I want to talk to you today about the people to avoid in MLM. I think that the advice in this post will save you a lot of time and heartache, if you listen and apply what I am about to say.
First and foremost, one of my favorite things about the network marketing industry is that you get to CHOOSE who you work with. Remember that everyone you sponsor could potentially be a LIFE-LONG business partner with you. So, be selective about who you choose to sponsor. If someone irritates you, lies, has a negative attitude, or is dishonest, do you really want to work with them on a daily basis?
I don’t think so.
So, who should you avoid? I think there are really two groups of people you should avoid (in your business and in life). These two types of people are lazy people and negative people. For the rest of this article, I’m going to talk more about each group of people.
# 1 Lazy People – Lazy people are everywhere. You probably know lots of folks in this category. These are folks who want everything handed to them in life. They expect the government to take care of them. They expect a big raise at work, even though they do very little. These are the folks who do the bare minimum, or less.
They aren’t achievers and if they had it their way, they would get paid to do nothing.
These are the folks who join our industry and are complaining that they aren’t rich yet, by the end of the first month. And these are the same folks who didn’t even share the products or business with anyone. They have a lottery mentality and expect everyone and anyone but themselves to do the work.
Avoid these folks like the plague. You will end up WASTING lots of your time and money trying to help someone who isn’t even willing to help themselves.
# 2 Negative People – The next group of people you want to avoid in MLM is the negative people. These are folks who see the negative in everything. They are pessimistic ALL the time. The glass is always half empty. They only focus on the bad things.
They bring you do when you are around them. When they enter the room, everyone is hoping they will leave. They always complain, bitch and moan. Even if they have 99 things going well for them, they focus on the one thing that isn’t working.
The problem with negative people is that they will eventually bring you down to their level, if you hang around them long enough. It’s true, one bad apple can ruin a barrel full of good apples. Avoid these folks at all costs and do not spend time with them.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that you should avoid certain groups of people in MLM. Trust me, you want to be selective about who you work with, the people you sponsor and your upline. You want people with a good attitude, an open mind and a strong work ethic. You want to work with people who lift you up and encourage you, not bring you down.
What do you think? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Lazy people and negative people are like the plague. Spend enough time around them and you’ll take on their characteristics, which is obviously a huge detriment to your business and your life. Surround yourself with the people you admire and want to be like, and who have similar aspirations to yours. I’ve heard that there are three kinds of people: 1) crystal balls – people through whom you can see your own future, 2) mirrors – people in your life who reflect back at you your own characteristics, good and bad, 3) angels = people who bring blessings into your life, short-term or long-term. So, find people who will bring you a good future, seek out people who reflect back at you your best qualities, put yourself in situations to meet ‘angels’. Surrounding yourself with the right people is vital to success in multi-level marketing.
I guard my association very closely. That’s why I don’t hang out with too many folks!
This is a huge perk to MLM and avoiding lazy and negative does wonders for you professionally and personally. I’d also add that I work to surround myself with people I can trust. I need to know the team I’m working with has my back and will support me in anyway to see me reach my goals.
Unfortunately, there are a LOT of lazy people. I also agree that it makes sense to surround yourself with people you trust, who do the right thing and are willing to work hard.
Another one I would add to the list are dishonest people: ones who say one thing to your face then the opposite to everyone else, the ones who violate your company’s TOS because “they’ll never know”, the ones who overcharge the customer or claim something was stolen by others when it was pocketed by them.
I find that someone who is dishonest in one thing is usually dishonest in many ways, and when caught they will always find someone to blame (usually you).
I agree. Liars are another group that we should try to avoid, because they can “rub off” just like lazy people and negative people. Dishonesty has become a huge problem in MLM and other businesses. I don’t understand why so many people feel they need to lie, and it is usually over something unimportant.
Chuck, this was a great post.
I must say, that we all have our negative moments, but you can tell soon if you are around a person that is consistently negative. We do need to try to avoid all of these types of people.
Hang around people who uplift you and bring out the best in you.
I agree: I do not like to spend time with lazy people or negative ones either. Like everyone else, I have experience with both types of people, and I feel like they just suck the life out of me. When working a j-o-b, I worked with a number of negative people, and whether that negativity was warranted or not, it was just miserable to be around them. They are like cancer, trying to spread their misery from host to host. Avoid these people, both in your MLM business, and in your personal life. There is no changing them.
One of the primary reasons I work for myself is that I want to get to choose who I work with on a daily people. I guard my association very cautiously and it’s one of the reasons I spend so much time alone. I work hard to keep a good attitude and I don’t want to spend all of my time with someone negative.
Same here! Being your own boss brings a lot of responsibilities and work but the freedom you have when it comes to who you work with and who you have to put up with on a daily basis- it is all so very worth it to work for yourself!
Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. I am the first to admit that. That being said, I still like to avoid lazy and negative people.
Great list Charles of individuals to avoid. A lazy person is an unreliable person because you cannot guarantee that they will follow through on the tasks they are responsible for. However, I could deal with a lazy person far better than a negative person. I am a firm believer that your attitude determines your altitude in life. So if someone is bringing negative energy into the space and the business, they will bring you down and keep you from reaching your full potential.
I agree. I would also rather work with a lazy person that a negative person. But I would prefer to work with neither.
I could write a book of all the times I have had run ins with people who were nothing but hassles and problems for me, my company, and by business as a whole. You need customers and clients but all it takes is one bad apple to spoil everything.
Every business should fire their bad customers and avoid certain types of people. It would save them a lot of time and money!
It is true!
The two sets of people you have identified are the ones who are non-producers. They are either laying back or complaining about things going wrong. In order to be successful, you may not have all the knowledge but you SHOULD HAVE right attitude towards everything. It is always better to have few people in your company who are performers rather than having a huge bunch of non-performers.
Unfortunately, you never know ahead of time who is going to produce and who isn’t going to produce. If you did, it would be a lot easier to sponsor certain people.