Direct Selling

Direct selling, also known as multilevel marketing or MLM, lets ordinary people become self-employed consultants selling the products/services of one or more companies.

Before choosing which company is best , a person needs to know what s/he hopes to get out of a direct selling business: a couple of hundred bucks a month? A couple thousand? Monthly parties and free stuff? A career with lots of networking and promotional opportunities? The loftier a person’s goals, the more important it is to choose the right direct sales company. The next step is to study each potential MLM business.

Determining Sales Potential
Is the product/service fantastic? Selling is no easy thing, even when people love what they're selling. But if an independent consultant has doubts that what s/he is selling is the best thing around, it is going to be nearly impossible to sell to others.

Is the product/service reasonably priced? Many direct sales companies price their products quite steeply, leaving a lot of potential buyers thinking “Well, if it was cheaper I would…” Potential consultants need to take an objective view at the prices (or, if personal objectivity is impossible, ask friends and family members) to make sure that potential clients won’t be turned away by sticker shock. On the other hand, a few MLM businesses price their products so cheaply that it becomes difficult for a person to make any real amount of money selling them.

How many consultants are in the local area? Many MLM companies want as many independent consultants as possible, and don’t care if an area becomes overcrowded. But the last thing a consultant wants to hear is “Sorry, but I already bought from someone else.” Ideally, there will be only 1 consultant for every 10,000+ people, but some of the huge direct sales companies have about 1 consultant for every 250 people! Remember, not everyone in the area is a likely buyer, and not all buyers are going to be return customers, so it is important to have plenty of room for growth, especially if someone hopes to make a career out of this.

What does the competition look like? Even if a person is the only consultant in the local area, there can still be a lot of competition from other direct sales companies or even from retail stores that provide similar products/services (often at a lower price). The ideal MLM company company sells a line of products that is not easy to find otherwise, but that is not so unusual that people won’t want to buy it.

How much money can a consultant make? This is not something a person can usually figure out from the direct sales company itself. Sometimes MLM businesses will provide information like “If you have just two parties a week, you will make $750 a month,” but such estimates are rarely realistic. Instead, people need to learn to judge for themselves.

Determining Company "Fit"
Beyond selling, what is expected of independent consultants? Some MLM companies take care of sales tax, others expect consultants to. Some process credit cards, some don’t. Some ship directly to the customer, others prefer to ship to you. Some require a certain amount of inventory, recruiting, or training. What exactly the direct selling company requires is not quite so important as how the potential consultant feels about doing those things.

What is the company’s reputation?The internet is a great resource here! Search for the company name, along with the words “review” or “scam”. One or two dissatisfied customers or disgruntled ex-consultants need not raise a red flag, but tread lightly if there are legions of unhappy people.

For people eager to start making money, going through the process of selecting the best MLM company can feel time-consuming and frustrating. But it is much better than spending thousands of dollars and countless hours on a direct sales business that was never going to make much money. Good luck!