At the brink of deception
(From the GUIDON Online)
The GUIDON got a script from a source who requested anonymity.
The script contains standard opening lines such as “Hello!” and “Do you have a minute?” and ways to flatter a prospect. It then instructs the caller to say that he or she is working for other kinds of companies, and to be careful not to give any hint of MLM. They are instructed not to mention the words “multi-level marketing,” “network marketing,” or “pyramiding.” Should the prospect suspect that it is about networking, the script says that the caller should neither confirm nor deny it, but should give other reasons.
The script’s aim is to let the prospect agree to attend NU Skin’s business orientation meeting (BOM). It would then be up to the prospect to join the company after he or she has attended the talk.
Student’s script
Note: Agents of multilevel marketing (MLM) companies, including those in college, are instructed to use a particular script or storyline when calling potential recruits on the phone. The GUIDON got hold of copies of scripts from different sources, and integrated similar elements of these. What follows is an incomplete model of an MLM script:
::Good morning! May I speak with (insert name), please?
::Hi, Mr./Ms. ___. This is Mr. Bean. Actually, we haven’t met, but you were recommended to me by (insert name). Do you know him/her?
::Can we talk for a minute? Great, this won’t take long. I only have a minute myself.
::I called you because you are a (insert adjective here, e.g., successful, goal-oriented, open-minded) person. I’m involved with an independent financial consultancy company, and we are looking for people to train with us part-time.
or
::I’m affiliated with an American company, and we are in need of young and open-minded people to form a training team for business.
::It’s for ___ months, and you can earn an extra PhP15,000-20,000 a month. Interested?
I got the first part! He said I was easy to work with, an entrepreneur, a professional, etc etc. LOL. Which one did you get?
April 24th, 2007 at 11:16 am
this has happened to me, shortly before classes ended for summer break. a lady called me and said the exact same thing, and she wouldn’t divulge the nature of the job. i said i was interested because i was looking for a summer job that time, so she proceeded to give me the details for the ‘orientation’. she said their office was somewhere in Emerald Avenue in Ortigas (i don’t remember the name of the building). i set the meeting to the next week. guess what. a friend of mine got the same call some weeks back, and she went. and it turned out to be some sort of networking blah for Kris Aquino products! don’t remember the name of the product though. they’re going to ask you to give them 12,000 pesos in exchange for these products, which you have to sell in turn. you also have to get as much people as you can in the deal.
horrible yes?
May 1st, 2007 at 2:56 am
same thing happened to me. I saw this ad in the newspaper, says looking for people who would like to be part time real estate agents. when i got there i was being asked to shell out Php8k in exchange for several products and part of it will be first payment for one mango tree in a mangrove somewhere in batangas. and of course as expected, you’re suppose to bring along other people to do the same thing. tsk.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:33 am
@Liz: Yes, horrible. It sucks that they wouldn’t divulge information regarding the nature of the job.
@aMgiNe: Why did you have to pay for a mango tree in a mangrove? hehehe. Anyways, did you pursue it?
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
yup,and the thing that annoys me the most is that they target students and they lie, and if your interested and you dont have the money, they will tell you to use your tuition money or borrow from your friend or sell your phone, and because the you thinks its legit, you might actually do it, and after you pay the money, they will tell you to write 300 names and numbers and these people will be the one that you will call and you will do the same thing as they did, and the cycle just keep going and if you dont, then you wont get your money back and what if thats your tuition money,or money you borrowed from your friend and they badly needs it, then where will you get it. i thought it was really a business but its like networking. they said networking looks like a xmas tree but MLM looks a lot like a xmas tree too. I wish students would think twice but you know how hard life is so if you are promised that youll earn lots of money, many students doesnt think twice and thats taking advantage of the situation.