only lost me due to changing the structure mid-stream on me. That really got to me since in my former state, Texas, I actually jumped through many additional hoops to qualify for licensure through the Texas Department of Insurance since it was viewed as a Property and Casualty Insurance product; most states have no such licensing requirements. I stand by my previous statement that it’s a tremendous consumer service.
Regards,
Dave

49

Thanks Dave. I appreciate your feedback.
JayDee

50

JoeDee,

Don’t know why, but I suspect you are already in PPL, but if not, if there are so many people here that have expressed their disatisfaction, why would you still consider it.

Hey, you could always come build a commercial loan sub agency with my company and earn yourself a quarter million this year on your own personal production, or you could recruit sub agents and get paid on them and actually build something.

Why would you want to mess around with something that has so little earning potential unless you are an incredible recruiter and leader and can amass a downline of about 15,000 people so you could make your 100k a year.

Sheesh, All this MLM stuff is generally so pitiful. What it takes in most MLM to actually make a decent living is incredible. Truthfully, small ticket MLM like the amways and nu skins and PPL require so many people in your downline it is hardly worth the time or effort. Take a look at the median income of PPL agents. You will find that the median income of a PPL agent is less than $100 a month.
By the way, that is PPL figures, not mine. Check it out yourself. Call your own headquarters and request that they send you their figures. You will be quite shocked.
Although there is a very small handful of 100k plus earners, they are usually the heavy hitters that come from another MLM and drag their team with them.
How do you answer PPLs own published figures???

51

I’d have to respectfully disagree with Jeffrey regarding his theory on MLM… ALL company’s are MLM. Is there a sales manager involved earning on his sales staff? That’s MLM. Does the CEO of any company get paid from his staff’s production? That’s MLM.
General Motors? Ford Motor Company? ANY Real estate agency in the country? Any mortgage company in the country? YEP, MLM.
From the time a car is sold at your local Chevy/Ford/Chrysler dealership, there are as many as 25 different levels that get paid from that sale. EVERY sales organization is ultimately an MLM.

52

Jeffrey,
I’ve tried to stay out of this thread since I own this site and am also affiliated with PPL, and quite pleased with it However, you just keep coming back. Everyone is well aware of your opinion.

And the median income of loan officers is? And the median income of real estate investors is?
Etc., etc.

If someone is interested in adding another income stream and/or a part-time business, PPL is certainly a viable opportunity. As with any network marketing company, there are numerous success stories and naysayers as well. That comes with the territory.

During my first 30 days of any real activity, I generated 3k in income on a part-time basis. The product is solid and the business pays for itself. I also have the view that it’s a long term gig. Network marketing is just another leg in the long term plan, in addition to the stock market and real estate. It doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive.

To assume you know what everyone on this forum wants and/or needs and what’s best for them is a mistake. Not only have you shared your experiences, but you’ve continued to bash an entire industry. Enough already…

53

Hi David,

Your arguments are quite coined. When I used to do MLM meetings probably before you could spell MLM :slight_smile: I used the same corporate tier analogy and same excuses for why most people don’t make any money… cuase they don’t work etc. yadda yadda yadda.

The fact is, more than 90% all MLM fans come for the hope, get excited by the hype, never make any money and leave disgruntled.

The argument that all corporations are MLM is nonsense.
Sounds good when its hype but it really is.
Corporations pay salaries and levels of management are salaried levels. The only people that are not salaried, in some cases are salespeople.

In MLM you make an override on someone that you recruit and they recruite etc etc.
That is not corporate structure nor strategy. yes, your boss makes more money than you, but it is quite likely that he or she did not “recruit” you and does not get paid based upon your production. Occasionally, some positions are retained if your department has a good performance record, which is often not based upon p&L becuase acutarial departments, which are corporate do not sell anything. They just process stuff and htye have bosses etc etc…
The analogy of MLM being no different than corporate structure is nonsence and nothing more than MLM gibberish and jabberwocky.

No offense, TRandle. This is your forum, and I don’t mean to tick you off, but I have been in MLM probably as many years as you’ve been around and always a leader and successful… But that was before I being reborn into a life where the Great Commission is far more than “A” great commission.

You may say what you want, but the plain and simple truth is: MLM is more about Hype and Hope than it is about owning a business and making real money.

I have spent most of my MLM years with the big boys and locker talk with the big boys and how we think about the grunts at the bottom is far from what they sound like in their rhetoric.
You just hear what it is they want you to hear and hear what it is you want to hear.

How long have you been in MLM and how much have you earned. If less than a 6 figure income and youve been at it any length of time, then it is a nothing more than a pipe dream.

Whew, I’m getting tired. this is wearing this old codger out :slight_smile:

I do wish you much success in it anyway. If yo umake some money in it and someone actually benefits because of your selling them the plan, then the Lord will be happy. But if you convince tons of people to join, knowing that most fail and not wwarning them of the statisitcs but only hyping the hype, then you are cheating them, which in the eyes of the Bible is considered theft and wil certainly not secure you a place at His right hand.

Jeff

54

Hey,

I just got a great idea…

I’m starting a new MLM… Pre Paid Commercial Lending.

Now all you have to do is sign up, pay a $2,500 membership fees and then pay 3,000 a month in advance and then when you find a property we’ll do the do the loan at wholesale for you.
You can recuit other agents and we will pay a 1% residual 10 levels deep. And everytime someone joins up, we’ll pay a sales commission of 50% to the sales agent plus 2% 10 levels deep.
We’ll have a roll up plan so that if anyone in your downline quits, their recruits will roll up to you. Once you get promoted to vice puhbah, we will give you a monthly bonus commission after we take your most significant producer and all of their downline as a replacement or promotional exchange.

hmmm… this doesn’t sound at all bad… Hey, I think I may have something here :)~

Jeff

55

TRandle,

Don’t get so huffy. Relax. It’s not really al that big a deal.
I am only responding to the continuous responses.
I tried to put this to rest a long time ago but no one would let go.

i don’t hate the company nor any MLM company. It is good for dreamers and people who have limited options.

If someone really busts it out and works like heck for a long enough time recruiting recruiting and recruiting, eventually they will actually make some decent money.

I just don’t know if the energy that is necessary to produce that takes so much time could not be better spent in something that does not require so much dependencey on other people.

My other objection to PPL in particular is they failed me everytime I had need of their services as they did on many of my downline.
they seem to have their best use as a letter writing service.

Whatever. As I said. I hope yo make tons of money in it and someone uses the service beneficially.

Jeff

56

Jeff,
Although I’m not an MLM’er, I make substantial income from my commissioned sales reps within my company’s. The truism in our capitalist society is that none can get paid until something is sold, whether that be a tangible or intangible product. It’s for this reason that I ensure my reps are well compensated for their sales efforts. They are rewarded only on performance. Isn’t this true of every business entity in America? Back in the good old days, sales reps enjoyed company cars and huge expense accounts. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 changed that forever. These days, those same sales reps have the same semblance of security; underwritten by their personal performance. They also have a wealth of opportunities from which to choose should they go the self-employment route as many have. Are there bogus opportunities out there? Indubitably!! Are there legitimate opportunities? Maybe 20% in accordance with Pareto’s P.rinciple
Whatever name you choose to call it, the concepts are still the same. I stand by my statement that every sales organization is a thinly-disguised MLM (which I can spell just fine ;)) The lack of income is directly proportional to the lack of effort.
Enjoyed the banter,
Dave

57

Jeff,
Thank you for more “balanced” comments this time, :-).

You must be damn old if you’ve been doing MLM as long as I’ve been around. :o I’ve had several businesses and am not as naive as you may think.

In my opinion MLM is no more hype and hope than real estate investing. Most folks never do what it takes. For those that do, it can be quite rewarding in many ways.

No, I have to admit that I didn’t make 100k in my first 30 days, but then that was never my expectation or goal.

I don’t convince anyone to do anything and certainly would never hype something merely to build my team. Different people have different goals. I wouldn’t think of telling anyone to quit their job so they can make a bazillion dollars by joining my team. On the other hand, the opportunity may be a fit for someone, either full-time or part-time. That’s not for me to decide.

If I was that type of person, this thread would have been long gone…

58

Ok TRandle,

You have worn me down.

I surrender :slight_smile:

Jeff

59

Yeaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Keith

60

:slight_smile: