The other day I had a Facebook friend request from someone. We had a few local mutual friends so I assumed she was in one of the mom groups I’m a part of and accepted her friendship. Within a few hours of accepting I received a Facebook message from this person trying to sell me some eye cream. And the pitch she was using was to sell me on it is that I must be tired with two kids and this eye cream would help with my sleepy eyes. I mean she said it nice and all but…
You guys I can’t. I just cannot.
I replied to her message and said I wasn’t interested because 1. I have an eye cream and I’m happy with it and 2. I am perfectly happy with how my eyes (and face for that matter) look. I wished her luck with her business and then I promptly unfriended her.
I then posted a post on my personal Facebook page that said this:
Professional Tip: Don’t ask to be my Facebook friend and then message me to say my eyes look tired so I buy your eye cream. I can guarantee you I will not be buying your eye cream.
Ok so maybe that sounded a little ragey so I later edited it to add this:
Added: just to be clear I am ALL about supporting each other’s businesses which should be obvious since BTR and I own three of our own businesses and appreciate everyone that supports us. I just don’t think that was the best practice to sell me on your product.
You want to know the best part of this whole exchange? All of the comments left on my post by my friends. My real friends. Everyone was telling me how great I looked and what a great mom I am. You guys, seriously? I honestly didn’t post my little statement because I was fishing for compliments. I truly was just frustrated that someone thought that that was a good way to sell a product. But I certainly don’t hate all the love I got! I was also amazed at how many people said they have received similar messages from other people trying to sell them products.
I really am all about supporting other people in their business adventures. If you are my real friend and message me about something you are selling I probably don’t even mind, because you are actually my friend, not a stranger fishing for a sale. I love when people share things to their personal Facebook feeds or business Facebook pages, I “like” those posts all the time. And if I am interested in something, trust me I will message you. I share business posts from BTR and I quite often and appreciate all the love we get on them. But I would never “cold call” people I don’t even know trying to get them to buy things unless they directly expressed they were interested in those posts. It’s just not my style. And if I’ve ever messaged someone about stuff we are selling and they weren’t interested, I’m truly sorry if I took it a step too far, that was never my intention.
Where am I going with all of this? Honestly I’m not sure, I just really wanted to share this story with everyone. I guess I just think it’s better to build people up than to tear them down. My goal with my Facebook post was not to tear that person selling eye cream down, it was more of a PSA to everyone selling things that a compliment to a real friend goes a lot further than telling a stranger she had sleepy eyes. Because trust me I know I look tired! I mean I have a newborn and a toddler! And the support I got in my post from my friends was nothing short of amazing, I truly love them all!
So let’s all support all of our friends who have small businesses, because whether it’s a side job or a new full-time gig, we’re all just trying to do our best! And use a little common sense (and courtesy) when messaging people about a sale. Hugs and kisses to you all!
Oh and when in doubt, just wear sunglasses as my friend AM recommended! :)
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