I decided it’s time to address the elephant in the room. I joined an MLM company. That stands for “multi-level marketing”. This is also called direct sales.
Personally it surprised me too. I did it sort of on a whim really. But I haven’t really regretted it. I’ve had to learn some lessons along the way, but I really don’t believe that MLMs should be demonized like they are. I do, however think that they can be a very slippery slope and all sales and recruiting strategies should be approached with caution. To help educate people a little bitter I want to share 10 things you need to know before you join an MLM. This post is jam packed with information that can really help you if you’re looking to “join the team” for any mul
So you have more background. I am an independent SeneGence Distributor. That’s the company that sells LipSense. It’s an extremely popular liquid lip color. The company has been around since the 80s, but it has really picked up traction in the last year or so and has grown immensely. They carry a full line of cosmetics and skin care with an emphasis on anti aging products. If you want to learn more visit Lost in the Gloss (that’s a page in my blog, not my Facebook Group!)
1 // MLMs all have different compensations structures. Know yours before you join!
It may seem like a great gig when you see people making $20,000 a month. Yes I say a month. But not everyone is making that! Make sure you understand what type of work is required for you to get to that point and how much time you may have to invest in growing you sales and your team.
2 // MLMs have rules! Breaking the Compliance Policies can get you kicked right out!
While posting your inventory on Ebay might be good for your sales, it’s more than likely a good way to get banned from your MLM. There could be other rules too like, you can’t name your group the company name, or you can’t price products lower than a certain amount. These compliance rules help you. They’re intended to help you make the most profit and level the playing field with other distributors.
3 // Recruiting is hard
Seriously you guys. Recruiting is not easy. Talking to your friends and family about joining can be really awkward. You have to be willing to really put yourself out there. I personally haven’t recruited anyone, but I’m mostly focusing on sales. If I put the work in, I’d more than likely see the reward. Which is a prefect segue into my next point.
4 // MLMs take serious work to make money
It looks really dreamy, I know. The person who recruited you said it would be easy and they are rolling in the dough. What they might have left out is that they had to work their tail off to get to that point. That’s not a bad thing at all. Just know that making money in direct sales isn’t automatic. You have to sell and you have to recruit. Period.
5 // You don’t need hundreds of dollars worth of stock to get going
You guys. Please please please do not believe you need a huge stock to start up! Your upline wants you to order more product because it helps them. But do not order more than you can sell. I repeat. DO NOT order more than you can sell! Yes, maybe order a larger volume order will give you a better discount, but if you’re order more than you can sell it is literally null. It means NOTHING. If you have some disposable income and you can wait a while to make some money on it, go ahead. But if not, just start small! Order a few products for yourself to show off and get to selling. Order AFTER you have those invoices paid and you will see a profit right then.
6 // It can take some time to pick up the pace
I joined my MLM in April. It’s August and I have just started making some money off my sales. Part of that is because I started to sell a little more aggressively. It’s amazing, the more work I put in, the better I do.
7// The people at the top are there because they hustled
MLMs have a bad reputation. They are constantly compared to “pyramid schemes” which have a similar business model, but result in no real products or gain for the seller or the consumer. The intent in a pyramid scheme is to get you to spend a large amount of money on nothing and give you none of that back.
That is not the case with MLMs. Yes there are people above you making money off your sales or your purchases, but they are making money off your sales because they brought you into the business. Maybe the mentored you and helped you learn how to sell or to recruit. And they did that with many others. So they got to the top by selling, recruiting and hard work.
8// You can just join for the discount
Some MLMs are designed so that you can get the products that you love at a less expensive price. Do your research and figure out what will get you the most bang for your buck. If the cost to sign up and the amount you plan to order will save you in the end, then go for it. You do NOT have to sell the products in all MLMs.
9// LOTS of people have opinions about MLMs and you need to be prepared for them.
Kind of like I said in number 7, there are a lot of people who don’t believe that MLMs work. People will probably want to tell you their opinion and you have to decide how you want to react. Personally I just say “it just depends on how you look at it.” and I stop there. It’s best to make up your own mind about them and jump in if you want.
10// Not everyone is cut out for MLMs
Seriously. This. If it isn’t working out for you, you don’t have to keep at it. And if you do want it to work, ask for help! There are LOTS of people above you who have had success that will be willing to help you. If they aren’t willing to help you, you may have joined the wrong MLM and it’s probably best to get out anyway.