Sitting down at my computer to carry out my daily tasks I was confronted with a bit of a storm. Not weather related but just as cold, it was Forum Thread that was used to discuss someone else's business within the company.
The Story - an established affiliate marketer who was successful within the company and had been for 20 years plus, decided to sell his business. This is a normal occurance for an established online business even an affiliate one, things change, maybe you want to retire, maybe ill health, maybe just had enough but whatever the reason it is a reasonable thing to do.
The Storm - the posts in the forum range from between conspiricy theories that the person in question pretended to sell his business but is using the disguise of the supposedly new business owner. They used miracle cream to look 30 years younger and even change genders, the corporation is at fault for not disclosing the person's personal business and behaviour and the list goes on.
I was cold (don't judge)
The Problem - In this case the person in question did not inform their downline of their impending departure and now there are rumours and speculation being flown around like a bag of rag dolls. Some of the downline which are in my team are clearly upset about the moving round of their upline without prior warning.
The Sensible Option - Keep your Team updated whenever possible. This morning I got in contact with the buyer of said business, sending them a link to the Forum Thread and asking for some clarity over a few things. As of yet I have not received a response which will no doubt increase my wariness of why they have used a stock photograph for their own personal profile picture and have no personal branding, pictures or names on their blog.
The Point of This Post - even though you are online, even though you may never see the face of the people you bring into your business or who you work with remember there is a person behind that affiliate number who is just the same as you. They may have only just started out but was that not what you did in the beginning?
Conclusion - I have over 2,000 people in my downline, yes they are people not just affiliate numbers. I shall keep them updated of any developments and certainly if I ever leave I will bid them Goodbye, Good luck for the future and also Thank them for all their hard work. I would suggest we all do the same not just so we don't get crucified in a forum but it is the right thing to do!