Your pen or mine?

[GrouchoMarxJr]

I was just wondering what you kind folks thought about the "craftsmanship" of twi's marketing techniques back in "the day"...

I recall "public ex's" when we would slap on cheap paper nametags on all the new folks...that way, we could call them by their first name when we pounded them with the green card..."your pen or mine"...I actually used that line once and the guy mindlessly took my pen and signed the card!

Let's face it folks, twi used us as free labor to promote and recruit for their pyramid scheme...they made millions!

Share with us, your favorite "one liners", cons, and other bull sh *t stories that you used to coerice people into this cult. Let's walk down memory lane and relive those torturous years when an insideous cult used us to bring other unsuspecting souls into their insideous little group of sexual abusers, drunks and money whores...

C'mon y'all...what's your favorite story?

[doojable]

"Look at this list of promises. Which of these would you like to see come to pass in your life?"

Sheeesh - I feel dirty now.

Then there was the "incidents" that D*ve Bed*rd taught us to tell...

[waysider]

I'm just surprised we didn't all make millions selling condos in the Everglades after we left.

We certainly had the training(at least by example ) to do so.

I went to a "public ex." of sorts recently for a financial planning endeavor.

I thought I was going to bust out laughing.

It was so similar to a "public ex." for PFAL, I was sure I would lose it if the sign up forms appeared on green paper.

They even said they knew secrets about the market that none of their competitors could even understand.

It was a hoot!

I guess you had to be there.

[Ham]

Yeah.. the "your pen or mine" routine.. I said it once, and all I got was a blank stare from the guy..

I did get something out of this though. Next time someone uses that line on me.. standing there, proudly holding a pen..

"well, it's pretty obvious that it's YOUR pen, unless you thieved it from me a minute ago.."

"next question?"

[doojable]

Another "sales line" :

"What would you give to have....more harmony in the home, freedom from whatever...?"

Variation:

"What would it take to get you in this next class?"

[Ham]

"why do you charge $100 for a BIBLE class?"

"well, it isn't a cheap giveaway like the rest of the world offers.. besides, money can be replaced.."

[Nero]

Dear lord... they used my father like freaking crazy. He is a man who knows how to make a house from scratch. So he was in on the building of the VPWA from the ground up until finish. I even know where his ground breaking shovel is... I remember secretly wanting it when I was little because the spade (?) was spray painted gold hehe. XP

He built lecturns and all kinds of crazy stuff for our area.

Not only did he give his time, skills, materials...

But he gave them their disgusting 15% tithe as well! >=(

I'm not even going to mention the stuff I did for them... it pales in comparison!

You really did pay to work for them.

Edited November 6, 2007 by Nero

[Nottawayfer]

Wouldn't you like to increase the power of God in your life?

How could they say no to that? Many said yes, but didn't follow through. They were the smart ones.

[GrouchoMarxJr]

I think that the most torturous for me was when we had to go door to door...it was always a nightmare for me because it made me feel like a JW...at least when we went to the mall, I could slip away and get lost in some store. Amway promises you some kind of commission...twi milked us for thousands and thousands of hours of free labor...both in recruiting and in physical labor...never got a dime.

...and to boot, we had to give a good chunk of our paying jobs (if we had one)

Edited November 7, 2007 by GrouchoMarxJr

[Nero]

I hated the Mall and door to door thing. I am incredibly shy around new people (and I also never wanted to push my beliefs on people) so it was awful for me too.

I was so relieved when the Mall cops started shutting us down everywhere we went. Mostly because twi peeps made some people uncomfortable when they were just trying to shop around.

I disliked the door to door thing because you don't know who is on the other side of the door. There was one lady we talked to who held a gun behind her back while she talked with us. I can't say I blamed her - the two guys who were with me were HUGE. I was little at the time so I think that's why they brought me hehe. It sort of made them look less frightening.

Edit: Because I realized I stole someone's line hehe

Edited November 7, 2007 by Nero

[outintexas]

I'll always remember doing the door to door thing and we happened to knock on the door of someone I worked with. I was mortified.

Why did I stay in so long?

[waysider]

"Shill witnessing" was the absolute worst form of "witnessing", in my opinion.

The very essence of it was based on deception.

It was really just a variation of the old shell game, but the promise of money was replaced with the promise of an intangible.

[DogLover]

"Shill witnessing" was the absolute worst form of "witnessing", in my opinion.

The very essence of it was based on deception.

It was really just a variation of the old shell game, but the promise of money was replaced with the promise of an intangible.

What is shill witnessing?

[Nero]

What is shill witnessing?

I was wondering that too. I never remember doing that kind of witnessing - it sounds very interesting.

[Ham]

Shill witnessing..

maybe it's like.. the guy can get into some real trouble selling the brooklyn bridge. Besides, everybody knows that I own it anyway..

Maybe the next most believable alternative, convince somebody that you own and can sell the intellectual and artistic rights. Then a person could amass a fortune from the royalties that it's reporduction garners in posters, movies.. etc..

[Outfield]

shill

–noun 1. a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc.

2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.

–verb (used without object)

3. to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino.

–verb (used with object)

4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show.

[Nero]

OMG! Are you serious?! They would have someone from TWI stand there and listen to a speaker from TWI just to get other people interested?

That is so crazy, dishonest and horrible. But it is so... so very TWI.

[potato]

Waysider, when where and by whom did shill witnessing get started? I don't remember that one but we were pretty much taught to stoop to whatever level necessary to get people in a class.

[waysider]

Waysider, when where and by whom did shill witnessing get started? I don't remember that one but we were pretty much taught to stoop to whatever level necessary to get people in a class.

Hi, Potato.

Sorry it took so long to get back here.

I don't know how, when or where it started.

Pretty sure I know why, though.

I remember doing it when I was in Cleveland back in the early 1970s.

Here is one example of how it worked:

We would go to the mall(I think we still called them "shopping centers" back then.) and split up.

When a prospect was spotted sitting on a bench, one of the "believers" would sit down on the bench but not make contact.

The second "believer"(the shill) would then sit down and pretend he didn't know either of them.

The first one would strike up a conversation with the second one in hopes of drawing the prospect in.

At some point, the shill would politely disagree with believer #1.

This would give believer #1 an open window to expound on his/her point of view.(Which, of course, was a lead-in to pitching PFAL.)

We did this in bars, also.

(I was already an adult at that point.)

Funny bar story:

Believer #1 told the prospect that "believing is a verb and a verb connotes 'action' ".

HaHaHaHa!--- The prospect had an entirely different definition for the word "action".

He (believer #1) had to do some fast talking to keep it from appearing to be a "pick-up line".

There were all kinds of variations but it is not really any different from what law enforcement calls a "shell game".

I hope that describes it well enough,

[Outfield]

Oh my

[bowtwi]

Mine too!

[johniam]

quote: Let's face it folks, twi used us as free labor to promote and recruit for their pyramid scheme...they made millions!

This presumes that God had nothing to do with TWI/Pfal.

[Ham]

I wonder if anyone ever tried mime witnessing. No, not witnessing TO mimes.. "witnessing" AS a mime.

A person could probably then "witness" in malls without security chasing them out..

might even amuse them enough they'd toss a couple of quarters your way..

hmm. could mime somebody stringing chairs.. people would think you were really nuts..

[waysider]

Miming in Tongues(with interpretation)

:wacko:

[J0nny Ling0]

Witnesser: "Hey there! Heard anything about God that makes sense lately"?

Witnessee: (surprised look on his/her face) "Why, umm, no, I haven't. Ya know, that's a good question. No I haven't heard much about God that makes sense!"

Witnesser: "Well then, have I got just The Class for you! You see, Jesus Christ said that he came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly. And ya know what? He either told the truth or he lied! Do you think Jesus Christ was a liar sir? Or do you think he told the truth"?

Witnessee: "Well, I spose he told the truth and wouldn't lie. I mean, if anybody didn't lie, it was probably Jesus..."

Witnesser: "And right you are sir! He didn't lie, but told the Truth! And that's why, this class called Power For Abundant Living is tailor made for you sir. So, why don'tcha come on down to my place at 7:30 this evening...