Using The Death of a Family Member To Sell Product, Faking Conversations With Strangers, And 14 Other "Sales Tactics" People In MLMs Tried That Need To Be Seen To Be Believed
If you aren't familiar with multi-level marketing companies, (aka, MLMs) they're companies that emphasize both direct sales and recruiting other people to join the company and work under you so you can also receive a percentage of profit from the inventory your recruits buy and sell.
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MLMs have been around for decades. One of the most well-known MLMs is LuLaRoe, a leggings company that has had a ton of scandals in recent years and ultimately had to pay over $4 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed it was running a pyramid scheme*. But trust me, there are plenty of others out there!
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*Pyramid schemes are illegal, while most MLMs are legal.
People in MLMs often feel A LOT of pressure from the company to constantly sell and push product, and as a result, they sometimes use some pretty ~interesting~ marketing tactics, which I'm sure you've witnessed if you've ever gotten a random DM from someone you knew in high school. If you haven't, here are a few screenshots to give you an idea:
1.This MLM'er who *magically* got asked the exact same question two years apart:
2.This MLM'er who shamelessly posted this on her day job's internal message board:
3.This MLM'er who shared a note from her team thanking her for trusting them "blindly" that low-key gives off cultish vibes:
What it says: "What an honor to be partnered with you! Thank you for saying yes and trusting blindly. You're doing amazing and we are proud of all you've done thus far! Congratulations Executive!"
4.This MLM'er who forgot to edit their copy and paste template before posting:
5.This MLM'er who expected us all to believe they got upgraded simply for being an MLM'er:
6.This MLM'er who shared this *totally-real-and-not-made-up* conversation with their children:
7.This MLM'er who tried to use someone's birthday as their "in" for three years in a row:
8.This MLM'er who tried to convince us that it's possible to lose weight from vaping:
9.This MLM'er who had the audacity to "tip" someone with some product and a sales pitch:
10.This MLM'er who tried to prey on those feeling vulnerable and lonely as a way to recruit:
11.This MLM'er who tried to tried sell product by...accusing people of hating them:
12.This MLM'er who tried to claim that a stranger actually stopped her on the road to ask about their MLM:
13.This potential MLM'er who thought it would be a good idea to trap people in a car with them so they'd HAVE to listen to their sales pitch:
14.This MLM'er who shared some math that really was not mathin':
15.This MLM'er who would not. Let. Up:
16.And finally, this MLM'er who used the death of their mother-in-law to try and sell product:
