Desperate MLMs Publishing Distributor Earnings
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?.
I think most MLM companies would want to publicize the money their top people make because most new members won’t think about what that REALLY means to them. Their sponsor will say it means they can also make that kind of money if they work hard. But it really means there’s not much money left to flow to them no matter how hard they work. {Company name deleted} makes it easy for new members to make good money quick. And guess what? They aren’t listed at the top of the 500 list. But I’ll bet they have many more successful members.
I totally agree, Alfie. In fact I’m working on a post right now that compares compensation models that are overly generous to a few at the top vs. those that are generous all around. The top-heavy ones are likely to produce some really high top earners – but at the expense of everybody else. It should be up shortly.