You can now find a summary of my ongoing research on MLM top earners lists on a dedicated page: MLM Top Earners. You can find the page link up on the navigation bar between “About MLM Analyst” and “Contact MLM Analyst.”
I recently had an interesting exchange with a man named Mike within a post on the MLM.com forums. I thought it was entertaining enough that I would share parts of it with all of you.
It started with a re-post of an article/sentiment that has been circulated in many other places about the promise of direct selling vs. typical employment. It extolled the virtues of working hard in direct sales in the short-term so that you can achieve long-term dreams.
In general I agreed, but made an argument for balance. I wrote,
Yes, like just about any entrepreneurial effort, direct sales can provide great financial freedom and flexibility. But how many of us entrepreneurs sacrifice years of enjoying important personal and family moments with the idea that we’ll somehow get more of those moments in the future?
Money is fine but not actually critical to happiness. And time only exists right now. So whether you work for yourself or someone else, or both
, balance is where it’s at – especially when it comes to making time for others. …A reminder to myself more than anything.
To which my new buddy Mike replied,
Money is fine but not actually critical to happiness - post
You couldn’t convince that’s true to billions of people so lacking in money they go without daily food, clothing and shelter.
And time only exists right now. – post
Because so many people live like that without planning for the future they end up in the future more broke and hopeless than ever.
And my reply to that,
When I said “money is fine but not actually critical to happiness,” I thought I was replying to a post about balance coupled with prosperity on an internet discussion board perused by people who probably have a place to live and food to eat.
I didn’t realize my sentiment would be read by “billions of people so lacking in money they go without daily food, clothing and shelter.” Otherwise I would have certainly encouraged them to earn some money first before pursuing balance.
And with regards to encouraging myself and others to live in the moment, I agree with you that that cannot come at the expense of preparing for the future. However, if you read that entire paragraph of mine you’d note the message is to reserve “time” to care for other people, now.
I assume you’re not proposing that because others are poor and suffering, money should be our life’s primary aim; nor that we should so singlemindedly pursue wealth for tomorrow that we ignore the needs of others today.
I suppose everybody defines happiness and balance somewhat differently, but could the two of us possibly be that far apart?
Here’s an interesting report to consider. It is about the measurement of happiness in various parts of the world. Surprisingly, many 3rd world countries top the list:
Nigeria Tops Happiness Survey.And here is a more recent happiness study wherein the researchers conclude, “Money’s pretty powerful, but it’s not the whole story…”
They add, “…benevolence and expressions of gratitude appear to be subtle but powerful ways to bring happiness into one’s life and to extend it. Religion and solidarity in the community play a big role in this, he says, but any positive belief system can help.”
Some “balanced” food for thought…
And here is Mike’s reply to that,
Money is such a multi dimensional multi leveled concept and provider of happiness that it resists any singleminded want or pursuit. And the needs of all people today require money unless they are people who live totally off the land for food, clothing and shelter and buy nothing at all.
For all the rest of us money is the great provider and however we get it or like what we do to get it it remains the great provider.
We’ve heard many times: I’m just in this to help people. Great – help them by referring them all to me and that will satisfy your need to help.
When you love what you do all the better and living like an artist passionate about your life your business your art – they are the same – is a reasonable goal. It’s the only goal I’ve ever had and I believe it’s the best way in the world to live.
But regardless of that, you can’t ignore money when you pay attention to people’s needs today – it’s a contradiction.
And my final reply,
Mike, dear Mike. You didn’t read those 2 articles in my last comment, did you?
I’m thinking you couldn’t have because there’s no way you could have resisted attempting to debunk them. And I saw no debunking, just more insistence that “…the needs of all people today require money unless they are people who live totally off the land for food, clothing and shelter and buy nothing at all.”
Au contraire. Remember studying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in high school or college? It’s a pretty common model for understanding the types of “needs” that all people have.
A focus on money effectively ignores an individual’s highest needs. Most people you and I meet really already have their basic physiological and safety needs met. So can money buy love/belonging, self-esteem and/or self-actualization? Nope. It can help grease the machine a bit, but it’s not necessary. (Again, those two worldwide happiness studies I previously linked to are insightful.)
So you absolutely can “ignore money when you pay attention to people’s needs today.” It’s not a contradiction. The key is actually caring enough about someone else that you find out their real and immediate needs and sincerely try to help them – with no thought of personal gain.
In most cases, the people we meet and especially those close to us, need our time and attention not our product or business opportunity. However, maybe sometimes those come later, after we’ve proven we view them as more than a pawn in our own pursuits.
Sorry for making this post so long. But ultimately we all want to be happy and I think the pursuit of happiness is a struggle of balance and priorities. So it’s important to constantly question ourselves, our motives, actions, thoughts, etc. In the middle of making a living, are we really concentrating on what will bring us the greatest happiness? If we truly care about others first, won’t our businesses thrive as a nice by-product?
I recently finished a post on why you should be nervous about MLM companies that release distributor earnings. I finished that post suggesting that if your MLM company shows some distributors with massive monthly income numbers, there’s a great chance that its compensation program is unfairly top-heavy.
What makes a top-heavy MLM comp plan imbalanced & unfair? If you aren’t one of a few dozen of those top earners you may never see a decent income no matter how hard you work at it. Wouldn’t you rather be part of an organization that gives a fair chance for everyone to prosper?
MLM comp plans can be pretty complex and in the near future I’ll do some more detailed comparisons. But for now, bear with my over-simplifications and let’s graphically compare a top-heavy comp plan to a more balanced comp plan.
Comparing MLM Compensation Models
…of course the plan would need to be complex enough that the rank-and-file members wouldn’t understand that they just got jacked…
OK, yes, I realize I’m exaggerating a bit on both sides. But I’m trying to illustrate an important point (that, and I don’t have all day to make graphics, I have a business to run). At least you get the picture, right? Which one would you want to belong to; the one that lets a few dozen people make a few extra million per year at the expense of everyone else who is working hard to support them, or the plan that spreads those millions around? Wouldn’t an ideal plan be easy on initial participants, rewarding to the middle-class distributors and still very motivating to the top leaders?
Look at it this way. What if you were starting an MLM company and you wanted to poach a few huge distributor organizations? I’ll bet you’d be tempted to implement a top-heavy plan that convinces some top guys to move their groups to you. Of course the plan would need to be complex enough that the rank-and-file members wouldn’t understand that they just got jacked. Are you sure you understand your network marketing company’s compensation plan?
…go ahead and milk that warm fuzzy feeling for all it’s worth. It’s likely to be the highest compensation you ever see…
So, let’s go back to the topic of “top earners” and think about all of those mid-to-low-level distributors that are so excited to show off the fact that their upline leader is on top of the list. Pal (yes, I’m speaking to you, confused MonaVie guy), if you’re proud that some top earners list shows your guys at the top, go ahead and milk that warm fuzzy feeling for all it’s worth. It’s likely to be the highest compensation you ever see.
Everyone else who actually understood this argument should be asking themselves, “How do I identify the best possible network marketing company to join?” Lucky for you there are quite a few equitable MLM companies. To identify which one is right for you, you’d want to find out about their upline support, product quality, company support, compensation plan, cost, etc. And if the business opportunity was your primary concern, you’d definitely want to look at what companies are growing – and on top of that, which are experiencing momentum? Those are the ones who probably got the overall mix “right.”
As always, there’s more to come…. And, please feel free to comment anytime if you agree or disagree or if you have any questions or subjects you’d like me to cover in the future.
I was looking at the (very warped) “before” and (still warped) “after” tables in my recent post about the changing MLM 500 Earners List wondering how well one could trust the self-reported income figures of most top distributors – especially those posted on a publicly open site like the MLM earners list. At first glance you might think there is a lot of benefit to be gained from reporting the highest possible numbers, regardless of their validity.
If I was a distributor anxiously recruiting people into my downline I might state the largest imagined number as frequently as possible. If there was some public list where I was able to submit whatever average monthly income number I felt like…well, you get the point.
What if you were part of some top earner’s downline? Would you be tempted to submit to some free-for-all public list the highest rumored number you’ve heard to help support your claims that you belong to the best organization in the best company? After doing so would you blog and comment all over the web to promote your organization? Haven’t we all read dozens of such posts and comments? Can you trust them?
Finally I wonder about the companies who are anxious to publish their distributor numbers online. If most normal companies, including most reputable MLM companies, wouldn’t reveal their sensitive internal numbers online which companies would be desperate enough to release such numbers?
My research on MLM company momentum seems to indicate that the companies most anxious to publish their distributor numbers (for those of you keeping score that would be MonaVie and Amway) are actually those experiencing NEGATIVE momentum & growth. Perhaps a slightly altered Shakespearean quote applies, “The company doth promote too much, methinks.”
Want to know which companies seem to be experiencing the greatest momentum? I’m still crunching some numbers but it’ll be out soon.
BTW, I can see why a short-sighted distributor or company might want to publish some high earnings figures. But what is that really saying about the opportunity for all other distributors? Could it be that their compensation structure is so top heavy that the cash is only flowing to a few elite? Here’s my analysis on that topic, appropriately titled Which MLM Comp Plans Screw the Typical Distributor?.
Recent Comments