Direct Selling Ethics Promote Positive Sales
As a Norwex
Independent Sales Consultant I enjoy using my connections with friends and
family in the direct selling (DM) marketplace to try new products and support other
women entrepreneurs. I understand the
work involved in successfully maintaining a DS business and usually find new
products that are truly superior in quality.
I don’t expect reciprocity, but it’s nice when it happens. However, the one
thing that will cause me not to buy your product: bashing other companies.
This prevalent practice of putting down your competition is
nothing new in marketing, but when it’s taken onto your social media it represents
YOU, it is an insult to your consumer who may use some things from the brand
you are bashing. And it just makes you
look bad. Seeing someone post negative
comments about other companies (for example: “Buda Jewelry is not as green as
you think!”) forces 2 thoughts to come to mind:
1. Is your product so
lackluster that it cannot stand on its own merits? I believe wholeheartedly in Norwex and will
show it off all I can. I don’t need to
promote other companies’ shortcomings to make Norwex look good.
2. You must think I’m
pretty dumb and won’t do my own research.
When you attack a company that I’ve been happy with for years, you bet I’m
going to verify your post. It usually
turns out that your post is media hype and factually incorrect. So, now I’m
losing trust in anything you say.
Let’s keep it positive and support one another rather than
tear each other down. In my example, I
was trying products from you, but once you attacked Buda Jewelry you hurt my
feelings toward your brand. See, my Buda
lady is someone I’ve known and trusted for 20 years, I don’t even wear much
jewelry, but she’s been such a sweetheart and help to me, that when she runs a
special I buy a gift from her. And as it
turns out Buda is exactly as environmentally friendly as it claims to be.
This general essay segues directly to questions many new
Norwex consultants pose on a closed discussion board we have: “My client wants
to know if she can use ZippyClear detergent for her cloths, can she?” or “My
customer has F-Cloths and wants to know the difference between them and our
cloths. What do I tell her?” There are generally 1 or 2 replies that
attack ZippyClear or F-Cloth before
someone with more sales savvy appears with good advice basically covering:
1. Our cloths are not magical fibers that
disintegrate if not washed in filler-free detergent. (If they were, I wouldn’t
be selling them. It’s unrealistic to think every customer is going to convert their
entire household to Norwex, even though we have.) The Microfiber Care sheet
that must be distributed with each purchase bans bleach, fabric softener and
dryer sheets. It states “Use Norwex UPP
for best results.” That’s it! Yes, I
love UPP, but if my neighbor uses Wave detergent and asks me if it’s OK, I will
not point out the carcinogens in Wave. I
will kindly explain why I prefer UPP, but let her know she can continue to use
Wave (she told me she LOVES the scent, I know: ewwww ). If she were to question more about what “filler-free”
or “enzyme based” means, I’ll continue with a positive explanation. So in short, when Cathy Customer asks if
All-Tempa-Happy is Ok to use on her cloths, don’t reply: “Oh my, did you know
that All-Tempa-Happy is one of the most toxic items in your home? It could kill your children and pets!” As my mother always said: You catch more
flies with honey than with vinegar.
2. The same could be said for the devoted F-Cloth
user. Obviously respond with what Norwex
HAS (silver!) instead of what F-Cloth lacks.
Some customers will grill you and try to get you riled. Respond calmly: “I
cannot speak to the merits of another company’s products, I am an expert on
Norwex and can tell factually and definitively what our products guarantee.” If they continue badgering: “You can check
with your F-Cloth consultant with those questions.” (ha, ha…that was snarky
because F-Cloth doesn’t offer personal care consultants, like we do).
People want to come to their own
conclusions. Often a discussion of
detergent or other household cleaning staples WILL bring about more and more
questions until the customer makes a revelation on their own. That customer will become a devoted Norwex
user. The one who felt just a little
belittled because she mentioned her love of Clorop Wipes will shy away from you
after a courtesy purchase. She wants to feel validated in her choices, not
ridiculed.
