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Downlines Built on Falling Tears

I’ve heard it said that people buy with emotion and justify with logic.  Throughout virtually the entire spectrum of products and prices, emotions play a role in our purchasing decisions that cannot be overstated; it doesn’t matter if we’re considering a new color shirt, a new television set, or a new car–  our emotions often take over and we become almost obsessed thinking about how happy we’re going to be with that new purchase. 

It is to be expected, then, that emotions can and often do become a major factor for people joining a network marketing opportunity.  Network marketing opportunity presentations  do a great job at getting the average ordinary folks to imagine themselves in a situation far more attractive to the one they’re in now.  In case you’ve never attended an opportunity meeting, you hear stories about nutritional products that have performed near miracles, personal incomes that are set to increase exponentially, and early retirement for anyone willing to put a little work and effort into it.

One of the common patterns I’ve noticed that I’ve found rather troubling is the “testimonials” from men and women who get up and literally end up weeping at the prospects of their new opportunity.  People have literally stood up at MLM opportunity meetings and choked back the tears at the thoughts of spending more time with their kids.  They’ve spoken about the awesome opportunity that’s been presented to them that’s going to allow them to travel the world with their loved ones.  Of course– they are also profusely thankful that their friend/neighbor/business associate took the time to “share” the opportunity with them.

In NO way do I wish to belittle these people for their new hopes for the future.  With today’s economic conditions being what they are, it’s perfectly understandable for someone to grasp onto the first, and possibly only, bright spot he/she sees regarding a financial improvement.  The reason I cringe when I hear people speaking this way is that it gives me the impression that someone forgot to tell them that they have to WORK.  Yes– it is true that residual income may somewhere down the line allow an individual to work less and spend more time with his/her family, but for the forseeable future that new rep is going to have to bust his/her arse to build a business that will produce such a flow of residual dollars.  In other words, if you’re joining a network marketing company, and all you can see is yourself living the high life with endless vacations and an even more endless bank account, you would be wise to seriously take another look.

The stats do not lie; generating income with an MLM or network marketing company is an extremely difficult endeavor, and a huge majority of people getting into a network marketing venture end up losing money.  It may be that new independant representatives don’t realize the work that’s involved, and it may be that emotions cloud judgement.  Starting any business is not something that should be done on impulse; taking the time to learn about the company you’re considering and the industry in general will likely prevent much heartache down the road.

 ***Warning–video “soundtrack” contains language some may find offensive****

The other day I was reading a blogpost that asked the following question:  “Why do so many look down on network marketing?”  This question comes up quite frequently amongst those running a home based business, and these cliches are often offered as answers–  “People give up too easily,”  “People aren’t willing to do what it takes,” and the “sour-grapes” argument that goes something like “Reps look for an excuse for failure.”  As I was pondering this, I came across the video above that– at least for me– summed up several reasons for the disdain many have for network marketing.

One of the qualities that network marketing companies claim is necessary for success is a clear focus on the goal.  Whether someone’s goal is more money, more freedom, or getting filthy stinking rich, MLM companies and uplines like to impress upon prospects that “clear vision” on that goal is a prerequisite for success, and that distractions can derail someone’s path to that success. 

While determination and persistence can be admiral qualities, the above video illustrates how simply being persistent without regard for consequences can lead to unintended and destructive results.  We have at least two gentlemen who are absolutely focused on getting a plowing vehicle out of a “stuck” situation, and they aren’t really careful enough to see how their “recovery process” is wreaking havoc on other vehicles in the area.

Likewise– some in the network marketing industry can have a tendency to take it a little too far– so much so that they resemble the characters in the video.  I’m reminded  of a network marketing “heavy hitter” who would literally admonish prospects for asking the “wrong” questions.  His admitted attitude was that a “tough” question was evidence of someone being negative, and he didn’t feel he needed those people is his business.  Interestingly enough, he would discuss this philosophy during his opportunity presentation, and you can bet that many questions that would come up in prospects’ minds would never get asked for fear of getting admonished for “being negative.”

Of course– this resulted in multitudes of prospects getting into the business opportunity almost blind, and while the “heavy hitter” described above could boast about the huge numbers of people he recruited, he also dealt with huge number of cancellations and damaged relationships with people who ended up losing their money.   His focus was all about was his goal of recruiting; however, his lack of concern regarding the effects of his “hard-sell” tactics made it virtually impossible for him to duplicate his success.

This lack of concern for others is a huge contributor to the disdain many feel towards network marketing.  Many of us have witnessed individuals who have time and time again been focused on recruiting, and once they have the money from the recruit, feel the job is done.  Much like the snowplow debacle in the video, failure to consider consequences can have destructive effects on the surrounding environment– and subsequently the industry in general.  I would encourage anyone evaluating an MLM opportunity to ask as many questions as he/she needs to get a clear picture; failure to ask the right questions– as well as discouraging people from getting those questions answered– will only continue to harm the industry and those who seek success through it.