multi-level marketing? (related to Silpada)

[Deleted]

Do you think people really make money in those multi-level marketing sales? (Related to Silpada.)

An acquaintance told me she sold $6000 in Younique make-up over two months. She failed to mention what it cost her. This same friend sells at least four different "at-home" sales things. She is always trying to get people to sell under her.

Maybe I should quit my job and start selling!!

[imawino]

May 26, 2016 10:52:39 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Do you think people really make money in those multi-level marketing sales? (Related to Silpada.)

An acquaintance told me she sold $6000 in Younique make-up over two months. She failed to mention what it cost her. This same friend sells at least four different "at-home" sales things. She is always trying to get people to sell under her.

Maybe I should quit my job and start selling!!

I hear the people who sell Rodan + Fields make good money, likely because of how shockingly overpriced their items are!   But who knows. I detest everything about MLM and home sale parties. Ugh. Thinking of it makes my head hurt.

[justme]

My SIL is one of them. She says she makes money - but she buys a lot of their stuff and she gives out free samples and freebies to entice people to sign up.

I'd like to see how much she actually makes vs the time she's putting into it, but I'm not walking into that viper pit. From her she makes good money at it.

[bean29]

My Mom sells Shaklee and she does not lose $$ she makes a little something for her efforts, but I sincerely doubt what she makes would pay her minimum wage for the equivalent of all the hours she puts in.

I googled Slipada and the few links I opened people said they made decent $$ selling Silpada - their complaint was that the pieces were frequently retired and dealers were constantly obligated to buy new pieces as displays.

My Mom has plenty of friends, but I can tell that some people just avoid her, but I don't think she has connected it to her business (I am not even sure she registered it). 

[Deleted]

I think SOME people make good money at these. They are the more aggressive, active salespersons who would probably do just as well if not better in any sales situation, but prefer the format of mlm.

[bean29]

Yeah OPED, I was thinking someone like my SIL would do very well b/c she has $$ to spend and has neighbors who are affluent (SIL would never do it though (she doesn't spend a lot of $$ on appearances and she is not that social)). Her sister did it and was more dependent on the income and I think the retired pieces/constant obligation to buy new pieces was an issue for her.

My Cousin works in the home office at State Farm and she is a trainer. I am sure she books a good number of parties just from co-workers. She is the one that seems to change up the company/product she is representing every year or so (but she still has a very good paying FT job).

[Sam_2.0]

SIL makes decent money at these, but she was a locally famous blogger before she started so it was easy for her to build her client base. She's probably part of the .01% that actually makes money.

[kittensaver]

Ugh. I'm one of those people that actively hides out from folks selling Avon, Shaklee, Tupperware, Young Living, Mary Kay, Fuller Brush, Arbonne etc ad nauseum. I feel actively sorry for folks who try to make a living doing this. I get that it's hard for them, but I just don't need another two dozen people trying to separate me from my paycheck.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

The money is not in you selling.  The money is in getting OTHER people to sign up and then sell underneath you.  You don't make it to the top doing sales yourself, you make it to the top by getting other people to sell and you sit back collecting a percentage of their sales.

My BFF got sucked into Mary Kay for awhile.  I tried to talk her out if by pointing out how much she'd have to sell to recoup her money (you have to purchase your supplies at 75% retail) AND pay this chick her fee AND make a profit for herself.   If you are that good of a salesman you don't need an MLM scheme.

Screw that crap.  If I am going to be making money for someone else I might as well stay a wage slave.
 

[ohmomto2boys]

The money is not in you selling. The money is in getting OTHER people to sign up and then sell underneath you.

This is key.   My SIL sold Arbonne.  She set up a bunch of workshops and got several people selling under her.  She thought she was going to make a TON of money.  This all fizzled out within 12-18 mths when the people under her fizzled and they never got people to sell under them, etc......

[Deleted]

Its a combination of both. I bought like 200@ worth of 31 once. I am not a party person. But that lady could sell. Even as i added on the last 'only 5$ a piece' and, I can give you one more at 20% off' to the order i was like, i am so being had here... but i knew that she was one of the ones who made it. She also had a strong component of building future parties/etc. Of course that selling also extended to her ability to 'sell' the program to others and i'm sure she also had plenty of people signing up under her to sell to their friends as well. 

[Tiny]

I think the people who sell/recruit well would be good at selling/recruiting for any product (when they put their mind to it).

I went to a "scrapbooking" evening put on by a woman who was very persuasive/charismatic. I went with a friend who wanted to go to this. I'm sure the woman doing the 'class/selling event' was indeed making money - she had a room full of people who she gently pressured to give a "class/selling event" for their own friends. She would happily run the 'class'. I'm pretty sure she generated 5 to 6 additional 'classes/selling events' from a group of 15 women. Everyone one at this 'event' bought SOMETHING - I did too (some fancy hole punches and a cutting tool - useful for other than scrapbooking). To be honest - the scrapbook stuff was neat and I could see where it fit a 'niche' and would sell - until it became really popular and you could buy all the supplies at Hobby Lobby. No need for a 'specialty supplier'.

[weltschmerz]

May 26, 2016 11:55:06 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

The money is not in you selling.  The money is in getting OTHER people to sign up and then sell underneath you.  You don't make it to the top doing sales yourself, you make it to the top by getting other people to sell and you sit back collecting a percentage of their sales.

My BFF got sucked into Mary Kay for awhile.  I tried to talk her out if by pointing out how much she'd have to sell to recoup her money (you have to purchase your supplies at 75% retail) AND pay this chick her fee AND make a profit for herself.   If you are that good of a salesman you don't need an MLM scheme.

Screw that crap.  If I am going to be making money for someone else I might as well stay a wage slave.
 

I saw a documentary about Mary Kay. Many of these women buy their own products in order to get ahead and win that jacket or car.
Their garages are filled to brim with beauty products they bought on credit.  Credit they'll NEVER be able to pay off.

[azucena]

In the past week, I've seen two different facebook posts of friends of friends who have earned a new Lexxus selling Nerium.  Just makes me shake my head.  I can only imagine how many people sign up under them after that.

[Deleted]

May 26, 2016 14:13:38 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I saw a documentary about Mary Kay. Many of these women buy their own products in order to get ahead and win that jacket or car.
Their garages are filled to brim with beauty products they bought on credit.  Credit they'll NEVER be able to pay off.

A Web site with plenty of horror stories, which I think I learned about on this Board, is thepinktruth.com.

Years ago an acquaintance invited me to a session where supposedly they wanted my input on various Mary Kay products. I gracefully got out of it by telling her I don't wear makeup (which is true) so I'd be a poor choice to evaluate any.

[8 Bit WWBG]

Oh yeah, that pink truth site is kind of heartbreaking.

...:::"An acquaintance told me she sold $6000 in Younique make-up over two months. She failed to mention what it cost her.":::...

This is exactly it.  If she had to pay $5,500 to generate $6,000 in sales, then she isn't really doing well at all.  Don't show me pictures of your fancy car.  Show me your schedule C!

And DQ is spot on that the money comes from recruiting others.  But those others usually figure out that selling is hard and expensive, so they probably don't stick around long and you have to keep recruiting more people.

I've seen the pink escalade on the road before.  I always assumed someone from corporate just drives it around in an area with a lot of sellers to keep morale up and give them something to shoot for.

[Anne_in_VA]

Way back in the day, I sold Tupperware and made a lot of money doing it.  This was back in the 70's though.  I actually made more from selling that stuff than I was making from my full time job.  

Eventually we moved, so I quit selling and never did it again.

[bean29]

I read a "study" on facebook this morning that a professor who studied MLM's concluded that the average rep made about $1.50/hour they put in.  LOL.  I am pretty sure that people in MLM's are brainwashed and won't admit that they put so much effort in for so little return.  My Mom is 78 and still marketing for the MLM she is involved with.  She is still going to make bank someday!

[thyme4change]

I knew a lady who did Silpada. She had 6 kids, most of whom were too young to leave alone. Her husband's business crumbled and she said she made enough to pay the mortgage. I haven't talked to her in years, but she just put a tearful Facebook goodbye to Silpada - so it must have been working for her to keep it up more than a decade.

[TheHaitian]

I have a high school friend that does ACN. If tumblr and Facebook are to be taken at face value, he seems pretty successful!

[milee]

May 31, 2016 21:52:05 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

If tumblr and Facebook are to be taken at face value, he seems pretty successful!

Oh, that's a good one!  Yeah... no.  That's part of the strategy of any successful salesperson - to appear to be successful even if they aren't.  Customers want to buy from a salesperson who's "good" and that means one who's successful.  Appearing successful also helps with recruiting other MLM minions. 

[ArchietheDragon]

May 26, 2016 14:22:26 GMT -5 azucena said:

In the past week, I've seen two different facebook posts of friends of friends who have earned a new Lexxus selling Nerium.  Just makes me shake my head.  I can only imagine how many people sign up under them after that.

Did you know that they don't actually win a lexus.   If you sell enough you earn a lexus bonus which means if you want to lease a lexus, the company will make the payment for you.    If you dip below your monthly sales goals that payment is all yours again....

[emma1420]

My grandmother used to sell Mary Kay.  She never did the parties, and just sold the products.  She made a little money, but that was largely in part because she had a decent sized client base of family, friends, and acquaintances.  It also helped that my grandfather was a chiropractor and worked out of his home, and so many of his patients also bought the stuff she was selling.   She never made a bunch of money though, and she wouldn't push other people to sign-up and be sales reps.  

I think if you have a built-in customer base, as my grandmother did, I think you can make some money (enough to supplement an income, but not enough to support yourself), but if you don't have that customer base then I think you probably lose money.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think if you have a built-in customer base, as my grandmother did, I think you can make some money (enough to supplement an income, but not enough to support yourself), but if you don't have that customer base then I think you probably lose money.

That's what my friend found out.  The metro area is way over saturated.

The lady who did the party made grand claims about how everyone is so nice and friendly and helps each other.   My friend said that is BS, if you step into someone else's turf they will cut you!

If you don't have a built in customer base of your own you're pretty much screwed there is no way to get enough new clients to break even let alone net a profit.

[azucena]

Jun 1, 2016 8:26:57 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

May 26, 2016 14:22:26 GMT -5 azucena said:

In the past week, I've seen two different facebook posts of friends of friends who have earned a new Lexxus selling Nerium.  Just makes me shake my head.  I can only imagine how many people sign up under them after that.

Did you know that they don't actually win a lexus.   If you sell enough you earn a lexus bonus which means if you want to lease a lexus, the company will make the payment for you.    If you dip below your monthly sales goals that payment is all yours again....

AHA - the catch that nobody bothers to mention.  Very interesting, thank you for sharing.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jun 1, 2016 12:47:11 GMT -5 azucena said:

Jun 1, 2016 8:26:57 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Did you know that they don't actually win a lexus.   If you sell enough you earn a lexus bonus which means if you want to lease a lexus, the company will make the payment for you.    If you dip below your monthly sales goals that payment is all yours again....

AHA - the catch that nobody bothers to mention.  Very interesting, thank you for sharing.

Well think about it, if people mentioned the catch you wouldn't get people to sign up thinking they'll get a free car.

Boy did it piss that sales lady off when she dangled the car in front of me and I told her I already had a perfectly fine car and I hate pink.