WARNING: Extreme rant ahead!

Seriously, I didn’t even know where to start this post.  I am so fed up and frustrated that I can’t even see straight.  This is just completely out of hand.

For those who many not have heard about Bamboopink yet, they are an “upcoming” direct marketing company that will sell fashion jewelry designed by JudeFrances Jewelry.  They are in pre-launch right now and are offering the “business opportunity” FREE.  The mere fact that they have made a free business opportunity brings out the worst in people.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have received emails, blog comments and Facebook requests from Bamboopink “consultants” that want me to join their team and earn lots of money.

A summary of most of the emails and comments I get:

“Get in on the ground floor opportunity!  It’s free to get started and you can earn a ton of money!  This is the perfect way to work from home and raise your kids. ”  blah, blah, blah

There are so many things wrong with this I have to make a list:

1. Any time you send an unsolicited email to someone you don’t know, it’s SPAM.  This is a FEDERAL OFFENSE as outlined on the FCC website.  For details go to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/canspam.html.  These “consultants” claim that they didn’t know what they were doing was SPAM and they were just trying to “help” me earn money. Seriously, give me a break. They knew it was wrong and just thought that the offer to join a company on the ground floor would be too good to resist and people wouldn’t mind.
2. There is no product available to buy right now, no one has done a home show and no one is making money.  So how can they “claim” I’ll make a lot of money?  They haven’t made any money yet!
3. This type of communication is what gives those of us in a legitimate direct sales business, a bad name. This is exactly the type of behavior people complain about and make them not want to even buy from a direct sales company much less become a consultant.

I have seen the Bamboopink consultants blast their “opportunity” all over Twitter, social networks, CafeMom, etc.  It’s upsetting to me because they are ruining the Bamboopink name and direct sales profession.

For all I know, Bamboopink could be an absolutely wonderful high fashion jewelry company with fabulous merchandise that I can’t help but want to buy.  However, I have a negative image of the company because they are allowing their future sales force to act in an unprofessional manner.  I find it hard to believe that a company in pre-launch would encourage their sales force to spam the opportunity all over the place.

Plus, this appears to be one of the work at home scams so many people are afraid of because it’s all hype and no substance.  There is no product to buy yet and the website does not detail when they will get started.  How do the consultants even know if there will be a good product to sell (one that they will be proud to represent), good fulfillment and good customer/consultant service?  All these are critical to a consultant’s success and happy customers.

There are so many companies that have paved the way and set the high standards for ethical direct sales businesses:  Mary Kay, Pampered Chef and Stampin’ Up! just to name a few.  This type of behavior just puts a black mark on our industry and there doesn’t need to be.  Unfortunately, we’re lumped together with all direct marketing businesses whether they are an official member of the Direct Selling Association or not.

The bottom line is that the only way to build a successful business – any kind of business – is to have a great product and deliver it with great customer service.  Those of us that choose to build a direct sales business and sponsor consultants to build a downline need to do it with integrity.  We have to be more interested in the other person’s goals than our own, we need to build relationships and we need to help people achieve their goals.  We need to be good examples so that our team will model our behavior.  We need to have integrity.

If you have been spamming your opportunity all over the internet, please stop.  You’re hurting your reputation and the reputation of the company you’re representing.  You’re giving the direct marketing profession a bad name.  You’re only making it harder for yourselves (and the rest of us) to do business.

Bad seeds exist in every company.  I am sure there are many wonderful future Bamboopink consultants who are starting their business the right way by building relationships and offering the potential opportunity.  But these actions have made it harder to find the diamonds in the rough.

To make it clear, I don’t have a problem with consultants that are sharing the opportunity in a “new” post within the social networks to let others know of the business and allow them to make a decision on their own.  My “complaint” is with those consultants who reply to people who are looking for a work at home opportunity about Bamboopink and make hyped up claims about a company that hasn’t even launched yet.  And of course the consultants who spam blogs, contact form and emails.

I thought it was almost laughable that a direct quote from Bamboopink’s website says, “Since word got out that we were launching Bamboopink, it has become one of the most anticipated and talked about direct market jewelry company in recent times.” Unfortunately, the “word” is negative from my perspective.

I’m not alone.  Many of us have been talking about this epidemic on Twitter and I invite you to read Shelly’s post on her Work At Home Business Options website.  She was more PC than I was with her first post, she didn’t name any names.  But we all knew what company she was talking about.

OK, so I am sure I have ruffled a few feathers.  What do you think?  Have you heard of Bamboopink before this post?  Have you been spammed with the opportunity?  Post your comments below!