Thanks, But No Thanks: Keep your MLM out of my DMs

It’s happened to most of us

A friend request from a high school or college friend you haven’t spoken to in a decade, radio silence for a week or so then it pops up: The message. You know the one; “Hey girl…. (Insert random sentences about how cute your kids are or how great you look).” Seems innocent enough but then it starts, the almost robotic message about whatever product or MLM company is sure to change your life.

Thanks, but, I’m good.

Don’t get me wrong, I hold no ill will towards women who want to go into business for themselves. Glad it worked for you; but what I can’t stand is the pushy, downright invasive sales tactics. There is nothing more off-putting about a product than watching its representatives push it so hard that it almost becomes comical.

If you message me multiple times after I’ve ignored you every.single.time. about your latest weight loss product, I will NEVER buy it from you,-even if I ever, for some reason, did decide to try it. If someone asked me if I know a rep for “ABC” your name won’t come up. Word of mouth matters in these businesses and your predatory sales model is not going to work here.

I have friends that sell MLM products, I will give their names out if prompted. I will share their social media posts, and happily so. Why the change of pace you may think? Because they have never once direct messaged me unprompted to hawk their product. Not once. They also have a separate Facebook group for their product; That way only those who want to see 10 “OMG I love this new item!”  posts a week have to.  Do I follow those pages? Yep. Are they set on the bare-bones notification settings? Yep.

I will support those who support others

I will share your contests. I will tag you in a post when someone needs fancy tote bags. I respect those who respect their friends. Messaging someone out of the blue who is a few months post-partum about bathing suit season and a vitamin mix that changed your life?: Not cool. Messaging a friend who you’ve been in contact with to ask how SHE is doing with a newborn and what time you can drop a coffee off on her porch (So there’s no pressure to host visitors)?: Very cool. Chances are if she’s in the right state of mind to join a new program down the road, she’s going to remember your kindness. And maybe she’ll reach out to you for tips. If she’s ready.

Moral of the story kids: If you choose to join an MLM  awesome, good for you. But here’s the thing: your friends know you sell it. You don’t need to remind them with a barrage of messages. Have a group for your product. Once in a while, share the group name with your social media friends. Do not just add them. Let them make that decision for themselves. It makes you look a lot better and let’s be honest, we could all use a few extra karma points in our back pocket.