How Not to Choose a Direct Sales Party Plan Company

This is a guest post written by Linda Stacy. If you’re looking for a direct sales company to join you’re going to want to check out this post. Linda talks about picking a company you’ll enjoy working with.

For many moms who want to work at home, becoming a direct sales party plan consultant is a great choice. It’s a familiar business – we’ve all been to a Tupperware or Pampered Chef party, and most of us know someone who sells cosmetics or jewelry. A direct sales party plan business is relatively inexpensive to start and has many other advantages, including a proven sales method and training.  Plus there are plenty of companies and a wide variety of products to choose from.

When you decide to go into direct sales, take the time to really make a choice. It’s easy to get excited about a new company, or to fall into your best friend’s company because she’s so enthusiastic about it. But to really succeed in direct sales it’s important to start out with a choice that best fits your needs and personality.

Here are some common un-choices:

1 – My sister or best friend asked me to. Often your first introduction to a direct sales opportunity comes from someone you know, either at a sales party or in a personal conversation. Your friend or relative’s excitement and enthusiasm will be contagious, and you’ll want to join in the fun and profit. When someone you know offers you the opportunity, first and foremost be supportive and enthusiastic about her choice, but remember that being supportive doesn’t mean you have to follow in her footsteps. Stay positive and keep an open mind, but ask a lot of questions to find out if the opportunity is right for you.

The one caveat I would stick by is that if you decide to join the same company as your sister or best friend, don’t question whether or not you should join under her. You should. It’s too much risk to your relationship to join under someone else.

2 – I love the products. It’s important to sell something you believe in and use yourself, but just because you love the products, doesn’t mean your potential customers will. There’s nothing wrong with joining a direct sales company to get a discount on the products (as long as your initial and ongoing costs don’t exceed the discount). But to truly succeed as a business, sell a product your customers love.

3 – It’s a brand new company. I can get in on the “ground floor.” This seems to be a universal marketing mantra for new direct sales companies. The idea is that if you are a founding consultant, or the first consultant in your area, you will be more likely to build a huge, profitable team. Often the “ground floor” offer is accompanied by statements about the difficulty of areas that are “saturated” with other companies’ consultants.

Even if I were to be convinced that there is a profit advantage to ground floor, the risks may outweigh the potential benefit. Of course there are inherent risks in all business ventures, but with a new company there’s no history to look at to evaluate some of those risks. For example some of the information you can gather about a well-established company includes how well the company is managed, whether product is delivered in a timely manner, if they are prepared to survive an economic downturn, and what kind of customer and consultant support they provide.

4 – It’s free to join so I’m not risking anything. There’s much more than money at stake when you start a business. For one thing, your time is very valuable and starting a business requires a good deal of it. Other risk factors include potential damage to your self-confidence and your reputation, and feelings of failure and betrayal should the worst happen and the business fails.

5 – The company offers a generous commission percentage. No matter what the sales commission is, it’s the earnings potential that matters. A 10% commission on a $100 product is better than a 50% commission on a $15 product. However, also take into consideration that you might be able to sell many more $15 products than $100 products.

Of course it’s not the end of the world, or the end of your business ventures if you get caught up in the excitement of a company and join only to find out that it wasn’t the right choice. Like most things in life, nothing is perfect. But if you take the time to make a reasonable choice and then put in the time and effort to build it, becoming a direct sales party plan consultant can be a great home business.

Claim your free guide, “Choose Your Opportunity” and discover which direct sales companies best suit your skills and personality.