30 Ways To Say No To An MLM

Many people are privy to the predatory nature and dangers of MLM weight loss schemes but struggle with how to decline the inevitable sales pitches and recruitment efforts from the distributors. 

Why Saying No Is Difficult

Saying “no” can be really difficult because you don’t want to upset people. You could worry about what people will think of you or be worried about their reaction. It is scary to think that a person won’t like you anymore or could be upset with you.

Keep in mind that it is okay to say “no,” and that if you learn to say it in a clear and kind way people will respect that and be appreciative of receiving a straightforward answer.

Why It’s Important to Say No

Because MLM’s thrive on the exploitation of their distributors, the best way to support a friend in an MLM is to not purchase from or engage with her MLM. I know that sounds unsupportive at face value BUT think of it this way...

If she were in a new relationship where her partner was clearly manipulating her for financial gain, would you encourage that behavior to continue to happen? Hopefully not.

Supporting your friend means keeping her safe and discouraging her from going deeper into the MLM community by not buying into the marketing.

You also need to make sure you are protecting yourself. MLM distributors must recruit people below them to begin turning a profit and are often encouraged by their uplines to sign up new distributors under the guise of discount plans. 

By buying into the products of an MLM, you could be putting yourself at risk of being enrolled as a distributor and having more taken from you than you originally intended. It is always okay to say no to things that jeopardize your time, money, and your relationships.

How To Say No To An MLM Sales Pitch

Declining an MLM sales pitch is not as easy as declining a social invitation. In this case, the distributors are often coached on how to handle “objections” so the wording of what you say should be carefully crafted to prevent some of this.

There are three general codes of conduct I recommend when declining an MLM. In large, it depends on who is pitching their offer to you:

If you don’t know the person, or if they are a long-lost Facebook friend that you haven’t spoken to in years, you don’t need to respond at all. You’ve likely received a copy and paste the message from their sponsor and you don’t need to waste your time and energy trying to figure out what to say. They might not even notice you didn’t respond as that same copy and paste message went out to hundreds of people on their Friends list.

If they’re a friend or a family member, you’ll need to take a more direct approach. But be cautious! MLM reps are given sales objection statements from their upline to push through about every natural response you could think of- this is how your friend got pressured into it themselves!

• Start with a firm decline. Always start with a no, it is up to you whether you want to add a “thank you” after that.
  
  
  

• Give a vague reason. The key here is to keep it vague and personal to you so they have limited options to push back on. A simple statement like “I am not interested” is a firm boundary that you can keep repeating as many times as you need to without having to give an excuse or any further reasoning.
  
  
  

• Quickly change the subject. Take control of the conversation and redirect it back onto your relationship with the person to remind them who you are (a friend, not a target!). A question like “how is your kid/ house/ job?” Will pull the pressure off the sales pitch.
  
  
  

• Reiterate your boundaries as needed. Don’t forget that establishing boundaries will maintain the health of your relationship with this person. A statement like “I am not interested and I am not going to change my mind” will reaffirm your boundaries.

Altogether, this might look like: “No, thank you. I am not interested. How has Brady been doing in soccer?”

If you truly want to be honest, try your best to reaffirm that not supporting MLM’s doesn’t mean you don’t care about or don’t support the friend that has reached out. Start with a firm decline and state your honest reason, but be prepared to back it up with facts!

This might look like: “No, thank you. I am not interested. I support you as an individual but MLM structured companies are problematic and go against my values, this is not something I want to get involved in and lose money on as 99% of people do.” (then back it up - send them articles like this study by the FTC, or this evaluation by AARP, or this article I wrote on how MLM’s hurt women, or all three!)

The key is to try and keep the focus on yourself and your values and avoid placing shame or guilt on your friend. Remember, they are being exploited and victimized by this company, and within the time they may need to lean on you as their friend to get out when they come to the realization that it isn’t working out like they were promised it would.

If you are in an MLM and want to separate, there are steps you can take to file the appropriate claims and potentially recoup some of your financial losses.

Here is a link to the FTC’s guide on the actions you can take to separate, recover losses, deprogram loved ones, protect oneself, and warn others of MLM fraud.

30 Ways To Say No To An MLM Sales Pitch

If you’re in a pinch, I have found thirty solid ways to decline a sales pitch from an MLM distributor. They’re all polite but firm and don’t rely on an excuse that the distributor could use her objection training on. When in doubt, pick out one of these and keep repeating your “no” as many times as you need to!

1. I appreciate the offer, but I am not interested.

2. Thank you for thinking of me, I’m not interested.

3. It is not the right fit for me, thank you.

4. I’m not the best for it, thank you.

5. It’s not a good idea for me.

6. I don’t think I’m the right person for that.

7. You’re so kind to think of me, but I am not interested.

8. I’m flattered you considered me, but I’ll have to pass.

9. Thanks, but no thanks.

10. I’m not the girl for you on this one.

11. I’m not taking on new things.

12. It sounds like you’re looking for something I’m not able to give.

13. I’d rather not 

14. I’m afraid I can’t.

15. No thanks, I won’t be able to make it.

16. I’d rather not.

17. I won’t be able to

18. I really appreciate you asking me, but I can’t do it.

19. I understand you really need my help, but I’m just not able to say yes to that. So sorry.

20. I don’t have that to give right now.

21. I’d really prefer not to.

22. I really shouldn’t.

23. I can’t do what you’re asking.

24. That doesn’t work for me.

25. I am going to pass on this.

26. It’s not my thing.

27. I’ll need to bow out.

28. Unfortunately, what you’re offering doesn’t meet my criteria/standards.

29. Sorry, I can’t/don’t want to.

30. I’m all set with what I am doing/using right now, thank you.

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