Are any of these practices familiar to you?

Sadly, they’re all too common in network marketing and they result in untold misery and hardship…

• You ask your upline about something that concerns you and they tell you to “stop being negative”. If you persist, they turn the questions back on you.
• Someone in your organisation leaves and your upline immediately labels them “losers” and “quitters”, long and loud, especially in meetings and rallies, so you can get the message clearly… don’t quit, or they’ll turn on YOU!
• Your upline wants you to sign up for a monthly standing order for books and tools. If you question this, or resist, the emotional blackmail begins in earnest to get you to sign up. If you refuse, you’re abused, ostracised, called a “dream stealer”, “loser” or worse.
  
• Your upline wants you to attend an expensive event, often in another city or state, involving travel, meals, accommodation and other expenses on top of the cost of the event itself. If you refuse, resist or question them about it, they immediately turn the questions or challenges back onto YOU, demanding to know if you’re serious about making money, sponsoring more, achieving your Dream, etc.
• You’re struggling to make money, sponsor, retail products. Your upline neglects you or refuses to help you. You complain or ask for help. They turn everything back on YOU, accusing you of ignorance, incompetence, doubt, failure, negligence, etc etc etc. “Stinkin’ Thinkin!’” is a typical accusation. You’re made to feel inadequate, incompetent and a failure.

Why do upline “leaders” do this kind of stuff?

It all comes down to a single cause: fear of loss. This includes ALL negative emotional conditions, like greed, laziness, jealousy, envy, malice, prejudice, selfishness, pride and more. Learn more here…

What it really means is that they have no real personal control. They’re reacting emotionally to what they see as a challenge to them and their positions — positions on which they’re highly dependent, emotionally. Rattle their emotional cage and they come out snarling! It’s a sure sign that they feel insecure — often guilty — about ripping off their downline members.

What do you really owe your upline?

The simple truth is this… you owe your sponsor and other upline leaders nothing but gratitude for introducing you to the opportunity. And that’s provided that the opportunity is legitimate and real in the first place!

In fact, it’s your sponsor and upline leaders who owe YOU! Their success, their income and lifestyle are all due to their downline teams — people like YOU!

They owe you support, training and encouragement, including emotional support. It’s basic common sense. After all, if they depend on you and their other downline people for their success, income and lifestyle, the more effective training, support and encouragement they provide, the more success, income and lifestyle they’ll enjoy!

Too often, they have little or no idea of how to actually DO all that

They simply joined a “system” that relies for its success on the blind and mindless acceptance of questionable, manipulative, deceptive practices like “book of the month” and “tool of the week” programs and over-priced training events and motivational rallies, or online systems for qualifying prospects. So they’re trapped on a treadmill where everyone below them is really a constant, silent reproach to their consciences, because of the guilt they feel. In the early stages, at least.

Later, when they’re making BIG incomes from these systems, their consciences can become seared or even cauterised. Either way, their reaction to any perceived challenge to their legitimacy is immediate, defensive and hostile. “Fight or flight” becomes the standard response. And, because the people who control the system want to protect their investments, they devise manipulative, abusive strategies for emotional blackmail of any downline distributor who fails to blindly and mindlessly comply with their demands.

For my personal and professional position on books and tools programs, training events and standing monthly orders, click here.

So what should you do when your upline abuses or exploits you?

First, recognise and accept that these people have NO real interest in you and your success, despite what they say. Actions reveal what words conceal. They’re typical of the “caring and sharing” that they talk about, endlessly. Their “caring and sharing” is really caring only about how big a share of their income you’ll contribute by them siphoning off the lion’s share of the bonus volume you create, through punitive group volume and downline rank qualifications that result in breakage to your upline and the company. Learn more about breakage…

Second, recognise and accept that, with an upline like that, and a company that allows them to get away with (or, worse still, encourages them to do it), you’re riding a ‘dead horse’. As the wise Dakota Indians say, “if you find you’re riding a dead horse, dismount and find a live one.” Learn more here…

If you’re really determined to stay with such a company and upline team, at least take advantage of the free training and coaching available at http://FREEcoachingonline and http://profitclinic.net.

If you’re really serious about succeeding in network marketing, look for a genuine Fourth Generation™ opportunity that’s based on these eight synergistic principles…

• Integrity
• Intelligence
• Initiative
• Interest
• Information
• Insight
• Integration
• Inspiration
• Innovation
• Influence

Your success will still depend on your own determination, dedication and discipline, but at least you won’t have to fight to overcome the greed, ignorance, laziness, fear of loss or outright corruption of your upline or the company.

Unfortunately, these enlightened companies are rare and hard to find. They’re the best-kept secret in network marketing because the distributors involved make more money, in less time, with fewer people. They don’t need to hype their opportunity or recruit endless chains of distributors.

Sincere regards,

John Counsel
http://johncounsel.net
http://FREEcoachingonline.com

Author Profile  Consults to managements of direct selling companies, small business and home business owners. Writes regular columns and feature articles for various business media, online and offline. Author of several best-selling business books. Presents seminars and workshops, webinars and other training programs. Creator of Fourth Generation Thinking, Selling, Business Systems. Read more from this author

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