Selling without Selling

Abstract

Luisa was driving Pamela and me to Mass one Sunday in June 2005. Although we were running late, Luisa pulled over to the shoulder of the road near a busy intersection. We got out of the car and walked to where a man stood under a palm-lined shelter selling fresh coconut milk. Luisa explained that she used to buy coconuts from the man’s father when she was a girl. One day, after he had taken over the business from his father and Luisa had just joined Omnilife, she saw him by the stand unloading a truckload of coconuts. She imagined that he must be tired, but she was nervous about approaching him to talk about the products. Before she approached him, she prepared a bottle of Omnilife water filled with eight packets of the energy booster Magnus. She offered it to him for free and said that she would return the next day to find out how it made him feel. The next day, he told Luisa that the vitamins had given him so much energy that he had not been able to sleep. He began to buy the vitamin products from her, calling when he needed a new supply. On this visit, Luisa simply said hello and bought a coconut for Pamela and me to share. She commented to the vendor how taking the products seemed to have trimmed his beer belly. He smiled in agreement.