Herbalife

[WigWamBam]

A friend of mine has started up her own business as a Herbalife distributor. She's been running the business for three months, during which time she has invited me along to three presentations/demonstrations, and has sent me three letters asking me to consider (a) becoming a consultant myself or (b) advertising her business for her.

Does anyone know anything about Herbalife? Is it pyramid selling, and is it something that I really should be considering advertising for her? I have no intention of becoming a distributor, but I'd like a bit of ammunition about the company to throw back at her next time she asks me!

My Dad did this for a while - made NO sales at all - despite LOTS of advertising. There's a HUGE glut of herbal life sellers around these days (it would appear) and the products are VERY expensive (although having said that when my dad was 'trying' to sell it he and mum used it and did lose quite a bit of weight)

I thought I'd seen a few of them advertising locally. I also wonder whether she's on a commission to recruit other people, and that's why she's being so persistent. I hate telling friends to b*gger off, but this is annoying me.

WWB, there's an article in this month's Family Circle about a woman who works for www.foreverliving.com- I think she sells beauty products, but it's the same sort of set up.

To quote her: 'I don't have a lot of customers - probably just 15-20 loyal ones - but for every person I coach, and who's successful, I get rewarded by the company ... and my earnings just keep on growing.'

So it does look as if they make a bob out of recruiting others. It also advises checking out www.dsa.org.uk.

Wasn't this the company that Cherie Blair's lifestyle guru's partner was connected with?

Sounds as if it might be similar, Carla. This is beauty and weight loss, and I suspect it's run along the same lines.

I once worked for DH's parents and they rented out a shop to some Herballife people. This was about 17 years ago so they have been going for a while. They didn't do very well though. They have the slogan "Lose weight now, ask me how" if I remember correctly. Often see these fliers stuck to lamp posts! I took a dislike to this particular chap as he was a really slimy salesman so I never did find out what it was all about but I think a hefty dose of pricey supplements was involved.

Herbalife is one of the few companies that we can not promote on netmums because of the spurious health claims they make about their products.

It is a network marketing company.

Quote from a network marketing website
Network Marketing is based on the concept of ?networking?. We all have a circle of people we know through the circumstances of our daily lives and each of these people will have their own circle of acquaintances, colleagues, family and friends. Network Marketing involves tapping into these networks not only to sell product but also to offer the business opportunity to potential new distributors who then start the process of developing their own networks for selling and recruiting.

As the networks widen, so the individual leader benefits not only from their own sales but also a percentage of the sales from their network. As more people join the network, so residual income increases.

They have the slogan "Lose weight now, ask me how"

Oh gosh I remember that - my dad COMPLETELY embarassed me and my mum when doing herbal life as he INSISTED on wearing his stupid T-shirt to a family gathering.....................for my cousins baby naming ceromony (can't remember what it's called - the Jewish version of a Baptism)!!

My cousin actually had to go up to him and ask him to put his jacket on to cover it

Crikey, Gwenick! Talk about evangelical ...

Sounds like I shall have to find a nice way to tell her to b*gger off and find some other mug.