Is a distributor an employee? How should I treat my distributors? Do MLM distributors have requirements like employees do?

Distributors are NOT employees and you shouldn’t be treating them like they are if you want to keep them in your organization.

Are You Treating Your Distributors Like Employees or Distributors?

Employees work for you and earn a paycheck. Distributors are a volunteer army selling your products and services in exchange for a commission.

A few weeks ago I was on a call where I overheard a company owner screaming at one of their distributors because they hadn’t met their recruitment or sales goals. Even as the CEO of a company, I don’t yell at my employees. I speak to them professionally, in a professional manner.

For some reason, I’ve witnessed many entrepreneurs treat their distributors, their volunteer army like employees.

As an owner of a network marketing company, you’re not paying for your products to take shelf space, or for the expensive marketing costs that traditional businesses rely on. You have a volunteer army that believes in you, and your products or services, and in the opportunity you’ve presented them with.

They’re going to hit the streets to edify you, to edify your products and services, and you know what? They’re not going to get a paycheck unless they show results. MLM and Network Marketing is a “Pay for Performance” Industry.

Unless they’re a sales director or other executive employees of your company, these are volunteers that have taken on your opportunity because they believe in it.

The beauty for you is that you only have to pay them when they perform. What you can’t do is REQUIRE them to perform. With an employee, I can require that they come in from 8am to 5pm, take a 1-hour lunch break, and I pay them for their time and their performance during that time.

With a distributor you can’t require that they be there at 9 am or 2 in the afternoon. Most distributors are working jobs and they joined your opportunity believing that it was going to improve their lives.

Before you get on conference calls or speak publicly about how you treat distributors, think about what it was that made YOU become a distributor and start your own business. You wanted to make your own path. The same is true of your distributors, they want to start their own company because they saw a vision, they wanted to change and improve their lives.

But they’re entrepreneurs at heart, Not employees – you need to remember that.

If you’re thinking about starting your own MLM or Network Marketing Company, I invite you to call me or send me an email. I have over 20 years of experience in this industry and would love to help you with your new or existing company.