I live in a working class community where the majority of our population lives paycheck to paycheck. I was often invited into broken down trailer homes and subsidized housing facilities to do presentations for my direct sales business. As I set up my product display on the tattered coffee tables, it was quite clear that my hostesses and guests were struggling to make ends meet. I know…because I’ve been there.
The products I sold for both of my direct sales businesses were what I would consider “luxury items”. I didn’t sell food, clothing or cookware. In fact, you could have easily found the products I sold at the local Wal-Mart for half the price.
I’ll never forget one of my last parties. As I was doing a product demonstration at my hostesses tiny kitchen table her telephone rang no less than a dozen times. I was annoyed, and curious at the same time. Suddenly, her teenage daughter blurted out, “mom…it’s those bill collectors again”. Clearly embarrassed, she interrupted me and said, “well, we weren’t able to pay the medical bills again this month”.
Needless to say, I didn’t try to sell her anything. In fact, I was actually avoiding her product questions. At the end of the night, she purchased four items and handed me a $100 bill.
While it is not my place to tell people how to spend their money, I was quite uncomfortable with that transaction and many others where people were clearly spending more money than they had.
I contacted my sales manager about the struggle I was having with sales volume at my parties. She suggested that I remind people about upcoming birthday parties, holidays and other events that they would need to buy gifts for. Frankly, I highly doubt that people who have a difficult time putting food on the table would have the forethought to purchase a closet full of gifts for upcoming events whether they needed them or not.
This ethical issue was a constant struggle for me. As a stay-at-home mom living on 1 ½ incomes myself, I know how hard it is when you are invited to a sales party, but can’t afford to buy the products. Call me a horrible salesperson, but when I looked out at my middle to low income audiences, I struggled with “up-selling” and all of the other tactics salespeople use when they are trying to talk people into buying more. Don’t get me wrong, I believed in the value of my product…but I believed in the value of being able to put food on the table more.
What are your thoughts? If you are a direct seller, have you been challenged by ethical issues? Tell us about them in the comments section.
Related Reading:
Living With Integrity
The Ethics of Free Stuff
Have You Got Your Priorities Right?