My goodness, we stirred up quite the discussion with this topic we published two weeks ago. (see the original on our editorial calendar). We even received an unsubscribe from our newsletter with the note “You are obviously MLM haters”; (but just in case we weren’t, he included a link to his particular opportunity).
We heard from MLM reps, non-MLM’ers & networking organization leaders and we came to some conclusions that most would agree with.
- MLM is a legitimate business model. The labels of Pyramid/Ponzi schemes are unfairly applied when talking about well-established companies. Consequently, MLM’ers feel they are not “understood”
- The majority of the complaints about MLM revolve around:
- Recruiting at networking events
- Overly aggressive/passionate sales pitches
- The perception that they are not a “real business”, and therefore may not relate well to other businesses.
- MLM reps are every bit as valuable in the networking process as other fields. They need insurance, visit chiropractors, buy products, purchase homes, etc. They are networking and know a lot of people.
Lara Feltin, the co-founder of Biznik, whose company’s No MLM policy we quoted in the original article said, in part “At Biznik, we are not comfortable having our members solicited or propositioned to join or add another business”. (see her full response) And we had a couple of responses who are attracted by such a policy.
What is the solution here? One respondent said it was a matter of education on the part of the public to understand the MLM industry. I would add to that… better education for new representatives on the principles of networking and relationship-building.
I have led several teleclasses on networking skills for MLMU, a large training organization for the network marketing industry, and I learned that many of the callers had little if any networking experience. Most had “day jobs” and had never been in business for themselves. But what they did have was passion for the product or service they were involved with…and that is a good thing. We are all passionate about what we offer. We shouldn’t be in business otherwise!
The missing element is this equation is training in networking etiquette and the foundational principles of relationship-building. Even the most basic of skills that I taught in the introductory calls were enthusiastically received…It was all new material their upline never taught them.
Ideally, it would benefit all MLM representatives if there was an industry-wide adaptation of a Best Practices & Policies guideline. There will always be the “hard sell” personalities involved in every business, including MLM, but the right training will go a long ways to dissipate the negative stereotypes instilled in the minds of experienced networkers from exposure to the legions of very passionate, but thoroughly unskilled distributors being unleashed upon the unsuspecting networking public.
Here are some basics around which a formal Best Practices & Policies guidelines could be built.
- At any given networking event there will be VERY FEW people who are actively, consciously searching for your product or service.
- At any given networking event there are going to be lots of people who would make good alliances, & good business relationships. Concentrate your short amount of networking time finding them. (We call these relationships “Links”. They target the same type of client you do, but are not your competition)
- Know the difference between a “Link-minded” question and a “Sales” question (Hint: A “Link-minded” question” asks about them and their work and you try to determine how you can help them…is there is a connection you can make for them? – a Sales question is a leading question designed to get the prospect to admit they have a problem in a certain area. Of course, your product/service is the solution).
- You CANNOT build a relationship with another when your agenda is to sell to them (or recruit them). The selling energy builds walls. Giving opens doors.
- If your concise, benefit-rich answer to their question about “What business are you in?” does not prompt them to ask for more information, either your answer was not compelling enough or they are not interested (Learn to craft a killer elevator speech here). DO NOT launch into a laundry list of your products or services if they have not asked about them.
- Do not foist your card into someone’s hand unless they asked for it…
- Do not add anyone to your newsletter list without their permission.
- Be upfront when inviting someone to a meeting. If you are evasive “Are you busy at 7:30 on Thursday? No? [entrapment] We are having a little get-together…(biz-op never mentioned)….and people will start to avoid you.
Thank you to all who contributed to this conversation. It’s a big networking world out there and I know with education & understanding we can all get along.
Networking…it’s about people helping others and exchanging ideas, information & resources
