It can be one of the most difficult decisions for a Network Marketer — when to pull the plug and leave your MLM company.
As Part Time Networkers, we cannot afford to continue spinning our wheels and remaining with a Company when things just aren't clicking anymore.
But sometimes it's hard to know when it's time.
We think that things will change if we wait just a little longer. We hope that things will work themselves out.
We recently made the decision to pull the plug on a relationship we've had with a company we've been with since we first started Network Marketing.
It was a very tough decision and one we contemplated for quite some time.
You see, we had lots of friends and colleagues who we truly respect that were still part of the organization. We spent 4 years learning from their exceptional training and private masterminds.
We cut our Internet Marketing teeth with this Company.
But something wasn't right… and looking back, the signs were there for quite some time.
7 Signs You Should Leave Your MLM Company
First, let me say that you shouldn't leave your MLM Company at the first sign of trouble. Nobody's perfect and perhaps changes will be made that you don't like.
And just like a spouse, there are always little things that bug you.
That doesn't mean you should divorce.
But if you start seeing a number of these signs show up and they grow more intense or bother you more as time goes on, maybe it's time for a change.
1. You Lose Passion for the Product
This is a telltale sign that things are amiss. Maybe your MLM company has changed the emphasis of their product line, or perhaps you no longer feel the quality of the products is something you feel good about recommending.
And you can be sure if you feel less than passionate about your products, this will shine through loud and clear to your prospects. Your sign-up rate will most likely plummet.
Whatever the reason, if you lose passion for your product line or worse, you stop using the products yourself, it's probably time to consider a change.
2. You Don't Feel The Products/Services are Worth the Money
If you don't feel like your company products are worth the money they charge, it's likely your new team members won't either.
They may feel discouraged at best and misled at worst.
Either way, the likelihood that they'll give up and quit will skyrocket.
3. You Stop Attending Company Calls
If you find yourself no longer attending your company calls and webinars, this can be a sign that things aren't right.
When we first joined our MLM company, we attended almost every training call. Now, it's natural to skip some calls once you get your footing and exit the beginner stage.
In fact, you'll want to spend less time learning and more time implementing what you've learned as time goes by.
But when you stop jumping on company calls, updates and special webinars entirely, this may tell you that your enthusiasm is waning.
4. You're Not Up-to-Date on the Latest Developments
This goes along with the previous sign but extends to your prospecting.
If you no longer can answer questions from your prospects because you're not up on the latest developments in your MLM Company, this is a sign that you've begun to detach.
5. You Lose Trust in the Leadership
This is huge. If you no longer trust or respect the leadership, it's definitely time to consider leaving your MLM Company.
Maybe it's a change of leadership that sparks this mistrust, or maybe you become disillusioned by the current leaders.
Whatever the case, if you lose trust in the company leadership, it may be time to sever ties.
6. Changes in the Compensation Plan Significantly Reduce your Earnings
This sometimes happens in an MLM Company — they decide for whatever reason to change the terms of the Comp plan and the size of your check starts to shrink.
I've actually not seen this happen very often, but when it does it will undoubtedly leave you with negative emotions that may affect your relationship with the company.
7. Major Players Start To Leave Your MLM Company
This is the only sign that has nothing to do with you, but when you start seeing other major marketers in your MLM leave, you have to ask why.
It may be nothing more than a coincidence — people change companies all the time for various reasons.
But it also may be a sign that others are as disillusioned as you.
These are NOT Reasons To Leave Your MLM Company
When I began writing this post, I became concerned that someone might take these signs as EXCUSES for quitting MLM.
While the above are signs that perhaps it's time to change direction, they mean nothing unless you are fully invested in your business.
Meaning, if you are looking for reasons to BLAME others for your lack of results, you need only look in the mirror for the real reason for your failures.
Here are some reasons NOT to leave your company:
- Your sponsor isn't helping you enough
- No one is holding your hand and taking your through the process step-by-step
- You're not getting any results, but haven't taken any action
- You can't find the time to devote to your business.
If you look closely, these reasons all have to do with YOU.
That's because the reason for your lack of results is You, and not your MLM company.
In this case, if you leave your MLM Company and jump to another, you're likely to see the same results — Nothing!
For Those That Skim to the Bottom
It's hard to know when to pull the plug on your relationship with an MLM Company, especially if you've been with them for a long time.
But sometimes it's necessary, and the signs have been there for quite some time.
These 7 signs to leave your MLM Company are not, one by one a reason to sever ties. But if you start to see many of these signs pop up and your gut is telling you it's time to move on, then maybe it's time to get out.
But don't make the mistake of using excuses involving YOU and YOUR EFFORT to rationalize jumping from company to company.
Your Turn
Have you ever felt it was time to leave a Company? What signs did you see?
Leave a Comment and contribute to the discussion!
39 replies to "7 Telltale Signs You Should Leave Your MLM Company"
if a company has always paid residual but suddenly has customer requirements or they let go of you? from my understanding, the claim is while the company got so many customers in the past for the companies we reperesent for a savings (which savings in our region has been low in the past 2 years and mots pople in my area have lost cmost of their cutomers and have not ahd much success getting new ones) due to the market conditions. These companies are essentially getting free customers from us.
but the big concern is you have to get three customers within three months every single time if you don’t you get an email 15 days after that time is up you can call , get 30 days t get qualified or they remove you.
it was not like this for the first 10 years. is this a sign the company is in trouble an don its way out?
I’m guessing they are doing this because of the FTC investigations of Herbalife and others, where they want a certain percentage of business to be customers and not just reps.
hi bob. I have a question. It is more not so much about leaving an MLM company, but I am curious what signs are that the company is having issues, or falling apart and may not last much longer. I always have and always will love the company. I like the product. in our case it is a product of savings. in my area for the past three years now the market has been at a record and in my region most customers have left and trying to get new ones are difficult because there isn’t really much of a savings if any, and in some cases it is slightly more as the market is not shifting. for the first 8 years it was easy as the market for our svaings product was always saving 10-30 percent. and it didn’t cost anything to get customers so it was fantastic.
Now in th elast few years, we did have some of the major players in the company no longer be ni the company. from my understanding every single one of them was let go rather than them leaving.
but something in the past few months has happened that makes me wonder. and it literally takes the company from true residual to what I would call a job. and what is it? you now have to gain x number of customers per every three month period, and if you don’t you get one additional month to do it and if you don’t get that done they remove you from the company).
from my understanding it was a necessary thing to do to keep the relationships with the companies we represent to get customers for. however, while I have always found the person at the top of the company itself to be genuine and care about us, and for the intergrity of the company, well, I this case I find that BS. and our people have gotten many of these companies way more customers over the years. and if you ask me, in thinking about this reason. they all have their own sales people, they do their own ads, and they pay usually 2-3 times as much as we get paid, sure our company takes half so we are already discounted , but more so, that doesn’t make sense to me because aren’t we giving them free customers why would they care? I mean it is entirely possible. but how is that even a true residual? that seems to me it is a job, not a residual in fact I know several people from my area have lost well over 50 percent of their customers in the past 2 years for the reasons I mentioned above.
and one person I spoke with who has been one of the top customer gatherer’s year in and year out is in danger of not qualifying this round, he probably will just squeak by, but I want to get cusomters. I stillthink they offer the best comp plan, and that hasn’t actually changed, they actually even pay more for stuff than before. but something doesn’t feel right abou this.
Hey George, here’s the thing. Company’s change all the time, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes in response to a mandate of some kind. I think the bottom line is this — how YOU feel about the company. If you’re not happy with the changes and it’s affecting the way you think about the company and even it’s products, then it may be time to make a change. I don’t know about you, but I would have trouble representing a company I’m not fully sold on. Thanks for the comment.
Great post. I think your first point says it all. Passion for the products…if you don’t have passion for the products of your MLM your points 2,3, and 4 will follow right in line. Point number 5 loosing trust in the leadership may have to do with personal accountability. Many people in MLM don’t take accountability for their own success. I think the biggest problem with most network marketers they jump on the band wagon and join MLM’s without that passion for the products looking for easy overnite success. On the flip side most companies focus to much on recruiting and and not training or screening new distributors. I will agree there are times to leave your MLM but one thing for sure no matter where you go without passion for the product and your own personal use your recruiting effort and even the retailing of your company products personal failure is not to far away.
Again great post I’ll bookmark your your blog for sure…
Dennis
Also, let me add that if you’re just not happy doing it, you shouldn’t continue (even if you are successful). Things like this take their toll over time, and if you’re not happy & can’t fix that… it’s time to move on to something else.
Hey there. Great post. It can be really hard for people to understand when its time to give up on a particular business, especially if you’ve been there a long time.
I kind of equate it to a “break-up” and it can be hard to accept what needs to be done.
Great post here, and congrats on you being in the top50 mlm blogs at thatmlmbeat!
It IS like a break up, Kurt, but like a relationship that’s run its course, you have to focus on everything you learned and the good times you had. We cut our teeth with PRO and will forever be indebted to the founders and the leaders in that company. No regrets, none.
Thanks for the kind words, Kurt!
Hi Dr Bob,
This a good list of reasons to leave your MLM company. Too bad most people who get into MLM will end up quitting. You are so right, that most people who do not see the success they would like to see, will end up making excuses and blaming everyone but the person who is responsible for their failure. You are the only one to blame when you don’t see the success you had hoped to see.
MLM is a business and must be treated as such. If you went to your job and didn’t do what was asked of you. What would happen? Well you would most likely get fired. So take a look at what you do in your MLM and ask yourself, would I hire me? Am I doing all I could be doing to make this work? And Be Honest with yourself.
9 times out of 10 you will see that you are not doing everything you could be doing to succeed.
Thanks for sharing Dr Bob and have a great day!
I like that Ian…. “would I hire me?” We should all ask ourselves that once in a while.
Thanks for your insights here, Ian!
Hey Bob, great article and a very important topic. Some people may be 100% committed to their MLM company no matter what when the writing is on the wall and it’s clear that a change needs to be made. My first real exposure to the industry was with Excel Communications. And I was committed to that company – only one thing could keep me from building it and that was if the company shut down. I loved everything about it but towards the end, several major leaders began to leave, changes were being made and communication began to dwindle. Sure enough, the company sent out the email that all distributors were terminated. Wow. Sure learned a lot there! I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on and was totally blind -sided by it. Others were able to move on or had already thought out what they would need to do if such a situation were to arise because they could see what was happening.
I like you finish your article though, how any reasons related to YOU have nothing to do with the company and are NOT reasons to quit your MLM company. Great stuff Bob!
Very impressive. Those are solid reasons to leave the company. Thanks bob for sharing your experience with us.
Thanks, Dev.
As always, great to see you here!
Bob, losing passion could simply mean it all. I am not sure how someone can still dwell (successfully) in a business. I am sure that it will start to show up in the products and services when once someone starts to lose the passion. So it is indeed a huge sign that one can’t miss!
That’s very true, Jane. Losing passion is a telltale sign that its time to move on.
Sometimes it helps to try to figure out WHY you are losing passion. What was it that caused you to lose your exuberance? Many times you can gain great insights into yourself by examining changes in your passion.
Thanks for your insights, Jane!
Hi, Bob,
very immpresive and it is even better and more significant when we are aware that it comes from your own experience. Many people are eager to give advices wthout actually feeling the results on their own skin, while you share with us some very personal immpressions. I bet that lossing trust in the leadership is the biggest issue and makes the vital move to change something about the whole thing. I understand it doesn’t have to be “divorcing”, but its better to stay away, as the confidence is gone and there won’t be any more real trust betwen former colleagues…only pretending.
Hi Kristina,
It’s true, once you lose your passion for the product or service and your lose your trust in the leadership, it’s definitely time to consider moving on. When you are not passionate about your company, your prospects will smell it from miles away and your success in prospecting will drop to near zero.
Thanks for the comment, Kristina.
Hi Bob,
I recently left a company I had been with for a few years for almost every reason that you pointed out. The decision cost us thousands of dollars in investments, but I feel great about leaving it behind. I feel free to do internet marketing in a way that is more suitable for the way I am situated. I’m sure a lot of peopole will appreciate your affirmation of thoughts they were already having.
Lou
Hi Lou,
Yes, sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and cut the cord. Kudos to you for making that very difficult decision!
Appreciate the comment, Lou!
Hey Dr Clarke,
Thanks for sharing these telltale signs. This is exactly what I wanted to read. I have bookmarked it so I can read it again.
This statement is SO true: “It’s hard to know when to pull the plug on your relationship with an MLM Company, especially if you’ve been with them for a long time.”
Wish it was that easy to call it quits when the signs have been for some time.
Thank you so much for your timely advice, Dr Clarke.
Onwards and upwards! 🙂
Mavis
Hi Mavis,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad that you found this information relevant and inspirational.
It’s never easy to end a relationship, whether it be business or personal. But sometimes it’s just what’s needed for continued growth.
Appreciate the comment, Mavis!
Thanks for this advice – I like that you use the comparison of the company to a marriage. People are at their jobs just as much (if not more) than they are at home with their spouses, so I think it’s a very viable analogy. As usual, thank you for being so honest!
HI Natasha,
That’s true, a job or even a business can become very much like a marriage, and many of the same rules apply,
Thanks for your insightful comment, Natasha.
I agree with the comments above – this is great business advice in general, as well as good criteria for evaluating whether or not to quit a job, or anything else that isn’t working in your life. Can be tough to let go, especially when it was such an integral part of your introduction into the MLM world, as you said. Hopefully this will inspire others to follow their hearts while trying to earn a buck.
Thanks, Natalie… although I wrote this talking specifically about MLM, after re-reading it I agree that these same criteria can be used in many aspect of business.
Thanks to you and others for pointing this out!
Appreciate your comment, Natalie!
Great post and really solid reasons to leave your company.
I’ve never joined a company and left it, but only because I actually use the products I am paying for.
I think it’s very important that you bring up that they are not just excuses or something to blame! We all get what we put in to our businesses!
I think it’s hard to cut our losses sometimes but it must be done! I hope whatever your next business plan is, it’s more suited to you and something you can be passionate about.
All the best,
Emma 🙂
That’s very true, Emma… sometimes we must cut our losses, and I’m not just talking about financially. The hard word you’ve put into building your business and the people you’ve met along the way can also make it hard to cut the cord.
But like you said, there are times when it just needs to be done.
So glad that you’ve stayed with your company and still love their products. That’s great!
Thanks for the comment, Emma… appreciate your insights!
Great list of reasons to stop selling anything or change jobs actually. Hope the fact that you left one MLM company turns out well for you.
Thanks for the support, Catarina.
Hi Bob! Yes, I have left network marketing companies in the past for many of the reasons you mentioned.
But I also have been in several companies I loved so much I stayed with them even when they began to have trouble. They went out of business. But for that, I would still be with them because I believed in the product & my own leaders so much!
So it’s important, like you said, to not be looking for someone to blame but just to make a realistic assessment based on the criteria you suggested.
Good points, Jeanine…. and I didn’t mean to say that the business we left is anything less than legitimate.
We just simply found ourselves in a situation where we grew apart and needed to change.
Great points and insights, Jeanine. Thanks for the comment!
Enjoyed your article Bob, and I think you’ve provided a very comprehensive list. I agree that there may be some indicators to be found at the beginning of a relationship with a company, but for the first time marketer eager to get started it can be tough to spot them. Sometimes we learn best through experience. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Marty,
Considering that most people join an opportunity based on the emotion of changing their life, it is almost impossible for the first time NM to spot these indicators that things may not turn out quite right.
But once you’re more experienced and know what to look for, you can spot things more easily.
However, in our case the company actually changed directions in their product line and we no longer felt in integrity promoting them.
Thanks for your insights, Marty!
Hi Bob,
When your passion turns from a gentle wane to an all out flat line, everything else seems to spiral downward fast. When you lose your passion, you lose your ability to speak authentically about a product.
Authenticity is more than just words. It’s body language, it’s a genuine smile, it’s the way you say and explain certain things. Passion is a key motivator. You lose that, and domino effects everything else.
By the way, the principles that you just outlined are usable in almost any niche, not just network marketing. Good stuff
Hi Dahlia,
I love that — “when you lose your passion, you lose your ability to speak authentically about a product.” I think this is true of about everything in life.
That’s exactly how we were feeling with this business venture… the passion was gone and we couldn’t keep promoting the products and remain in integrity with ourselves or our clients.
Great insights, Dahlia. Thanks!
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Hi Bob,
great job on listing the reasons to quit and the reasons not to quit which are called, as you note, excuses…
Well, in fact, there’s a way to predict these things before we even join. And this is reading and understanding the policies and procedures and terms and conditions. These documents tell us everything we need to know – what’s going on in the brains of the company’s management and what they intend to do in the future – upfront.
A good example is when a company goes retailing on their own by bypassing their distributors. In most cases, it’s all written in the policy guide that they intend to do that. That’s just one example. Another concern is when the company leases the software – and the database belongs to the software company.
In this case, your downline would belong to the software company. That’s unfun, is it not ?
Other issues are ongoing obligations and termination clauses in sole discretion of the company, just to name a few.
The problem is that most people don’t take the time to read and understand these documents.
What did Napoleon Hill say ? “Only applied knowledge is power.”
All the necessary information to succeed already exists.
Thanks for creating awareness and: I am sorry to hear that you had to make that decision but sometimes it’s inevitable. I was there too, although I was only part of my first company for three months – and then I read and understood the policy guide…
Take care
Oliver
That’s a good point about reading the Policies and Procedures BEFORE you sign anything, Oliver. I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes perfect sense.
I have to admit to being one of those that find these documents boring and don’t read them as carefully as I should,
Thanks for the reminder, Oliver!
7 Telltale Signs You Should Leave Your MLM Company…
It can be a very difficult decision to leave your MLM company. Here are 7 signs that it’s time to consider cutting ties with your MLM….