From network marketers to P&G, people want to use our friendships to sell us stuff.
This is becoming a touchy situation for many people around the country. Word of mouth among friends was trusted for centuries because there was no ulterior financial motive. That was the domain of sales people.
Your take? (Two Qs)
The results confuse me… which leads me to wonder how people are interpreting the question. With question #1 both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are accurate answers for me… Yes…I want to know what she’s up to because I care about her and want to support her…
No…her getting paid is not going to make a difference as to whether or not I trust her recommendation.
The reason I’m wondering how others are interpreting the question is because as I’m looking at the results this moment, the majority of responders DON’T care if they find out she got paid after the fact… yet the vast majority (as of this moment) say they want to know if she is being paid to recommend. Hmmmm….
Hey Kim,
Great Survey , I was, NO & NO.
I like it!
Pete.
It will be really interesting to see the results of these polls.
I have wondered the same thing myself, mostly because I’ve felt it with friends of mine who are in network marketing companies, especially the “pushy” friends.
I think it’s very important to be honest and open with everyone and let the chips fall where they may.
It’s also really important to understand how to market your products and have other avenues to do so, no just family and friends. I don’t care what people say, eventually you’ll run out of people you know.
Personally, I don’t rely on anyone I know for product sales or joining me in my business. I made that mistake once and vowed never to do it again!
Suzanne
http://www.NetworkMarketingHotspot.com
The dilema of dealing with friends when talking about your products is one, that after having lost 3 friendships of over 20 years, is beyond me. The fact that friends, who are spending money on similar products refuseto be supportive in a limited way escapes my understanding of the meaning of friendship – I now expect nothing from friends although wonder about the remaining friends who have never purchased a thing from me, accepted gifts willingly, and without asking them why, I cannot help but think they are deliberately going out of their way not to patronize my business when I see how they spend liberally on other things. That being said, I started thinking about the cold market and the fact that I agree with Kim that the idea about everything being duplicatable is ridiculous so how do you talk to the cold market about your business without alienating them too. How do you tell them, if they have expressed interest in a work opportunity, what this business is so that you can get them involved without them being so scared or sceptical and when you do occasionally get them there how do you keep them there. Needless to say if I was getting the right upline guidance I wouldn’t be asking this question and although I have had some success I feel there must be a better way. I always feel the need to keep my integrity in the right place and yet sometimes doing that I feel like I am cutting off my nose, so to speak.
So how do I talk to prospects so they see how I am for what I am and yet make them realize that this is a not a walk in the park. Juliette Gray
http://arbonnejuliette.networkmarketingcentral.com
Word of mouth is how anyone does business. If you have a local ice cream parlor and someone tells someone that the ice cream is great there. Wouldn’t you go to try it? They get paid. What’s the difference. That is what referrals are. Right?
Word of mouth will always be an effective form of advertising. The issue is ethics and honesty.
Consider these three referrals:
(1) “There is an ice cream shop that just opened and it has great ice cream. You should try it.” (I just tried the ice cream and have no other association with the shop.)
(2) “There is an ice cream shop that just opened and it has great ice cream. You should try it.” (I own the shop.)
(3) “I just opened an ice cream shop and it has great ice cream. You should try it.
All are referrals. The only one that would be questioned is why would I hide or be ashamed to say I was directly involved with the shop. Many companies require you to disclose your association with the product, like stock brokers. Why would you be ashamed to tell someone up front you love the product AND are selling it? How will they feel when they find out you get compensated for sales – even if you love the ice cream madly. That is the ethics part.
I always let prospective customer/distributor know that I profit from both ways… are we not suppose to do that?
Steve
departuresplus.com
It depends on how the recommendation is made. I definitely want to know if there is a financial reward involved.
I would assume that, if the person is my friend, even if there is a financial reward, that the person is not making the recommendation solely for that reason. And I would be interested to hear their story unless it was something I clearly had no time for at that point. I have not found that my own approach is received so sympathetically though.
Are they finding out if I’m interested in something, or are they “just” trying to sell me something? Are they coming from friendship with an offer or are they abusing the relationship? I am bruised and confused from meaning to do the former and getting treated like it was the latter. It is a very murky area…. Can a recommendation be trusted if there is a financial incentive involved? I think not, if the incentive is hidden, and maybe if it is not.
Daniel@NMC
My website
“Fuel savings & a cleaner exhaust, as on TV”
How is question two being interpreted?
Do I want to knock her block off for not trusting me enough to make a wise decision by being able to sort through the clutter of her being paid for the refferral?
or
Do I feel cheap and used because she did something on the sly?
So no I don’t get mad, but yes, I do feel slighted. I doubt anyone I call a friend would steer me in a bad direction but just let me know you have a piece of the pie for my decision to buy or not to buy. I am not really sure I would trust her the next time I hear about a product.
Call me skeptical,
Nancy Carlson
http://www.perfectmombusiness.com
If you receive some financial remuneration for a friend acting on a recommendation, you should let that be known. There are a gazillion ways to do that in a totally non-threatening manner so there is really no excuse.
If you are excited about what you are recommending that sincerity will come through and will usually overcome any potential stigma that may come from you receiving a monetary benefit. If you don’t do that you run the risk of your friend being miffed later, even if everything else is totally on the up and up and it is a great recommendation.
Michael
http://www.wlgweb.com
http://www.grmbeyond.com
Credibility is the word for me. Word of mouth advertising is still the most dynamic form of advertising … depending whose ‘mouth’ is doing the advertising. I love to support my friends in their money making efforts … I patronize their businesses, I buy insurance from a person I know, rather than a stranger, and because I am blessed with friends who I think have ‘credibility,’ I would sit and listen to anything any of them were doing and then would decide if it was something that I thought I should be ‘doing’ or ‘buying’! Hopefully, they would respect my decision one way or the other. If I found out they received a ‘referral fee’ or were paid for something I bought, it would not bother me in the least!
Wouldn’t it be a ‘perfect world’ if everyone ‘helped’ each other make money?
On the other hand, I steer clear of ‘high pressure’ salespeople. People who have lost their credibility and seeming ‘use’ people for their own personal gain.
I am learning to seperate the two types of personalities.
Venetta
venetta5@yahoo.com
Hi all —
This is an interesting question. In certain professions, referring patients to services, labs, or companies from which one benefits financially is called a “kickback”. Also it is illegal.
Maybe it is different when referring ‘friends’ for such services, but I believe they still should know your status in order to weigh what you say.
Online, there are ‘affiliate’ sales of this and that, spreading around profits . . . and also bringing to question possible financial motives in making the recommendations in the first place.
For what it’s worth,
Pam