'Fess up...if you sell for mlm companies, give us the dirt

[Anonymous]

My rebuke has always been: if the product is so great, why don't they sell it in retail stores like all other products? You don't see Tide or Coke or Sony selling through MLMs.

[Anonymous]

None of it is sustainable income. It's all fad stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG is everyone else's FB feed inundated with hype from the big BeachBody conference in Nashville this weekend? Nauseating!

The worst part is that I'm not even FB friends with these people - their posts are totally open and FB friends like or comment on them, so they show up in my news feed. But I'm sort of fascinated - these are educated women with real, serious, full-time jobs, who appear to have been totally sucked in to the MLM world. Why???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG is everyone else's FB feed inundated with hype from the big BeachBody conference in Nashville this weekend? Nauseating!

The worst part is that I'm not even FB friends with these people - their posts are totally open and FB friends like or comment on them, so they show up in my news feed. But I'm sort of fascinated - these are educated women with real, serious, full-time jobs, who appear to have been totally sucked in to the MLM world. Why???

If they like the shakes, they sign up as a "coach" and if enough people buy shakes, they get theirs for free. It isn't even about making money for most of the people, just scoring their own free shake.

FWIW, I have the shakes. I've tried several different kinds over the years. Beachbody are the best I've had. Add banana and a scoop of PB2 powder, yum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Silpada is the worst. All the women at the conference look like tacky, wanna be real housewives.

I actually like Silpada jewelry. At least it's real metal, etc. not like the Stella and Dot crap that looks like something my daughter would buy at Claire's.

[Anonymous]

I'll bite. I sell R&F and have been for over two years. I have a decent team under me and sell to many customers. Look, it's true that some of the language and caps used in posts that people copy are very salesy and annoying. I do use FB, but try to make all the posts my own. I've done well and would be considered successful, top 1%. It's a few thousand per month at this point, but growing steadily and I keep track of every penny I put back into the business, I still come out quite a bit on top after all the expenditures. I don't stalk people and I don't talk about it to friends who I know aren't interested since they already know I'm doing it. Products are good. I def. use them myself and that's about it. I also have a full time job so it's a side thing for right now. Can't say I totally disagree with some of the comments here, but there are many people who actually make very real money doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll bite. I sell R&F and have been for over two years. I have a decent team under me and sell to many customers. Look, it's true that some of the language and caps used in posts that people copy are very salesy and annoying. I do use FB, but try to make all the posts my own. I've done well and would be considered successful, top 1%. It's a few thousand per month at this point, but growing steadily and I keep track of every penny I put back into the business, I still come out quite a bit on top after all the expenditures. I don't stalk people and I don't talk about it to friends who I know aren't interested since they already know I'm doing it. Products are good. I def. use them myself and that's about it. I also have a full time job so it's a side thing for right now. Can't say I totally disagree with some of the comments here, but there are many people who actually make very real money doing this.

So, you're netting a few thousand a month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll bite. I sell R&F and have been for over two years. I have a decent team under me and sell to many customers. Look, it's true that some of the language and caps used in posts that people copy are very salesy and annoying. I do use FB, but try to make all the posts my own. I've done well and would be considered successful, top 1%. It's a few thousand per month at this point, but growing steadily and I keep track of every penny I put back into the business, I still come out quite a bit on top after all the expenditures. I don't stalk people and I don't talk about it to friends who I know aren't interested since they already know I'm doing it. Products are good. I def. use them myself and that's about it. I also have a full time job so it's a side thing for right now. Can't say I totally disagree with some of the comments here, but there are many people who actually make very real money doing this.

So, you're netting a few thousand a month?

How does it break down?

[Anonymous]

I suspect most of them (like the Mary Kay lady) are such that if you can sell to your friends/extended neighborhood you can net $500-$1k a month.

BUT ...

The damn conferences and kits are going to eat you alive.

[Anonymous]

I worked Pt and was looking for a way to sahm full time and still earn some money, so I looked into a few. A lot of these people have also tried to recruit me because I'm "perfect" for representing their product (ie I'm social). They always say "the starter kit is only $99!" But they don't advertise that in order to actually EARN money, you have to spend a certain amount of money on their product either monthly or quarterly. Of course, how else would your up line continually earn? And you can sell that product you buy, but if you aren't getting the product out then you're at a loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of them (like the Mary Kay lady) are such that if you can sell to your friends/extended neighborhood you can net $500-$1k a month.

BUT ...

The damn conferences and kits are going to eat you alive.

That was always my impression as well. If you don't get too deep into it and if you build up a decent customer base, you can make some extra money. Otherwise, it's a giant crock and you will probably lose money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I once sold Tastefully Simple.

I liked most if the food but it was pricey for what it is.

I did not "work" my business which means I had a couple parties, delivered the products, and sent a couple follow up emails but did little else. The person who recruited me got a job out of state, moved , and decided to drop out herself. I did too a month or so later.

I may have made $50 in a year. The cost of supplies was crazy - everything from little tasting cups to little party bags you were supposed to hand out to party guests. The time commitment was also way higher than I anticipated. Each party took at least 3 hours of prep, the party took @3 hours. I never met one person who was selling who was making anything even close to a part time salary.

I still like their stuff and do buy it on occasion.

Exact same experience here. At first I thought I could source the supplies elsewhere and save some money (regular plates, not TS plates), but the time it took to prepare for the parties was a major drain. I hosted my launch party, then one friend had one, and one friend of that friend. I took re-orders for about 6 months. Never earned anything but free product. I'm still a Seasoned Salt and Beer Bread fan!

[Anonymous]

Tastefully Simple beer bread is my favorite. I always like the "parties" that are all about food!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of them (like the Mary Kay lady) are such that if you can sell to your friends/extended neighborhood you can net $500-$1k a month.

BUT ...

The damn conferences and kits are going to eat you alive. [/quotes]

I think I'm the "Mary Kay lady" (PP from a few pages ago). I never actually went to the conferences. Like I said, I wasn't into the sorority part of it, and paying major $$ for a formal-wear weekend of "rah-rah" wasn't up my alley. Just bought what I could use and sell to my customer base. Admittedly, I didn't make a ton of money (yeah, probably about $500/month) but the products were good, and it was nice pocket change. I worked full-time for an arts nonprofit at the time, so pocket change was always welcome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suspect most of them (like the Mary Kay lady) are such that if you can sell to your friends/extended neighborhood you can net $500-$1k a month.

BUT ...

The damn conferences and kits are going to eat you alive. [/quotes]

I think I'm the "Mary Kay lady" (PP from a few pages ago). I never actually went to the conferences. Like I said, I wasn't into the sorority part of it, and paying major $$ for a formal-wear weekend of "rah-rah" wasn't up my alley. Just bought what I could use and sell to my customer base. Admittedly, I didn't make a ton of money (yeah, probably about $500/month) but the products were good, and it was nice pocket change. I worked full-time for an arts nonprofit at the time, so pocket change was always welcome!

Yep, if you had gotten suckered into the conferences, etc., your $500-$1k would've gone right out the back door.