WOOF! WOOF! Is my opportunity the one you will jump on this week and claim is the best in the world? Will you irritate me and suck my blood until your belly is full or a better looking dog comes along? When you leave, will you talk about how bad of a dog I am, and try to take my other fleas with you?
I get a real laugh out of the MLMers who jump from one opportunity to the next like fleas jumping from dog to dog. They join a company, hang around for a bit, do little or nothing trying to build a business, then leave telling their friends that the company is the reason for their lack of success and that their new company is the best thing since sliced bread and paper clips.
Face it people. If you are talking to someone trying to recruit you, and they have been in 147 MLMs over the last 27 days, and they blame someone or something else for their lack of success in each case… where does the real problem lie? Who is the real dog, the company or the person?
Over past year, I have watched two companies go through dramatic reductions in business due to dog jumping fleas. I was not a distributor for either company, but I had close friends who were. In both cases, the company was not the problem. The problem was that a few key fleas were blinded by “too good to be true” claims, and convinced a number of fleas to jump dogs with them.. and these fleas convinced a few more.. and those fleas convinced a few more.. etc.
In the first case, both the old dog and the new dog almost died. People found the claims of the new dog were not true, and the promised pot of gold was nothing more than the glimmer of an unflushed toilet shimmering in the glow of an low autumn moon which appeared much larger than life. A couple of months after the dog jumping went on, the leading fleas where out seeking new opportunities. The acts of a few key fleas through either ignorance, deception or a combination of both nearly killed an otherwise good dog when they jumped to another dog. Worse yet, they killed the hopes, dreams, and sometimes the income of the other fleas who followed them in blissful ignorance.
The second case is on-going now. Again, the emotion of greed and apparent deception has caused some big fleas to jump from one dog to another taking the life-blood of the first dog with them. Again, they are following the allure of the shimmering unflushed toilet. Again, they are trying to raid the fleas of the first dog through deception, half-truths, and taking advantage of the ignorance of the lesser fleas that follow so blindly.
When approached by a dog jumping flea, before taking any action ask yourself this question.. if last week XYZ Company was the best company in the world, and this week, ABC Company is the best company in the world, what changed during that week-long period? Was it the company? Probably not. Instead, it is probably the dog jumping flea. The flea probably saw something that they feel can give them more blood. The question is, where is the new blood going to come from? Will it be yours??
I am not saying never swap Network Marketing Companies. What I am saying is that you should not swap companies just because your upline does. Look at your existing company. Are the products still good? Is the opportunity still good? Is the company still good? If everything where you are is still good, then why change? Because someone promises you a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow? If you are that gullible, I have some great ocean front property in Kansas you will just love!
If there is some problem with your company, is it likely to be resolved soon? Is it a temporary problem, or one to certainly cause it’s demise? If it is a serious problem where you would be prudent to swap companies, look at your upline. Is your upline being honest in their dealings? Are they raiding your downline putting you in a position that if you don’t swap you may lose a significant portion of your business? Are they sending out trash e-mails trying to defame your current opportunity? If your upline is acting unethically towards either the old company or you, are these really the kind of people you want to be associated with? Are they the people you really want to follow? Probably not.
If you are considering jumping dogs because you are unsuccessful with your current company, why in the world would you want to follow your upline to a new opportunity? After all, if their support was so great wouldn’t you be successful now or at least on the road to success? If you feel you must swap to a new company, find a new dog. One your current upline is not involved with. One which you can start fresh, with renewed excitement, and with proven leaders.
It has been my experience that dog jumping fleas and downline raiders, in the long run, usually get what they deserve. They end up broke and wanting a new opportunity, but no-one of real character will have anything to do with them.
Brande and Chris Bradford are active participants in a home based business opportunity and are the publishers of GREAT HEIGHTS, a monthly newsletter focused on home based business issues. To subscribe to their newsletter, send a blank e-mail to: Great-Heights-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit: http://www.brandebradford.com
