I am going to be real with you and start this out by saying that yes, I am indeed a part of a direct sales company. I know, I know but before you let that little fact discount my feelings on the topic-hear me out. I feel compelled to speak out for us ladies who have taken to selling our products online because I know at times, the Multi -Level Marketing/”MLM” format of selling is seen in a somewhat negative light and I don’t think it deserves that reputation. For most of us direct sales ladies, our intentions are pure, the method of selling our products is not all that different from a traditional sales job, and the incomes can be life-changing for families. If you take a second and think about why someone may have chosen this route and be open minded, I believe the negativity could be erased. We are all just ladies out there trying to figure out the best way to make a dollar for our families, am I right?
How Things Were
Long before I began dipping my toe into the direct selling world, I was surrounded by direct sales in one way or another. I have vivid memories as a child of my mom being excited to go for a “girl’s night” to buy new Tupperware and then the shiny new plastic bins with the matching lids filling our cabinets. Pampered Chef parties brought home the baking stone we then used for years to come. The baskets that adorned our cabinets came from, you guessed it, a MLM company. Back then, my mom and her friends were excited for the chance to get out without the kids and shop together while supporting a friend. I never once heard her bemoan the fact that anyone she knew was working to provide their family with some extra money through means of those “home parties.”
Social Media Takeover
Now here we are, twenty or so years later, and social media has taken the direct sales game to the next level. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Periscope are just a few of the avenues people can now sell their products. All make for a much wider range of audience then just the neighborhood ladies getting together for Tupperware and the potential for much bigger profits, but it also brings the possible scenario of being approached by a much larger number of people trying to sell to you. I get it, being added to twenty groups in one day can be overwhelming and we have all had that “one friend” who only posts about their product of choice, ten million times a day, and it becomes annoying and redundant. That’s overkill even for most of us in this business. However, I also know their intentions are usually good: they are trying to make money for their family. Just like the person in a traditional sales job who sells t-shirts, printers, or technology equipment in a brick and mortar store is working to make a living, so is the lady online hustling lipstick, leggings or books. Oh, and you know how those traditional sales jobs make a percentage off of the teams they manage and can earn trips and bonuses based on their sales and the sales of their teams? So do those ladies online working for a makeup, jewelry or fitness company. It’s not all that different when you think about it, is it?
Just Mom’s Trying to Hustle
Most of the time, the person who added you their group, is simply a mom looking for a creative way to bring in a few extra dollars so she can stay home with her babies. And just as continuing to stay in a career outside of the home is something I would never look down on someone for choosing, I also don’t look down on the mom who is choosing to stay home and not work at all, or the mom who may want or need to bring in some money while she stays home and turns to direct sales. Maybe the person selling their product online to you is a single mom, who is working two other jobs and turned to this type of sales because she can do this at night, from her phone, while her kids are asleep, and bring in that much needed extra money that her family needs. Maybe it’s even a retired woman, who wanted something fun to do and found something she feels proud to share with you. There are many other scenarios then the ones I listed but the point I am trying to make is, I can promise you that nearly everyone in direct sales is not in the business to annoy you on Facebook and make you feel uncomfortable, there is a bigger purpose. There are women who bring home just a few extra dollars, or a few thousand dollars and there are women, more than you would think, who bring in an entire year’s salary each month. It’s possible and that’s why these types of jobs continue to exist.
If these types of sales don’t interest you, that’s fine you are always free to unfollow, hide or leave the groups. All I ask is that you just be kind to those friends of yours who are choosing this often-difficult means of sales. Don’t be demeaning and talk poorly about these women. If you aren’t interested, you don’t have to participate. As for me, you know I will continue to support these businesses and not just because I sell for one. Anytime I can shop from my couch in my jammies while helping another lady’s hustle, count me in.
