A Lesson from "Jane" - What NOT to do as a Direct Sales Person

by Traci Anderson | More from this Blogger

10 Feb 2007 11:38 AM

I'll never forget the day I told my family members that I was joining a direct selling business. "You are doing WHAT?" they asked...clearly stunned. Quite honestly, I think they would have taken the news better had I told them I'd quit my job as a social worker to become an exotic dancer. I used to wonder why many people had such negative opinions of the direct selling industry until I met "Jane".

This summer I set a booth up at a local craft fair for my business. Jane was in the booth next to me. She sprayed perfume on passerbys. She grabbed their hands to give them impromptu hand massages (that they never asked for). She shoved her business card in their hands and fed candy to their children without asking permission. Jane was the epitome of a pushy salesperson.

I talked with Jane quite a bit that day. She was actually quite nice when she wasn't peddling her products. We talked about our children, local schools, and business issues. Despite her obvious overzealousness, I was starting to like her.

Actually, I liked her until I became Jane's next sales target. As we were enjoying casual conversation, we traded business cards. Two days later, I got a message on my cell phone. It was marked, "urgent". My husband is a police officer so I was convinced that he had been involved in an accident.

My heart skipped a beat as I called the number. "Hi Traci, this is Jane, I just couldn't wait to tell you about our latest special...."

I hung up. I was infuriated. Since when is blush, body butter and lipstick "urgent"? Later that day, I checked my mail. Jane sent me two personal notes and a catalog where she had personally "highlighted" products that I would enjoy. My first thought was, "how does she have the time?" As a direct seller myself, I barely had the time to send notes and coupons to my best customers, much less random people I met at vendor fairs.

Two days later, Jane called me. "Traci, we should get together for a girls' night out sometime". I was relieved. Now that was the Jane I had started to bond with. As we discussed our night out, I suddenly realized I was being used. "We can soak our feet with our brand new line of foot care products and try out some of the new lipsticks I just ordered".

Frankly, I was just hoping for some beer and nachos. "Sorry, I have plans". I told her.

Jane continues to send me monthly catalogs, samples and "urgent" messages on occasion. I continue to ignore her. Quite honestly, I love the products she sells and would probably be a decent customer had she not decided to stalkme.

Suddenly, my family members' aversion to the direct selling industry made sense. They had met a "Jane" too.

Have you had a bad experience with an over-zealous sales person? How did you handle it? Please tell us your experience in the comments section.

Related Reading: Nurturing and Cultivating Customers Do You Know What Your Customers Want? What Works for You - The Soft or Hard Sale?

Learn more about Traci Anderson

Traci is a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) from beautiful Big Sky Country (Montana). She spends most of her time trying to keep up with two extremely energetic (but hysterical) Irish twins.

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