New Perspectives In this section:
Top Desk with David Lisonbee  Traveling Sales Crews:
Day in and day out, the mouse watched and worried about the mousetrap. Then the inevitable happened. The mouse heard a “SNAP!” However, instead of seeing a dead fellow rodent in the trap, the mouse saw a very angry rattlesnake writhing in pain. While the farmer and his wife began to discuss what to do with the snake, it bit the wife and she became very sick. This, of course, made the farmer very distraught and he later became quite edgy. One morning, the farmer, who until this time was a strict vegetarian, became enraged at the crowing rooster, chopped off his head and ate him. The pig and the cow met similar fates, since the farmer, now a carnivore, saw greater utility in them being bacon and hamburger than alive. The mouse spent the rest of his life without any friends and died alone. THE END. On the surface, this short tale of sorrow and carnage has little to do with direct selling. However, it does illustrate the point that what may not initially appear to be an immediate danger can later have devastating results. The principles of this story can also be applied to our industry’s response to legislation aimed at controlling traveling sales crews. Numerous horrific stories of young people being abused while working with unscrupulous traveling sales crews have appeared in publications such as The New York Times. Additionally, there have been several reports of citizens being attacked in their homes by members of these traveling sales crews as they go door-to-door. Therefore, it should surprise no one that the natural reaction of state legislatures has been to draft legislation aimed at stopping this menace to society. Although these legislative attempts are well-intentioned, some of them have inadvertently cast the net too widely, catching some direct selling companies along with the “bad actors.” I like to use the metaphor that they are dolphins. It is also understandable that some direct selling companies would not care about traveling sales crew legislation, since they do not go door-to-door or travel in groups. But they should care that several of the legislative proposals would require some direct selling companies to classify their salesforces as employees rather than as independent contractors. Any time the phrase direct selling (or a variation of) is used, whether it appears in the media or in a legislative committee hearing, all direct selling companies should take notice. Although the aforementioned rogue traveling sales crews would never be accepted as DSA members, since they would not be able to comply with DSA’s strict Code of Ethics, their actions are a threat to DSA members’ reputations when the public and legislators view traveling sales crews as part of the direct selling community. While DSA supports the well-intentioned legislation that targets rogue traveling sales crews, we cannot stand by and watch legitimate direct selling companies be cast in the same light. DSA has been actively seeking amendments that would accomplish the worthwhile goals of these legislative bills while protecting its members from undue regulatory burdens. Additionally, the Direct Selling Education Foundation is about to launch the latest edition of its brochure, Is That Traveling Sales Job for You? This brochure, which was co-sponsored by the National Consumers League, is directed at young adults who are considering jobs with traveling sales crews. In conclusion, I urge you not to be like a hapless farm animal that ignores a threat because it seems to only affect others. All direct selling companies are connected by being in the same industry community. DSA members should take the NATO stance on legislation: An attack on one is an attack on all. Jump to: |
One day, a mouse was in his cozy little nook and looked out the hole of his abode. With great alarm, he saw a very large and scary mousetrap. The mouse immediately ran to his friend, the rooster, to tell him of this disturbing development. Unfortunately, the rooster didn’t care much about the mousetrap, for as long as he crowed at dawn, he was fed and life was pretty good. Undeterred, the mouse went to his friend, the pig. Like the rooster, the pig wasn’t bothered by the mousetrap and went back to rolling in the mud. The mouse just knew in his furry little heart that his friend, the cow, would be concerned about the ominous mousetrap. Alas, like the pig and the chicken before him, the cow was not worried at all about the mousetrap and went back to chewing her cud. Dejected, the mouse went back to his cozy little nook to pout.