Trek Alliance--What you probably won't hear your first month

August 2000
By a former "Trekie" who lost $30,000.00

After reading the material on this site, I thought it would be meaningful to add my own personal story.

Some people seem to feel that somehow the leadership at "Trek Alliance" [a spin-off of Equinox formed by former Equinox leaders] walked away from seven figure incomes [at Equinox] because they "didn't agree with the morals and ethics of Equinox." But Trek Alliance is Equinox with just a couple of tweaks [sic]. All of the lies about a totally different approach are just that--lies [sic].

People should know up front what to expect, rather than after several months, and then they can make a more informed decision. Please understand that in just under a year I spent all of my savings and topped out my limit on a substantial credit card. All this money was spent trying to build a large team and appear outwardly "successful."

Income exaggerations

There is a "disclosure" statement in every Trek Alliance "starter kit," which shows average incomes per level. But I was told to ignore such information within my starter kit because it included part-time incomes. I was also told such figures really were not accurate because they included people who quit. Trek leaders may tell prospective reps about a few individuals who made a great first month check, but in my experience these people are usually currently making about a fourth or a fifth of what they made in their first month. This is because it is typical during the first full month to get all of your friends and family to invest--based upon their personal trust. So, depending upon the size of your family and number of friends--the first month could be a big one.

Watch for the term "net income." When Trek people quote incomes they appear to be almost always the amount of the check plus the retail income and BEFORE expenses--despite the statement that it is "net income." This may be an honest mistake made by kids who don't know the difference. But the people who know better don't seem to care or correct any misimpression.

It seems that Trek Alliance representatives may feel that the trusting new people will not ask them any detailed questions about personal income.

In most Trek Alliance offices, though many of the people there appear to be very successful, they are often waiting tables, delivering pizza, or living on their credit cards. Also, many of the young people involved in Trek live collectively in packed group houses or apartments--so they can afford to funnel what's left of their check into keeping up appearances. That is, buying expensive clothes etc. to project the image of success. This is known within Trek circles as--"Project it 'Til you perfect it." [Note: in Equinox the saying was "Fake it 'til you make it"].

Family focus & altruism facade

Once you're above a certain level top leaders seem to let their hair down and talk about Rolexes and vacations instead of helping people. At first they tell new people about the value of spending time with their family, but after awhile everyone is expected to be at the office six days a week and spend at least one weekend away from home at a training seminar.

The "lovey-dovey" married with children stories heard during training sessions seem to be inconsistent with what really goes on--for example when high level people throw parties. Partying and alcohol seem to be a substantial part of the fast track Trek lifestyle.

Hidden business costs

Trek reps are trained to be vague about the real costs of running the business. They won't lie outright. But they know from experience, that many people seem to underestimate business outlay by 100% or more-- when they are deciding whether or not to do the business. Most people are not told until after they sign up and place an order--that they are expected to pay to work at an office. The rates vary from office to office. Expect to pay more than $300.00 for a desk plus about $70.00 a month for a phone line. If a rep works from home they still pay about $50.00 to $150.00 per month. Running ads regarding a Trek business often costs $300.00 to $700.00 per month, which may vary depending upon different city advertising markets.

Trek reps are encouraged to attend an "Educational Program" (EP) once a month. An EP can cost $225.00--plus reps pay for their own transportation, hotel room and all food expenses. A rep may be told to leave an office if he or she refuses to go to "trainings." Twice a year Trek Alliance has "advanced trainings," which cost $400.00. Again, every rep is encouraged pointedly to attend. Most people coming from the business world might expect seminar registration fees to at least include a continental breakfast and/or coffee, but all you get at Trek Alliance is water.

The bottom line--reps typically pay $400-$500 each month for trainings and travel expenses.

Also, every Saturday there is an office level training--reps cover the cost of food and beverages for this event. When top Trek people come to town and visit an office its reps are often asked to contribute $10.00 to $20.00 each--to cover a hotel room, airfare and/or a "gift basket."

Trek reps must purchase product every month to be paid. I was also approached about buying "business tools," which everyone is expected to routinely purchase from the company. But in my opinion Trek's "business tools" are grossly overpriced. It is possible to get through by copying forms, etc., but there is a lot of pressure to "set an example" and purchase professionally produced forms. Trek Alliance doesn't necessarily tell its reps when they are about to revise such materials--so reps are often stuck with useless sales aids. I spent at least $50 a month on such "essentials"--such as the "Fast Track Workbooks." New reps are expected to purchase such materials--and then purchase them for their reps and so on.

The standing order "sleight of hand"

In every briefing and training, new reps are led to believe that it's very easy to get standing orders and that all of Trek's successful people have hundreds of "customers." Instead, the reality seems to be that the counts Trek cites are primarily active reps on their team--plus a few family members and friends.

Since you must have a standing order to get paid--every rep working an active business has one. But if someone at Trek says the top person has 2,000 standing orders through his team, yet there are 20,000 signed reps--what does this really mean?

In reality, very few retail customers agree to have product shipped monthly. Most Trek reps know they'll forget to change the order and end up with product they don't need--so it's not uncommon to either refuse to put in a standing order or cancel it within 60 days. In my experience none of the examples shown on the "white board" included this attrition factor. The products are excellent, but when you add in tax and shipping it's usually more than what people want to spend.

Hopefully this will be helpful to new Trek representatives and/or prospective reps, or anyone else that may be fooled into buying the Trek story--like I once did. Believing that story cost me more than $30,000.00.