Dear Friend Who Doesn’t Sell Something

I know how you feel! You feel bombarded by every direct sales company out there: body wraps, lipstick, face cream, cleaning products, pretty nails, jewelry, food storage, etc…there is so much of it!  It feels as though you can’t scroll through Facebook anymore without the majority of your friends trying to sell you something, right?!  Well, you probably are right!  As someone who has been been in the direct sales business for almost 5 years now, here a few things we sellers want you to know and keep in mind!

The Letter

Dear Friend Who Doesn’t Sell Something, 

First, we totally respect you for not selling something, but we want your respect for choosing to do so.    

We totally understand if you don’t want to support us by purchasing something we sell, but it would mean the world to us if you would support us by listening to us or asking us about our product!  The little things matters and just knowing we have your support (with or without buying) us and our business is what we want!  If you hear someone mention a product we sell, it would be awesome if you would mention our name!  Send people our way!  That is a huge support and encouragement to us! 

We try to keep our business and personal separate, HOWEVER, we truly LOVE the product we are selling and sometimes we just get so excited about it and we can’t help but have those lines cross!  If we do it only every once in awhile, we ask that you graciously scroll by our post and forgive and realize that we are just as excited about a product as you are about your cat!  Truthfully, we also feel really bad when we find out we’re annoying someone with our posts!  That’s not our goal, so please tell us if we cross the line!  We truly do want business and non-business relationships! 

We work our tails off!  Selling for a direct sales company is not just posting in a Facebook group or page. It’s handwritten thank you cards and getting to know our customers so we can reach them on a personal level!  It’s finding what works for us and our business, which is VERY hard!  What works for one of us, doesn’t work for the next, so we have to try many different strategies, test them out.  It takes our time and our money!  That being said, if you commit to hosting a party (or attending one), please don’t flake out on us!  Don’t take our time and our products and then never follow through being a hostess!  We REALLY do want to help you get free products, but we can’t do that without your help!  Oh…and trust us, hosting a party is NOT taboo anymore!  Think girls night! 🙂 

And yes, we do “work our business”, so when you want free advice or us to help you, but you never purchase anything from us, it leaves a bad taste in our mouth!  We’re more than happy to help and give advice, but we need something in return too! 

Speaking of money, we invest a lot of money into our businesses!  We invest money in products to test out so we can give our customers a personal review.  We invest money for business supplies.  We’re constantly investing money in things like free shipping or other “specials” to show our appreciation for our customers.  While we may be making money, we aren’t pocketing 100%!  

While we’re on the topic of money.  Yes, most of us are doing this to make money to earn an income to help support our families or doing it as a “2nd job”.  However, some of us that are doing this is to earn money to donate to organizations, individuals going through a tough time, or to be a missionary!  Remember, to many of us it just isn’t a “quick buck”.  And one last thing about money…remember, most of us are trying to make a living, so please don’t continuously ask us for a discount or special pricing.  We like offering those things, but it also puts us in a weird position with other customers and our bank accounts! 😉

Sometimes we talk about our business.  We aren’t trying to necessarily sell you something!  You talk about aspects of your job that you like and dislike, we just want to do the same!  This is especially true if we are a stay at home mom!  Our businesses give us an opportunity for “adult time”.  

There truly is a sisterhood that is found when you are a part of a direct sales team!  However, if you don’t sell something, you can’t understand it!  We all have lots of friends and colleagues that we turn to for support, but have never actually met in person!  

Thank you for being our friends, thank you for supporting us if you have, and thank you for understanding (or at least trying) why we do what we do!  

Sincerely, 

Your Direct Selling Friend

 

Special thanks to a few of my direct sales friends who contributed to this post!  See, we really are a sisterhood!