If you think “Direct Sales” means “One of Those Home Party Deals” think again. Home parties is only one of a plethora of platforms in which direct sales performs best.
Before I proceed, the caveat here is that if youre considering starting a direct sales business or are already in DS, please consultant with individual company policies and procedures to determine what methods are permissible for you.
I represent Scentsy and my private website is Thriving Candle Business. Our company is extremely forward thinking when it comes to innovation and ingenuity. I know there are other direct selling companies who also embrace this philosophy.
My claim to fame (one of them, anyway) is that I have never done a home party or a book party since I started with Scentsy in 2006. Thusly I know of what I speak when I say that there are plenty of home party alternatives that direct sellers can employ and still be very successful.
Whether you cant seem to get home party bookings or you simply dont have the desire for them, here are some suggestions on other ways you may be able to succeed in your direct sales business.
- Internet Marketing. If you’re an Internet Marketer, you know of all the various techniques you can use. The same holds true for direct sales. If you’re not terribly experienced with Internet marketing but would love to learn, I highly recommend The Complete Internet Marketing Moms Start Up Guide!
- Vendor Events. Vendor events could consist of a $10 table at a three-hour event or it could be a multiple-day event that could come with a financial investment of hundreds of dollars for a booth.
- Displays. Set up a small display at a salon, apartment complex, office building, or other location that gets a great deal of foot traffic. We are not permitted to retail out of said locations but are allowed to set up a candle warmer, candle bar, room spray, car candle, scent samples and business cards. The business owner may want to act as the hostess and collect orders or perhaps customers will just enjoy your products, take a business card and order online.
- Fundraisers. Ensure it is a win/win situation. If you can also make enough profit (not just break even) to cover your time and expenses, fundraisers can be a great way to gain additional exposure. Too often though I see consultants give away the farm to a point where it actually is costing her money to put on a fundraiser with her company – all in the name of acquiring new potential customers.
- Advertising and PR. The former comes with a financial investment and the latter is generally free but requires something newsworthy to get noticed. Both can provide a wonderful boost to your business if targeted properly.
- One at a time. Most direct sellers will agree that home parties still afford you the opportunity to sell to many in a short amount of time. If, however, that doesn’t work for you, remember how to eat an elephant – one bite at a time!
As you see, Direct Sales doesn’t always have to mean One of Those Home Party Deals. Hopefully that will give you a little food for thought and perhaps cause you to take a second look at one of the fastest growing industries today!
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Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow). 
Easton Ellsworth is owner of 
those are some great ideas. I never would have thought of the displays.
I recently read in a newspaper about a lady who had been asked to stop holding “home parties” for her direct sales activities because it was deemed inappropriate for the neighborhood. She protested against the request saying there were never more that 4 or 5 cars parked out the front of her house “every few months”. She stated that if the ban were enforced she would loose a significant part of her $200K per annum income.
Not bad for hosting parties at home!
I personally think that fundraisers are really worth the effort if it is relevant to the audience.
So, Laurie Ayers, I liked the idea of creating post for encouraging new ideas. I think Internet marketing can be a post in itself, as there are a lot of ways of doing it online.