How to be diplomatic?

jess1974

i wouldn't touch any of them with a barge pole...if the products are soooo good you shouldn't need to sell to members of your own family or friends x

RAS

OP - if yu sare in sales, you know that the salesperson has been taught how to deal with objections.

So being nice is not really going to work as that is what the organisers bank on.

RuthnJasper

BakerBoy wrote: »

Have they told you why they want the chat? It may be that they want to test the pitch on you, as an experienced salesperson. Maybe they look up to you? You seem worried that you will end up buying the products. If that's not the case then I see no harm in it.

I went to one of these "talks" with a friend years ago, for products called "Nuways" shampoos, make-up, etc. It was in some grotty hotel. My friend was an agent for them and convinced me into going.

It was really hard-hitting sales pitches, look what our successful agents have achieved and you could have all this too... sort of thing. Very much the hard sell. Most of the attendees were already agents who had accompanied their friends.

The main chap speaking seemed a bit seedy to me too. At one point he showed a company structure chart or similar diagram. It looked like a pyramid. Me being me, I stuck up my hand and asked "Is this a pyramid scheme? Aren't they illegal?" and became persona non-grata from that point on. I swear that if it had been the 17th century they'd have hauled me out and burned me at the stake...

An unpleasant waste of an evening. I'd avoid it, as it is very hard to resist pressure-selling techniques sometimes and I certainly wasn't happy that my friend had talked me into going...

Frankiesphone

I've been hounded too by 'friends' on FB. The new kid on the block seems to be Juiceplus! - seems people are pumping their bodies with these funny looking drinks and a fistful of vitamin pills each morning, and paying a fortune in the process!

I politely said that I was too busy and couldn't give the time to something that was important but wished her well with her new venture.

In my day that called it Pyramid Selling and the only person that made any real money was the fat cat at the top of the tree.

DFlights

Ugh, I stopped going to a local business networking meeting because two of the regulars (a couple who always turned up together) were Forever Living agents. They'd bang on about how good all things aloe vera were, and how their toothpaste had magical enamel-regrowing properties, and how much money you could make from it all - I think they only went to the meetings to try and recruit more agents and milk the rest of us for family/friend/business contacts.

Admittedly, you do go to these things to network, but it was their way of going about it that I found unsettling.

And aloe vera tastes unpleasant, I wouldn't willingly drink anything with that stuff in it. Then again, I only use a very limited amount of cosmetics so it's not like I'd be interested in buying anything like that anyway.

I'd definitely be doing the "broken record" and just keep saying no thank you, I'd even not go to the first talk.

supersaver2

jess1974 wrote: »

i wouldn't touch any of them with a barge pole...if the products are soooo good you shouldn't need to sell to members of your own family or friends x

I don't know about the rest but my wife is always happy when her Avon brochures comes through the door and says the items are good quality for the price you pay.

PlutoinCapricorn

I use some aloe vera products myself, but I would never buy them in this way as they must be marked up to cover the 'cut' for all the 'uplines'. I shop around online to get good deals. This also applies to those herbal supplements that are worth taking.

I think that Avon is in a different class from most of the other lines.

I agree that being nice to MLM 'pushers' will not work very well, as that is what they rely on.

RuthnJasper

DFlights wrote: »

Ugh, I stopped going to a local business networking meeting because two of the regulars (a couple who always turned up together) were Forever Living agents. They'd bang on about how good all things aloe vera were, and how their toothpaste had magical enamel-regrowing properties, and how much money you could make from it all - I think they only went to the meetings to try and recruit more agents and milk the rest of us for family/friend/business contacts.

Admittedly, you do go to these things to network, but it was their way of going about it that I found unsettling.

And aloe vera tastes unpleasant, I wouldn't willingly drink anything with that stuff in it. Then again, I only use a very limited amount of cosmetics so it's not like I'd be interested in buying anything like that anyway.

I'd definitely be doing the "broken record" and just keep saying no thank you, I'd even not go to the first talk.

I love the FL toothpaste and use it all the time (get it cost price from my mum, she only does FL to use the products herself, not to make any profit) - but I seriously doubt that it "regrows enamel"... Is that even scientifically possible?!

The lip balm is also good, but I agree that the stuff you add to water to drink is revolting - I wouldn't swill that foul grog even for £100!

The best lesson I took from the FL glossy brochures was that Aloe Vera is good for the skin, nails and hair. So I got myself an Aloe Vera plant.

They are incredibly easy to grow (too easy actually, even for a confessed unwitting garden-slayer like me, the plant reproduces amazingly and it got to the point where I couldn't give the baby plants away! ). If you cut a mature leaf and split/squeeze it, great blobs of the clear Aloe Vera are produced - it's fantastic straight from the plant to the skin or hair, and not just for humans either.

My dog Jasper used to get dreadful rashes on his chest in the summer - I'd rub the gel from the leaf directly onto them and he would groan with relief at the soothing and cooling "gel". Cleared up the rashes a treat.

Definitely a good plant to use, but the real thing is more preferable (and more MSE), hehe!

Marshmallow82

Even if this person tries to sign you up, you are allowed to say no! They may well be asking all friends and family and will expect the majority to say no

jess1974

supersaver2 wrote: »

I don't know about the rest but my wife is always happy when her Avon brochures comes through the door and says the items are good quality for the price you pay.

I agree...i think Avon is the exception x