If You Build It, They Might Come

My address book is full of names of people who worked hard, “paid their dues,” persevered . . . and then JUST when they became big money earners and had arrived at the top of the leadership ranks --- THEY came (the company management), they saw (the big bucks), and they conquered (changed the comp plan, changed the rules).

I call this one the “What Have You Done for Me Lately, Baby?” syndrome. Why is it that some limited-thinking micromanaging company executives believe that they alone are responsible for the MLM company’s success? That mentality baffles me.

Here’s how it goes: a top distributor like you attracts, enrolls, trains, and develops dozens of leaders and perhaps thousands of distributors who basically are “smart consumer” types.

At first, if you’re like some of my industry friends, corporate management really caters to you. After all, they couldn’t get their company off the ground without your help. They have already discovered that. I have yet to see the first product that totally sells itself.

So, there you are --- being wined, dined and catered to. The management and you become one --- they have searched their whole corporate life for you (they say), and they are absolutely pleased beyond words that you chose to work with them.

They and you are The Dream Team . . . at first. One (nameless) friend took such a sleepy little company from Nowheresville to Millions a Month. They appreciated it so much that they changed the compensation plan to punish him and a few of his leaders, changed the company policies to further financially punish him, and then, eventually, terminated him without due cause.

They developed close relationships with the people he brought to the table. As my husband, Taylor Hegan is fond of saying: “People don’t drop down from the sky.” It was only because of the leader's hard work that the company had those relationships. Yet, they decided he and his leaders were expensive and expendable.

I am appalled when I hear people say that a leader is not worth $20,000 a month or even $200,000 a month. Some professional athletes get over $10 million for just a signing bonus . . . and there is a very real possibility that they could sustain a career-ending injury before they make a single contribution to the franchise. Anyone in MLM who has ever made $20,000 or more a month deserves respect and whatever dollars they are entitled to.

It was this kind of issue that inspired me to join the MLMIA and DSWA boards. Distributors may be independent contractors, but they certainly can join companies who are bound to answer to a court of law if they disregard the law.

You should always know your rights instead of just accepting whatever companies tell you. I am well aware of several cases of distributor abuse where wealthy companies with payroll attorneys “took the law in their own hands” to get rid of powerful and highly paid leaders. And the distributors can prevail, and have prevailed, when they haven’t given up.

Let me clarify that I personally know quite a few corporate MLM management teams, and most have integrity and should not be lumped in with the type I’m targeting here. But if you’ve had the misfortune of connecting with the wrong team, you can always let your feet do the walking. Don’t forget that your grievance could be worth a lot, since you have already invested all that time in pursuit of residual income. You can cash monthly checks for several years from grievance compensation just like you can cash commission checks.

Join me in helping to police OUT of our industry those few black sheep in management who are here for themselves and will “legally” rob distributors. You, like my friend, should be able to confidently build it and not fear that they will come.