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April 13, 2005
A Moment of Zen
By QBlog in Miscellaneous
A blog entry by MavRyx succinctly describes how IBOs have "given up the right to have a normal conversation."
But everything that he said, no matter how innocent, and no matter how far off subject, I just kept looking for clues .. clues that he was trying to make a pitch. A pitch for Amway, Britt, Quixtar, take your pick... and as I sat there and listened and dissected his conversation I learnt something interesting. It dawned on me that this was EXACTLY the kind of conversation that someone making that pitch would try to create. I engaged in it -- constantly looking for the loophole that he would step thru and say, aha, "yes, but I have this great new idea, that I think you should try..."
The strange part of the story is that he never did. He was just a guy, talking to another guy, on a train out to suburbia, looking to make new friends. I was sorry that I was such a cynic for a fleeting moment there... (more)
Comments
It's coming up to a year now since I gave up Amway. I still can't walk out of a shop without thinking that I didn't ask the seller behind the counter enough questions about themselves and to ask if they "ever look at other ways of making money?".
That's a long time to go.
I just reached my one-year anniversary that I told my husband I wanted to call it quits with Quixtar, and after reading Christopher Andrews comment, it just occured to me that last night was Tuesday, open meeting night, and it was the first time I've ever forgotten that it was open-meeting night. Oh, and I went to bed at 9:30, not 2:00 A.M. after some stupid Nite Owl. I wondered how long it would take to forget.
Since January, my husband hasn't attended any open meetings or "prospected", but still orders a few products (XS, Nutrilite), is on CommuniKate (why? I don't know), has his OneDomain site, and occasionally talks to downline.
Oh yeah, last weekend was Spring Leadership, and we made no mention of it. It's the first function he's missed. Oh no, now his business is going to be 6-9 months behind!! My last function was Summer conference last June.
Since I've never personally been a member, maybe my comments featured on this post are unfair but I doubt they are inaccurate.
I am unsure whether the financial gains per person are worth having to give up what I consider basic human interaction.
When Quixtar says, become your own boss, what that really seems to mean is - "We can help you create a job for yourself."
This they do very well, but is this really what the IBO's wanted to sign up for?
Finally as an aside, 'Junta' is the 'Hindi' word for 'the people.'
I write and edit the Moment of Zen blog, but everybody that I know personally that reads it is welcome to contribute using the wonderful e-mail settings that blogger has gotten so good at recently.
Thanks,
MavRyx
Deb,
I TOTALLY understand the dance! It seems that what ever you talk about, there's a product that "the business" carries. The prices of the items doesn't seem to matter much to my family members, since they are "buying from their company." What breaks my heart is that after much discussion, my inlaws were unable to come up with a plan that shows how much (if any) profit they are making each month. They still view the bonus check as pure profit. Any suggestions?
When you quit it seems everybody wants to ask you how its going! Most are shocked if you tell them you quit,especially if you were in for a long time. They will tell you the things they always wanted to tell you!
Even though I've stopped prospecting, I still get that guilt feeling inside when people ask me what I do and I answer them with my day job. I still feel like I'm wimping out.
On the other side of the coin, it is so freeing to once again engage in lively conversation with strangers without looking for that "in" to pop the question. To be truly interested in them again just because people are interesting. It's wonderful.
Hey where's the grump? That Matt dude? He was awfully depressed in his last post? He should watch some wrestling.
This is yet another reason why I never did and never would sign up for this.
I could not face the idea of every new person I met being a potential sales target.
Yuck.
For those of us who still have plugged-in friends and family - it becomes a strange "dance", trying to carry on a conversation. They are always leading back to the subject of Amway/AMO/products, etc.....and we are always leading away from those subjects.
Deb
Posted by: Deb | April 13, 2005 3:26 PM