When it’s Time to Fire Your Downline
OK, today I got mad.
Granted, I usually don’t get angry very often, but I know it is human to get angry once in a while and that’s OK, as long as one doesn’t stay angry or take it out on anyone. Hence, I’m writing a blog.
Keep in mind that I tend to get fired up when there is a big earthquake or storm coming, so maybe that’s why I got angry. We won’t know for sure until tomorrow. Nevertheless, I actually got angry at someone today and it was a member of my downline.
Sheila, (not her real name), signed up with me at pretty much the lowest level of our company. She gave the product a good try and got results although in her case, not as stellar as she had hoped. She never stuck to the training schedule we had so after two sessions, she just stopped showing up. I wasn’t expecting much from her because over the years I learned that anyone who signs up at the lowest level of a company and never upgrades isn’t really serious about doing the business.
Seeing that she was no longer purchasing product from our company, I asked her if I could take her off my email list so she isn’t inundated with email, and surprisingly she said “no”. Months pass and every once in a while I get an email from her asking me to check out another product or MLM opportunity.
Usually if the product was health related, I’d courteously check it out. Once I even did a three-way call and bought several months worth to try out for myself. I always responded to Sheila whenever she had a question and I felt I could be helpful.
Sheila often hints in her emails about how much money “we” could be making with her new opportunities and I usually end up gently counseling her to try focusing on one that she’s passionate about and not spread herself so thin. I’m still working on doing that myself so the adage, “We teach what we have to learn” would be appropriate here…
So this week, Sheila emails me questions about my marketing strategies and how much it costs, how I created it, etc. Intending to be helpful to her, I took the time to ask some more questions of her and answered her as best I could, giving her references, names and contact information for consultants I use.
Then, unexpectedly, I get an email from Shiela trying to sell ME on a marketing strategy that she feels will make us lots of money…. and immediately I feel used. I was being sold to and it didn’t feel good!
Had I known that she was going to trounce in to try to get me to join another MLM opportunity (this time selling a marketing strategy) instead of honestly wanting advice on her marketing strategy, I would not have wasted my time in answer her marketing questions. Very sneaky. Not cool.
Don’t get me wrong. Sheila is good person and her heart is in the right place. I just didn’t appreciate being offered yet another opportunity to give money to her for something I neither need nor want.
So since she is not an active member of my team, I’m taking her off my email list and I told her that I didn’t want her to sell me on anything else from now on. We’re done. I’m not wasting my time any longer. There are plenty of other people out there willing to take my advice and DO something with it.
So here’s a list of Downline-Member Red Flags that you may wish to check out so that you don’t fall into the same trap I did.
- Has he/she committed to the trainings you/your upline have offered and followed through on them?
- Is she/he a chronic opportunity seeker but not a do-er, going from opportunity after opportunity looking for the Holy Grail (or has the “grass is greener” mentally)?
- How much energy is she/he putting forth in relation to what you are contributing to your relationship and is it balanced?
- How much, if any, of the advice or counsel you or an upline has suggested has she/he followed through on?
Sometimes, I’m “too nice” and then I pay for it. My very successful upline, George H., says that he’s open to joining other MLM companies if he likes the product and would like to get it wholesale as long as the other person also joins HIS company. Hmmm, what a novel idea. Sounds good to me just about now!
Just a caveat, though, about doing this…check with your company’s policies about joining other MLM opportunities. Many companies do not allow this. So just double check before you “exchange” opportunities with someone else.
You know, I’m still amazed at how many people automatically think that I’m going to just jump on the bandwagon because they think their company is the greatest thing since apple pie. News Flash! I’m known world-wide for my contributions to my company (humble way of saying “famous”) and I love my company, so why would I jump ship and start all over again?
Sometimes people aren’t thinking straight. But I hope you are!
So be willing to get rid of your downline members who aren’t contributing, aren’t buying product, and who are zapping your time and energy. You’ll make room (we call it the Void in Law of Attraction terminology) for new people to come in!
Dr. Karen
P.S. It isn’t “mean” to fire your downline. It does them a heck of a lot of good too. I teaches them to respect other people’s time and energy. Being “too nice” means being co-dependent and that’s the LAST thing you want to be with your downline!
