I’m sure a lot of you have had your earful of MLM opportunities and have probably been through more than just one.
“This one is better”
“I like the comp plan with that one”
“I just don’t need these products”
There are many reasons why you can’t sit with just one MLM but at the end of the day, it boils down to just one of two things.
It’s either you are just not cutout for network marketing or two, you are finding any excuse in the book as to why you aren’t making any money.
Why People Join Multilevel Marketing
I don’t care what anyone tells you about products and all that nonsense about their so called company, they are in it for one thing and one thing only.
The money.
Period.
If you are one of those shady marketers that come off as completely helpful up until that potential downline tells you they are not interested, please get a life.
That alone is enough to prove that you are not cutout for network marketing like you say you are.
All you are showing is how unethical this type of stuff really is, so just get out and get a real job.
Now if you are a legit marketer and you are looking to really build something off of others then that is fine too.
Just know that there is actually another way to make a living.
It is something I didn’t think exist but I’m glad I didn’t settle.
So let me give you an inside look at my life as a network marketer and why I eventually stopped doing it.
1.) I Found a Better Way
I of course held a regular job and was even in the military.
With network marketing being the pushy business it is, I eventually got introduced to my first so called opportunity.
Not knowing much about what was out there or even life for that matter, I really thought that MLM was the only way for me to get ahead.
Boy was I wrong and it was all thanks to this thing called the internet.
Falling for the typical get rich quick scams ultimately led me to this thing called affiliate marketing.
Neil Patel explains it really well here, so you can get a better understanding of what I am talking about.
But in a nutshell, it is all about selling other people’s products to earn a commission.
No ordring of products for inventory and no dealing with customers.
If that doesn’t excite you then you might not be cutout for business as a whole.
Thanks to the inter-web and sites like Wealthy Affiliate, stuff like that is possible and it is something that I have been doing for the past 4.5 years now.
2.) I Somewhat Disagree With the MLM Business Model
Whether it is a pyramid scheme or not MLM’s operate using the same pyramid style business model.
MLM will not be what it is without the “multiple levels” and as much as it sounds like a bad thing, it is what it is.
I don’t have a problem with that but rather the way business is conducted.
“Helping” people is not about getting them to join you so that you can make money.
That is called helping yourself.
Help them get a product they need by presenting them with options but having to hard sell anything just because you benefit from it is just not ethical.
I have seen way too many jerks that are in this business act like they are your best friend up until you tell them no.
They will help you as much as they can and abandon you if you aren’t going to join them and their team.
That’s how it really is and that is something I can’t see myself doing.
I just couldn’t live with myself and this is just one of the reasons I am no longer doing network marketing.
3.) No Use For Products
I have tried it all.
I of course did not join every single company but I did dip my toes into almost every niche. possible and it only taught me that products have nothing to do with MLM.
Back when I joined my first company (Melaleuca), I was taught that the product is everything.
Being the I don’t know crap newb, I taught myself to believe that.
In reality, it doesn’t but as far as joining a network marketing company as a whole, it does not matter.
Whether it was some fancy facial cream, a make you healthier company, or even a weight-loss type of product, I have tried it.
It doesn’t matter what demographic I tried to pursue, I had the same results.
Mind you I did not do horrible but I did not do the best either.
My lesson with products is that you can find them anywhere and there is no need to spend on them if you are not actively promoting the business side of the company.
“I’m in it just for the products” is one line I can not stand and I too had to learn the hard way.
So if you are not making any money with MLM and you feel you have the best products out there, just trust me when I say that you can find them for a lot cheaper with even better quality.
4.) Time and Life Consuming
Network marketing is not an easy job.
Having to talk to people all the time, follow up with them, and all the work that comes with network marketing is not a walk in the park.
It may sound like an easy thing to do but when you really get into the business, it is a whole different ballgame.
Doing MLM creates this different person and sometimes it isn’t for the better.
You start to do things like hate on other products because “you have the best”, or even your immediate family will start to pay for it.
I’m not saying this happens to everyone but it definitely did happen to me.
I was making a decent income but I started to lose sight of what I really started doing it in the first place.
This problem along with my downlines dropping like flies because of the fact that they weren’t making any money, was enough for me to realize that something had to change.
I eventually quit but not without learning some valuable lessons.
5.) The Numbers Don’t Lie
Everyone and their mothers coming into an MLM company are in it to lose.
Averages across the board are never in favor of the customer and everything goes to a whopping 1% of the company and its affiliates.
Over 90% are not making more than $100/month and 50-70% people quit annually (Alpha-entrepreneur).
What is even worse about these numbers is that 99% think they are going to do big things.
Hype is what will keep everyone on board for a certain amount of time, before they realize that this isn’t for them either.
With the hype in effect, you can expect the same 1% at the top to continuously make money and that is something I’m not into doing.
Conclusion
MLM is just not for me.
No matter what I thought or did, at the end of the day, this kind of business is just not for me.
As much as I tried to stick around because of a certain product, the numbers showed me otherwise and I eventually stopped.
So after gathering all this information about what I really went through in my time as a network marketer, I clearly saw that things were just not in my favor.
At the moment, I was indulged in the hype and couldn’t see the bigger picture but after a little evaluation of my situation I realized everything I mentioned above.
Not to say that MLM is bad or anything but it is clearly not for everyone.
Now you tell me, is MLM really for you?
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