How to Find a Direct Sales Business that Works for You!

by Megan G. of GoWrap.itworks.net

As an independent distributor working in direct sales, I am always looking for people to join my team. However, more often than not I will hear people say that they don't think they have the time to run their own business. I've worked with several direct sales companies over the past ten years, and so I know how time consuming (if not life consuming!) some companies can be. Because of that, I took great care to find a company that fits my life and goals.

Here are some things that you should thoroughly research before signing up with any company (and contact multiple sources to verify information if you desire):

• Quotas: What are you expected to sell every month? If you don't sell that amount, will you get paid at all? And if you don't make the quota, do you get kicked out or sent back to square one?
• Products and Deliveries: I'm very fortunate to have found a company where we don't carry stock to resell (just samples), and all of our orders are done individually, online and sent directly to the customer, which gives me the option to sell to anyone, anywhere. I know from experience that some companies do it differently. So, some things to think about are how much you can afford to invest in products to resell upfront and how much time delivering products might take out of your schedule.
• Pay: What is your cut out of what you sell? Do you get it all upfront, or is it sent to you via a check each month? The person who signed me up for my first direct sales company got me so confused on the details that I never ended up getting paid a penny for all the things I sold!
• Market: Who else is selling similar products (or working with the same company near you)? If you're selling something that can be found cheaper and is easier to get from a store, you may have a difficult time getting clientele. Likewise, if you are entering into a popular business, go onto their website and search for distributors in your area. By doing this, you can get a visual for how saturated the market is where you're at (which is very important for companies where all orders have to be placed and delivered locally).
• Distributor Sign Up Fees: We've all opened up certain catalogs or websites and seen distributor sign up specials, and some seem too good to pass up. However, companies with very cheap sign up fees often have a lot of distributors to compete against. No matter what someone might tell you, simple economics state that there is a limited amount of demand for every product. To the contrary, a sign up fee of several hundred dollars is something that not as many people are willing to take a chance on, and so there will be fewer distributors to compete against for clients. While it may not be for you, just be aware that the lower the initial cost to sign up is, the more people that will be selling.
• Liability: Are you expected to have insurance for yourself? Who will be at legal fault if a product causes a negative reaction for a client, or a defective product causes some kind of harm? In most cases it will be the company, but this is something you will want to know for certain before something like that should happen.
• Do You Love What You'd Sell?: If you're selling fine art via direct sales, and you hate art and have no interest in learning it, that's going to shine through to your clients. If the products aren't things that you would buy or get excited about, it can be hard to convince other people to do the same. I had a friend who sold make up, but thought it was too expensive to buy for herself, and this led to constant embarrassment in front of clients who would ask her what shade of lipstick or eyeshadow she had on. Find something that you're knowledgeable and passionate talking about, and that can easily end up being one of the best sales aids you ever have.

While there are a lot of factors that make the perfect match between a direct sales associate and a company, ultimately the responsibility falls on you to know what you're getting into. It can be hard, but don't let anyone get away with not answering your questions, because this is your money, your future, and your success. Any reputable business will easily be able to tell you whatever you need to know, so take charge!