By marketing merge
Was the '7 Lies of Network Marketing' Too Hard on the 'Old School' MLM Leadership?
The networking marketing industry and some high-income uplines are ticked off at Ann Sieg for her recent books.
Sieg is now famous for her books, The Renegade Network Marketer and The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing.
Many feel she's made a tremendous contribution, but others are down right mad.
Are they upset because they feel their incomes are threatened as people move to the new 'Attraction' model of network marketing, which is completely unfamilar territory for them?
Ann Sieg proposes to ditch the hotel meetings and names lists and to learn how to start attracting their prospects to them to build their MLM.
Less people will go to the old-school upline's trainings on 'how to prospect friends and family' ... and less people are buying their CD's on 'how to develop the belief system' necessary to do so.
Many of the growing leaders in their downlines, who once spent hundreds or thousands of dollars per year on old-school tools, are now seeking Internet Attraction Marketing Training instead.
Should They Be Mad?
Is Their Reaction Warrented?
Did Ann Sieg cross the line somehow?
Was it unfair to criticize old-school MLM tactics?
Is it unethical in some way to highlight the negative side of old-school MLM to promote her Renegade e-book and its solutions with the new model?
We'll talk about this here in a 'discussion series' over the next several weeks.
Let us know how you feel by leaving your comments below.
Click here if you're not familiar with Sieg's report, The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing.
Control-based Leadership Vs. Empowering Leadership...
There is a movement underway right now that is being headed up by some of the highest paid uplines around... they want to silence Ann Sieg... they are trying to influence the big networking companies to threaten to take away your associate position if you promote Ann Sieg's materials (and other materials that don't praise them) on your blog or web site...
This is highly unlikely as it violates 1st amendment rights and is reminiscent of Nazi Germany ...
Regardless, the hostility of this 'angry crusade' highlights the painful reality some uplines are experiencing as they watch times change. Their position as the 'guru' is slipping away.
I spent several hours today engaged in an eye-opening email exchange with one of the 'frightened uplines' who is in the $50,000+ per month range (or was). I don't think he works much anymore, but he does do an occasional 'training' where he gets pretty worked up... teaching why we should 'make' people buy our products even if they don't want to because they need it (he really teaches this... I was at his training last summer).
His Beef with Ann Sieg...
His argument is that Ann Sieg focuses too much on the negatives of the 'old school' model when she's sharing how people can Attract Prospects to Them instead.
Now I have known this wealthy upline for quite a long time. I attended his 'trainings' and purchased many of his CDs and tapes over the course of 12 years... teaching the old model of 'chase 'em down' marketing.
What I find interesting about his argument is that he, more than anyone I personally know, used a similar "negative-marketing" stragegy to motivate us to buy his stuff, and to sell our company's products.
Negative marketing isn't uncommon. Most (if not all) industries use it as a part of their strategy.
If you're with a network marketing company, chances are you have seen plenty of negative marketing in your company's DVD's, CDs and at your events.
Negative Vs. Positively Charged Marketing...
As you go down the path of Internet attraction marketing (using the Internet to attract prospects into your business) you'll discover that some marketers use 'negatively charged' messages while others choose to focus their marketing on a 'positive message.'
Famous motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, shared an observation about human behavior that helps us understand why marketers do this.
He talked about the two things that drive human behavior in every decision we make... he called this 'pain vs. pleasure.'
Robbins made a strong case for the Pain Vs. Pleasure Theory...
Robbins said that every action a person takes (from eating a 2nd peice of cake, to smoking, or buying a car) can be explained by whether or not the person perceives the action or decision will cause pain or give pleasure.
People avoid pain and do what is pleasurable.... it's pretty straight-forward, but it's important to hold this in the front of your mind when you're marketing something... even if that includes "how to get your kids to brush their teeth and go to bed without a fuss."
Avoiding Pain is the Stronger Drive...
What's interesting is that avoiding pain is a stronger drive in human behavior than wanting more pleasure.
This explains why many marketers focus on a negative message before offering the solution... because marketers know that people are more 'moved' by their drive to avoid pain than by getting something pleasurable or rewarding.
This is why I explained to my 6-year-old what bacteria can do to her gums... and how they can make a mouth look really ugly if she doesn't brush her teeth.
But is Negative Marketing Harmful?
I don't think I harmed my daughter by getting her to start thinking about what those bacteria will do if she doesn't brush her teeth.
Because hey, if I didn't think about those bacteria I would NEVER floss. Would you floss if you didn't know your teeth might fall out if you don't?
It seems there are times to use negative marketing to motivate... but are there times marketers cross the line? I think 'yes.'
But where is that line?
In business and sales, you will find that marketers approach their strategy in one or both of these 2 ways:
- Focusing first on a person's pain so they can then offer a solution, vs.
- Focusing on what a person wants right away and then offering the 'best' solution.
Some people feel it is harmful to use negative marketing, and in some cases I agree with them. As with all things, there is a balance and a tact.
How Negative Marketing is Commonly Used...
The Wellness Industry
In the wellness or nutritional industry you'll often see negative marketing used on brochures, DVDs or in seminars to shock people into seeing that the modern health care system can be dangerous.
Here are just some examples of negative-focused marketing used in the Wellness industry:
- Health Care is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S
- Cancer rates are rising
- Over use of vaccination and use of antibiotics are causing permanent illness and death in children
- Showing a picture of a person's 'abused' colon to make the case for using a cleansing product
- Discussing all the toxins in the air that are harming your cells to then make the case for taking supplements
- Hormones in our food is causing pre-mature puberty in kids
- Doctors are over-prescribing medications because they get kick backs from the drug companies
- Your food is harming you... you must supplement!
You get the idea.
Now here are some examples of a positive message the Wellness industry may use in marketing:
- Feel better
- Have more energy
- Sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed
- Live a longer and healthier life
- Be lean and fit
- Have beautiful glowing skin
- Have stronger nails
- Have more endurance (sports products)
- Feel and look younger
Which List Hits You Harder?
If you look over those two lists you'll see right away WHY marketers often focus on people's pain first... or why they might focus on the negative things people would want to avoid before offering the solution.
The first list above grabs your attention and makes you think 'maybe I better do something.' Then, the solution is presented and you act!
Is this wrong to do?
Is it unethical or harmful to focus on the problems (negative aspects) first before offering a solution?
This will be the subject of our next article.
In the next article we'll be discussing a subject that has created an emotionally charged debate in the network marketing industry.
Ann Sieg and Her 'The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing' E-book
Coming Up Next...
In the next article, we'll discuss how Ann Sieg has used a "negative-focused" marketing approach much like we've seen marketers and companies do in the wellness industry, and other industries.
We'll discuss the ethics of this approach.
Is it harmful?
Where should we draw the line?
We'll also discuss why Ann Sieg has created such a controversy in the MLM industry, particularly from high income earning uplines.
Join in the discussion or let us hear your opinion. Share your comments with us below.
Become a member here at Hub Pages, and then become a fan so you can follow this discussion. You'll be notified when the next article is available.
- Renegade University
Free Internet Attraction Marketing Training -- Learn How to Get the Prospects Coming to You
Quick Message After Reading Through all the Commnets Below
Well, this turned out to be quite a discussion!
I was hoping to hear from the disgruntled millionaire old-schooler who inspired me to create this Hub.
This article here was born out of an eye-opening (and jaw dropping) email dialogue that all started when I had emailed my list of contacts a video review on Sieg's Renegade (which is below).
I believe he's on my list, or someone forwarded him my email... because I received a very emotionally charged threat in response to my email and video... something about me losing my position in my company because I promoted Ann Sieg's book.
Now I took this as an absurd idea, and so I asked a question (after defusing my emotional charge) and out of curiosity more than anything I sought to understand where he was coming from.
20 or so email exchanges later I realized I was dealing with something that was not logic-based but that was at such an emotional level there was really no way to have a conversation with him.
But after a lot of threats and personal attacks I finally got 'some' concrete answers about why Ann Sieg's book is such a problem for him... and I encouraged him to write those issues down in here.
He said he would. I don't know if that will actually happen but it would be interesting.
In the next article here I'll take some excerpts from that email exchange I had and try to explain his point of view, as objectively as I can (not easy) to see if anyone here thinks there may be any weight to what he was trying to say.
Why is this topic important?
I feel it's important for people in the networking industry to think about this discussion in order to communicate to your prospects and team what the real issue is when they run into someone successful in the industry who is emotionally upset by Sieg's message.
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