Network Marketers: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

Indeed, it can seem as if we are…we in the network marketing industry…guilty until proven innocent. We often get labeled as “scam artists” and “crooks”, and our business models as a “pyramid scheme”. Not much has changed there.
 
In North America things have changed a bit perhaps, but in many, more traditional, less free-thinking cultures around the world (at least this is my experience as an "international" marketer) people still look suspiciously upon those who who have chosen to do things a little “differently”.
 
“Differently” as in choosing NOT to slave for peanuts in a job they loathe, with nothing to show for it at the end of the month (or year, or decade) but fatigue, health problems, credit card debts and strained personal relationships.
 
So why does network marketing still carry this stigma? Why, in the year 2010, do we marketers still manage to draw so much negative attention to ourselves? (As I will talk more about in a minute, I actually think the MLM’ers themselves are partly to blame.)
 
You would think that after having been around for over 50 years, our industry would be, if not embraced, at least largely accepted, by the average Joe…not so often frowned upon.
 
So…in short, here’s what I deem to be the problem:
 
In today’s internet world, people can pretty much post whatever they want online. And those that are easily persuaded — well, they get duped. Sometimes they get duped by scam artists, true, but other times they get duped by people who aren’t out for their pocket books but their dreams.
 
And dream stealers, in my opinion, are some of the worst thieves there are.
 
Either way, one should be careful to accept public opinion as gospel truth. Don’t assume that just because someone knows how to effectively use the word “scam” in an article headline, this automatically makes them an expert on the subject.
 
So…before you sacrifice your dream on the altar of public ignorance, consider the following:
 
The VAST MAJORITY of those who flippantly throw around words like “pyramid scheme”, “scam” and “scandal”, fall into one of four categories:
 
Category #1. They are marketers with competing companies who use negative advertising to try to “win over” customers: “ABC company is a pyramid, stay away from them…here is a legit company that I work with, check it out, it’s the best opportunity ever known to mankind.” Blah-blah-blah…
 
In other words, it’s a marketing tactic, the purpose of which is to lure potential buyers away from one’s competitors. This is extremely common in online marketing, where advertisers fight tooth and nail for the top spots on the search engines.
 
Category #2. They used to represent the company they are now bashing. At some point and for whatever reason they got disappointed, disillusioned, or disgruntled… perhaps they had a dispute with the leadership, their own sponsor, or fellow members, and instead of peacefully settling the matter between themselves, they are now taking their own very public revenge:
 
They are using the internet as a vent, knowing full well that on the world wide web, for better or for worse, it’s the one who makes the most noise who gets the attention.
 
Category #3. They are current reps with the company in question, and are using ’scare tactics’ to draw eyeballs: Their ad or video title may read “ABC company a scam?”, but when you visit their page, you get the rest of the story: “No, ABC company is NOT a scam, and I will prove it to you! Let me show you why ABC in fact is the best business opportunity even known to mankind. ” Blah-blah-blah.
 
I strongly encourage you to stay away from negative advertising so as not to compromise your own integrity as a leader and a marketer. Drawing unnecessary negative attention to your company is in the long run going to hurt both you and them, and the same goes for dragging other reputable businesses through the mud.
 
In marketing, as in the rest of life, what goes around, really does come around.
 
Category #4. They are individuals outside our industry who simply don’t understand what it is we do. People are often afraid of what’s new, unfamiliar or different, and they feel they need to put labels on things to better categorize them.
 
For those who can’t be bothered to educate themselves about the difference between an illegal pyramid and a legitimate network marketing business, it is easier to just group everyone together and throw up a nice big DANGER sign to make sure no one is “victimized”.
 
Knowing this, knowing why people do what they do and say what they say…next time, before you freak out, before you throw out the baby with the bathwater, I suggest you first get the FACTS. All the facts. And just the facts.
 
Do proper research, get both sides of the story, and then make up your own mind about the matter. You’ll be a better and more informed person for it – and heavens knows, a heck of a lot better marketer.