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

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

By simplesahm | December 23, 2007

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. Continue Reading...