5 Annoying Habits Of Pinoy Network Marketers That They Should Stop Doing

Network marketing is alive and well in the Philippines. Want proof? Just log into Facebook and scroll through your news feed. Chances are there's a post or two there by a friend or friends about some business opportunity wherein you get to earn loads of cash "gamit lang ang iyong laptop at internet". The heavenly promises are often accompanied by photos of people flashing their fancy cars, posing in front of their brand new homes, or simply waving wads of "kulay ube" peso bills.

They want you to believe that they came up with all the wealth "gamit lang ang kanilang laptop at internet". Of course, there's nothing wrong in bragging about something you earned. As they say, if you got it and worked hard for it, why not tell the world about it. Unfortunately, in the world of network marketing, most of the cash and cars you see are not real. Sure the money is real and the car works fine but in most cases, these are only used for photo-ops.

Not all people involved in network marketing operate in shady ways. There are great and legit networking companies out there who offer valuable products and valuable services for both their clients and distributors. And they encourage their affiliates to engage new customers using ethical and sustainable marketing practices.

However, looking at the network marketing industry in the Philippines today, the bad apples outnumber the good ones. And in some cases, making matters worse, great networking companies are being tainted if not ruined by the shady practices of their distributors.

With that said, we give you some of the most annoying habits that we often find among Filipino network marketers. Needless to say, these are habits they should stop doing because they are hurting an industry that's already reeling from so much bad press.

1. Spamming people on Facebook and other social media sites.

Photo from huffingtonpost.com.

Facebook is an awesome marketing tool but some Pinoy network marketers have gone over-the-top with their aggressive and spamming techniques. It's very annoying. It's fine if they post their stuff on their own profiles but the thing is they go around posting their links everywhere. In pages, in groups, everywhere.

They also don't care if what they are posting is relevant or not to the topic of the page or group they're posting to. This is why you see "business opportunities" being aggressively and regularly posted in pages where they don't belong. And they don't read the rules. Even if a rule directly states that no business-related posts are allowed, they post anyway. Yes, they often ask for permission to post but it's meaningless because they post their stuff anyway, permission granted or otherwise. Network marketers are probably the most banned people in Facebook groups and pages.

2. Misleading people.

Sawyer, a character on the TV show Lost mislead people into investing in his fake business opportunities. Photo by ABC.

A lot of networking companies in the Philippines sell products related to health and beauty. These include herbal products, dietary supplements, energy drinks, makeup kits, etc. Almost all of these products carry the tag "No approved therapeutic claims." This is just one of the red flags you need not to trust any product or service. Therapeutic is defined as "of or relating to the healing of disease".

The problem with network marketers is that they often mislead customers into believing that their products have been tested or proven to be effective in treating or alleviating certain illnesses and conditions. They claim that their products can cure cancer, prevent heart diseases, improve sexual drives, etc. And they proclaim these without batting an eye. This practice can be very dangerous as it can keep ill-informed people from seeking real medical treatment.

3. Inviting people to dinners then ambushing them with business opportunities.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

This is a common tactic among Filipino network marketers. They'll message you on Facebook, text you, or call you, informing you that they missed you and for that they're treating you to dinner or a cup of coffee. You go to the appointed place expecting a nice chat over good food while reminiscing the good old times. Then the person drops the "business bomb" on you.

What makes this worse is the awkwardness of it all. You feel duped but you often don't have the courage to tell it to the person who invited you. Worse, you might even buy into the business fearing you might hurt his/her feelings. Network marketers are aware of this and this is why they do it. It's easier for them to get sign-ups this way. They do something for you, make you feel like you are indebted to them, and then they drop the business offer on you.

4. Posting pictures of random people drowning in cash, cars, and houses.

Photo from the movie Zombieland.

This is very rampant on Facebook. And you can't blame the people who does it. They signed up with a business after seeing a photo of an 18-year old kid making tons of cash. The tactic worked on them so they have this thinking that it will also work when they use it on others. The thing snowballs and now we have hundreds of people posting the same photos over and over again. It's annoying.

What's worse is that they are usually unethical when posting the photos accompanied by their links. As we mentioned earlier, they post their stuff on almost empty space that they can find. In short, they love to spam.

5. Defending the unethical practices of some network marketing company owners and staff.

Photo from spyonstocks.com.

Let's face it, many networking companies in the Philippines, especially the ones selling info and training products that are often delivered online, engage in shady and unethical marketing practices. When you confront their distributors about such practices, they get angry and start spouting irrelevant stuff.

They'll start showing you registration forms from the Securities and Exchange Commission as if this is sole proof that the business is legit. They'll start telling you how awesome or reputable or successful the founders are that they can't do wrong. And it goes on. One thing they don't do however is address the criticisms you have of the company's practices.

So if you are a network marketer, please don't engage in any of the annoying habits discussed above. It's understandable that we all need to make a living. But we should do it without spamming and misleading people.

And to people out there who want to enter the network marketing industry, be careful where you invest your resources. Only invest in networking companies who engage in ethical marketing practices and who have good track records when it comes to delivering high-quality products and services.