Page 50 - Marie Claire Australia (January 2020)

for Direct Selling in Australia suggests
576,000 independent salespeople
operate here, achieving $1.38 billion in
sales annually from wellness products “I FOUND IT
(24 per cent of the industry), cosmetics REALLY INTRUSIVE
and personal care (25 per cent) and
household goods (10 per cent). AND I HATED THE
FORCEFULNESS

espite receiving no formal OF IT ALL”
training, Nikki enjoyed – Nikki, former
some initial success as direct seller
a Younique presenter,
Dand quickly climbed to
third-tier status after signing up 20
distributors. They were all strangers.
She was told to add 30 different people
on Facebook a day: the instruction was
to go through the Facebook friends of
her family members and add people
she didn’t know. Nikki was advised
to randomly join Facebook groups to
contact their members, to message
people in Canada and Italy where
Younique also operated. She was also
told to cold call people and host online
“parties” with her friends, hassling
them to buy products and sign up as a
distributor. “I found it really intrusive
and felt uncomfortable doing it, which
is probably why I didn’t get very far
with it,” says Nikki, who was pressured
by her upline to recruit more people.
“I hated the forcefulness of it all.”
Unable and unwilling to recruit
more distributors, the harassment
began. When Nikki told her upline
that she wanted to leave, she was She alluded to the fact that she travels community of wellness advocates.”
repeatedly told “you have to spend overseas for business and told me how Jaime kept her doTERRA account
money to make money”. One top-tier much healthier her lifestyle is now,” a secret from her partner and still
distributor in Australia then called explains Jaime, who works in the hasn’t told him how much she spent
Nikki directly and said it was her fault public hospital sector. “I got sucked in.” on it. “Looking back now, it was a
she wasn’t making money because she The red flags started to appear waste of time and money, getting
wasn’t working hard enough. But Dr when Jaime’s upline started involved in a community that sells a
O Sullivan refutes this claim. “I do not pressuring her to recruit. Jaime was fake lifestyle. I was conned,” she says.
believe that is true for everyone who spending $500 a month on essential If Jaime was at the bottom of the
fails to make money,” she says. “Studies oils for 11 months (leaving her “broke” pyramid, crouching on her hands and
show that most of the profit in these at times, and adding up to “thousands knees supporting the weight of those
businesses comes from recruiting. If and thousands” of dollars), but it above, Jessie Reimers is at the top,
you are unwilling or unable to recruit, wasn’t until she had an adverse admiring the view. The mum of two
then you are unlikely to make significant reaction to an oil blend that she called started as a doTERRA wellness
profit. Eventually, the market becomes it quits. “I tried a new blend and it advocate selling essential oils in 2014
saturated, and someone in the lowest made me feel dizzy, nauseated and at age 23 when she was living in
levels won’t be able to make money.” clammy. It frightened me, but when south-east Queensland, surviving
Nikki’s experience is not a one-off. I contacted doTERRA, they just told on Centrelink benefits, having just
Jaime, 40, was lonely and sick of sitting me to send the product back,” recalls been diagnosed with autism and
at home on her own every weekend Jaime, voicing her concerns about experiencing chronic anxiety as well
while her partner worked interstate, untrained consultants selling as panic attacks. Fast forward five
when she was invited to an essential potentially harmful products. years, Jessie is a Presidential Diamond
oils party on a Saturday night in When approached for comment, Leader, with 48,000 team members,
January 2018. At the time, she jumped a doTERRA spokesperson said, making $90,000 a month and seven
at the chance. Now, she wishes she’d “Starting a business is a significant figures a year. She lives in a beachfront
stayed on the couch watching Netflix. decision and for those who make that house in the affluent Gold Coast
“The woman who hosted the doTERRA choice, doTERRA provides a great suburb of Palm Beach with her two
party told me she gets her essential oils deal of information, resources and boys, has just bought a two-bedroom,
for free because she earns so much. support, including access to a large ocean-facing investment property in

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