The most amazing stupid tricks network marketing companies do is letting some legal department enforce their policies and procedures.
Let's think about this. If a network marketing company has a legal team that writes the policies and procedures and oversees the legalities of the company, the network marketing company has generally spent about a quarter of a million dollars retaining this legal department.
So now the legal department has to justify their existence, since they just added a quarter of a million dollars overhead to the company. So the legal department writes Policies and Procedures so convoluted, so confusing - it's just legalese BS.
And you have to read chapter 7, and remember 7.C. Then down in 19.D, they talked about it again, and you have to pull those 2 together. They talked a little bit about it up here. Now they add the rest of it down here.
But if you don't connect the two, you don't know what they're talking about.
Lawyers LOVE Writing All This legalese BS!
Example: in some companies, the P & Ps say you are responsible to monitor your downline organization's activities. If THEY do something illegal, then YOU are responsible for that.
Let me break it down like this for you. Suppose you got terminated because one of your downline members recruited somebody who was in another deal sideline, which was cross recruiting. But they held the sponsor responsible, and they terminated you, so they could steal your check. Real simple.
And your person signing the bonus checks needs to have built a downline themselves. MLM CEO's who have never built a downline do not have a clue about MLM distributors.
It could happen to you when you don't read your policies and procedures. You need to read and know if the companies lawyers have put it in there.
Network Marketing Companies Would Be NOTHING Without Distributors!
CEO's who have built a downline know that. They know that companies are nothing without the distributors.
Sure, they need a product. Yes they have to ship a product. Yes, they have to send a bonus check. But who built the company? Who built the volume?
Answer: The distributor. And if the CEO realizes that, then they treat the distributors like gold. They don't have some legal department trying to terminate their distributors.
Stupid Trick #2
And the other stupid thing that network marketing companies do is, they don't listen to the field. The reps are working their butts off everyday. Companies need to know what their reps see, what they do, what they hear, what they say.
I tell people all the time, "Read your Policies & Procedures." I get calls from people everyday. They call me to ask questions about some business opportunity they are in. I ask them if they read their Policies & Procedures. They all say "yes" and I know that's not true because after talking with them for a few minutes, and hearing their concerns and frustrations. I know that they didn't read them. Many times I already know about the company and what's in them. 99% of the time it's not a good business opportunity and they don't have a clue why they aren't earning any money yet.
All they're doing is getting on company conference calls. The network marketing companies wonder why their sales are down, it's because their distributors are unhappy and not earning money. They don't listen to what their distributors are saying to them on these conference calls
Want To Sell The Business YOU Built?
Forget it about that!
For example - if you wanted to sell your downline, sell your business, you have a 10-page document that you have to fill out. And before you offer the business to anybody, you have to offer to the company first.
And when you mail your request for them to buy it, you have to include a $100 nonrefundable fee. And then they can say yes or no!
Next step is, when the company says "No", they will then send you 3 upline people that you can sell your business to. You have to offer it to each of them one at a time. And the P & Ps stipulate that to buy YOUR business, they must resign their own business.
So usually, they say "No". And after all 3 have turned you down, one at a time, then you have to offer your business to somebody in your downline. And they make it so clear - they say "if you circumvent any part of this procedure, you are terminated."
"Wow! Now you understand why I am telling people to read their policies and procedures. It's a trip if you don't and could cost you everything!
Just read YOUR P & Ps before signing on the dotted line with any business opportunity.
Terri Pattio
MLM Coach
Mentor with a servant's heart
Sign up for FREE MLM Training now.
Comments
Great post Terri! After a terrible experience with a previous company's P&P's, I learned my lesson. So much so that before joining my current company, I insisted they make a change in their P&P's. This brings me to another of your points, not listening to those in the field. I was overjoyed to learn that my current company encourages suggestions from its affiliates. AND the vast majority that are submitted are implemented. If you haven't yet read you company's P&P's carefully, do it today!
This explains why many people regard MLM as a scam industry, big business playing with and abusing work at home independents. Thank you for this lesson in law abuse.
Excellent PR filled with some much needed Wisdom on P & P's. Thanks for sharing. Liked and Shared as well.
Excellent advice Terri as I well know now after talking with you. Will share and hope that many newbies or even people like me LOL get to read this. Thanks for sharing.