Today, we’re going to talk about MLM Junkies. If you’ve spent any time in this great industry, you’ve probably heard this term before.
What are MLM junkies? I would best describe them as people who jump from company to company or opportunity to opportunity every two to six months (or sooner). They can’t commit to anything. They are similar to a drug addict in that they are looking for a quick and easy fix. They are looking for something that gives them a temporary high. They think the company itself is the answer to their troubles, rather than looking at the person in the mirror and taking responsibility for their own actions.
HYPE is their buzzword. They love HYPE and excitement. They’re always after the next big thing! If it sounds easy, fast or there’s a promise of getting something for nothing, they are all over it.
Chances are, you’ve stumbled across some MLM Junkies at some point in your career. And if you haven’t, be prepared. They are everywhere.
The Mindset of MLM Junkies
We covered it briefly in the opening paragraphs, but here are some of the things that MLM Junkies have in common.
# 1: They are looking to get rich quick.
MLM Junkies expect to make a full-time income in their new network marketing business within their first few months, even if they don’t put in the work. They’re looking for a quick fix to their financial problems. Even though they know it takes a long time to build a successful business of any type, they do not want to put in the time, money, work or pay their dues. They want it now.
# 2: They are lazy by nature.
They want something for nothing. They aren’t willing to work hard for any period of time. They want to sit back and just collect the money. They have the welfare mentality. Just sign their name on the distributor agreement and sit back and start collecting checks. They expect their upline or sponsor to build their business for them.
# 3: They have a lottery mentality.
They think of their business like a trip to Las Vegas. Just roll the dice and hope for the best. MLM Junkies are similar to the gambling addict who thinks of the casino as part of their retirement plan! If they can just get that one big hit, everything will be great.
# 4: They look at success in business as luck.
Rather than creating their own luck, they view it as an outside force. They want the luck without the hard work. If they can just find one or two good people, life will be good. These people can do all the work while they sit back and cash the checks. MLM Junkies typically look for ground floor opportunities where they can get in early.
# 5: They are very emotional and love hype.
Hype is their favorite word. If there is no hype, they are not interested. They LOVE promises of fast and easy money. They love the “we put people on your team” and “we do the work for you” type ads.
# 6: They talk a big game.
MLM Junkies typically talk a big game. They tell you all the things they ARE GOING TO DO in the business, but they never do anything. They say things like “I’ll be your best person” or “this is my dream business” or “this is going to be easy.” MLM Junkies are all hat, not cattle!
# 7: They are motivated by fear of loss.
They’re afraid that if they don’t get in on the next big thing, they will miss their free meal ticket. They love binaries and spillover. They want to get in early so they can be near the top!
My Story as a MLM Junkie & What I Learned
I’m sad to admit that I was a MLM Junkie at one point in my network marketing career. I was never looking to get rich quick, or make money without working hard, but when one business didn’t work out and produce the results I wanted, I would jump ship to the next business. That’s right, I’d jump from company to company every three to six months, thinking that the next company was better than my current company and it would be the the answer to all of my troubles.
I did this for about ten years. During that time, I worked with more than 10 different network marketing companies. Looking back, all of these were good companies. The real issue was me! I finally got my head out of my ass and learned this valuable lesson: no company is perfect!
Pick the company you want to have your problems with.
If what you are doing isn’t working, the real issue is you, not the company. Why? Because other people in your company ARE achieving success. You need to take the time to develop the right skills and attitude and you must commit to one company for minimum five years. That is the real key to success.
Until you get yourself right, and learn the skills and have the right attitude, you will struggle in EVERY network marketing company you join.
You must put on your blinders, put in the work, and put in the numbers. Once again, the company itself is not the answer to your struggles. You are the answer to your MLM Struggles. If you are struggling in one company, switching new to a new company will not solve anything UNTIL you get yourself right.
What separates the people who fail in our industry from the people who make the big money are their SKILLS, MINDSET, and CONSISTENCY.
The beauty is that once you develop the right skill-set and mind-set you can succeed in ANY company! Until you do that, you will struggle in every company you join!
Once I made the decision to stop being a MLM Junkie and be a serious distributor, it only took me five years working part-time to develop a six figure residual income. Not bad. I’m now one of the top earners in my company. My only regret is not making the decision much sooner in my career.
What Successful Reps Do
If you study the top earners in this great industry, you will quickly discover that they team up with one MLM Company and stick with it for the long haul. Most of them don’t attain overnight success either. They have to learn and develop their skills, in order to become successful. In fact, many top earners struggled for one to three years, before they started to achieve some success.
Most top earners take 3 to 5 years of building their business with one company to get to a six figure income!
Get in, plug in, stay in! Keep sponsoring 2-4 new business builders every month and never stop. Serve a few customers. Work in depth and keep doing the things you want your team to do! Lead by example at all times!
My Challenge to You
I’d like to offer a challenge to you. My challenge to you is to find a company with products or services you are passionate about, and join that company. Make a commitment to stay with that company at least five years, preferably ten years. During this time, don’t look at or evaluate other opportunities. Stay focused.
Come up with a game plan, find a mentor and then take all out massive action. Learn from your mistakes. Don’t get the Shiny Object Syndrome. Even if your sponsor and half your team quits, stay focused and keep pressing forward.
Be the person on a mission. Be the leader that other people are looking to join. If you can do that, you will become the person you need to be to make it big in this great industry. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you could accomplish in just a few short years, even with a part-time effort.
Don’t make the mistake that the MLM Junkies make of switching to a new company every few months. This is a fast way to go broke and ruin your dreams. It’s also a great way to lose your credibility with people you know. Remember, there’s no way you can succeed (or make money) if you are switching companies a few times each year. You have to give yourself time to succeed. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Be a leader and doer, not a MLM junkie.
Video Overview
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the network marketing industry is filled with MLM Junkies.
Don’t be one of them yourself. Don’t make the common mistake of switching from company to company looking for greener pastures. The grass is not greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.
Pick a good company with products you are passionate about, put in the work, and never look back. Remember, you can fail or succeed with any network marketing company. The choice is yours. Ultimately, it’s up to you to take the time to learn the required skills and put in the work. Nothing worth accomplishing is fast, free or easy.
What do you think? What are your thoughts about MLM Junkies? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Suggested Reading:
- Recruit & Grow Rich Book Review
- MLM Sales Funnel: What You Should Know
- Build Your MLM Online: How to Do It
- How to Create a MLM Pipeline
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Chuck Holmes
Network Marketing Professional (21+ years)
Top Recruiter & Top Rep
mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
Unfortunately I know many MLM Junkies. I have either worked with them or tried to mentor them. It is a waste of time and you should not get caught up in their agenda or negativity.
With all them they have one thing in common; they think they are going to make a lot of money in a week and when they don’t “IT’S a bad company, a scam, or they are not being mentored so it’s the mentor’s fault”. I have heard those comments so many times.
These people are not willing to take any steps toward success and always have excuses why. If you find yourself with a “junkie” on your team, and they can’t or choose not to be coached…. Move on to others that do! No matter how hard you try, they will not change their ways.
Yes, there are tons of MLM Junkies in our industry. I wish most of them would leave and do something else. They give our industry a bad reputation, mostly because of their hype. I’ve never met a junkie who could commit to anything. They are typically in a new business every 30 to 90-days.
The point is, anyone that want to get rich without work, is on his/her way to fail. success come from hard work, good skill e.t.c. and one need patience to be able to reach the top. A good leader is a person that love to learn from others and a good listener, a person ready and also willing to obey and value others dream. my final words is that a person that must be successful must be focus. @Joel man rejoicing!
LOL! I thought of my sister’s boyfriend when I read this. He is the guy that you will find sitting on the sofa watching the get quick rich schemes on TV at 3AM in the morning while shoving handfuls of chips in his mouth. Then jump up and say “YES! I WILL BE RICH IN A MONTH!”. He has fallen for so many of them things it is not even funny.
That’s funny. Sadly, there are a lot of folks like this out there.
I too suffered from the MLM junkie syndrome. I started when I was in college to make more money and always ended up with a ton of products thinking that I was just bad at it or the market was oversaturated. The fact of the matter was I just was so excited by the products that I saw at home parties and each consultant made their own opportunity sound so great. The companies that I am with now I joined because I fell in love with the products. I have been with them for years but have not been as focused as I could be about becoming a top earner. Offering solid mentorship and training to your new recruits could be a helpful tool in converting Junkies to Professionals.
Most people go through it, until they make a decision to join a company, and succeed no matter what.
The suggestion to pick some top earners and study them, noting the time it took for them to reach the income level they wanted, is an excellent one. Even five years is not that long. Most people don’t make it to the level they want in any career path they choose in five years, so it is interesting to me that someone wouldn’t stick with this type of business for five years at least.
No matter what type of business you own you need to study it for at least five years. Good things take time. And success won’t happen overnight.
Most MLM Junkies are simply looking to get rich quick without doing the work.
I think a lot of young people suffer from what my uncle describes as “Business ADD”. They cannot focus on one business or company long enough to really go anywhere with the company. Thus, they end up never truly attaining real success. I am not sure why, but it just seems like young people cannot commit to anything. They (or should i say we) want it and we want it now. And if it isn’t happening now then our interest is lost and we move on to something that we feel is going to benefit us. We have to learn to stay committed in order to make it far.
All good things take time. MLM Junkies and Business Opportunity Junkies never seem to understand this. You have to pick something you like and understand, and then take massive action for a few years. There is no such thing as get rich quick. All businesses are hard to build into a successful and profitable business. You have to take the time to learn the right skills and right mind-set. For most folks, this will take minimum three to five years. I really wish all the MLM Junkies would learn this.
Chuck
The biggest key that I have seen in all of this whether it is MLM or a traditional business is doing something you like. Many people go after something they think will be a money making success, but they don’t necessarily like it. It would be like me trying to sell women’s shoes. I have no call to do that, so even if someone came to me with a great opportunity that looks like a big income maker, would it be worth it for me to do it? I don’t think so….we need to like what we do.
I agree that doing what you love is important. You can make a good living turning your passion into work, as long as their is sufficient demand for it.
Sad truth is, most people fail at MLM. Even the best and brightest very often just don’t get the opportunities or breaks they need to make it, so they fail. This isn’t something to be afraid of though. Instead of changing companies every time you fail, study what you did wrong, or what you could have done better. Apply that new knowledge to your next endeavor.
Good points, James. While MLM Junkies are a dime a dozen, but I have to chime in here and say that most businesses fail. Most realtors never sell a house. Most insurance agents never sell a policy. Most bloggers never make any money. I could go on and on, but the point is this. To succeed, you need the right skill-set and right mind-set. Your company, or business model, is only one very small part of the equation as to whether or not YOU will ever be successful.
Chuck