The Failure of Network Marketing

December 11, 2011 by Squall | 2 Comments

This is for the people who have failed at Network Marketing. If up to now you have been unable to get the success you sought and in many cases were promised, then you need to read this.

I said this is for the people who have failed, but it might be more accurate to say that Network Marketing has failed you. And I’m not talking about a conspiracy (necessarily) or a scam, but the failure to adapt. If you’ve been on training calls or gone to training of any kind, I’m positive you’ve been told to treat your business like a business. That is such good advice, but the irony of it is that when the leaders tell you that, what they really should be saying is treat it like a job. The reason being that they are trying to tell you to show up, work hard, and dedicate yourself to putting your best work forward. Exactly what (I hope) you’re doing at your job.

Treat your (MLM) business like a business is really a contradiction, because while they’re telling you you’re in business, they’re teaching you strategies that are nothing like a business. It’s more like having a job that you don’t actually get paid for. How much time and money have you invested into the exposure process and how much have you been paid on your time? And here’s the really painful question (this will really hurt some of you): if you put that same amount of (additional) money and energy into your job, how much better off would you be?

Think about this: what was the last prospecting DVD you got from McDonald’s, Domino’s, Macy’s, Home Depot, or the local businesses in your town? And even if you get a flyer or catalog, how many companies make follow-up calls to see if you liked their marketing materials? So why in the world would you be doing these things in your personal marketing efforts if you’re going to treat your business like a business?

Well… it’s what you were told to do, it’s proven to work. It works for everybody in every industry across Network Marketing, right? Sort of. It works for the already established organizations and it works for the corporation itself. Handing out magazines and DVDs that you pay for is free marketing for the company. So it will generally grow the business overall, and it sure looks good for the people who are highlighted in the materials (aka not you). So the company is advising in their best interest, what works for them and for the top members of the leadership. For the new guy it’s a complete gamble and, I would argue, the reason why failure rates are above 90%. Only 10% of the population really has the personality to make the exposure process work from the very beginning. For the majority… their doomed before they ever start.

I can safely say this because I’ve been there. I’ve built teams this way and played the numbers game. It wasn’t sustainable for me because I didn’t have that type of personality, but what was worse was most people I sponsored didn’t work as hard as I did and not one of them grew an organization like I had. Not one person I sponsored, following the old system ever saw any measurable success. I did have one person who put his heart into the business and really ‘plugged away’, but hardly made his money back. He was a good family friend and that really hurt.

Do all things happen for a reason? I don’t know for sure, but that experience may have been necessary for me. After that, I became disenchanted, but I had a promise to myself to be successful so I began to study as if possessed. I found other ways… better ways, that people truly can succeed. The truth is that most leaders in Network Marketing moved on from the whole exposure process a long time ago. They figured out how to treat their business like a business and create systems based on solid, timeless business principles, rather than the 30-year-old model of techniques that so many Network Marketers are still teaching.

If you’d like to make your business work for you then it’s time to start learning about attraction marketing and how to really leverage the power of the internet for your benefit. Click here and get started on the journey. I look forward to continuing to help you on your path to success.