In my last blog, I said that the the gargantuan drop-out rate for business builders in MLMs has become a sacred cow to be protected and justified at every turn. Let’s look closer at that idea. Literally speaking, a sacred cow is an actual cow that is treated with sincere reverence, as in the Hindu religion. In business, a sacred cow is an idea that is not to be questioned because it might upset the status quo, but that proves at some point to be only a self-perpetuating myth.

Network marketing leaders recently interviewed unanimously agreed that more than 87% of new recruits quit their businesses within the first year. Some leaders estimated the attrition rate to be as high as 97%.

Interestingly, about half of those interviewed shared concern that if facts about attrition became too visible in the industry, it might further discourage new recruits. Sacred cows stay sacred because people don’t want to talk about them.

Other leaders seemed to defend the high attrition rate, as though to suggest that those few recruits who do survive and thrive are part of an elite club that should be admired and preserved. Sacred cows in business are often symbols of a power elite, but they can also keep leaders from opening to important new ideas.