Multi-level marketing friends and how to handle them...

[PineFarmMom]

I have a friend who I don't talk to anymore really (by choice). There is a history of drama and roller coaster rides with her so I've backed off. Within 2 hours I received 2 e-mails and a phone call (that I screened) from her requesting that I come to her "debut". She then proceeded to ask for the address of my mother (who she has met once). I have something going on during her party so it made it easy to e-mail and say no, then I just "forgot" to respond about my mother because I'm NOT giving her that address!! :lol:I received a response from her requesting the full name, number, and address of someone that I am close friends with and she has met but only through me & my own friendship with this lady...they were never friends and haven't seen one another in a year. What??? What is up with this stuff? It it presumptuous or is it just me?? I'm no good at MLM because I'm just not good at that type of thing so maybe it's all acceptable stuff, but I tend to call it pushy and crossing the line.

[5knights3maidens]

It is pushy. If she wants an address, she can search for it. :D

P.S. I'm not againgst MLM but that goes to far...We belonged to one quite a lone time ago and never did that. ;)

[kalanamak]

I'm no good at MLM because I'm just not good at that type of thing so maybe it's all acceptable stuff, but I tend to call it pushy and crossing the line.

 

I'm with you. If this is someone who does not matter to you, I'd simply not respond, and perhaps even warn your mother.

 

Friends who suddenly discover MLM come in two flavours. The kind that catch on quickly you aren't interested and drop it with you, and the kind that don't. Thus far, I'm happy to say, the latter have never been people I was close to.

 

An acquaintance of mine was recently paralyzed. I visited her in the hospital and sent some quips and gossip to her to keep her occupied, and now that she's back to work, I have been encouraging. However, I draw the line at pyramid prayer emails, which you have to forward to X number of women. I have simply not responded and they came to a halt.

[Chris in VA]

Yeah, she crossed a line, but you have to draw it clearly for her.

 

I sold toys for a mlm company for a while. The toys themselves were good quality (although mostly plastic, which I've become less thrilled with), and the idea of the company is a good one. However...

A person in MLM has a lot of pressure on her to do it all. the. time. Make working your business a job. Make it a lifestyle. Always be on the lookout for the next "opportunity" and think that everyone needs your product. Carry catties with you, look for key words in someone's conversation, etc.

I had to stop. It was too much.

 

It can turn you into an obnoxious, thoughtless person pretty quickly, especially if you are a person who is either desperately searching for a way to make an income and still stay home or do something else while you work, or if your own boundaries are not healthy.

 

Whew--more comments than I meant to make. Besides letting you in on some of the thought process that goes in to MLM, my point was actually made in the first line of this post. Good job on your part.

[kalanamak]

A person in MLM has a lot of pressure on her to do it all. the. time. Make working your business a job. Make it a lifestyle. Always be on the lookout for the next "opportunity" and think that everyone needs your product. Carry catties with you, look for key words in someone's conversation, etc.

I had to stop. It was too much.

 

 

My hubby's daughter sold cutco knives for a bit in college. Her calls were not tactful, and she didn't catch on to tactful evasions. If she were my child I would have said "A great salesman gets pleasure for helping a person get what they want, a good salesman sees each person as a buck but does it with tact and grace, and a poor salesman sees each person as a buck and it is obvious they do. What do you think you are doing?" But she wasn't my child, I wouldn't have dreamed of saying it to her, as it would not have been taken well and hubby would have suffered the consequences.

I picked his daughters up at one of their conferences. On the cell phone, getting directions, I heard the presentation. It sounded like a fire and brimstone preacher carrying on in the background. Since the two girls were raised in that tradition, it made sense they felt so at home with the company. I suspect this presentation has been found to fuel a entry level people with the audacity to ask for people's addresses, etc.

[Murphy101]

I never give out contact info for other people and I say so.

"I don't give or sell contact information. I'll give your information to soandso if you'd like and if they are interested they will contact you."

 

and really for the gal you know, I'd just tell her straight out that you aren't interested.

[PineFarmMom]

However, I draw the line at pyramid prayer emails, which you have to forward to X number of women. I have simply not responded and they came to a halt.

 

Oh no!! You hit on another pet annoyance of mine. ;) Same woman who wants me to share the names & numbers of all my friends and family also sends me the most nonsensical forwarded prayers. It isn't the prayers that bug me unless part of the prayer is asking God for grace for those who choose not to forward it. :001_huh: It's the last little paragraph that tells me to forward it on and God will do a miracle for me the same evening that I forward it and that it is not a joke and that it is really quite mystical. :banghead: I'm so very careful about what I forward and particularly with anything even remotely relating to Christ. I can't even imagine sending something to someone that basically implied that our Creator is to be compared to a genie in a bottle!!! Wow!

[ThatCyndiGirl]

Oh no!! You hit on another pet annoyance of mine. ;) Same woman who wants me to share the names & numbers of all my friends and family also sends me the most nonsensical forwarded prayers. It isn't the prayers that bug me unless part of the prayer is asking God for grace for those who choose not to forward it. :001_huh: It's the last little paragraph that tells me to forward it on and God will do a miracle for me the same evening that I forward it and that it is not a joke and that it is really quite mystical. :banghead: I'm so very careful about what I forward and particularly with anything even remotely relating to Christ. I can't even imagine sending something to someone that basically implied that our Creator is to be compared to a genie in a bottle!!! Wow!

 

 

 

 

I'm atheist, but my family is VERY evangelical-christian. I was reared in church. I have one family member in particular who is horrible with forwarding emails. Many of them read something to the effect of, "Jesus wants you to forward this".

 

I joked that, "I've read the entire bible more than once and every single time I missed the passage where Jesus said,"If you love me, you shall forward mine email". She said,"yep, I guess you did!" :001_huh:

[RoughCollie]

My best friend has recently started selling something for an mlm. I told her point blank that I was not interested and my opinions of mlm's (low - I used to work for a company that ran one). That was the end of it, since she knows me very well and realizes I am not going to put up with being bugged about this stuff.

 

RC

[Ferdie]

I never give out contact info for other people and I say so.

"I don't give or sell contact information. I'll give your information to soandso if you'd like and if they are interested they will contact you."

 

and really for the gal you know, I'd just tell her straight out that you aren't interested.

 

:iagree: My neighbor was selling Cutco knives for awhile. She wanted contact info. for some of my friends and my small group at church. I told her that I would never give out contact info. just like I would never give someone else her personal contact info. without her permission.

 

She asked me if I would tell all my friends about her knives and I told her I wouldn't be able to do that for her. I did buy two knives though and I love them.

 

I get MLM invites several times a year from people and rarely see socially. I always reply that I can't attend.

[PineFarmMom]

I joked that, "I've read the entire bible more than once and every single time I missed the passage where Jesus said,"If you love me, you shall forward mine email". She said,"yep, I guess you did!" :001_huh:

 

 

:lol: I've not seen it either, but apparently e-mail forwarding must be on the list of things we're supposed to do to show that love. I like your KJV interpretation of that missing verse. ;)

 

Sometimes I imagine creating a humorous, yet to-the-point e-mail to forward that would let it be known how I feel about those things, but then I just move on and let it go knowing the trouble I'd stir.

[PineFarmMom]

I'm with you. If this is someone who does not matter to you, I'd simply not respond, and perhaps even warn your mother.

 

 

 

This is my plan. I'm not going to respond at all. I agree on your interpretation of MLM people. I've met plenty who I knew sold something but didn't push it. They are typically the ones I choose to buy from because I know if I purchase something from them there will be no strings attached and I can move on without being pressured.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

:lol: I've not seen it either, but apparently e-mail forwarding must be on the list of things we're supposed to do to show that love. I like your KJV interpretation of that missing verse. ;)

 

Sometimes I imagine creating a humorous, yet to-the-point e-mail to forward that would let it be known how I feel about those things, but then I just move on and let it go knowing the trouble I'd stir.

 

 

You know, I have often thought of penning an email to the effect of, "it has been discovered that financial backers of Osama bin Laden and other Taliban leaders who have VERY deep pockets have been paying him BIG money for every email forward that they can get Americans to forward. As offensive as they find Christianity they actually USE IT AGAINST US spouting our own bible verses at us to dupe us into believing that it is an innocent forward!

 

Don't do it!! Don't support the Taliban by forwarding emails!! YOU have the power to stop them!"

 

 

:lol:

 

I wonder if it would work?

[newlifemom]

You know, I have often thought of penning an email to the effect of, "it has been discovered that financial backers of Osama bin Laden and other Taliban leaders who have VERY deep pockets have been paying him BIG money for every email forward that they can get Americans to forward. As offensive as they find Christianity they actually USE IT AGAINST US spouting our own bible verses at us to dupe us into believing that it is an innocent forward!

 

Don't do it!! Don't support the Taliban by forwarding emails!! YOU have the power to stop them!"

 

 

:lol:

 

I wonder if it would work?

 

 

 

:D

[KidsHappen]

I joked that, "I've read the entire bible more than once and every single time I missed the passage where Jesus said,"If you love me, you shall forward mine email". She said,"yep, I guess you did!" :001_huh:

 

 

 

Oh, it's in the amendments section, along with:

 

"Thou shalt put away thine own shopping carts."

 

"Thou shalt never let it be known that thy have breasts."

 

"Thou shalt never feed other people's children anything without their parent's permission."

 

They may be others but not being a Christian, I rarely have reason to look them up and the only reason I know about them at all is from visiting this board. I do know that the issue of shoes in the house is still tied up in sub-committee.

 

 

 

Joking people. :biggrinjester:

[ThatCyndiGirl]

Oh, it's in the amendments section, along with:

 

"Thou shalt put away thine own shopping carts."

 

"Thou shalt never let it be known that thy have breasts."

 

"Thou shalt never feed other people's children anything without their parent's permission."

 

They may be others but not being a Christian, I rarely have reason to look them up and the only reason I know about them at all is from visiting this board. I do know that the issue of shoes in the house is still tied up in sub-committee.

 

 

 

Joking people. :biggrinjester:

 

 

:lol:

[KidsHappen]

It is the way they are trained. They are taught to make contacts with as many people as possible and then tell these people about this wonderful opportunity. They really truly believe that this is the answer and it is their responsibility to share it with as many people as possible. They think they are doing you a favor. And they are trained that if someone doesn't want to hear about this or do it, well it is their loss and you don't need them in your life anyhow. Drop them, move on, next! Show the plan, show the plan, show the plan.

[milovany]

It is the way they are trained. They are taught to make contacts with as many people as possible and then tell these people about this wonderful opportunity. They really truly believe that this is the answer and it is their responsibility to share it with as many people as possible. They think they are doing you a favor. And they are trained that if someone doesn't want to hear about this or do it, well it is their loss and you don't need them in your life anyhow. Drop them, move on, next! Show the plan, show the plan, show the plan.

 

Uh, if in with MLM you include things like Pampered Chef, Uppercase Living, Tastefully Simple, etc. this is a really untrue statement. Or at the very least a vast generalization that doesn't apply to any of the direct sales representatives that I know. :001_huh:

[AuntieM]

Uh, if in with MLM you include things like Pampered Chef, Uppercase Living, Tastefully Simple, etc. this is a really untrue statement. Or at the very least a vast generalization that doesn't apply to any of the direct sales representatives that I know. :001_huh:

 

You know, I would have to say that I've had enough experiences with representatives for the companies you mention to say that it really just depends on the person....

 

OP, I would either ignore or send a concise email stating that you do not give out others' contact information for business purposes.

[PineFarmMom]

You know, I would have to say that I've had enough experiences with representatives for the companies you mention to say that it really just depends on the person....

 

 

 

I agree. This is Mary Kay that my friend is in. I really think it can be any company but the person representing it can handle it well or poorly and that is more dependent on them than anything. Some of those high-pressure big meetings they do with the reps can get them all fired up to think they have to attack every person they know OR they can take what they hear and go forward in a balanced manner.