There are literally hundreds of different companies that now have no (or very few) physical stores but instead use individual salespeople to sell their products to friends and co-workers. But to paraphrase George Orwell, not all companies are created equal. In addition to some really fabulous opportunities, there are also a lot of pyramid schemes whose main goal is to rip you off.
My first piece of advice is a repetition of what I said in my earlier post: make sure you like and enjoy the product(s) you are going to sell. Before you make any commitment, try the products out yourself. For one thing, it’ll give you something to talk about during your sales parties, but it will also allow you to weed out any companies that don’t really exist. What do I mean? There are enough scams out there that I would want to have an actual product in hand, tried out by me personally, before I committed any time or money. You don’t want to hand over money for a “start-up kit” or whatever other introductory offer they might have, then discover that their phone number has been disconnected and their website is now defunct, and your money is….. who knows?
A corollary of this is to be beware of anybody who is aggressively pushing you to be a sales rep for their company. Maybe they’re just happy, enthusiastic people, but maybe they’re trying to force you into a less than solid agreement. If the company is real and the product is solid, there shouldn’t be any kind of rush to have you sign a sales contract in a hurry. Let pushy company reps be a flashing red warning light. If you have any concerns, check out the company on the Direct Selling Association’s website www.dsa.org , which is kind of like a better business bureau for direct sales companies.
Once you’ve made your choice of type of product you want sell, you need to start researching which companies offer you the best compensation structure. Questions you will need answered include:
-what are initial start-up costs?
-what kind of training do you offer? Manuals? DVD? Live classes?
-are there minimum volumes I have to purchase at a time or monthly minimum sales I must make?
-do the reps get a discount on products for themselves?
-what is the sales commission structure?
-Does my commission increase if I reach certain sales goals?
-if I recruit other people to be salesmen, do I get a percentage of their sales?
-what is the contract termination policy? Can I quit at any time?
-what is the company policy towards selling their product online?
-what is a typical sales volume for someone in my size town/region?
A last question to ponder is whether you are a social butterfly or a wallflower extraordinaire? Are you comfortable hosting parties attended by a dozen strangers, or would you rather communicate with customers solely by e-mail? Different companies have very different requirements so if you freeze at the thought of meeting a bunch of new folks and sharing your expertise on the product, maybe you should stick to something on-line or telephone only.
