Tanis Zamora

Like everyone, I’ve faced an array of trials and tribulations throughout my life. Back in 2010, I first ventured into the Multi-Level Marketing scene to chase the dream of a residual pay check every month. I never believed it would be easy, but I felt if I adhered to the guidance of my upline and handing out flyers, distributed business cards, hosted parties and made endless calls, I’d be a success.

Of course, that didn’t materialize. Long story short, I quit after 6 months with the view that MLM wasn’t what the “gurus” painted it out to be; hearing “no” repeatedly really does take its toll on your mental state. A positive that I took from that experience, though, was I learned how to build some awesome websites.

Being the perseverant risk-taker that I am, I decided to give MLM another shot in 2013. A good friend truly convinced me that my dreams could definitely become a reality this time. Unfortunately, that good friend left the MLM company and the support group I was assigned to suddenly shifted their focus to another rep. Subsequently, my second MLM experience was cut short after just 4 months.

Once again, I took a positive from it; I discovered the ability to market via social media, which is an incredibly advantageous method in today’s digitalized society. What I did realize, though, was that the MLM world was a ruthless one. If you’re not making substantial sales, you’re quickly cast aside.

So, while retaining a strong interest in the MLM niche, I broadened my horizon and entered real estate investment. I rapidly understood that you could purchase properties through owner financing, then offset the cost of ownership and generate profit by renting them out. I acquired three small houses, which I now rent out for $675, $650 and $475 per month. Regardless of their size or income, it was an accomplishment to get the ball rolling.

After a few years of enjoying real estate investment, it dawned on me that the I could take the principles, skills and knowledge I now have to find success in MLM. To put it into perspective; a friend of mine was working for an MLM company, earning between $900 and $1,200 residual income per month. I, on the other hand, was earning roughly the same each month but with much more work involved.

The sales produced his residual income. Contrastingly, I had to collect rent, pay property taxes, pay insurance, deal with repairs and handling tenants that failed to keep up with payments. So, in 2017, I decided to take a third plunge into Multi-Level Marketing.

I always had some lingering voice in the back of my mind telling me that I had failed in the MLM industry. To truly succeed in life, I knew that I had to conquer the challenges that Multi-Level Marketing presented and prove that I could master it. I had forged the necessary skills; I had a real-life example from my friend that great residual income could be obtained; and, I had a burning desire inside to give it my best.

To start with, I attended as many gatherings as I could that were centered around MLM. To put it bluntly, I was not impressed. All of the same dodgy techniques that I discovered back in 2013 were still being discussed, as well as some others that were borderline crazy. Beginners were learning how to over-post on social media and be too pushy, which are not effective.

People were also being instructed to not share any leads because they could potentially lose out on a key recruit. I had seen and heard enough. I changed my perspective from recruiter, to that of the recruit, as I was now obsessed with teaching people what not to do when trying to make a sale.

Far too many people in the MLM niche are so desperate to make sales that they jeopardize any hope they have by adopting bad habits. But, that’s not their fault; they’re being taught poor strategies that they assume will lead them to success.

Then, when I watched a YouTube video of people showing off fancy cars and expensive houses, I knew I had to try and make a difference. My mind was set on using the knowledge of building websites, using social media and deploying awesome sales techniques to send out the message loud and clear of what not to do.

In my opinion, I feel there are a multitude of reasons why people are so skeptical of the MLM industry, and therefore so hesitant to join an MLM opportunity. Yes, people love the idea of being their own boss, taking vacations and having complete time freedom. However, there are so many “gurus” preaching how easy it is with very few real-life examples.

No matter what industry you’re involved in, running your own business is far from an easy feat. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. With the abundance of false information in circulation, it’s no wonder people are wary about joining. Another reason is the overwhelming number of advertisements which contain pretences that you can make thousands of dollars a month.

All you have to do is watch a video on YouTube to see my point. Why? Because you’ll come across ads trying to sell a “get-rich-quick” scheme. Thirdly, there’s an awful lot of untrained reps out there, and people don’t want to join an MLM company if there’s a risk that their rep doesn’t know what they’re doing.

If the leader assigned to you doesn’t have the capability, know-how and expertise to take you to the top, why would you commit to an opportunity? A huge catalyst for untrained reps is the incentives that these companies offer. You’ll see… “Recruit 2 reps in the first 3 days to receive a bonus. Recruit 5 reps in the first week and receive a bigger bonus.”

All that does is it removes the learning experience. Reps need to be leaders, and leadership is a skill in its own right. So, when people realize that their rep is just concerned with sales and not actually guiding them, they’ll become discouraged and quit. That’s why I see so many ex-reps stating – “MLM did not work for me.” The truth is, MLM won’t work for anybody, it’s you that needs to work for MLM if you want to see any significant results.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it’s possible to succeed in the MLM industry, hence why you see so many success stories. But, those success stories are a very small percentage; the majority see mediocre results or quit after a few months. Don’t believe me? Just Google – “The percentage of business start-ups that succeed.”

Of course, it’s extremely difficult. But, if you combine a strong mindset and dedication, with specialist skills, correct knowledge and effective strategies, you can achieve success. Those that tend to make it to the top in MLM are similar to those that end up making it to the Olympics… they’re persistent, work hard, refuse to give up, train consistently and have a passion for improvement.

Moreover, with the rise of social media, it’s now better than ever to get involved with MLM. You now have a platform to reach people all across the globe in a matter of minutes or target specific groups of people with ease. It’s frustrating when I hear people who have quit MLM saying they only sent text messages to friends and family. But, at the end of the day, the blame lies with the rep for not training them adequately.

YouTube is another advantage, because you can learn how to build a website, build landing pages, learn sales techniques, learn marketing strategies, understand social media and build successful email campaigns for free. Now, while it’s vital to have a solid grasp of every MLM aspect, it’s a wise idea to choose one idea and master it. Rather than spreading yourself thin across Facebook, blogging, landing pages, email marketing, just dominate a couple.

Like I’ve already touched on, I’m now committed to dispelling all of the myths, correcting all of the wrong information and teaching people what not to do in the MLM industry. My ultimate goal is to frequently visit gatherings, meetings, parties and seminars that are focused on MLM, and then inform reps on what not to do when recruiting potential prospects. My passion is to transform reps into leaders by ridding them of their old mentality and giving them a new one.

A mentality of speaking the truth and disclosing how much work is required to achieve success, explaining how much effort a rep needs to put into learning sales techniques and discussing how to effectively leverage the power of the internet and social media to their advantage. I desperately want reps to understand that selling is much more than a small Facebook ad or an average YouTube video.

My aim is to also convey that an MLM business is just like any other business – the work that you put in will equate to the results that you receive. I’ll be refraining from criticizing anyone, but I’ll simply inform reps that if you want to recruit a good rep, you need to be a good rep yourself.

All in all, my mission is to provide people with motivation, inspiration and guidance, because you can most certainly succeed in the MLM world. You just need dedication, effort and a willingness to learn and teach. I hope my voice resonates across the platforms I utilize, which are websites, blogs, videos, social media and MLM gatherings.