MLM Cult Tactics You Should Know

It might seem a little hyperbolic to say that MLMs (multi-level marketing schemes) are cults. It’s not. MLM cult tactics are very real and very dangerous. 

Much of our collective understanding of what makes a cult is based on what we’ve seen in the news. Mass suicides, violent stand-offs with law enforcement, and jumping on Oprah’s couch can all be traced back to those wacky, scary cults. 

MLMs just sell make-up, diet shakes, or leggings. How are they anything like those scary, wacky cults? 

MLMs, while they may not shave their heads and commit mass suicide, rely on tactics that are nearly identical to those very same cults. Here are some MLM cult tactics you really should know. 

They Prey On Vulnerable People

You are at your highest risk of being recruited into a cult or MLM if you’re in a vulnerable state. These states can be financial pressure, a dead-end job, loneliness, and others. It’s when you’re feeling low and desperate for help that attracts these organizations like blood in the water. 

A cult or an MLM will approach you with a solution to your problem, and they’ll do it with a smile. 

While a cult targets spirituality, MLMs target finance and work. They will lure vulnerable people in with a seemingly safe, welcoming, and exciting environment. This is what you’ve been looking for, they’ll say. 

They Promise Secrets To Success

Every MLM and cult member is told: “all you have to do is A, B, and C and you’ll be successful.” For cults, it’s enlightenment or freedom. For MLMs, it’s financial independence or self-reliance. These organizations make these grand promises if you follow everything you’re told. 

If you aren’t seeing success, well, I guess you just have “a lack of faith,” “negative mindset,” or “you didn’t work hard enough.” 

Charismatic “Guru” Leaders Are Infallible

The leader can do no wrong. They are geniuses and they are sharing their wisdom with you. Their words are repeated, memorized, and cherished. Any challenge to them would be unthinkable. They are to be protected and lionized.

The most notable example would be NXIVM’s Keith Raniere. A former Amway executive, Raniere turned his self-help MLM into a literal cult and then a cult within a cult. But that’s an entirely different, far more disturbing story. 

They Tell You To ‘Reject The Haters’

One MLM cult tactic that is disturbingly transparent would be their insistence of purging anyone who doesn’t buy into the message. 

Cults tell you that the group is your family and friends and that your actual family and friends are hurting you. MLMs call them “negative people” or “haters” that are “standing in the way of your success. 

This is how these organizations control the information you take in. If they can limit as much of the “outside world” as they can, the easier their indoctrination can take hold. 

Shady Structures Keep Members Hooked

There need to be incentives to keep people in line. MLMs often promise confusing and repetitive promotional structures. This keeps followers believing and always moving up the never-ending “ladder of success.” 

Amway, for example, has “pin levels” like Silver, Gold, Ruby, Pearl, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Executive Diamond, and so on. ItWorks uses Double Diamond, Triple Diamond, Presidential Diamond. NXIVM had different colored sashes. Having a tangible reward works wonders as an incentive. 

Whenever the pyramid shape begins to reveal itself (and it will), MLMs use the straw man argument that “all corporations have a pyramid shape too.” 

Sure, Jan. Except those employees are promoted based on performance, not how many units they sell. 

Fear Tactics Are Standard

MLMs and cults will use passive-aggressive techniques to shame, slander, and discredit members who speak up or try to leave. They will threaten to take everything away from you. They exploit Dr. Karl Albrecht’s 5 Basic Fears and often with success. 

You’re either with them or against them. And they mean it. 

It Takes Over Your Life

MLM members are intensely pressured to speak about their company and experience in order to convert others to join. They will incessantly promote or mention their MLM in every conversation. They’ll use MLM products and discuss them with you ad nauseam. 

You will live and breathe the MLM, much like you would in a cult. Your entire world is the MLM and you must share it with the world. 

LuLaRoe demanded control of their members’ social media, weight, marriages, and more. If anything positive happened in your life, it was #BecauseOfLuLaRoe.

They Demand Absolute Devotion

There’s no room in an MLM for dissent. They will tell you that absolute devotion is the key to success. Even when confronted with facts, a true believer will reject them. They may even dig deeper. 

The FLDS, the infamous polygamist cult led by Warren Jeffs, instructed its followers to “keep sweet.” This meant to “demonstrate loyalty and absolute obedience to someone, even if it means unspeakable harm.” 

The MLM Cult Tactics Are Very Real

MLMs need to use cult tactics in order to sustain themselves. This is ironic considering that MLMs are inherently unsustainable. In order to blind members from the scam, MLMs have to radicalize them. Cult tactics are tried and true. 

Humans are predictable sheep. Predators take advantage of that. MLMs and cults are predatory organizations that harm the most vulnerable among us. 

Take note of these MLM cult tactics and protect yourself from these incredibly harmful organizations.