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The purpose of this article is to explore the current "deal making" culture in the MLM industry. Quite frankly, it's getting pretty stupid.

Raiding in Secret

Another word for "raiding" is "stealing." But I'm not taking it that far. "Raiding" typically occurs when a leader strikes a special deal with a new company, violates his contract with his or her existing company, solicits the downline for the next new thing, conveniently fails to disclose the existence of the special deal, generates a decent commission for a year or two, possibly gets sued, seeks out another deal, wash, rinse, repeat. This is what I call "raiding in secret." It's a dirty / uncomfortable secret we deal with in the industry. It's one that rarely gets discussed outside of the inner-circle because both parties instinctively know that it's wrong. In the scenario of the private deal, there exists an understanding between the company and the recipient that there's going to be a contract violation somewhere between the networker and their existing (or previous) MLM. This contract violation can even be factored into the contract negotiations i.e. "if you get sued, we'll cover the legal fees." I have always known about this side of the industry. There are companies out there like to cut deals and then turn around and sue their own distributors when they leave for other deals. It's naive for me to think that these sorts of deals will end. After all, there is the occasional special deal that's legitimate i.e. the networker waits for his or her old contract provisions to expire, starts from scratch and leverages his or her skill to build a large downline FAST. But...that's rare. I've written about this process in the past in two separate articles. The first is titled Master Distributors: good or bad? In the article, I talk in general about these deals and discuss the importance of disclosing the existence of these deals. In the second article, titled Revised FTC Endorsement Guidelines: Part 1 (Master Distributors)," I talk about the new disclosure requirements published by the FTC when it comes to these sorts of deals. Bottom line: disclosure is key.

Raiding in Plain Sight

Epic has recently announced, very publicly, that they've got $100,000,000 available for "experienced networkers." The payment terms are published in a separate PDF, found below. Basically, if leaders can keep up with various performance metrics, they can earn additional income. While it caps out at $20,000 per month, Epic leaves room for some negotiation:

Are these still not big enough for your dreams and what you know you are capable of? Contact us for details on Epic Performance Programs beyond our $20,000 program.

How is this raiding in plain sight?

Watch the video above, titled Epic Puts $100,000,000 on the table for deals. In my opinion, there's more to this than "paying for performance." When you offer networkers $20,000+ per month in addition to commissions in exchange for 120,000 group volume points in six months....you know it's quite likely (I'm putting it mildly) that the networker is transitioning distributors from another downline. And when that happens, it's likely the distributor has some contractual restrictions for that kind of activity i.e. non-solicitation, non-compete, etc. There's a better way to go about building a business. Plus, this sort of activity will invite mass litigation from the industry in general as leaders start migrating towards Epic (if that ever occurs). The claim will likely be "tortious interference," which occurs when one company encourages people under contract with another company to violate the agreement.

Is this good for the industry?

In my opinion, it's not. Companies invest years (sometimes decades), thousands of hours and millions of dollars building up their brands and goodwill with its leaders. If all of that effort can be taken by way of a confidential agreement with one of its top leaders, it's bad for our profession. And what about the distributors in the downline? They're the people that trust the leader to make good decisions. If they're not in the know on the special deal, they're really not in a good position to make an informed decision. They get lost in the shuffle. They get used. Is it in their best interest to uproot their organizations and follow the leader? In most cases, the answer is no. Disclosure: I'm a conservative, free-market man. I believe in the power of the markets. However, in order for markets to work, information needs to be freely exchanged. In the case of these special deals, the public is never made aware of the deals; hence, the public / distributors are at a significant disadvantage. The market is manipulated.

Conclusion

There are no shortcuts to success. When I competed in the decathlon in college, I was met each year with one or two athletes that talked big. They were motivated for a month, bragging about their inevitable success. Within months, they quit. Success is a grind over time. It's a long, arduous process. Through week after week, year after year of work, the power of compounding takes over. When I see a company trying to skirt around the work, I just shake my head... If you're not willing to grind it out, you're not developing the muscles necessary to win. Cutting these sorts of deals to take advantage of the investments made by other companies...it's dishonorable. What do you think? We've never had a company publish these sorts of deals before. Is it good or the industry? Bad? +Kevin ThompsonIf you're reading this via email, please click this link.