Why I Left Network Marketing: A quick explanation…
Comment: It’s possible you arrived at this blog post because you were redirected from one of my old network marketing websites. I apologize if the information you might have been searching for is no longer available.
I attempted to create wealth for myself, my family and friends with a couple of direct sales businesses. I persevered for over a decade. I enrolled thousands of hopeful people; unfortunately, only a couple of those people earned a significant income. My goal was to help, but the attrition stats were undeniable. I started to feel like I was picking pockets rather than doing good. The big question is, did I fail thousands of distributors, or, did network marketing’s business-model for distributors let all of us down?
I recently decided to sever my ties to the network marketing profession. Thank you to all the wonderful people, I’ve met along the way. I wish you health, happiness and enormous success in your future endeavours.
Network Marketing – Think Hard Before Joining
Network marketing has been around for over fifty years, so its track record is very well established. Millions and millions of people, worldwide, have enrolled; unfortunately, the vast majority ended up losing their money. Significantly, and contrary to myth, only a minuscule fraction of one percent of network marketing professionals have actually earned serious incomes.
Here’s a typical example: ‘Big Money’ stories enticed people, by the hundreds of thousands, to discover an exotic, super-fruit, juice company. Titillated by stories that the company’s top income earners were paid millions of dollars every year, financially desperate people felt they had new hope; some actually dreamed about earning as much as $100,000 per month. What happened to their dreams?
Not too long ago, that company’s, government mandated, income disclosure statement revealed that:
- fewer than one percent qualified for commissions
- of the one percent who qualified for commissions, only ten percent earned more than $100 a week
99% never earned any money. 0.9% earned less than $100 per week. 0.1% earned more than $100 weekly.
You might be thinking, “One out of every one thousand people earning $100, or more, per week doesn’t sound too bad.” Unfortunately, your thought process may not have factored in the distributor’s business related expenses. How much did the distributor spend for their required monthly product order? What were her/his marketing expenses (examples: product samples, magazines, brochures, DVDs, postage, newspaper ads, websites, pay-per-click ads and leads)? It’s, usually, surprisingly difficult to get a network marketing business into profit.
Q: What makes you think it will be different for you?
Here’s a quote I saved* (warning, it’s depressing for network marketers):
Roland Whitsell, a former business professor who spent 40 years researching and teaching the pitfalls of multilevel marketing: "You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone making over $1.50 an hour, the primary product is opportunity. The strongest, most powerful motivational force today is false hope."
*Note: My apologies to the original author, I neglected to record the attribution when I saved his/her quote.
Something New
I’ve published a downloadable eBook in ePub format. The title is ‘Network Marketing Heads Up.’
>> Visit NetworkMarketingHeadsUp.com
Dr. Charles, I am sorry for what you went true but very happy that you have the conscience to open up your experience to those you had wanted to help with these opportunities. I have only been in networking for 4 months. Its my first experience and like you, I was doing it to help people. You mentioned that “of the one percent that qualified for commissions, only ten percent earned more than $100 a week”. In the network marketing business that I am involved in, we have better success stories than what you have reported. I have seen my… Read more »
I missed the website field above although I included it in the body of my mail
Rgds
Dare
Thanks for writing Dare. Congratulations for your early success in your company. Every network marketing company has success stories, both big and small, it’s a large part of how they grow their distributor base. Individual success stories are interesting and occasionally inspirational. That said, corporate income disclosure statements can be very informative, they reveal what’s transpired for the majority of distributors. Accurate statements help to sort out fact and fiction, they reduce the promotion of false hope. Example: “Only 1% qualified for commissions” rather than “If you knew for sure that it was possible to earn $100,000 per month and… Read more »
That is very sad news. I have been purchasing products from a network marketing company for several years and have recently decided to dive into the business opportunity after watching my upline sponsor increase her full-time income while working part-time and save her husband’s income after he lost his job two years ago. When I saw what this business opportunity did for her, I couldn’t stand to sit on the sidelines any longer. While the success rates are relatively low industry wide, I imagine the effort rates are also comparable. Training seems to be a shortcoming of this industry as… Read more »
Thanks for writing Steph, I appreciate your thoughtful comments. I hope you enjoy huge success in your Arbonne business.
I have a same feeling like you guys before. When I heard of Network Marketing or Muti Level Marketing, my first signal is that it is a scam. However, I am a open mind person. Although I think I am right but I wish to find out how scam are they. I also like to learn some of their system. I meet them in a Tim Horton. What they are saying is Rich Dad Poor Dad concept, I already heard that so many time. I stopped them and ask them their compension plan. Then I am surprise, I have seen… Read more »
🙂 Ah, “The Mall Without Walls” good luck with your Market America business Leo.