Kudos to the Scary Mommy blog for showing up in my Google newsfeed.  I’m always curious to know how others see my chosen profession and the article by a guest blogger doesn’t disappoint.  It contains every negative stereotype about network marketing (those stereotypes haven’t changed in decades) and highlights every bad practice by very enthusiastic, but poorly trained women in MLM.  Of course it declares those practices as *proof* that network marketing is a scam or some other form of evil.

Sigh. Here we go again.

I’m not part of the Scary Mommy community so I headed over to her blog to take a look and see if she really is an MLM Hater.   I thought that some of her posts on Mom-correctness were very good, and I appreciated her honesty about “Motherhood – correctness”.   But her stance on network marketing through her guest bloggers?  Not very accurate although it clearly drives a lot of traffic to her site!

Why does MLM have so many haters like Scary Mommy?

Let’s start with the very basic premise of MLM: anyone can do it.  The entry level is quite low for a business that can generate millions of dollars income for those who take it seriously.   The low point of entry is designed that way on purpose:  network marketing is economic democracy in action.  Anyone CAN do it IF they are willing to see it as a profession and develop the necessary skills.

Unfortunately, the majority of network marketing recruiters do not promote it that way, and truly, the market doesn’t want to hear it.  The market wants to hear – easy to get in it, easy to do, “just share with your friends”, everybody loves it, you can make lots of money. So yes anyone CAN do it, but the majority of those in network marketing will not learn the skills necessary to improve their professionalism.  That is on THEM, not the profession.  Lack of willingness to “skill up” is also true of virtually every human endeavor including parenting, and not at all unique to MLM.

As someone who has recruited hundreds of people over 29 years in this industry I can tell you from experience MOST PEOPLE DO NOT WANT THE TRUTH, THEY WANT THE “DREAM”.  They believe the hype that one can turn a small investment into a fortune in less than a year – working only part-time!

I am that recruiter who will turn you down if I don’t think that this is a good fit for you.  I am that recruiter who will tell you that it takes work, money, a willingness to learn how to market properly, and that wild enthusiasm is a great emotion but will not build lifetime residual income in the long run.  In my business I will help anyone who wants to learn  the  skills  necessary to create that dream lifestyle.   I eliminate quite a number of people in my recruiting pipeline who are looking for the hype-ster.

Bad marketing practices by people who have been told that their enthusiasm and “unbelievable products” will overcome any bad manners make MLM easy to hate.  I’ve been added to Facebook groups promoting products without my permission because someone’s trainer misinformed his/her distributors about how to market on social media.  Don’t hate, just leave the group or hide the feed.  The end.

I’ve had my feed blown up by someone’s posts and sometimes I’ve done it myself on a very limited basis during launches.  Guess what?  Don’t hate just TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FEED and click on the little button called “see fewer posts like this”.  The end.

I’ve also had people message me and I’ve sponsored new distributors and gained new customers because of my posts on social media.  I train my team to add people to their groups only WITH permission.  Are we perfect?  Of course not.  We strive to get better all the time.

A Real #BossBabe Guide

Please stop complaining about how evil MLM is because your friend may not be listening to her trainer about best practices, or may be copying someone else, or her trainer is teaching her wrong.  Maybe she is just trying hard with the best she knows to do.  It’s likely that your friend is like the majority of people who join MLM companies for a discount on the products  (starter kits are often sold below wholesale), or she really wants to earn only a couple of hundred dollars a month.  That is perfectly OK.  That doesn’t mean network marketing is a scam – it means that she is getting out of it exactly what she wants.   She wants to recruit you for the same reason – to help you get what you want.   Of course it helps her too.  So what!

Network marketing has given more women economic freedom and choices that any other industry worldwide.  There are so many network marketing companies  here in the United States and Canada precisely because it works.  The only “glass ceiling” is the one in your head.  It delivers higher quality goods and services at a more reasonable price because the overhead for the parent company is lower than if they used traditional distribution channels.

Every industry including law, medicine, education, government has bad companies and lousy practitioners.  That’s because people are involved and people have this nasty trait of imperfection.  Instead of complaining, learn to discern good companies from poor ones.

My brand partner, Shaklee,  has created over 2,000 millionaires and the majority of those were women.  Single moms, professionals, widows, entrepreneurial moms who wanted an outlet without sacrificing their families.  Our association with this company has changed our lives, the lives of those we love, and the lives of those around us.  It has provided us an opportunity to create a life we love to live.  So to all of those MLM haters out there – open your mind and learn the truth about Network Marketing.  There are good companies changing lives everyday.  Focus on those.

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