Yesterday, a frustrated and desperate Lulu wrote in (in part):
“I have info out the wazoo…no one seems interested or they are turned off by the whole MLM completely…My upline and her upline have boasted how easy this is. And have told me time and time again to contact friends and family. I did and big mistake. I think my phone calls and emails are now being avoided…” More of Lulu’s letter here.
Two questions. In today’s skeptical and crowded marketplace:
1. What is the responsibility of the upline sponsor? Are they right to “boast how easy this is…” and “insist she go “contact friends and family,” and then blame her when it’s not working for her?
2. What is the responsibility of a new recruit? Should Lulu have realized (either when recruited or by now) that doing a business of her own is not easy, no matter what the sponsor said?
UPDATE:
So far, the majority of you (57%) voted that Lulu should have realized that doing a business was not easy. For you this question: was Lulu dumb to believe her sponsor (and the next upline sponsor) when they “boasted that is was easy”? And if she signed up because she believed it, should she NOT have?
Your comments welcome below.
Lulu has been in this company for over 6 months now. It is not her fault that she is not having success. She obviously has not been taught HOW to do the business.
Without any support, this business is hard. It is important to have a team you can count on and a proven system for success. Lulu’s lack of success is not her fault. The cards have been stacked against her.
No matter how brilliant you are, you can not do this alone. It takes a team. Lulu needs to find a support system that can help her.
~Roxanne~
Lulu was mislead to believe that it would be easy. It’s her upline’s fault to start but Lulu could take more responsibility for herself, educate herself and do things her way. Many MLM winners have losers for sponsors.
would like to see some discussion on belly 2 belly presentations vs prospect watching a video ?
dick patton
Unless Lulu’s sponsor is a disciple of yours Kim, the odds are s/he has spewed all the seller talk, that with years of experience, makes the business appear to be easy. Lulu hasn’t a clue of the pukies she’ll encounter and how to ask for referrals or “say no first”. The entire industry preys upon people who are desperate for money and so are coming from a position of “lack” instead of abundance and gratitude. Historically, MLMs boom when the economy is down and struggle when the economy booms.
While some trainers do encourage recruits to seek out spheres of influence (besides the down and outs Lulu knows), because we are after all, the average of our five closest friends), they often are too involved in their own vehicles of success to see the long-term, residual benefit of NM. Meanwhile, Lulu sees this successful sponsor, with all their circles and percentages and wonderful product she already loves, and thinks that it is that easy.
Until someone has sponsored 100-200 people, they might develop a posture where they can discriminate who they let on their team. Most Lulus won’t last that long. Either they run out of their limited funds, or they just can’t take the rejection of their friends and family.
Bottom line, unless Lulu has been in the industry before, I think it is imperative for sponsors to use full disclosure and find out exactly what Lulu wants to earn and before she signs up, tell her what she’s going to need to sell/recruit to earn that income. How many jars of the Wonder Pill/legal services/health plans/candles, etc will Lulu have to sell, or how many people does she have to recruit? What kind of system is in place to generate the leads for the business opportunity? Is it going to require a monthly investment of $100 or $200 which then needs to be added on to what Lulu wants to make? Are there multiple systems available or is it “my way or the highway?”
I wouldn’t go as far to say Lulu should stop whining, that’s harsh. She should know by now it’s not easy. Did any of us know when we started our own networking marketing business it would be as hard as we know it is now? SHe should not have thought it would be easy but if her upline told her it was why would she think differently? She’s asking for help so she’s on the right path, if it isn’t too late for her.
Her upline is wrong to tell her it’s her fault. If what they are telling her isn’t working for her they should help her find something that does work. If she doesn’t make any money neither do they so help her instead of making her struggle until she gives up and gets a Job like several readers suggested in the other post.
1.Responsibility of the sponsor is to guide the new recruit and not be their mother or counsellor. Be honest and say that they need time, money and education in personal development. The sponsor should acknowledge the personality type and skills of their recruit and hence what types of strategies may suit them. They should suggest resources from Kim Klaver and/or Michael Oliver.
2. Responsibility of the recruit is not to blame their sponsor if things don’t work out. Assuming the sponsor says the right things (see e.g.above and not old school hooha), listen, learn and take action. Accept it will take at least 2-4 years to get off the ground and to have another source of income in that time. The recruit must also use the products and believe in them, be proud of their company and have a clear vison of their future, with written down values, goals and plan of action.
kristine.mionegroup.com
Kim-To me another ugly part of
the network marketing industry is
the upline sponsor who is doing
two or three other network
marketing business and is just
looking for one person to take
them to the finish line.This
person will say anything to get
a person to join their business
but will never be committed to
any of his/her business ventures.
This type of person sets a bad
example because once people in
each of his/her downlines see this
type of dual company mentality,
either they will try it (fail),or
feel abandoned and quit.
When I talk to potential prospects
that have a networking marketing
background,I ask if they are
involved with any other company or
companies.If they are, I wish them
well and say bye-bye.I’m still
waiting on someone (with proof)
who has or is doing more than one
network marketing business with
success.They usually are just
jacks of all trades but masters
of NONE!
Raven
http://www.mycoopbiz.com/13038147
Raven check out Michelle Sanchez on igaggle. She’s successful with 4 businesses.
Hype and “easiness” is how most people decide to join the business. Companies have mastered one thing and that’s how to get people to whip out their credit card now! That’s part of the business. You get someone started and teach them to recruit. I prefer to find the right people instead of going through the masses; however, if you don’t recruit everyone, you may never get to the heavy hitters you’re looking for. In a way, it’s the presenter’s fault but guess who trained that person? It’s not always the company’s fault or the industry’s fault. It’s just the way it is! If you don’t like what an upline or sponsor told you, do your own thing. You are “Independent” representatives and should do what’s right for your business. Find a mentor that you like that has achieved success in the industry and learn from them. If you’re frustrated, go find answers but whatever you do, don’t quit MLM because of the way some people hype it up to be.
http://www.KaizenTelecom.com
UPDATE to your updated questions 🙂
Dumb? Absolutely not. Trusting? Yes. Naive? Possibly.
Should she have signed up? I am a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason. It is not up to us to try to figure out that reason. Analyzing things to death can get you stuck in a rut that it will take a big huge truck to get out of.
Back to the law of attraction. If Lulu continues to focus on her failure, she will attract more failure. It isn’t always easy to bring your thoughts away from the thoughts of failure, but Joe Vitale and Michael Losier teach us that we can do it. A 30 day mental cleanse can do wonders.
~Roxanne~
Hello Everyone,
I don’t know as my post will exactly fit Lulu’s predicament, but it might help other sponsors avoid bringing clueless newbies into their business…
One aspect of our business that I find fault with is the so-called “hotel type meeting”…
Whether it’s a small meeting of 8 or 10, or something larger with 20 to over 100 attendees.
Usually, at the front of the room there is an “edified expert” upline who has been quite successful in the opportunity…
Normally he/she has developed great communication skills and has a pleasent outgoing personality…
He/she has practiced his delivery until it is polished and almost flawless…
A picture of integrity and intellect who only has your best interest in mine…
They spend the next 30 to 60 minutes extolling the fantastic opportunity that is being offered to the prospect…
WOW…!!! This is the greatest thing in the universe…!!! Even I’m ready to sign up again under myself… 😉
Now the meeting comes to a close, but this isn’t the only “close” this evening…
You ask your prospect what he/she thinks… Is he/she ready to join you in opportunity heaven…
Your sponsor and hsi/her sponsor gather around praising the company, the product, the MONEY…!!!
An application appears out of thin air… Someone starts filling it in…
And on and on and on…
Now don’t get me completely wrong here… As a matter of fact I kinda like “hotel” meetings to get the juices flowing…
BUT… I never attempt to sign someone up at those meetings…
As a matter of fact I tell the prospect BEFORE he meeting that no matter what they see or hear at the meeing I will not allow them to spend one cent or to sign one piece of paper no matter how much they may want to…!!!
I tell them exactly what and who they are going to experience at the meeting… That it will ALL be GOOD stuff… That it is meant to SELL them on joining the business.
I tell them that after the meeting we will have a little meeting of our own… And that in our little meeting I’m going to give him/her “The Rest Of The Story”…
Then I basically have an interview type of meeting with them where I ask questions and let them know what they will have to do to meet the goals they have for themselves…
We go into the capital needed… The amount of time required… The commitment and consistency that is necessary…
We also work out a “business plan” that the prospect is comfortable and where accountability is built in for both sides…
Hope this helps… 😉
Gene
http://exposure.the7greatliesofnetworkmarketing.com/
Dear Lulu,
First of all, thank you for having the courage to share your story with us! Please find some comfort in knowing that your situation is not unique. Many people have expressed and experienced that which you communicated in your letter and in your questions.
Everyone faces challenges and obstacles during their lives. These life events can become good barometers to measure that which has a major importance or minimal importance to us. It does not make you a lesser person if network marketing is not registering “extremely high” on what is important to you. It might indicate however, that you are better off in a field, career or industry other than network marketing.
Network marketing is about talking to people, getting yourself noticed (marketing part) and making money through selling products. If you are turned off by any of the aforementioned above, it could be time to exit stage right or left.
Network marketing fills a void in many peoples lives. The industry rewards people in many ways, for some people it is financially rewarding, for others there is some aspect of it that makes them more fulfilled and happy.
Regardless of what career path you find yourself on, make the choice to pursue that which has meaning to you, that makes you happiest and then make sure to become the best that you can in what you do.
Before closing with my comments, let me suggest that you consider that anyone who has attained fulfillment in their careers were so in love with it that they commited their heart and soul to it, they studied it, practiced it, became comfortable with doing it and mustered the courage to continue onward in fulfilling their dreams of success even when facing challenges.
Hmmm. That alone describes the comments of many actors, singers, doctors, sports stars, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, nobel prize winners, olympic athletes, network marketers, etc. I think you get the idea!
Cheers!
RkyMtnGuy
“would like to see some discussion on belly 2 belly presentations vs prospect watching a video ?
dick patton “
I can discuss this with you, Dick. I have not done a one on one presentation in about 8 years, since I started marketing online. In fact, in the almost 5 years with my present company, and having sponsored over 650 personally, I only met 5 of them face to face BEFORE they joined the business.
It’s not the belly to belly that REALLY matters. It’s the vibe the prospect gets from the potential sponsor, through the phone, a website and emails.
Now, there is NOTHING wrong with Belly to Belly and it certainly works. But it is not imperative to success.
Passion, conviction, commitment to mentoring those one sponsors, etc – those are all the keys to success.
The internet is an amazing tool, and it is also unforgiving if used incorrectly.
A strong sponsor and upline are very helpful, and again, not imperative. There is great training available generically all over, sites such as Kim’s; Tim Sales, to name a few who I follow.
Lulu’s reason why, combined with a realistic approach to working her business, and a realistic expectation as to what she can expect given her situation will take her to the top.
Working a business with small children is a challenge, and I have done it. I learned early on not to compare myself with others who’s situation was different.
Today, with a 15 and 12 year old (geez, how did THAT happen?) my ability to work my business is so different. And, the greatest gift I can offer other mothers is to share my own story and encourage them to remember that ONE action step is a success on some days!
Anyway, deviated off topic, sorry! Lulu, you can DO IT!
EXPECT Success!
Jackie Ulmer
Six Figure WAHM BLOG