Just another humdrum week at MLM Inc. (Episode #37,248)

February 8th, 2009 |

A mixed bag of news reports about MLM companies this week. Zrii network leaders and personnel staged an attempted hijack of the company, Mannatech‘s “colourful” founder and chairman resigned to work more closely with the network, and Amway/Alticor/etc posted a record year and a new media approach — their PR department is no longer their legal department, apparently. Smart move!

You can read the individual stories by Googling the companies and the story keywords, but my real thoughts, this fine Sunday morning, are more about the bigger picture rather than any individual corporate shennigans.

And, of course, the REAL stories-behind-the-stories.

Take the Zrii mutiny story, for instance.

The first most people heard about it was an open letter to the founder from seven top distributors, published in the Salt Lake Tribune last week. The company’s response was to terminate all seven, which triggered a walk-out by about three dozen employees, amid allegations of personal enrichment by founder, Bill Farley — yet another recycled MLM company founder with a track record of dubious “achievements”.

It’s hard to believe these people are genuine. They claim that they invested hope, faith, trust and their personal and professional reputations in Farley. That they walked away from other lucrative alternatives because the believed his promises. Now they have no hope, faith or trust left because of his alleged duplicity.

Are they serious?

Did they do NO due diligence? Did they not check out the FACTS first? Or did they all just do the usual MLM Ostrich Dance (that’s where you bury your head in the sand and wiggle your upthrust backside in an open invitation to be shafted!) when he pitched them?

Can you pronounce b-r-a-i-n-d-e-a-d?

The Bottom Line?

Do your homework! Google is your friend. Get the FACTS. Dig deeper. Ignore those powerful, irresistible EMOTIONAL appeals that discourage rational thought and objective reason. Stop trying to find “proof” to support what you WANT to be true, so that you can simply ignore or discount any negative or embarrasing stuff that should be ringing alarm bells, loud and long.

The Scots have a very old, wise saying: “If ye sup wi’ the devil, use a very long spoon!”

Your MLM company will ALWAYS be the #1 risk for you in network marketing. NOT the products. Not your upline. NOT the compensation plan or support systems.

The COMPANY.

Folks, this is BUSINESS. There is simply no room or justification for making BUSINESS decisions based on blind faith or unprovable promises.

When are people going to learn?

(See previous story about Pinnocchio and network marketing.)

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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

Posted in Bad Practices, Dubious Practices, MLM Companies, Upline Teams |

Tags: blind faith, devil, emotional appeal, mannatech, MLM Companies, zrii

5 Responses to “Just another humdrum week at MLM Inc. (Episode #37,248)”

Jose :

February 8, 2009 at 1:48 pm

Hello John,

Am starting to meet good people in network marketing. They shun black hat but I don’t know why they can’t see that the gray hat is actually black too. Although they are good people and have been in network marketing for quite some time now, they still do not know “real network marketing”.

Jose
youlesucceed :

February 8, 2009 at 7:20 pm

Hi John
Re Mannatech – had an interesting address from the new CEO Wayne Badovinus, on the Gold Coast Saturday. Mannatech has in place a major new strategic plan for grown and has brought in a whole new set of skills to move the company forways into a new phase.

Eric
John Counsel :

February 9, 2009 at 4:27 am

Jose,

Shades from black to white in MLM are like on a TV screen or computer monitor: they’re relative to their immediate surroundings. If you have a linen tester or loupe magnifier and place it against the screen, you can see that white isn’t white and black isn’t black. They just appear to be.

John
John Counsel :

February 9, 2009 at 4:33 am

Eric,

Good to hear. Sam Casters was always going to be a liability in the top role, so it’s welcome news that he’s finally resigned. Now the company can move on.

John
John Counsel :

February 12, 2009 at 9:08 am

UPDATE ON ZRII

Interesting insights emerging this week from the other side. According to some blogs and network leaders, the ringleaders of the mutiny have been planning it for some time and working to destabilize the management and network.

Reports are emerging of them inviting themselves to run meetings for other leaders, crossline, then not only billing those leaders for expense, but back-dooring them by trying to hi-jack their downlines.

Nothing was done by company executives in response to repeated complaints. Inexplicable? Hardly, when 35 of those executives resigned. Allegations that they’d been promised shares in the “new” company by the ringleaders in return for their support are now emerging.

Lots of comments from loyal leaders declaring their relief that “the poison has finally been removed”.

Still a lot of concern over excessive debt levels placed on the company by Bill Farley, the owner — a repetition of past experience that sank previous companies under his management.

Another black eye for ALL network marketers, all down to the Big Five Failure Factors — plus blatant SELFISHNESS on both sides of this debacle.

John