My Mean Dad

When my brother and I were kids, we noticed that other kids had cool dads who would take the kids candy ordering sheet or Walk for Mankind sponsor sheet to their job and get people to order candy from them, or sponsor them!

But our Dad refused to do that.

My brother and I both thought that was kind of mean, but we understood.  See, my Dad was the manager of his department.  To ask his employees to sponsor us or buy candy from us or raffle tickets would have put them in a bad position.

True, he could have assured them that they did not have to participate, but who are we kidding?  It would have been awkward for them to say "no", and some would do it just for wishing to curry favor or avoid him not liking them.

I see now that was wise and good of him.

And I'm reminded of it every time I see someone in any kind of power position, job, rank or social position doing just that with MLMs.

You know what I mean.  The foreman of your local factory invites you over for dinner out of the blue and - SURPRISE! - his son discovered Amway!  Or maybe it's the Colonel's wife herself who sells Avon exclusively to all the wives of the Majors and Captains under her husband.  Wives who'd prefer to go to the PX, but know better. 

This is what makes the truth of what I've said before so apparent - the Minister's wife might get away with some MLMing, but the Usher's wife never will.  It can be the same products, and the Usher's wife can be the better salesperson, but the Minister's wife will be the one pulling in the money.

Because at the end of the day, ALL MLM products depend on these and more tricks to sell at all.  Because, oh, yeah, they're selling - at best - average products for too high prices.  Stuff that could be got easier and cheaper at stores or online.

What's then the reason for those in these various minor to medium power positions doing it?  Because they can!  It's not like they're better or worse than anyone else.  It's just that they have the ability to do it, and thus have more temptation to it then those who know they can't.

Picture that Colonel's wife.  Sure, some of her customers will be the wives of ladder climbing Majors.  But some will be those wives who genuinely wish to meet a higher status woman and see how she lives.  This let's them into her house, and with a chance to get to know her.

They may even believe - and it be true in their particular case - that the money is well spent on what a lobbyist would call "access".

Yet it harms all the same, for while some few may not mind this, others are roped in for the fear their husband's have, or the desire to not be left out in the cold from some important social circle.  And in all cases it is a presumption and imposition by the person selling, as he or she at least knows the real nature of the products and why they sell.

Next time you find yourself at a "party", look about.  Are all of you just below the host/hostess in status?  If there are one or two above, are they the exceptions?

Because I honestly cannot easily conceive of any case where the guests are of predominantly higher status.  And I doubt any reading this can either.  That should tell everyone the tale.

Because in the real world, the non-scamming, non-MLM world, it is the clerk of lower status offering good and affordable products to those of pre-dominantly higher status.  And if there are job offers, then higher status sales folk will be recruited by a lower status HR guy. 

That's how that works - when it's a real product being sold or a real job being offered.  But with MLM, it's never the steak being sold, only and ever the sizzle, with a bit of tough ground round tossed in later.  And for that kind of razzle-dazzle, you must have your marks - er, customers - looking up at you.