Blessings,

Jan

Interesting, however, it may be more insidious than you realize. I’ve been at this 17 years, have done over $100 million in sales, and maintain over $10 million in yearly sales. It is not just the names list, it is what the names list is being used for. It comes back to a motivation of compensation. Much of the carnage you address is a direct result of bogus MLM comp plans that pay more for recruitment and for customer acquisition. A robust names list and a stealthy networking approach to those people would yield increased sales volume (the cornerstone of any business) and no violation of the sacred interpersonal heart/wallet barrier. (see my video trainings under MLM Training on my HelloWorld Media Vault http://www.HelloWorld.com/tommyj for how I have successfully help hundreds of people network to a warm market and still have someplace to go for Thanksgiving Dinner)

Respectfully, I submit to you that you may be missing an understanding of this industry that comes from being around it for nearly two decades. Namely this; it is about many people doing a little. The true leaders conduct their business in a way that is empowering to the masses. It is not true that “MLM isn’t for babies or wimps” as you put it. I have over 30,000 babies and wimps in my downlines and I am very appreciative of them. I work very hard for them to empower them. It is the same as any other business and until people (leaders and leaders-in-the-making, as you put it) understand this simple fact about business they will not make it in MLM or most any business.

Yes, you are looking for leaders. I’ve been doing that for 17 years. But you need worker bees if you are going to gather the Honey. Imagine if you were starting any “traditional” business. How many leaders (CEOs, COOs, CFOs, VPs, Board Members, Senior Managers) are you going to hire befor you go looking for the all important GSM? (Guy Swinging the Mop). I come from a family of multi-million dollar producing business building people. I’ll give you one example: My uncle Tom is an owner of Campbell Roofing here in San Diego. Single jobs run into the tens of millions of dollars and cover acres of roof. There a handful of “leaders” run an army of workers. ¾ of the leaders used to be GSMs. When they started they were babies & wimps until uncle Tom started loving on them. My uncle works harder for his people than anyone else I know. He spends every day talking with as many of the GSMs as he can asking one main question; “What can I do to make your job easier?”

Unlike traditional marketing (which I have been involved in for 30 years) MLM is a marketing business composed of a sales force that is mostly in love with your product, knows nothing about marketing, hates sales, and are willing to give you a few hours a week AFTER they have given their best 40-50 hours to their boss. I don’t look at them as wimps, I love these people. My first act of respect is realizing that they are not “business people” they are successful “job” people. So I don’t try to cram a business down their throats when the only thing they want down their throat after work is a beer

I praise them for having been successful in their job, for being able to keep their family off the streets and all. Then I give them another “job” not a business that requires them to understand new skills and a whole new way of thinking. (that comes later after I have helped someone make a few thousand dollars) For these “worker bees” it is about the list ESPECIALLY if they have fallen in love with your product. Remember, they know nothing about marketing, noting about the numbers game. As a leader, if I can jump out in front of them and protect them from joining the NFL I have done a great service for them & the entire industry. It is not the “list” that has caused such carnage, it is most of the leadership in the industry. Most MLM companies are started with no plan what-so-ever of being in business for more than 3-4 years. Honest people, selling honest products that provide real value to end consumers can use a warm market list very effectively AND very respectfully. B.S. MLMs on the other hand are all about the sign-up or recruitment fees and the list is simply a cost of doing business when you step up to the greed machine.

In your quest for leaders please send your babies and wimps my way ; )

I will love on them and develop them in to leaders with heart who also make a fair amount of money. But only if they want to be that. I will also love on them as customers/distributors who buy my products every month and may get me on a 3-way call one every 3-4 months. There is room in my organization for another 30,000 babies and wimps who just want some extra money, doing an extra job.

Keep posting Stevie, your awesome
tommyj

I found your page from here;

http://michaelmartine.com/2008/09/03/get-web-traffic/#comments

I have added you to my Google Reader and will start reading your blog and commenting.

My site is above,

Thanks,

~ Jim

I may do a video review too. I only promote excellent products/services/tools, etc… So subscribe if you want to be notified when I have new reviews, articles and videos.

And Valerie, thanks for stopping by. People like you make this truly enjoyable! Cheers!

Stevie Knight

Great post and the timing is perfect. I’m new to Twitter and am just now getting a feel for it - but I have already noticed the ‘community’ experience you speak of. I’m looking forward to learning more about Twitter.

Joseph

We live in such a disconnected world, even off-line…

That we do. Lately I’ve been pondering whether being more connected globally results in being less connected locally - or if its actually the other way around.

I’ve been thinking of that for the past few days. We live in such a disconnected world, even off-line. People talk about the isolation of working on the internet. But as social networks that effectively connect people like Twitter does spring up, there’s a positive synergy coming from all these people connecting in ways that matter to them.

What’s great with Twitter is that your stool is always saved, and, if you invest some time in connecting with people and contributing to them positively, there will always be someone to call out “hey, Norm/Dawn/Jared/DrTodd/Stevie/Your name!”

The fact that it will probably impact your business’s bottom line is just icing on a Twee-licious cake!

See you back on Twitter!