Friday, June 20, 2008

A Passion Parties Rep's FYP Story - REBUTTAL

I have reposted a public statement made by a Passion Parties consultant who joined For Your Pleasure, then went back to Passion Parties again. She sure has a lot to say about her time at For Your Pleasure. I would like to clear the air on a number of things said. If what she wrote wasn't being read by potential consultants deciding between companies, I probably wouldn't have an issue...but alas, I do!!

Also, watch out for my next post with a number of positive testimonials from former Passion Parties consultants who are now very happy with For Your Pleasure.

MY RESPONSES ARE IN BOLD and ITALICS and ORANGE!

--------------------------

"Thinking About Leaving PP for For Your Pleasure? Read My Story"

"Hello to whomever is reading this. My name is Kelly Messerole. I am a stay at home mom too two little boys, Devin who is 3 and Ethan we just welcomed into the world in Jan 2008. I am married to a great, but pain in my ass, Marine named Chris."

"So you are wondering why you are reading this?"

"Well, I am going to tell you about my time with Passion Parties to For Your Pleasure and back to Passion Parties! Why would someone do that you may ask. I am going to tell you! So sit back and really take in what I have to say. I do not bad mouth any company, I only state facts!"
I have sat, taken it in and though it’s not badmouthing in your eyes, it’s biased, opinionated and personal. I notice way too many misconstrued ‘facts’ to not create a rebuttal. I also see some lies. Allow me to clear the air.

"I started with Passion Parties in Sept 2005. It was my goal to hit all 3 fast tracts and make ED before my 1 year. I did it and was so very excited. I built up a team of 50 girls over my time with PP and at the time believed only PP was out there. I did know there were other companies, but they did not even hit my chart.
Well, over my two years with PP, we started to loose girls to For Your Pleasure. I lost one of my own and I started to think, what the heck is this! I started to look into it and after awhile, "thought" it was better. So, in Aug 2007, I left PP and all my girls to go to FYP."
Sounds like PP is for you! You know the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”? You obviously should have never switched!


"What could make me want to do this? The lady I signed up under stated great things would happen with FYP. That I would make more money, build teams faster, book more parties, etc. It all looked so real b/c she even put it all on paper for me to see. My first month with FYP, I did top recruiter. At that point, I only signed up 5 girls! That started to get me to think, this is so not PP. We sign up more then 5 a month!"
That’s what I love about FYP. It’s not saturated. It’s easier to reach top sales/recruits when there are less contenders. That means lots of perks. Many times in the hundred of dollars (in addition to sales bonuses) or laptops and such. FYP reps sign up more than 5 a month too. Last months newsletter showed someone signed 12. Another 9. Another 8. It varies from month to month. Don’t believe that FYP’s top recruiters for any given month sign only 5. It’s simply not true.

"So weeks started to pick up and I started to think even more. While I was doing parties, I was not getting ANYTHING like I was with PP. My sales went WAY down, parties took so much longer. FYP has 1200 products! I was with them for 10 months and STILL don't know all of them. When I would try to get women to book, they would look at my website and then say either it was not for them and or never call me back."
Why didn’t you just make a ‘party menu’ like so many other FYP reps make? That way you can pick and choose what you want to show and not even have to show the catalog! As far as the website, we CAN make our own. I know many reps (including myself) that only use the FYP site for the shopping cart. Otherwise you could’ve created your own or had any of our designer/consultants make one for you for super cheap!

"A lot of their products are not well named and they show naked women on their covers. Even their books show what the package will look like."
What is your definition of “well-named”? Is it turning a clitoral sucker into a “tulip”? Or pussy pal (omg, she said it!) , an oral sex simulator, into a “gentle stroker”? (Btw, that thing is anything BUT gentle…meow) At FYP, you get what you see. You get a toy in protective casing. Many times in a plastic mold in a cardboard box with design, information and specifications. At Passion Parties, you get your toy removed from it’s case where I question the use of gloves by warehouse workers. Then the toy is put into a clear plastic bag. I don’t see a plastic bag as being too durable. Not only that…Passion Parties removes package extras like lube and toy cleanser samples that the manufacturer has provided. Some high end toys even come with a manufacturer’s warrantee, which Passion Parties removes too.


"Over my 10 months, I was a Reg Dir. Manager. I was making 50% at my parties, but I was not getting any, so that did not matter. I had over 40 girls and was getting checks from them, but they were not getting as many parties either. Our monthly newsletters show that only a handful of consultants did over a $1000 party. I think out of all of them, we had maybe 20 or so. The top number of consultants signed each month was 5-10."
This is very hard to compare as Passion Parties has tens of thousands of reps. In comparison, FYP does well for the amount of reps we have! I’m also pretty impressed that you built a team of 40 people in 10 months!! I did about the same, maybe more. Recruiting is easy with FYP!

"So, after my 10 months with FYP, I called my rep up and told her I was not happy and I wanted to come back. I LOVE my sponsor, Ms Danalynn. I felt like the time I was gone, I had lost one of my close friends. She welcomed me back with open arms and I kid you not, 1 week with PP and I booked 7 parties!"
Like I said, you belong with Passion Parties and that’s okay. It seems as if you should have never left in the first place. Each company is not for everyone, know what I mean?

"Women were happy that I left FYP b/c they felt it was far from classy and b/c all the products were just too much. Now that I am back with PP, I am getting 1-2 parties booked A DAY! I have 4 girls that might sign up and I feel like I am ready to take back off and get my Executive Director title back! I am where my heart is telling me to be!"
That’s awesome! (see above) The same thing happened to me when I switched from Passion Parties to For Your Pleasure. Your customers may have felt your negative energy towards FYP. Maybe you even said things. You are their rep, of course they are happy! I know being from the New York metro area, my customers were like “THANK GOD” when I had more to show them after I switched.

"I wanted to put some points out there that might make FYP sound better then PP and I am going to write facts on why it really does not compare. The lady I signed up under gave me these points to try and get me to sign up with her."
Be aware your wording makes some of your statements below lies as opposed to facts.

"~FYP ships to customers: Great, so does Passion Parties!"
Right. But there is a difference. Passion Parties only ships to each individual at $9 a pop. FYP offers guests the choice to ship to the hostess for $4.95 or ship to themselves for $7.95. All backorders and defects are paid for and taken care of by FYP as well.

"~FYP ships the products in the same package to save on money: I like how PP spends the extra money to repackage for us. FYP consultants tell others that it
does not bother the customer when they get a vibe with a naked women on it. You know what, it does bother women! Who wants to see the toy they are about to use with a porn star putting it in places they are about? I am sorry, but that is my toy and let me do what I want with it and not flash back to the package."
Very few of the original packaging has a pic of a porn star putting it in places they are about. Actually, I barely understand this statement. Are they about to put it somewhere? Because there are no pictures where they actually are (penetration). Sure there are breasts and butts on some packaging…Hello!! Welcome to the Sex Toy industry! LOL I don’t think customers take their boxes and put them on display either, they simply go in the garbage. And like I said before, my customers appreciate the protective packaging with the extras included (samples and manufacturer’s warrantee) rather than a little plastic baggie.

"~FYP offers a website: So does PP. PP websites are so much nicer then FYPs as well."
Sure, PP’s visuals are a little more advanced, but PP’s site is more expensive! $24.95 per month? FYP is $14.95 per month. Ah, but with FYP you can design your own website. You can literally have and totally own your own personal website aside from FYP’s. With PP, this is forbidden, even a team site! And having your own website can make a huge difference in many reps. Have I mentioned you can also sell on eBay? A HUGE no-no with PP.

"~FYP runs credit cards for consultant: PP offers that as well. FYP does the same thing in holding the left over money till bonus checks come out. So they really don't have a heads up on us in anyway with this. If you don't want your money to be held, get a merchant account and get your money right away. FYP does not let you do that! You have to pay $10 every month even if you don't use them."
Ouch! A lie and a misconception! This one hurts because PP’s credit card system is so expensive!! 3.X%, right? With FYP you do pay $10 per month for unlimited transactions! Running $1000 (from sales, taxes and shipping fees) in credit cards will cost you $30 with PP. Have a really big month? $2000 will be at least $60 out of your pocket straight to PP! Ouch Ouch Ouch!
Merchant account fees are not much less. You lose either way: pay by PP or pay by merchant acct. $10 per month flat is an awesome deal. Here is the LIE in this statement though. “FYP does the same thing in holding the left over money till bonus checks come out”. Please Note: this is a LIE!! You CAN use your ‘left over’ funds towards your next party, supplies, products, etc. So, please don’t say FYP holds the money till bonus checks. This is not true. Also the $10 per month (whether you run credit cards or not) is what keeps a rep active. No sales quotas! Just $10 per month.

"~FYP pays you up to 50% on parties: You know, companies that are offering this are not doing well with their business. PP pays you up too 40% and they do that b/c they do not want to put their business in the hole. Also, 50% is nice if you were getting lots of parties. You do not get any where as many as you do with PP and if you do, your sales are no where as close to what PP were. (Now I will state every state is different, I am only stating off what I found my team to do and what my "sponsor at the time" said her team of 100 was doing) Also, to get to 50%, you have to recruit like crazy! (1 other girl does not get you to the top like they say it does)"
“Companies that are offering 50% on parties are not doing well.” Ouch, another lie. And how do you know they are not doing well? I still can’t see how at the beginning of this whole thing you say that you are “stating the facts” then go on to say something like THIS. You don’t necessarily have to recruit like crazy to get the 50%. A few good reps under you could bring you there. One girl will not give you 50% buying discount. Not sure where you got this info from.

"~FYP pays more levels deep in your downline: Over all, this works out just about the same as PP. While FYP goes 2 levels deeper, it does not put you that far over what PP has to offer. They might have us beat in this part, but my checks were no bigger with FYP then they were with PP. PP were much larger at times b/c we were getting parties!"
Let’s consider the top positions in both companies.
Executive Director with Car and Home Bonus: 5% + 5% + 5% = 15 + $400 + $1000
Platinum Presidential Director: 10% + 5% + 4% + 3% + 2% + $1700

Can you see the difference?

With $36,000 in team sales (and with FYP team sales are infinite levels including your own!) I will make at least a $500 management bonus, which is more than the passion parties car bonus. With $40,000 in team sales I make $750 management bonus on top of my team commissions! Yeah!

"~FYP says you can move up with only 1 team member: Now this is very misleading. You can move up, but you will not get anywhere close to the top with 1 team member. You have to recruit just like you do with PP."
Again, who says you can go to the top with 1 team member? That’s odd since the top level requires multiple Directors. And I think your words are misleading. FYP doesn’t say this. Show me on FYP’s site or in the manual or who at home office told you this. FYP does not say this. I can’t speak for other reps however.

"~FYP gives everyone leads: YA RIGHT! They don't have enough leads come in to give! I was with them for 10 months and got 1 lead and that lead was 200 miles away! My sponsor told me I would get them when I hit a level, I hit that level and passed it and never seen anything. At least with PP you know you are going to get leads when you hit the level. (Not saying you should depend on leads. They are nice when you get them, but word of month will bring in more parties then leads)"
“YA RIGHT?” Sounding hostile here, rather than “just stating the facts”. This really isn’t such an important factor. The point is that FYP gives out party leads according to zip code and locality. FYP doesn’t have the media coverage and advertising that Passion Parties pays for. FYP prefers to let the reps make more money. Personally, I enjoy making more money than counting on home office to advertise and hire PR Firms. I take some of that money, use it towards my own form of advertising and get multiple leads per day.


"~FYP has kit specials: You know, this did get a lot of women to join b/c FYP would offer a really great sign up special. BUT, they say you have to do a $1000 within 60 days! For someone who is new to the company, this can be hard. I had a girl on my team who still owes money for her kit b/c she was only $4 short of the $1000. So now she owes FYP $250!"
Why would she not place a small order to make her $1000? Did you advise her to do so? That's really unfortunate! FYP has this qualification in place to avoid duds, kitnappers and those joining just for the discount. This pushes you to strive from the beginning. After qualifying, there are no sales quotas.

"~FYP, as stated above, asks you to have 4 parties book, they want the name/phone number of that host and they give you 60 days to get in $1000. PP NEVER asks for you to give them your host info nor do they expect you to do a $1000. NOW, doing a $1000 is AWESOME! BUT, not everyone comes into this business wanting to do it full time. PP gives every women/man the chance to do what they want with their business."
The $1000 in 60 days is the push. Should someone not be able to do this, they CAN get an extension. $1000 in 90 days shouldn’t be all that hard, right? After that there are no sales quotas. FYP is not the only company that has starting requirements such as this.


"~FYP offers 1200 products for their customers: Like I said before, I was with them for 10 months and I still don't know 1/2 of the book. PLUS, my parties took forever and my sales were low b/c women would find something that was like what I showed, but 1/2 the cost. Also, I ordered all kinds of their products, and a lot of them were not what I would pay for."
The kits come with a business manual and a product manual. The product manual is very informative and explains a lot about our product line. Having 1200 products allows reps to create a ‘party menu’ with what they want to show. MANY reps use the party menu system. And it works wonders!

"With my months with FYP, I got to talk to a few ladies and their number 1 goal is to sign up reps with other companies. FYP thinks their company is on top and they have reps who sit and only sign up girls with PP. Why they do this, I have no idea. I can say it is not fair business and it is kinda trashy. Also, if they were so on top, why do they need consultants from other companies? Why not sign up from parties?"
For Your Pleasure has a huge transfer-in rate. And not just with Passion Parties, though PP takes the cake. So why not take advantage of that. Remember how frustrated I was at PP, I wish I had been exposed to FYP earlier! Whoever the one would be to expose me, could've recruited me!
So if one of these ladies that you speak of had a rep lead at a party, they wouldn't sign them, because they only sign PP reps? I highly doubt anyone twiddles thumbs waiting for a PP rep to join their team.
BTW, You are actually the first I've heard of that transfered out to Passion Parties, aside from another conservative woman.

"To me, it is showing that these consultants can not sign up women outside of the business. They have to come after those in the business and try to make their business look better. Don't be fooled! I am not a pro at everything, but my business I am and I know for a fact that FYP does not stand in Passion Parties level."
You know for a FACT that FYP does not stand in Passion Parties level? Sorry, but that’s not a fact, but an opinion. To ME, Passion Parties doesn’t stand to FYP. I was with PP for 2 years before switching in October 2006. I can’t deny my drastically increased income.


"Women showed it by booking after I left, by wanted info on my business after I left, and by my past sales!"
That’s YOU and YOUR customers. We all aren’t you and don’t have your customers. You project attraction towards that market in YOUR area. Everyone’s way of business, areas and lifestyle is different!

"I could keep going on and on about FYP/PP. But I am going to stop here. Everyone needs to listen to their heart and do what they feel is right."
If you look at the title of everything you wrote, it sounds like persuasion: “If you’re thinking of leaving PP for FYP – READ THIS!!” So you are telling everyone to listen their heart, yet you state lies, opinions as facts and misconceptions about your experience and knowledge of FYP.

"I love what I do and I strive to keep women feeling good about themselves. With FYP, I did not feel as if I was doing that. I felt that I was promoting something I did not believe in. If you have any questions, please feel fee to write me and or call. I don't care if you are or are not on my team. I am not going to talk you into staying, I am only going to talk to you as a business partner."
You’re already talked people into staying by this statement. That’s the point right? I just created this rebuttal because your fellow passion consultants are using your statements as a tool for recruiting. Which I don’t believe is fair because it’s opinionated and personal. One big opinionated testimonial, which should not be the basis of someone’s decision to join a company.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

PP better than FYP??
NO WAY!

My name is Jenny Branscum and here is MY story of how Passion Parties does not compare to For Your Pleasure. I joined PP in August 2006 after hosting a party of my own. I did not realize there were any other companies in the business at that time. I was excited and ready to build a successful business. As the days, weeks, and months went by I quickly realized I was losing so much money instead of making it. After being with PP for 4 months, I had my highest party sales ever with PP - $647. At the time I thought WOW this is great! I am finally going to start making money! Then I got home and got out my calculator to see how much I made from this high sales party. This was my findings:
• Party Sales $647
• My 40% Commission = $259
• Subtract 10% for Hostess Credit
• Subtract $40 for shipping to me
• Subtract $15 for shipping from me to hostess
• Subtract $10 for Hostess Gift
• EQUALS $129 IS WHAT I MADE

With FYP, I would make the FULL 40% - $259. For my hard work, I don’t want to give up almost HALF of my income, which is what I did when I was with PP. Not to mention the outrageous prices for a credit card merchant account - I had to pay monthly service changes plus a percentage of each transaction. And on top of losing so much money, I was strongly encouraged to build up a large inventory so my customers could go home with their orders that night. By doing this, I was spending all of my profits. My parties were always small and low sales. I never once reached $1000 in sales per month. My customers were bored with the tiny catalogs with a small selection. Nobody was interested in joining my team. I was not allowed to advertise anywhere online using the PP name – how strange is that? I would think a company would want their name out there! I was becoming more and more frustrated with my business. Then I came across FYP. I was introduced to an FYP rep that previously had been with PP. I picked her brain for information. I found out how FYP direct ships to hostess OR customer for a very low flat rate, has over 1200 products to choose from, a low flat rate $10/month credit card processing fee, they allow any and all advertising online and anywhere else, and the AMAZING Hostess Program that is COMPANY PAID. That information sealed the deal for me! In August of 2007 – one year after signing with PP, I became a proud For Your Pleasure IBA. In the last 10 months, I have grown a team and reached the level of Managing Director. My sales have skyrocketed! Now I am booked for months in advance! I now make enough profit that I paid for a cruise to the Caribbean with my husband for our anniversary! My customers are so excited to have parties and they love the large selection to choose from! They love the privacy of having their orders sent directly to their own front door! And I love making my full commission, which is now at 45%! Making the switch from PP to FYP was the best decision I ever made! I have found a wonderful group of women to network and connect with, I am making awesome money, and my customers are much happier! I would never consider going back to losing money again! FYP ROCKS!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Pascale...

I was Kelly Messerole's sponsor, and although I really dislike getting involved in this kind of thing, there are a few things I want to clarify here:

Kelly and I discussed the differences in party leads several times before she joined FYP and then after she was with us. My feeling now, after she's gone, is that she may not have learned how to go out and get her own leads. I told her many times NOT to count on the Home Office for party leads. They should be gravy. They should be bonus to your OWN business that you are ALREADY drumming up. We talked about how to do that. I can't speak for what she did, but I can tell you I tirelessly gave suggestions, ideas and support in an effort to help her.

Kelly had a lot of things on her plate about the time she left us... she had just had a baby, she had a move across the country, and I understand that. She was having trouble booking parties. It's my belief that she preferred to rely on corporate party leads than drum up her own. To each their own. In four years of this business I have never had trouble finding parties.

Sadly, Kelly has twisted her story to use it to her advantage. You are absolutely right when you say that different companies are right for different people. She states in her letter that people on her team have lower sales with FYP. Well I see how successful they are, and how well their businesses are working for them and her own team was shocked that she was leaving without EVEN TRYING. Their own words - she didn't even try.

Kelly has also twisted the differences in recruiting. I told her that in theory she could reach Director with one person in her downline - because FYP has no recruiting minimums on any level, if the two of you make the group volume, you promote! She has twisted this to say that she was told you can reach the top with 1 person. Nobody has at any time ever told her that.

She has even twisted some of the things I told her. She did the math herself prior to joining us so she knows how much more money you can make at FYP and how much easier the work is - and she told me herself when she left when I reminded her of that, "It's OK, I'll just work harder." To each their own.

It's sad that some people have to sink this low in an effort to recruit people.

I think hundreds of ex-PP reps can't be wrong. There are many reasons they join FYP and stay. So it wasn't for her - I understand that. But to go out and trash your old company... now THAT'S what's not classy - and can also get you into serious amounts of trouble, not only in what people think of you, but legally as well.

Bottom line - one girl left PP, went to FYP, went back to PP, decided to trash FYP. Does that make FYP look bad? Hardly. It makes Kelly Messerole look bad.

Anonymous said...

I transferred from PP because I was tired of losing money on each of my parties. I had to bribe my hostesses and basically give away a lot just to get the party because my clients stated the PP didn’t have enough products for their liking. I had more trouble booking parties with PP and if I was lucky I would have 2 shows a month.

With PP, I never received any training whatsoever, I was just told not only by my up line, but everyother die-hard PP rep that I was in sales and all I had to do was sell.

Well with FYP, it wasn’t just about selling product, it was about educating your customers. The education I received from FYP can not be beat. We have the wonderful Sexologist Ducky Doolittle who educates FYP reps in layman’s terms so it doesn’t feel like a classroom. I have learned more in the 9 months I have been with FYP that I ever received in the 3 years I was with PP.

Once I transferred to FYP, not only did my sales skyrocket, I had quadrupled my bookings because FYP has such a large variety to choose from, that all my clients said “Thank Goodness you finally have items I want, lets book”. My calendar is always full because the Hostess Benefits are off the hook and the best part is that it doesn’t come out of my own pocket, its company paid. I keep my commission and have actually able to save money being a For Your Pleasure Independent Business Associate. So, if 5 women book parties with me from the same hostess, not one party will be the same because I am able to customize my presentation based on the hostess and her guests. With PP, I was never able to do this.

As a FYP rep, I was promoted to Director with just 1 recruit, yes, this is very true and very possible. One very wonderful, hardworking, and dedicated IBA.

In my opinion, PP can’t hold a candle next to the benefits that FYP offers not only their reps but their hostesses.

FYP ROCKS!

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