To think she's lying or brainwashed - MLM

[queenbee67]

Friend of mine has recently joined one of the big MLMs - let's call it Squash Minus.

I was surprised as she always seemed quite sensible and level headed. Suddenly she's posting inspirational quotes all over Facebook and talking about how much she's earning and how great her new 'business' is...while trying relentlessly to recruit other people. I didn't have her down as a liar so I'm wondering if it's possible that she really believes she's doing well or maybe she really is?

I don't know a lot about these companies but I tend to think they're probably not the most legitimate way to earn a crust. What do you think? Has anyone had any first hand experience?

I think they’re told to lie about how much they’re making, ‘fake it til you make it’ and suck in other people by making it look like a god opportunity. I’ve noticed the same as PPs that you always see mlm sellers say they’re making loads yet not a single soul interacts with their selling posts or games or raffles.

Run away and keep your distance until she comes to her senses.

The odd product can be okay though. The aloe juice is good and helped me but I found cheaper alternatives elsewhere. It was a MLM company that introduced me to it.

They're literally told to post this stuff. Given templates and sample posts to copy.
The strategy is "fake it till you make it", which oddly enough sometimes comes across as "blatantly lying so no-one trusts you in future".

@PandemicAtTheDisco

I sold Avon years ago before online was an option and it was quite profitable. No pressure to recruit either. I still buy Avon and my rep is male - so men do get involved! He drives for Amazon as his main job (branded truck) and drops off Avon at the same time (I'm not telling )

Door to door Avon selling back in the day was totally different.

[quote minniemomo]@PandemicAtTheDisco

I sold Avon years ago before online was an option and it was quite profitable. No pressure to recruit either. I still buy Avon and my rep is male - so men do get involved! He drives for Amazon as his main job (branded truck) and drops off Avon at the same time (I'm not telling )[/quote]
I've never considered Avon as being MLM though because there products are decent and at an affordable price. They will happily take back products if you are unhappy.

their,,,,

They make more money off people they recruit which is why they always try to recruit people. They then don't need to sell as much themselves as they have others selling and getting a percentage of those sales.
A lot of people end up in debt with their MLM "business" but will never admit it.
Most of the likes/comments they get on their posts will be from other "huns" in the same MLM to make it seem like people are interested.
I have a few different friends on my Facebook that are in different MLM's and it's all rubbish. Every post is full of toxic positivity and if you dare to say anything against what they are doing they will cut you off/argue with you.
It's ridiculous really

@MrsBDarcy

I recently read an MLM blog by someone who did Poonique (I may have amended the spelling there) and tells the gory story. Fascinating

Ah yes ,I've read the Poonique blog Poonique is actually how this blogger refers to it. I was diverted yo that blog after reading a thread on here that recommended it. I am glad I did as I am ashamed to day I almost got sucked into Temple Spa after signing up for a party.

Yeah she's lying. I had a friend who was supposedly high up in an MLM. She was in it for a few years, forever posting about how she made more in a month than she made in a year at her old job. I knew for a fact that she lived in a rented terrace and her car was on finance. Nothing wrong with that but surely she'd have a bit more to show for it if she was soooo well off and raking in £250,000+ per year?

Anyway, I decided to do a bit of digging one day after she'd been to one of the annual awards shows and won multiple awards. I found a published list of all the winners and her name wasn't mentioned once. Quite sad really.

It's sad how people get sucked in. Then come all the trying to sell posts which are sadder because they're so desperate!
I've had a few friends join the odd one but have fizzled out not before long so least they got out.

Loved Elles blog..very eye opening. The advise her stepsister gave about writing down ingoing and outgoing..something simple but must be a shock/eye opening to see the loss

Totally agree with pp who said nobody will trust them in future. They are literally selling their soul and reputation over a measly MLM. Lying in order to try persuade others to go down the same damaging path is pretty immoral imo.

My friend did this in the US and was a total boss babe loving her job. She could sell ice in the North Pole so she was actually really successful making over 100k a year part time and winning trips around the world. Unfortunately because of the pyramid scheme, the women she recruited were a lot less successful. She ended up quitting when one of the women broke down and confessed that was in tens of thousands of dollars of debt. It turned out that quite a few of them were faking it until they made it and going broke in the process. She was horrified that she had made so much money from other people going into debt.

Someone I know is currently in one of these things, she is very much in a vulnerable position in that she has just come out of a 20+ year marriage, her kids have just left home for Uni and she's had her hours slashed at work because of Covid.

Her FB page is like a parody of MLM. Constant memes about taking charge, starting a new journey, taking her business to the next level, lots of hashtags about #selfesteem #takingcharge and #buildingadream.

All the people who are replying to her posts are people who she has friended in the last 3 months and who are presumably in the same scheme. All very cryptic with the "I'll send you a message" bollox rather than just saying "i'm selling Squash Minus".

But yeah, your friend is lying. She won't see it as lying though, her boss will have dressed it up to her as faking it till you make it, or they won't bother with wee details like taking costs of sales off sales. Look at how much I'm earning! £4000 this month! Yes but you've spent £3990 on product you can't shift, so that's really a tenner, isn't it?

Many people working for these sorts of businesses follow the mantra 'fake it till you make it.' This lures in sometimes sensible people who think how well someone is doing, when in reality they are making pence and desperately trying to recruit.

I don't get it .....squash minus ?!?! 🤪

@Blueskytoday06

I don't get it .....squash minus ?!?! 🤪

I'm guessing "Juice Plus" is the MLM OP's friend has joined.

sciencebasedmedicine.org/juice-plus-good-marketing-not-good-science/

let's call it Squash Minus.

This will be its name in my head from now on!

@Blueskytoday06 another word for squash and the opposite of minus.

Oh yes silly me haha

As a pp said, if I was really earning a mint selling products, I wouldn't be trying to recruit other people who might take my sales!

I don't have much experience of MLMs but I did once win a raffle for the Aloe Vera stuff. When the rep brought my prize (a tube of toothpaste) to my house she also gave me a basket of products for us to try for a week...all of them were opened and half used 😕. When she came to collect them she told me a bit about it all and asked if I would be interested but she wasn't very convincing to be honest. And the toothpaste was shit!

I have a friend who is the mlm queen she has 4/5 going at once all different ones if one doesn't make her cash the other will her husband has a well paid full time job though so she can afford to not make anything one month

These things are "fake it till.you make it". Except very few make it. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

A close relative of mine was vag-deep in ShARt-Bonne a few years ago. Would not accept it was a pyramid and was extremely cagey when questioned over her earnings. She truly couldn’t afford to lose what she did. We were all shocked at how brainwashed she was with it, even selling it as an amazing opportunity that’s she was going to Vegas on a conference...until we dragged it out of her that it actually COST her £1000 to go And she had to pay for the ticket into it 😂🤣 She no longer does it and it’s a weird thing we’re not allowed to talk about...