What To Do When Your Upline Won't Do "Jack" For You!

I'm back from the "Big Apple" and ready to get to work. It's great when you love what you do to make money (I can't say "when you love your job," since I don't have a job!).

Here's a question that came in through the "Ask Barry" service. By the way, this is a service any reader of my blog (you) can take advantage of. Ask me any question you'd like about MLM and I will personally respond via email ... I respond to every one of them.

OK, here's the question:

"I joined [his company] about a year ago, and got pretty tired pretty quick of using the "3 foot warm market" rule.

I haven't built a major business yet, however I'm proud of what I've accomplished thus far. I have been researching other ways to build it online, however I'm finding it difficult to build it using the traditional business model, building it the old fashioned way. It is NOT fun for me, and I'm fully aware that in order to do something great...it has to be fun.

Have told all my upline that I want to build this online...and they give me the old...."come back to the 'right' way of doing things after it doesn't work out for you." I am somewhat of an Internet novice however I believe I'm following a path that I find fun, and that's what I need to pursue ...

What can you suggest I tell them in order to get a little more support from them...'cause at the moment...I get JACK!

I really have a keen interest in this business...it gets hard when you feel alienated by your own upline...it's hard enough doing it with their help.

What do you suggest?"

That's a great question, and a big problem.

I decided to post this "Ask Barry" question here in the blog because I've received similar questions from several people. It seems to be a rather pervasive problem. How sad.

I can't be of much help trying to change your upline's mind. Once people get set on certain ideas about the "right" and "wrong" way to build, they usually stick to it ... until it stops working for them.

For many of these leaders, the way they build will continue to work for them forever because they have the skills and personality types that fit their marketing approach. So they may never come to understand that just because it fits them, doesn't mean it's a good fit for others with different skills, interests and personality types.

I gave up a long time ago trying to change any one's mind. I share my ideas and people either take it or leave it .. and then I go on and follow my bliss!

But currently you have a reality to wrestle with: You deserve and need an upline that will help you in your business. You don't have that. So what are your options now?

• You can get training and support from a leader cross-line in your company who markets the way you want to market. Most leaders won't work cross-line, but if your compensation plan pays out bonuses to leaders with company-wide volume "pools," then the leaders are often more willing to work cross-line because they get paid on the entire company.
  
• You can get training and support from network marketing leaders outside of your company. The downside is you'll usually have to pay for this and won't get training that applies to your specific company.
  
• You can switch to a different MLM company and shop uplines for one that specializes in marketing the way you want to. Of course this involves starting all over again. You don't have to quit your current company and can remain a customer if you really like the product. I'm not recommending you do this, and even hate to suggest it, but it's an obvious choice since we're simply listing options here.
  

It's not my place to tell you what to do, but those are the options that come to mind. Perhaps other readers will post comments with more ideas than I've come up with.

Wish I had a better answer for you, but we don't have any control over other people, so that's the best we can do.

This whole issue, and it's a very, very common problem, highlights the problem with the worn-out idea that success depends on everyone following "one simple duplicatable system."

This idea was never true, but it somehow gained a foothold in the MLM world and remains one of the "cornerstones" of MLM training to this day. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that so many network marketing organizations crumble.

I'm a huge proponent of the exact opposite idea.

Leaders should offer a "portfolio" of widely varied marketing models from which their new members can choose the one(s) that fits them perfectly.

Of course this is "harder" for the upline. They would actually have to be experts in all of the marketing methods and have the tools available for their downlines.

Yes, it's more demanding for the upline, but it will make them more attractive to prospects, create more success for their distributors and help stabilize their organizations, thus reducing attrition.

Usually one leader can't provide expertise on all of the marketing methods, but that isn't really necessary. A team of leaders, each with their own specialty, can fulfill the need.