In a recent post, “Jason, is this who you meant?” a very smart and witty guy commented there that:
“There is a huge difference between starting your own company and abusing your friends and family by trying to sell them [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][INSERT ITEM HERE], and then trying to get them to sell [INSERT ITEM HERE] and taking [INSERT % HERE].”
Of course, as a network marketer, you do start your own company, don’t you? But his point is that unlike other start ups, like those I mentioned in my post, they don’t grow by “abusing your friends and family…”
His belief is that even though top people like Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup series) do MLM, that
“an author who starts an MLM is not low rent, but the folks who join the MLM probably are.”
This perception is out there. And I’d bet that more people drop out of our business because of that perception, which most people do not hesitate to share, than even not making money. Who wants to be seen as an abuser of their friends and family, and then spreading it?
What’s your take?
Are we guilty? Have we done this? Of course. Does everyone who does the business abuse their friends? Of course NOT.
So you might ask, why am I even bringing this up? Why not just call the guy ignorant, or opinionated, or wrong, and be done with it? As in “That’s his world view and we have ours.” (Think Lakoff’s seminal “Don’t Think of An Elephant” book – a treatise on how people with strong views about an issue seek whatever it is that amplifies their existing world view, the facts notwithstanding.) But I think that for us to shrug off this attitude which Jason expresses so well is a mistake.
The perception out there of the mlm industry and those in it is not good. And while I don’t expect to change the minds of those who’ve already made them up, perhaps we can at least slow down the numbers of new people who come to share this negative view of our business. After all, even the massage industry has gone up a few notches in the world of public opinion.
Step one in making any kind of change is to recognize there is a problem. And this perception of folks in our business – of being low rent and generally not of quality is a very very big one. How often have you lost a good customer or potential sales rep after they found out it was mlm? How often do we see ads for home based businesses that trumpet “Not mlm!”
What would you suggest we do to change this image? How can we change the way we practice network marketing so fewer and fewer people get this impression?
Who will be involved to lead the much overdue “change the perception of mlm” charge?
What do you suggest must happen so that our network marketing practices do not confirm or even amplify this perception?
Kim Klaver | Klaver | marketing |
direct marketing|networkmarketing|sales training |motivation| self improvement[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
>What would you suggest we do to change this image?
Engage proactively and constructively with ‘doubters’… responsibly ‘own’ the problems and show what’s being done to change things. [The ‘Sorry Everybody’ thing in the wake of the Bush election offers an example.]
>How can we change the way we practice network marketing so fewer and fewer people get this impression?
That’s simple. Much and perhaps most of Network Marketing alienates sensible people through business practices which are either often amateur or dishonorable.
Solution: ‘Be honest. And kind. Treat folk intelligently, with respect. Honor. Operate professionally.’ These are vital principles and great practice.
More specifically:
What’s wrong?
1 Many and likely most products are overpriced – and many are of questionable benefit. They do not compare well with store-bought alternatives.
2 There’s an unreasonable lack of emphasis on retailing – many and likely most products are bought by distributors.
3 There’s an unreasonably high emphasis on recruiting – particularly to warm markets.
4 Commonly, with ‘seven-levels-deep Starship Commander bonuses’ compensation structures are too unrelated to effort.
5 There’s too much fact-obscuring hype.
6 Too much marketing activity is ‘you better not miss this’ fear-based.
7 There’s too many tricky tactics designed to part people with money they can’t spare for stuff they don’t want and which will be of little benefit. This firmly includes ‘training aids’.
8 There’s a ridiculous degree of ‘accept your abundance/power of positive thinking’ nonsense.
9 Too much activity is undertaken in either a very slick and cynical or hopelessly amateur manner.
10 Most ‘ordinary disributors’ in Network Marketing don’t make any profit…they lose money and quit the business within a relatively short period – often just months.
12 Many and perhaps most of the companies, distributors, trainers and others in the industry are fully aware of and tacitly support these problems – making huge profits in the process.
Only by changing all this can we develop an industry that’s equitable and respected… and which delivers its promise of ‘enabling ordinary people to earn extraordinary income’.
There already is an accelerating and welcome trend toward increased professionalism and honor. We need to build on it.
>Who will be involved to lead the much overdue ‘change the perception of mlm’ charge?
From the ‘luminaries’ there’s you… JD Mann… Brooke… and jmf (on a good day).
Up-and-rising are Tribble and Dlouhy – sensible voices.
There’s thousands of among-the-ranks folk crying out for change and someone to help them.
>What do you suggest must happen so that our network marketing practices do not confirm or even amplify this perception?
Good, objective industry media will help. That’s currently lacking.
MLM already gets too much bad press. And legions of diehard fanatics singing praise. Neither is helpful. An appropriate media will focus on the good and sensible stuff – the companies and people who’re worth covering because they care about what they do and are doing it well and decently. It should also highlight areas requiring attention and suggest alternatives.
A couple years back, as an ‘objective sceptic’ (principle is fine, the pratice often not) I started a ‘Spurlock/Supersize me’ project to ‘get close to MLM’ and take another look… re-examine and balance my views… eliminating unjust prejudices and come away with an objective appraisal. I quickly parked the project to go do other stuff… might be time to resurrect it. 😉
Damn, gross oversight in that last comment – I forgot Len Clements.
What would you suggest we do to change this image? How can we change the way we practice network marketing so fewer and fewer people get this impression? Who will be involved to lead the much overdue “change the perception of mlm” charge? What do you suggest must happen so that our network marketing practices do not confirm or even amplify this perception?
One answer (with Ms. Klaver’s permission) fits all for me (and hopefully it’s one of my good days): http://TransformingMLM.com.
That’s what I’m doing, suggesting, (and how I’m going about) changing the business as usual to what it must become….
Kim emailed me, saying/asking: So that your singular response is not seen as entirely self-serving, how about an actual suggestion or two?
To be self-serving is: Serving one’s own interests, especially without concern for the needs or interests of others. Exhibiting concern solely for one’s own interests.
In this (the book, the website/weblog as is and will become), I can find no distinction or separation between my own interests and those of my ‘audience’. …”without concern for… and solely for are not considerations nor concerns for me.
I am an author, editor, speaker doing my job— what I like and love and am good at doing— and of course that part is in my own interest. And… what’s important is what else IS in the sphere of my own interest here.
I have brought together more than 40 of the best thinkers and feelers inside and out of Network Marketing to make a ‘not been tried before’ book— a book I wanted most to read, but it didn’t exist, so… I’m making it— about authentic, intelligent, sensible Network Marketing… Network Marketing as it could and should be, and, I say, MUST become: Cut out the crap. Do what’s right (and stop doing what’s not). The END of ‘Get Rich Quick’ and ‘Throw ’em up against the wall and see who sticks’, and ‘Dialing for dollars” and absentee uplines, and fatuous (illegal, dangerous, stupid…) product and income claims, hype & hustle, snake oil salesmen, manipulation (of people, comp plans, whatever) and especially (Dear God this one!) the unforgivable fact that 95% of all Network Marketers are struggling, failing and will quit within the year… all of that.
The transformation of the business formerly known as MLM.
Now, if I’m the only one interested in that… then guilty of ‘entirely self-serving’ as ‘seen’ by some. And although in my dark hours I aggressively question whether or not there are enough authentic, intelligent, sensible Network Marketers out there who really, truly care… ‘self-serving’ just ain’t any of my concern.
So, ‘how about an actual suggestion or two?’
Okay, how’s this: Take your attention off yourself. Make sure all your ‘self-serving’ efforts serve all those ‘selfs’ who are not you first. Ask not what your product or opportunity can do for you… Forget the old USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and devote yourself to your Unique SERVING Proposition. Like that….
Oh bother! Do we enthusiastically promote every product and service we use to everyone we know and meet all the time? Enter the tingle of potential massive financial reward and the former wallflower is shouting from the roof tops. Is this genuine? If you are using a specific product only because you have to buy from “your own store” for appearance sake and to be qualified for that potential massive financial reward are you being genuine ? What if an individual had to be a certified product user for say 6 months before the were allowed to represent the company? What if a new rep was required to enroll 10 unrelated customers before he was allowed to sponsor anyone ?
I feel very strongly about this subject…this is how I see it..we all conduct our lives with a set of guiding principles,good or bad.These principles(beliefs and values)guide us in how we conduct ourselves and treat others.What I see happening on a regular basis is this..good people who have oodles of integrity and love for their fellow humans,who conduct themselves to a high moral code,joining a network marketing company and being led astray by their upline/company philosophy.They LITERALLY get led astray..astray from THEIR OWN principles and led to adopt other peoples principles.
What do I mean?Here’s a good example..you join a nwm company…you’re told to make a list,prospect your list,try to sign up some people into the business or get them on the products…you’re immediate reaction to this(for 95% of people) is a horrible knotty feeling in your gut..what causes this?Violating your principles..you inherintly feel you’re abusing your friends..what does this lead to?Inaction,fear,discomfort and eventually dropout.
Now for the deep stuff.Is contacting your friends and family about your new business an abuse of the relationship?That all depends on one thing and one thing only..your INTENT.Usually you’re taught to prospect others with your own agenda in mind..this is what makes you uncomfortable.So what’s the answer for greater success, self esteem and credibilty for ourselves and our industry?How about some guiding principles to live by in our business and istill in our new people?Like these…
Recommend and promote your products and business to ONLY THOSE that want your help and ONLY when it’s appropriate.
Always do the right thing.
Always have your prospects agenda as your top priority(psst..your prospect really isn’t interested in your agenda anyhow..)
Your true outcome is not to sponsor or sell your product to a prospect..it’s to develop a rewarding relationship regardless of whether they join your company etc.
Always be asking yourself “how can I add value to this persons life regardless of whether they join me or not?”
Now,see how much more comfortable we’d be in approaching others if we adopted these principles…but also notice how these same principles are usually violated by your upline/company philosophy and mindset.
We all need to develop the mindset of how we can help others,but to also bear in mind that not everybody wants our help.
It is our responsibility to clean up the image of our industry. The recruiting evangelists will never do it because it will impact their earnings. They’d rather sign up 5,000 distributors and lose 95% of them because they earn big bonuses for recruiting. They just move on to the next 5,000. Most of their claims are overblown or downright untrue. In addition to changing ourselves by being honest about our businesses and our products, why not start a campaign with DSA and DRA to bring pressure on these flannel-mouthed hucksters through legislation. If you make a statement about your business or product it has to be true. If it isn’t then the company is penalized, either through fines or shut-down. This tool might force these scammers out of the business or force the legitimate companies to change their marketing claims. And more importantly, it might force them to change their training. If legislation isn’t possible, then use industry pressure through DSA and DRA to identify and label these companies as conducting business in an unsatisfactory manner. Set up a board of people, including plain ole distributors to conduct the reviews and then set up a website that rates NM and MLM companies based upon their marketing, training and results. If you’re an MLM or NW company and you want the “seal of approval” you’ll have to pass a set of standards.
Kudos to you, Kim. It’s easy to bash the methods practiced by so many in the network/multi-level marketing arena, but you have taken action to change it.
Sure you’re marketing a course, books and tapes but along with it you offer this blog and free conference calls to not only promote your stuff but to start a grass roots effort to bring a fresh approach and honesty to network marketing. I firmly believe you are passionate and want to make a difference in how people do their business.
Gulliver summed it up well by saying “I think the principle is great, but the practice often isn’t”. I agree the principle is great; people having an opportunity to have their own business without all of the headaches and costs of starting and maintaining a ‘traditional’ business. It is in how the opportunity has been promoted and marketed, and how people have been trained to perpetuate that promotion and marketing that there is a lack of good business practices.
Your emphasis on a person being upfront with their involvement with a product or service makes great sense. For too long, people have used deceptive tactics to promote their products and services and that is what creates tension in relationships.
If my products and services really are beneficial, why not be honest about them with folks. That makes good business sense. I wouldn’t lure my friends into my garage just to spring my Oil Change business on them, why would I do that with any other quality product or service.
Over the years, I have been very uncomfortable about the “tactics’ used by many recruiters. I have never wanted to subject my family and friends to that sort of abuse. Now I see a way that I don’t have to abuse them or anyone else either.
My dear mom taught me that “honesty is the best policy”. I’ll bet your mom said the same thing to you.
Kudos to you, Kim. It’s easy to bash the methods practiced by so many in the network/multi-level marketing arena, but you have taken action to change it.
Sure you’re marketing a course, books and tapes but along with it you offer this blog and free conference calls to not only promote your stuff but to start a grass roots effort to bring a fresh approach and honesty to network marketing. I firmly believe you are passionate and want to make a difference in how people do their business.
Gulliver summed it up well by saying “I think the principle is great, but the practice often isn’t”. I agree the principle is great; people having an opportunity to have their own business without all of the headaches and costs of starting and maintaining a ‘traditional’ business. It is in how the opportunity has been promoted and marketed, and how people have been trained to perpetuate that promotion and marketing that there is a lack of good business practices.
Your emphasis on a person being upfront with their involvement with a product or service makes great sense. For too long, people have used deceptive tactics to promote their products and services and that is what creates tension in relationships.
If my products and services really are beneficial, why not be honest about them with folks. That makes good business sense. I wouldn’t lure my friends into my garage just to spring my Oil Change business on them, why would I do that with any other quality product or service.
Over the years, I have been very uncomfortable about the “tactics’ used by many recruiters. I have never wanted to subject my family and friends to that sort of abuse. Now I see a way that I don’t have to abuse them or anyone else either.
My dear mom taught me that “honesty is the best policy”. I’ll bet your mom said the same thing to you.
How do we make a change?
I believe the answer is Leadership.
People follow the leaders NWM preaches follow the leader, corporate world preaches follow the leader.
If you change your methods as a leader and treat NWM as a business and to be of service, train you new team members to do the same you in affect have started a change.
It is no different then Michael Dell, Bill Gates etc. It starts with one or many of ones. You can’t force an industry to change overnight but you can start something in motion. It is called the butterfly affect.
I am in the corporate world and make a six figure income but have been an absolute failure in NWM from the monetary point of view. The reason for this is that I’m in love with the idea of NWM the business model etc. however; the NWM sales model I have been taught over the last 20 years made me feel uneasy none authentic.
If a person is none authentic what happens? The internal none authentic self wins.
An individual will never do what the sub-conscious mind does not want to do.
Dam now I know why phone calls have been so difficult.
With the help of Kim and her teachings I got it. Yes there are scripts to follow but they are scripts of service not self-service.
Just think about it you have 2 choices you can talk to 100 people and try to convince people to be a customer or business member. This will drain your energy and suck the life out of you. Thus it will also suck the energy out of your team or in my case no team.
The next choice to ask 100 people how you can be of service or if they know of anyone you can help thus no energy drain and you will feed good about who you are and what you do.
Best wishes to all
I must reply to gulliver!
1 Many and likely most products are overpriced – and many are of questionable benefit. They do not compare well with store-bought alternatives.
I can only speak for the company I work with –we sell some products which are broadly similar to those sold in shops, and in those cases prices too are broadly similar.
But it’s like comparing proprietary soluble aspirin at 16p for 16 tablets with Aspro at £1.65 for 8 tablets –there’s more to it than just the price.
2 There’s an unreasonable lack of emphasis on retailing – many and likely most products are bought by distributors.
I would like to see non-business-building customers called just that – wholesale customers, or retail members or whatever. They are members just to get products at 20% less – and maybe get some financial benefit if I “place” others like them “below” them.
Three quarters of my “team” are these sort of people. Love them for their purchases – and they ARE real customers.
Calling them Distributors when they have no intention of building a business is what leads to this accusation.
3 There’s an unreasonably high emphasis on recruiting – particularly to warm markets.
Of course! But my focus is on finding the match, be it a product or the business, with people I know, or get to know (called Prospects till they become friends..)
4 Commonly, with ‘seven-levels-deep Starship Commander bonuses’ compensation structures are too unrelated to effort.
Two points – firstly, over my 15 years in this industry, I’ve found that, over time, income actually does mostly accurately reflect effort.
And even if it doesn’t – that person did something, at some point –and as far as I am concerned, if it turned out to be a very well-paying something –Good luck to them.
With me – both the people above me are pretty inactive; I make money, so they make money.
But they did “something” and for that I am grateful because it brought me to where I am now. So I willingly and happily let them get whatever they will get –and know that I will always get more than them!
5 There’s too much fact-obscuring hype.
And it is now being recognised as counterproductive –hence Kim’s war on hype ( and we don’t do it very well over here anyway!!)
6 Too much marketing activity is ‘you better not miss this’ fear-based.
And I know that there often has to be an element of encouragement to take action.
7 There’s too many tricky tactics designed to part people with money they can’t spare for stuff they don’t want and which will be of little benefit. This firmly includes ‘training aids’.
Training provided to downline on whose results you get paid should never be paid for except in the sense that if you train well, and your people are successful, your business income grows. I often refer to downline training/coaching as being paid for by “deferred payments which are then paid in perpetuity”.
I see my job as to make most external, costly, training aids an optional extra. I should be able to deliver what most people need for at least their first 6 months in the business.
8 There’s a ridiculous degree of ‘accept your abundance/power of positive thinking’ nonsense.
Starting an NM business puts you “outside the norm”. To stay there, you need every bit of help going.
And the best way I can help as a sponsor is to get new people to see results, as quickly as possible, so they can YAH BOO SUCKS when sneered at etc
9 Too much activity is undertaken in either a very slick and cynical or hopelessly amateur manner.
Not in my business.
10 Most ‘ordinary distributor’s in Network Marketing don’t make any profit…they lose money and quit the business within a relatively short period – often just months.
‘cos they don’t know what to do.
And often they are shown what to do by someone who is no longer doing it, and maybe has never done it, with success
That’s the value of Kim’s generic teaching aids.
12 Many and perhaps most of the companies, distributors, trainers and others in the industry are fully aware of and tacitly support these problems – making huge profits in the process.
Not me, gov! Honest!
Only by changing all this can we develop an industry that’s equitable and respected… and which delivers its promise of ‘enabling ordinary people to earn extraordinary income’.
There already is an accelerating and welcome trend toward increased professionalism and honor. We need to build on it.
Agreed!
Which is what is being done here, and, in my own small way, by me in my own business.
I know this is another long one… (let’s pretend it says ‘add your article’ rather than ‘add your comment’)
>What if an individual had to be… certified… before they were allowed to represent the company?
>It is our responsibility to clean up the image of our industry.
…why not start a campaign… to bring pressure… and identify and label these [unsatisfactory] companies… [and rate] companies based upon their marketing, training and results.
These are really good constructive points.
Are they likely to happen? No – at least not easily and quickly.
And… one step at a time… ‘each must be the change we seek’ etc… ‘slow and difficult’ shouldn’t be deterrents.
Whilst the corporations are unlikely to launch sensible ‘certification’, there’s potential for something from ‘within the ranks’ – an appropriately structured distributor-based association… membership of which says ‘I care about how I do business. I operate professionally and ethically… team with me and I’ll help you build a decent enterprise… etc etc’ can help. It’ll need tight guidance though – otherwise it’ll get sideswiped. (And yes, I realise that ‘I care…’ line is what many already say – regardless of whether they actually do.)
Fogg has an interview with Gerber (I believe it’s still unpublished as George rejected it as ‘too negative’ for The Network Marketing Magazine) which addresses some of this issue (and a lot more besides) and features the line: ‘The reality is, in network marketing, we allow mediocrity to exist’. It follows-on with:
——
It all starts at the top; fish stinks from the head down.
If you’ve got a problem in the industry it’s because you’ve got a problem at the top of the industry not at the bottom of the industry.
——
Clearly, all of the problems can be readily cured by appropriate action from those at the top. Greater selectivity, less greed and stupidity, higher integrity – manifested in the form of ‘a pulse is not enough’ can do much. See the comparson with franchising where (usually, not always) the question asked is ‘Ok, he has the money to buy our licence – do we want him representing us?’
But of course, it won’t be. So, the initiative will have to come be ‘grass roots’ as another commenter mentioned.
And here’s where it gets interesting… what are the roles of the coaches and trainers – many of whom have strongly-vested financial interests in maintaining rather than changing the staus quo.
And, considering the strong feelings that personalities give rise to, the simple fact that [whomever] is supportive could be a huge turn-off to those who’re not into [whomever’s] stuff. And of course they’ll be attacked for ‘bandwagoning’. Then there’s all the up/down/cross-line politics… oh, what fun.
KK’s doing really goodstuff by writing about it here. And Fogg’s ‘Transforming’ ups the ante. It’ll need more though – an authentically independent ‘movement’ that’s bold enough to talk-and-walk a line of ‘revolution’ whilst waving a ‘manifesto’. Tribble’s currently the nearest to this position.
At risk of being ‘self-servingly pushing a personal agenda’ misunderstood, this incipient ‘expression of my contempt for Network Marketing’ [John Fogg’s words, not mine] is purely currently a concept of no greater substance than the morning mist. And, as I’m not a distributor, immediately self-disqualifies from ‘grass roots’.
Let’s keep talking.
My response:
(1) I do not try to change the industry, because it/they will do as they wish anyway.
People do what they do for their reasons, not ours.
(2) Our organization uses the negative of the industry to our advantage by developing an organization that is different. Our organization follows a protocol of “never mention unless they do first”, “never spend more than 15 minutes per day on the marketing activities”
etc…………
The point: We don’t worry about the industry, we do what we know is smart, effective and efficient.
Without wishing to be unduly critical, as a non-networker, I had a problem with this response.
Having visited Stan’s site, I listened to the phone call and having read the supporting pdf, I’ll appreciate some clarification which better helps me to understand… currently I can’t see how Stan’s activities are ‘smart, effective and efficient’ by objective terms. Moreover, I believe they are an example of the problem rather than the solution.
The vast majority of mlm associates in this area are indeed ‘low rent’. The practice of recruiting ‘down’ is a major problem. In the company I rep for we do no lying or deceiving or talk of ‘sharing’ etc that Kim so eloquently discourages and yet we still have the same negative reaction due to the short-term- thinking mindset of associates who recruit people who do not have the life skills to be successful.
There is an inordinate amount of marketing towards women that want to be able to stay home with their own children. And, there is a horde of businesses out there that claim to offer that opportunity. So you have entire towns made up of stay at home moms selling “something” just to offset the single income lifestyle.
Why does NM have to come across in such a way? Why can’t it work, just a little bit for those women, like myself. Women like me dont’ mind selling if it’s going to help pay for that MRI for their child, but the hype of it all is ruinous. Real people dont’ need hype. The product should be worth selling, period. The product should be comparable in price to what folks could get elsewhere, it should actually do what it says it will, the marketer should not have to justify poor quality or high prices.
I have a calligraphy business restarting as well as a NM one that will fund some of my supplies. I used to make candles. People begged for my homemade candles, ran from the company I then sold candles for. Perception is because there are some people out there, NM or not, that have lousy moral practices in and out of the business.
While I can sell my calligraphy at local markets, I cannot mention that I am with a NM company. That is in part due to lousy companies with horrid practices, and lousy reps with immoral practices.
I agree that company bearing the seal of the DSA or DRA should have to pass stringent regulations. it’s all too easy to produce crud.