I came across this today and thought of us.
“Sometimes the loudest voices are the most listened to, but they often do not reflect the views of most others. The minority goes along though, and that produces a ‘false consensus.’
“As a consequence, say psychologists, the extremists gain influence out of all proportion to their numbers, while the views of the silent majority end up being suppressed.
“That kind of mis-perception is referred to as ‘pluralistic ignorance.’
Example.
“A study in the 1930’a had surprisingly found that most kids in an all-white fraternity were privately in favor of admitting black members, though most assumed, wrongly, that their personal views were greatly in the minority.
“Natural timidity made each individual assume that he was the lone oddball, leading to the mis-perception of a ‘false consensus.’
(See the NYTimes and the U.S. Department of Education for many more recent studies showing the same effect.)
Here’s the worst part…
In pluralistic ignorance…“moral principles with relatively little popular support may exert considerable influence because they are mistakenly thought to represent the views of the majority, while normative imperatives actually favored by the majority, may carry less weight because they are erroneously attributed to a minority.”
(described by researchers Hubert O’Gorman and Stephen Garry in a 1976 paper published in Public Opinion Quarterly.)
“What is especially disturbing,” the report concludes, is that “the process lends itself to control by the noisiest and most visible.”
Who are the noisiest and most visible representatives of our industry? Who gets the bad press? Who leaves people feeling like they were suckered in?
Are we, by not speaking out, creating a false consensus out there and amongst ourselves?
Are we, by not studying and practicing how to market effectively each day ourselves, creating a false consensus?
How much longer should we let our image and our future be controlled by the noisiest and most visible folks out there – right now?
Hi Kim,
Thanks as always for your astute observations. In my company, I do feel in the great minority — such that it is hard for me to ‘market’ at all, even though I believe in the product and have experienced positive results from using my benefits package. The quandry I find myself in (and possibly others in other companies do also) is that to communicate about my company ends up exposing others to the hype-stuff that the majority use to blather their ‘stories’. I actually do hear shrieking and I can’t stand it!!! It is a terrible conflict — on one side seeing a great product and opportunity, and on the other being nauseated and irritated with ‘the system’ as it is encouraged and taught by upline.
People entering new companies depend on their upline to show them ‘what works’, and apparently it is working for my upline but I can’t stomach doing it that way!!! eeek and geesch.
That’s another reason I keep tapping into this community, hoping to figure out how to do things differently and still work with others in my company. May not be possible, since I am surrounded . . . 🙂
Be well,
Pam
Kim,
Thanks for sharing!
I totally agree with you!
Our actions must speak louder than our words.
Scott Bradley
http://scottgbradley.blogspot.com
If a person is going to be in this
industry for the long haul, they
must be a open-minded student,
willing to learn new ways to
market and run their business.And
if you are blessed to earn $50,000
or more per month doing business
totally different from your
upline,I’ll bet my first born,
he/she won’t have a problem with
it.If you belong to a company and
you know your company and upline
are dishonest and unethical and
you don’t say anything and just
stay there moaning the “battered
rep” cry,then you are even a
bigger part of the problem.
Raven
I spent over 2 years with a company I was uncomfortable with. I couldn’t duplicate my upline and I didn’t like taking people to their meetings and listening to the hype.
I decided it was me and I wasn’t cut out for network marketing. I decided to give it one more try with some other people from my previous company. I learned about the klaver method, and found myself working with like-minded people. Now I really enjoy what I do.
Raven,
With all due respect, your remarks are similar to those of upline in my organization, defending their tactics with a ‘when you make $50 Grand a month, then you can suggest a change in methods’. And if I am coming across as ‘moaning the battered rep cry’ I apologize because this is not my intent.
My company, as far as I can determine, is ethical and moral in its operations. It does not promise unreal things. It is simply pushy methods of recruiting others that I do not enjoy — in ANY company, not just this. This may simply be my personality quirk, and I may not be cut out to work within this company’s culture even though I enjoy its actual services very much.
Like many others, my company promotes a ‘quick’ method of sifting & sorting people’s interest levels by putting them ‘on’ recorded phone calls that sound loud and pumped up to me when I hear them. After this we are also instructed to connect people to ‘live’ calls with upline, who blast their stories quickly in order to amplify interest . . . but there is little space for the other person to participate in an actual back and forth conversation. This has disturbed me.
I understand the wish to share excitement, and I am glad for people to be successful. Again it is my personality style, but I would rather think of people as people, rather than as ‘prospects’ that I must ‘play ball’ or ‘do power plays’ with. I sense this will always be true of me.
I am indeed an interested student, and open to new ways of doing things. But I also know how it feels to be on the other end of those phone calls that offer no room for conversation. Even the woman who sold a package to me did not like them. Yet, she participates in the process as it is, promotes it, and is financially successful. I am happy for her because I like her as a person. I just am not like her in my way of working with others.
In other respects, I am a very successful ‘networker’ because I enjoy bringing people together who can benefit each other, and who can offer each other desired services or products. Usually this comes about in the course of more natural conversation than I have ever experienced in my company’s recruiting process, though.
If I can create a way to work within my more relational style, it would work much better for me.
Quirky, but well-meaning anyway,
Pam
Pam – I understand totally where you are coming from. It is much easier said then done to leave a place where the products work for you, and it’s certain people who drive you crazy.
Starting over with a new company is almost like getting divorced and looking for someone new. Most people stay in a bad situation much too long…
Who hasn’t done that?
It’s impossible to change other people, and harder still sometimes to find something new.
So if you stick where you are, perhaps look for someone crossline to do reaching out methods with, and perhaps START your OWN meetings…
That’s what I did.
I feel really blessed in a couple of ways. My upline, my upline Power Team Leader and my upline Director are all wonderful, helpful, caring people and I’ve actually heard very little hype from the leaders of my company. I’m sure there are some. I’ll be going to my first convention with this company in August and I’ll find out then, but so far, I love the professionalism and caring spirit that I’ve experienced.
Another blessing came from the NWMC community when I received an e-mail after posting a message on Kim’s blog and generally, the person said, “I liked what you said in your post. I’m planning a trip for 5 people, etc. Can you do that?” That’s the second e-mail I’ve received from NWMC members that I don’t know at all, asking to do business with me. What a blessing. Naturally, I’ve asked about their business and hope I can return the favor.
So, while the loud hype voices seem the strongest, I can testify that there is a quiet undercurrent and it’s working.
JUDY MARSHALL
http://www.judyann.networkmarketingcentral.com
Hi Raven –
I agree standing around while everyone’s being dishonest is not a good thing.
However, in that “in between” stage where they’re maybe not blatantly dishonest, but just on the edge, and the style is hype and shrieky, and maybe you have never thought of doing your own meeting, or being separated from your upline, those things can be scary for people who have not done a business of their own before.
Many new people stay attached to upline they don’t like because they have no idea what the other options are, the upline are so bossy and powerful acting.
When they can’t stand it anymore, they quit.
Then they find another group somewhere else that acts better, and that’s good. It’s just that they never knew where to go to find different networkers. You know how so many companies and upline say that all other companies are just no good, and they even disparage cross-lines, all because they’re afraid of losing their new people.
But the new sign-up doesn’t know that. A little like some religious zealouts. All others are BAD and WRONG.
And many people are so new to ANY business when they get taken in by how “easy” it is, they have a mini personal “what’s wrong with me?” moment and if they don’t get past that, they quit.
When you get someone like Pam who knows there are other ways, at least there’s a chance, if she finds people within her company she’s compatible with, that she can make it where she is.
Pam’s at stage 2. Thank heavens. If she were at stage one, she’d have quit like 95% of the people do…
For these very reasons.
So helping people get connected when they’re asking for help might be a good option…much better than letting them quit.
Think?
I’ve noticed the loudest whiniest kid always rules the classroom. I guess we never grow out of that cycle.
I do think if we just let our actions speak and remain quiet we will not get too far. We need to take Kim’s methods of new school marketing to the podium and let our actions back up our speech.
Nancy Carlson
perfectmombusiness.com
As a 3 year “student” of Kim’s I have experienced the understanding that my way of thinking was NOT screwy.. just what is defined in this blog as the “silent majority”. I was with a company for 10 years, was the first distributor and was consistantly in the top 10 in earnings. I served every year on the advisory board and personally sponsored 3 “top bananas” and alot of small bananas and “customers” that the company was always trying to turn into bananas! I did it thru relationship building and when the top bananas joined the company assisted them by sharing the credibility of the company owners and company history, etc. with their prospects. In other words, I built the relationship bridge they needed. In several comments here it was suggested to find other leaders to work with that do have a more down to earth approach. Unfortunately as I did that,plugged newbys into who they could work with and even developed my own trainings etc., I was drowned out by the “Hypey” Money, money, money leaders… even the very ones I helped. They did not see the value to the combination (balance) the “silent majority” thinks and builders offered. When I was stopped at every attempt to build the way I had (and the way Kim teaches) I was NOT edified and not assisted. They even told people to not listen to me, it was the wrong way to build and their way was the only way! Course the company was struggling and the owners have now even started another company and allowed the entire downline list to be given to the top leaders so they could “restructure” thru crossline sponsoring etc. I resigned and gave up all income.
When I had stepped out to not be silent any longer I had to face the reality that if the owners are in the camp of the “hypey” builders there is no way to stay in the company if you are wanting to become a TOP earner. So I recommend you find the company that does have the same values and vision you believe in. Do not settle for less. I am starting over and the drop in income does hurt, and even the recent loss of a 10 year old grandson that I dearly loved and financially supported in his sports activities has not made me question my decision. I love this industry, I just needed to find the right fit. I have done that now and it feels great! So in my opinion the ownership’s attitudes have to be in alignment with the “silent majority” for there to ever be the option to stay and find other leaders to work with if you are part of that majority. The “hypey” voices are just too loud singing in concert with the owners’ voices.
Suzy
http://www.mymaxgxl.com/focus