How Many Industry Leaders Feel About Advocare’s Decision To Whip Out The Field
The first Advocare article is here:
Let me start with the man who has taken all the FTC heat and won, BK Boreyko:
“When you understand your field leaders are your most important asset, you fight anything and anyone that threatens them. I was threatened with a lifetime industry ban along with the FTC completely shutting my company down. My reaction was ‘this is a fight to the death then’. I really feel Advocare didn’t care very much at all for their leaders.
They said they did, but their actions lead you to believe otherwise. This was the wrong move and my heart goes out to those entrepreneurs. The Advocare brand will be forever tainted by this decision. I wish their Corp team would have just called me and got some advice.
I’ve been through the FTC fire. I give pretty good advice and I’d gladly do it for free. My advice to those Advocare leaders, next company you pick, pick one with owners that will fight for you no matter what. People respect that whether you win or lose, you gotta stand up for those that built your company. You deserve that.”
Kevin Thompson The MLM Attorney:
After sleeping on it and talking with good friends like Troy Dooly and others, this is what I’m thinking regarding the Advocare news:
On the one hand, I wish Advocare defended its model. I think they had an obligation to fight to the end to preserve its business model for the sake of the people that built it. It’s pitiful for a captain to abandon ship before the crew. Advocare, without question, was in an enviable position. They had the benefit of seeing the FTC coming and had the ability to prepare over a twelve month period. This was a luxury that I’ve never seen before (with the exception being Herbalife). In most situations in our industry, the FTC storms in, guns blazing and freezes all assets BEFORE the other side knows there’s a lawsuit. Advocare was in a strong position to mount a strong defense. One of these days, we need a strong company to fight back.
On the other hand, I can understand Advocare’s decision to bail out. If they had faced a serious lawsuit from the FTC, how much of their salesforce would’ve stuck around? 20%? The top leaders would’ve very likely bolted. In fact, it turns out that a good number were already planning on leaving for something else. So in theory, they could’ve endured the hell of litigation, possibly won to preserve a failing business. This is known as a Pyrrhic victory. Or for you “Game of Thrones” fans, it’s the equivalent of Daenerys torching King’s Landing, only to sit on an empty throne.
Either way, the ending is relatively the same. By eliminating the MLM model via negotiation, they get to wind it down in a way that’s less messy, less public. This gives them a chance to preserve their customer model, forcing them to compete with traditional retailers like GNC (good luck with that).
I would have preferred to see them fight. I do not see the wisdom in paying a severe penalty without making the other side earn it. Advocare’s lack of energy, in my opinion, is surprising.
I don’t know all the facts in the case, don’t now the owner, and don’t know much about the company, it’s comp plan, or its business practices. What I do know is that MANY owners and CEO’s (normally the same person) get oversized egos when their companies make it big. They lose sight of the FACT that they owe EVERYTHING to the distributors who built it for them. Everything.
If I owned a network marketing company I’d risk it all to fight for them. I’d get on a dragon and fly over to the FTC. Best to all the Adovocare reps who built their businesses with integrity. If you did, you’ll land on your feet – better off than before. Detours aren’t meant to destroy you. Only to promote you.
I had that same smell and thought too Kevin but I know the management. I do not believe they killed the MLM just for profit and used the FTC as the scapegoat.
Vemma closing was only 4 years ago. I remember how awful it felt when everyone started spamming my inbox with a sales pitch. I saw someone call this being Pitch Slapped. That sounds about right.
We know what the FTC feels like and we fought and reopened but there is a company out there that decided to stop paying all the people that built their company and their brand. All their checks just went to zero. This wasn’t the FTC, it was greed. Don’t be under any assumption that this is anything more than a convenient decision for a few greedy mouths.
It goes like this we are all eating spaghetti and meatballs. A few greedy big shots want to eat steak and lobster. The only way that happens is if they make us the workers eat dirt and grass. Spaghetti and meatballs should be enough.
We have been with AdvoCare for 18 years. Yesterday’s announcement was not easy to stomach but we will always be forever grateful for AdvoCare and have a deep love for them.
Ask any top earner how much they make from personal sales and It’s a fraction of their income. 1% to 5% max. Advocare just took EVERY person in the books as their front line!. AdvoCare just went from being a Network marketing company to an online seller that gained it’s reputation from the people they just cut off.