Losing by Quitting, Losing By Not Quitting
There’s a good set of comments on JoeCool’s blog post about the psychology of the presentation. An anonymous poster equates quitting the business with being bitter in life. JoeCool’s and Rocket’s responses got me thinking about a recent audio interview with TEAM leader and former Amway Diamond, Orrin Woodward.
In the podcast, Orrin gives his thoughts on losing and quitting (fast forward to the 49 minute mark):
Anybody can do this business. The only way you lose is by quitting.
As in my previous post, this idea that a distributor is a loser for quitting is an oft-quoted phrase in MLM circles. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
For many people, not quitting is another way to lose. Orrin would disagree with me, using his example as precedent. Earlier in the interview, he talks how five years into building his Amway business, he only had 200 people attending seminars. A few years later, after learning how to motivate and lead his team, he was seeing tens of thousands of people at functions. Because he didn’t quit, he reasons, he didn’t lose.
Here’s the problem. While anybody can theoretically do this business, not everyone will do the business and succeed. That’s something statistics show quite plainly to anyone who’s ever been involved with an MLM. A person who never quits the business would likely see continual losses year after year (in the form of System and product expenses). How is that winning? In Orrin’s view, you might not be making any money in TEAM, but look at all the side benefits you are getting! If people wanted to join a social club, they would have; they joined TEAM to make money, didn’t they?
I’ll conclude this post with Rocket’s comment on JoeCool’s blog post:
What’s wrong with quitting something?
Sometimes it’s an extremely wise business decision!
Can’t the Ambots see that they are being manipulated to hang in there until the well (their money to buy tools and overpriced products) is completely dry?
If you aren’t MAKING MONEY at what you are supposed to be making money at, and you are doing everything you’re told, they why would you stay in?
It’s either you are getting poor advice from your upline, the business is not viable, or both.
If you are making a profit after expenses, then there’s no issue.
Sadly, this is not the case for the overwhelming majority of the people who get involved.
JoeCool continues the discussion in his latest blog post.
AMTHRAX 
Never quitting is something upline will preach because if you quit, they don’t profit from you.
If an IBO is losing money month after month, year after year despite doing the system steps, why shouldn’t they quit and do something else?
Achieving dreams and financial goals can be done in many ways. Amway is not an efficient vehicle for achieving financial goals, based on Amway’s own numbers.
Very well said, to add in that in a conventional “brick and mortar” business when the market dries up rendering the business base unprofitable for whatever the reason, most owners reluctantly close up shop, which is a very difficult and painful decision to make. Now adding in the network marketing upline pressures which in some cases, face it some of these folks can get very nasty when they are told by someone in their downline”I’m not making anything with this, I quit”. Couple this with most of the “warm market” training (Targeting mostly friends and family) so the thought is embedded “I talked my closest friends into this and may lose their friendship over it” and the cult like psychology utilized in MLM add to this pain, I think way too many stay in much longer than they should due to all of the above pressures