Most people here (96%) seem to agree that we must all stop lying to our prospects – i.e. stop telling them how the product sells itself.
Lying is generally frowned upon, so maybe this result is not a surprise.
Here’s a tougher one: Should we tell them the drop out rate? Before they sign up?
Tell why you voted the way you did…
Hi Kim,
While on the surface this appears to be a “harder one”. Should we tell them the drop out rate before they sign up.
I still believe that if you tell people the truth from the beginning you will then be in a better position to find a good “match”. We will not be left guessing and neither will our prospects.
If we have to hide the facts from people, this is not an honest way to do business.
Regards,
Erin Ely
http://www.elyorganics.com
Greetings to all,
I do tell everyone about the dropout/inactive rate, for several reasons.
1. There is such a thing as a lie of omission. What you leave out of your communication that would damage the other person or that would possibly alter their choices if they knew.
2. Personally, I don’t like the energy drain of working with or around people who are struggling under delusions, whether they are self chosen or because they were misinformed. It is not a pleasant atmosphere. This is one of the major challenges of NWM when you are working crossline with people who may not have the same philosophies.
3. I could go on, but will leave room for others to expand on this subject. There’s more!
glennjaffas@prepaidlegal.com
Kim,
I think we SHOULD tell prospective business builders the drop-out rate, as well as the reasons for the drop-out rate. Then they can decide for themselves if they have the “right stuff” for this type of business. If the business is not right for them, they still may be interested in the products. Even if they’re not, I’d far rather find out whether they’re a match for ANYthing I’ve got.
If so, great. If not, next.
Truth is a cardinal foundation to building anything worthy. I want relationships that will last till God calls us home; that only takes place in truth.
To lie is to not love the person; to tell the truth is to love.
Mark Anthony
Yes, let’s be honest right from the start – how else can we build a solid relationship? At least the prospect will know what to expect and not get into a cycle of self-blame when things don’t go exactly right. It’s taken me 3 years to figure out what works for my upline doesn’t work for me. My eyes are open now thanks to NWC.
Hi Kim;
I vote no, I believe that most drop out because they are left to fend for themselves. They are sold literature and CD’s that talk about a concept that is almost totally new to them.
What can we expect?
We need to be equipped and willing to train the new people or have an upline that is committed to do the training.
If we train and follow -up the fall out will drop considerably
Blessings,
Lowden Ashley
http://www.lana.matol.com
I don’t see any benefit in telling someone the drop out rate before they join (or after, for that matter).
As long as you tell a person precisely what they need to do to succeed, what does it matter to them what anyone else does or doesn’t do?
The Exception: If a person without a job wants to spend his last $5000 on the super-starter-kit, you can use the drop-out rate as a way to dissuade him from doing something potentially foolish.
Personally, when I learned the drop-out rate, I was somewhat enthused. “You mean, all I have to do is have more ‘stick-with-it’ than 97% of everyone else? NO PROBLEM!!” 🙂
Besides, what does the drop-out rate mean anyway? It’s like the divorce rate . . . a small fraction of people account for a large percentage of divorces.
Kim — Didn’t you drop out of three companies before you made it big? Were you a three-time failure, or one overall winner?
Another example: The latest Networking Times talks about a guy who dropped out of 11 companies before he made it REALLY big. Should his failures count in the drop-out rate?
What I tell prospects is exactly the same thing my trainer told me, “Getting to the first level of the comp plan will be hardest part of success.”
— Walter Reade (from Appleton, WI)
Walter@NMC
http://www.NuOpportunity.com
Well as a former professional actor…I knew from the beginning how hard it was to get into “The Business”. Did that stop me…or the 1000’s that flock to Hollywood every year? Of course not. When I left the industry, I got into sales…shall we talk about the retention rate there?
Be honest with people…it takes a special breed of people to do this business.
Lying to them or telling them the truth…neither will make a difference in their success. Either they will do it…or they won’t. It is entirely in their court.
Matthew Adams
http://www.sozomax.com/matthew
Of course we should tell them the drop out rate before they enroll, Kim.
Yet, in that same breath, we should also let them know why the drop out rate is so high.
I.E. Because most networkers are taught to build their business on a foundation of quicksand… 2 who get two, etc.
My next words to a prospective distributor are, “There’s also a right way to build this business, and it begins by learning how to acquire and retain customers for your product. If that’s what you’re looking for, I can assist you.”
Those who are serious, appreciate the honesty.
Keith
Absolutely they should be told. They should also be told that much of the drop out rate is because of the hype that is generated by many MLM companies and upline that leads to unreasonable expectations, dissappointment and dropout. They should be given a hard dose of reality as to what it takes to succeed, including time, money and effort. Only then can they make an informed decision. Aso if you ever need to go back to them, they know you will not mislead them in the future if you are up front from the beginning.
Yes, let’s be honest, but let’s also not set them up for failure. Instead of focusing in on “95% of people fail”, let’s focus in on what it takes NOT to fail. Find out what our prospective business builder’s goal is and map out what it takes to get there. Let them know its not always easy, but there will be days when everything goes right and you’ll be on cloud nine. On the days you feel bad, I can point you in the direction to help bring you back up – books, cds, motivational materials.
This business is up and down and its a mind game for sure, but if you can see the big picture and then break it down into months, weeks, and daily building activities (both business and personal), I think we could cut that 95% drop out rate down.
I would tell them because it weeds out the quitters and the ones with doubt right there and then. The last thing you want is someone who joins your team and then quits anyway. It will also help attract the people we want on our teams: the 5% club!!! It’ll attract the ones that say, well if everyone else is quitting, that doesn’t mean I will. Isn’t that who you would want on your team? They’re going to either know that or find that out anyway so you might as well be the one to tell them.
BTW, thanks for everything Kim! Your CDs and other training materials are priceless!!!
Nam Do
http://www.USANAM.com
After first hearing about Kim’s marketing, I AVOIDED the difficult issues (how much do you make? What do people make in their first year in general? etc.) So Ikept focusing on the positive (and true to a certaine xtent).
I was still stuck in dragging people along. Only last December and January did I decide to open up my books and business and just show people what I did every day of the week and on week-ends.
Now the people who want to do THAT do it at their pace. Some have a ‘better’ idea and go with that.
In February i started an ad in local papers. And the parties who called me I asked very strong questions that really rattled their cages (ala “High-Probability Selling”).
Now I have two people pusshing me to achieve more and having great marketing ideas that don’t involve “The List”…. despite the fact my company still trains on that.
I don’t tell people the drop out rate because I’ve stopped displaying stats, but tell them that most people spent more that they put in and recommend the
the following;
– Don’t sign up with the company
– buy one product from me and
learn everything about it.
If after 30 days they don’t love
it madly, try something else or
find products from another
company.
– Practice their script format
and make a few calls wiht me.
– go to social function with me
to learn to talk to people live.
The funny thing is all of them do great for as long as they’re casually being themselves and not
signed up etc. They know they’ll make part of my commission when we
talk to someone they’ve introduced.
But I still have 1/3 who become paralized the moment they sign up
with the company. I haven’t figured
that one out yet. They do everythign
perfectly and then suddenly they don’t do anything anymore.
I have a shaklee lady that I refer everyone to. When they buy, she puts it on my account. People don’t even know and it’s like a regular referral. I tell them I use the products and if they buy it helps me pay for mine.
This way I do only one thing and I’m learning to do it well.
The challenge comes when Ihave a dry couple days or week. I feel the urge to reevaluate. I have to step way back to analyse if I did things right or if I sold or what.
Hope everyone found some eggs…
yves
http://www.NoPainMoGain.com
I think that people should know, as well as, know that any business, MLM or other, has the same failure rate.
Aren’t the stats for any small business a failure of about 90% within the first 7 months and of that remaining 10%, 90% of them will fail/shut down by their second year???
This failure/drop out rate is not exclusive to MLM companies, it’s across the board.
I’ve always had my own businesses, 32 years now, and I have seen plenty come and go. The one thing I’ve seen that they all had in common, if I had to pick just one thing, would be that their concept and/or perception of “how” a profitable business works was way off the mark.
This nonsense that you have to keep at it for months or even a year or two before you show a profit is scary thinking at best. As a successful small business owner, every venture I took on had “one” requirement… it had better look like I was breaking even or showing a profit at the end of month one. By the end of month two, at least a modest profit. The end of month three, a real profit that proved to me it was worthy of continuing.
Another thing I would add is that many people put too much time and energy into aspects of their new business that do not generate immediate money. For example: the lousy training too many get from their upline and company and then duplicating that lousy training.
I’m wondering what the numbers and drop out rate would be if everyone took this concept of doing what was necessary, right from day one to make a profit.
A week ago I heard a story from a guy who was looking at the possibility of joining a MLM company. He had gotten laid-off from a job he had for a disability. He and his wife tried to start up a small business. They lost $25,000 in less than a year and were now turning to a MLM company.
I think we need to think “smarter.” Find creative ways to start up for much less and have profits right from the start.
Years ago, before joining the comapany I’m with now, I started a landscaping business. My first month I spent a total of $100 in expenses buying the necessary tools, I did not spend another penny on tools the remainder of the year. Yup, just 100 bucks and my work vehicle, a car, was my 2000 Lexus, I dropped down the back seat, threw in my tools, made the decision I would not do lawns (I would do design, installation, and maintenance, when I needed larger tools/equipment I’d rent it, when I needed mulch or straw for a job I’d have a local business deliver it to the job site). I was perhaps the only landscaper in the US who didn’t do lawns or have a truck, nor did I own one single piece of heavy equipment.
In my first month, I made more than enough to cover my $100 investment, covered all of my household expenses and even had money left over. Two years later I bought a used pck-up truck for $7,000 cash and added a few more tools to my collection. I never did own any heavy equipment while I had that business, I always rented it. I didn’t have any employees either, I’d call in independent contractors when necessary. I always made a nice profit every single month and my clients were very happy with the work. Which resulted in my business having an advertising budget of $0 per year, I was busy every day of the year just by word of mouth/referrals.
If newbies are trained properly in MLM, I see no reason why they can’t have the same results. Many of these MLM companies don’t require that you sink thousands into starting up (my company only costs $150 tops). So right there we “know” that this is not the reason for the failures and drop out rates.
Was I that successful when I started with the company I’m with…no. I trusted that they and my upline knew the training they gave us would produce profitable results, big fat mistake! I did very poorly at best. That was the first time I ever began a business and didn’t show a profit the first month and have it grow each month from then on.
Once I began “selling” instead of “sharing,” omitted all of this product and company is so great jargon, stopped buying the company hype literature to handout, and designed my own company product website (fortunately my company allows us many freedoms), I saw immediate and profitable results.
I have since told my downline to completely forget anything they had learned and I explained the “new” way to go about building their business. They too saw immediate results.
Me and my team have gone from a 95% failure rate to a 95% increase in business… Imagine that! It’s amazing what can happen when you have the “right” tools.
Kim, thank you. You were and still are a vital part of making that happen for us.
Evelyn
If someone had told me in the beginning what the dropout rate was, I may have kept looking for J-O-B!
But now that I know, I think it’s fair to tell people what you know, when you know it. Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to determine whether they are motivated and persistent enough to be one of the 5% who stick it out until it works for them, don’t you think? I mean, I’m still here . . . 🙂
A Johnson Enterprise
Kim.Yes we tell them the truth
about the drop-out rate.But if we
are STUDENTS of this industry and
understand the journey we will
tell and show them how to succeed
in the long run.After that let
them decide if their true freedom
is worth working for.
Raven
What good does it do to tell them of the drop out rate? It isn’t lying to them to not disclose this information, and is only likely to drive them away. The drop out rate may be the result of many things. Mainly the misrepresentation that is so rampant. If this goes on in your company, do you really want to turn people away when you do things differently from the rest of your company? As students of the New School of Network Marketing, we can set a new precedent.