I’m at the tail end of a 2 month tour around New Zealand and Australia. If you’ve yet to spend any time here, I’d highly recommend it. Here’s a picture I took on my travels around New Zealand. 

I did a Brilliant Compensation Live event last week (a generic opportunity meeting for any M.L.M company). I had a lady come up afterwards and say, “My heavens, the way you presented M.L.M I can’t see how anyone can say no! How can there be ANY negativity about this industry?”

The answer I gave her is one you need to read… and KNOW so that you can explain it to your prospect.

First let me say that some of our bad public relations, we’ve earned. We did it and we’re paying for it. If you didn’t do it, then you inherited the problem, therefore you have to fix it. But most of the bad public relations we’ve received was from either people who didn’t (and still don’t) know anything about the industry or people who have failed at M.L.M and now talk badly about it.

Basically, there are three types of authors of content: 1. They’ve never done what they’re writing about, 2. They’ve done it and failed and 3. They’ve done it and succeeded.

Note: My use of the word “author” includes both written and spoken communication. Which is to say that ANYONE who says or writes anything!

The first type of author who has created bad public relations for the industry is the author who has never done M.L.M. 

Newspaper, magazine and television writers and reporters rarely have done M.L.M – their information comes from hearsay and as an “outsider looking in.” Attorneys and even many professors often give advice on activities they’ve never done. The majority of the books at the book store are from authors who have never done what they’re authoring about. They can write (or speak), but can not succeed at doing it.

Their advice is rarely good because it’s based on invention, another’s opinion or hearsay. This problem gets compounded when one hears something…and repeats what they heard from the media. Now there are two layers of people who have never done it; but think they know about it. People who have never done or succeeded at it can not possibly place the correct importance on the subject! You can always identify authors who have never done it because their content is slightly (or grossly) off the main subject.

As an example, I read a web site that wrote several pages about how M.L.M could not mathematically work. What?! That’s like debating the “fact” that “scientifically” a bumblebee can’t fly. Has it ever occurred to that author To LOOK? The oldest M.L.M company is still growing after 50 years! 

A large amount of the negative public relations in M.L.M has come because too many people who have no real data on M.L.M make statements that other people believe because the author “appears” real; which they shouldn’t.

The second group of authors who have created negative public relations for M.L.M is people who have failed at M.L.M.

When someone has failed at what they write or talk about, it is common for them to be critical (inclined to find fault with) of the activity and those who do the activity. Why? Because something about the subject is a complete mystery to them and they feel a little [or a lot] inadequate. They obviously couldn’t figure out some part of it – otherwise they wouldn’t have failed! 

As an example, let’s take a person who tried M.L.M but didn’t succeed at it. Because he has a little knowledge about the subject he can say, “I’ve done M.L.M and it doesn’t work!” He’ll typically state “what’s hard,” “wrong,” or “dangerous” about M.L.M. Why? Because he never figured it out and someone who succeeds at it proves his inadequacy on the subject of M.L.M.

His worst nightmare is people succeeding at M.L.M. If he knew exactly why he failed at it, he may zero in on that part and write (or state) negatively about it – perhaps how the upline makes all the money (which is the same in every industry). But normally he doesn’t know why he failed so he tries to makes EVERYTHING about M.L.M wrong – including anyone who does M.L.M.

Warning: There are always more people who fail than succeed at every activity – so the general comments (written and spoken) on any activity will be negative. Now you know why someone would write, “So few people succeed at ______,” and then they go on and advise you “not to do it.” 

Do not take advice from people who’ve failed at what they author about – they have an axe to grind and they don’t want you to succeed at what they failed at as if you succeed it proves their inadequacy on the subject. The more people who succeed at it, the more fire-spitting mad they get about it. By the way, often how they personally tell you this is, “I’m just trying to protect you.” 

The third author type is those who have succeeded at what they write about.

If an author has done and succeeded at the activity they author about, they are a valuable asset to you and their advice is worthwhile. They know what is important and what’s not important about the subject.

Please notice there is a vast difference between someone who has been “educated” on a subject versus someone who can DO the subject successfully. Just because a person has studied a subject, doesn’t mean they can do it. A beautician can study all about hair – that doesn’t mean she can cut hair. A psychiatrist may have been able to listen to her teachers and may have been able to read the required text books and may have even been able to pass a state board examination on the subject – but can she fix another person’s problems? If she can’t, don’t take her advice!

A student who has been educated on a subject has only proven that she can be a student successfully. She has not proven she can DO THE SUBJECT. So don’t be snowed by someone who says, “I’ve been a student of the industry for 23 years.” They have not proven they can DO M.L.M.

Author type number three is the person you should accept advice from on any subject you’re researching. If you want to fail, take advice from one who has failed.

In a nutshell, those people who have never done M.L.M and those who have failed at M.L.M are the ones who have created the bad public relations and have confused people about the industry.

If a person listens to author type number one or two and hears something “bad,” they should ask author type number three about it. Author type three (the person who has succeeded at it) can put everything into the right perspective.

As an example, after one of my Brilliant Compensation events in Melbourne Australia, a guest asked me, “What percentage of people succeed?” Obviously he got the question from author type one or two. My response to him was that even though I’ve made millions of dollars, I personally had NEVER asked that question (even to myself) because no industry exists where the majority of people who do it make big money. I wasn’t avoiding the question. I was simply letting him know that the question is truly irrelevant! The right question to ask is, “How do those who make big money do it?”

I hope this helps you to understand where the bad public relations comes from and how you can correct it. 

Huge respect to you,

Tim Sales

P.S. Improving the public relations image of M.L.M also requires that we all do the activity in a professional way. To be professional requires the proper training. You can get the best professional training in this industry by listening to my 7 CD set, “Professional Inviter”. If you don’t already own it, now’s your chance to get it at a 25% savings – but only for a short time so act now. http://www.firstclassmlmtools.com.

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