5 Steps to Choosing the Right Party-Plan Direct Sales Business

A direct sales consultant makes money by selling a company’s products and earning a commission. Traditionally the products are sold at home parties. However, online parties and web sales have become popular ways to generate profits.

It’s an ideal business opportunity if you want to be your own boss without a huge financial risk. Generally, direct sales companies are devoted to helping new sales representatives get started and provide a number of resources to help you succeed.

Because the direct sales business model is so successful, there are a large variety of companies to choose from. There are the easily recognizable ones like Tupperware, Discovery Toys, Silpada Jewelry, PatryLite and Pampered Chef. However, there are also many wonderful smaller direct sales companies. The key is to find a company and a product that you feel excited to sell and that will help you meet your personal and business goals.

Here’s how to find the right direct sales opportunity.

Step #1 What are your interests? What do you like to do? What products do you enjoy shopping for? What are your hobbies? Make a list of your passions and interests. Don’t worry too much at this point if there is a direct sales opportunity that matches your interests. That’s the next step.

Step #2 Visit a directory of direct sales opportunities. You can find them online or you can visit the direct sales association, dsa.org. Take a look at the various companies and jot down any that match your interests or sound exciting.

Step #3 Visit the website of each direct sales company you’re interested in. Take a look at and compare:

* How the company is growing
* How they support their consultants
* What marketing materials they provide – do they provide a website?
* How much their start up package costs
* How they pay
* If you’re compensated for recruiting new consultants – a tiered compensation system
* How many products they offer and how frequently they introduce new products
* If they’re growing
* How long they’ve been in business

Step #4 Narrow down your list to your top two or three opportunities. If possible, attend direct sales parties for these companies. This is a great way for you to see a direct sales party and sales representative in action. And it’ll give you the opportunity to talk to direct sales consultants to see if it’s the right opportunity for you. Consider hosting a party as well so you can get a feel for how the company operates.

Step #5 Signup and start selling. Start selling! Congratulations! You’re on your way to owning a business you can be proud of. One that meets your needs and helps you live the life you want to live.

Many people are able to build successful direct sales businesses. They make a good living and enjoy the autonomy of being their own boss and selling products they enjoy and are proud of.

On the downside, you may not have the time & energy to be co-hosting parties all the time. Be sure to be realistic about your desire to run a party-plan-based business before you jump in. There are other options for homebased businesses that do not require parties, or even collecting money or delivering products to customers. Ensure you spend enough time with yourself to identify exactly what your goals are and to fully understand whether the business model is a good fit before you jump in or you may be disappointed!

To your success! Click Here to Read More..

Can I Really Make Six Figures with my Direct Sales Homebased Business?

This question has a simple answer....YES, you can.

There are many stories about people making substantial income online. In fact, if you’re a direct sales consultant you probably have met a few people who bring home high give and six figures each year. While the average income for a direct sales professional is under $3000, there’s a reason for this and it isn’t that the potential for profits is low.

Deb Bixler tells a story on her website createacashflowshow.com about two pivotal people in her career. The first is a man she met at a direct sales party. This man had a very similar background to hers. He left the professional world to go into business for himself. He was able to grow his business to six figures. The other person was Myron Golden, who after some serious struggles in direct sales became a millionaire.

In fact, the recent economy has helped generate the newest wave of direct sales success stories. People without jobs are turning to direct sales as their primary and often sole source of income. This has created a new wave of direct sales success. And in part this mindset shift is the key.

Why making six figures is uncommon

There are many reasons the average salary in direct sales is so low. The primary reason is because people don’t look at direct sales as a potential business opportunity. They see it as a way to make a ‘few extra bucks’. However, if you approach it as your career, as an opportunity to make as much money as you want and as your own business, the sky is the limit.

What it takes to make six figures

The first thing to do is take a look at your commission rate and how many products you need to sell to make $1000. For many direct sales companies, one party generates $500 to $1000 in commission. From there, the math is easy. If your goal is to make $100,000 then that’s ten parties a month.

Let’s say for the sake of argument that ten parties a month is what you’re able to accomplish and at each party you make approximately $500 in commission. That puts you at just over half your goal.

What about your website? Can you generate online sales? Can you host online parties? If you can host online parties then reaching the ten parties a month goal is much easier, right?

The point isn’t to say that you have to host ten parties each month to make six figures. The point is to say that in order to achieve direct sales success and to become one of those success stories you hear about, you have to approach your business as a business. You have to set goals. You have to create a plan to achieve those goals. And you have to repeat your successes.

Does it take work to achieve six figures? Absolutely. Is it possible? Yes, with the right mindset it’s more than possible.


Click Here to Read More..

Everyone is NOT your prospect!

If you have ever been involved in any type of network marketing business in which your business grows not merely from selling the company’s products, but also from encouraging others to build businesses too, then you will be familiar with some version of the age-old networking motto:

“Everyone is your prospect” or “Everyone wants this; they just don’t know it yet!”

Along with this belief comes the teaching of such practices as the “3-foot-rule”, the “when in doubt, blurt it out” technique, and the “No doesn’t really mean no, it just means not right now” mantra.

Because this lie persists, and has continued to be handed down from upline to downline, new business members have the mistaken belief that approaching everyone who comes within an arms length reach is an effective recruiting technique. Friends, neighbours, grocery store clerks, teachers, gas station attendants, strangers in line at the local fast food joint, people sitting in the park – you must talk to them all because for heaven sake, EVERYONE is your prospect!

These gorilla warfare, “street hustler” methods of recruiting are out-dated and ineffective but are still widely clung to in an industry that has yet to embrace the evolutionary changes that have occurred since the advent of the original direct or network marketing models.



Unfortunately, archaic antics such as these are among the top reasons that many people shiver at the idea of any form of Multi-Level, Network, or Direct Marketing and look upon it with disdain. The reputation of the industry has been damaged almost beyond repair - any image of professionalism destroyed – making it harder for everyone to sponsor people.

It does not matter how qualified you think a person is, or how good you think they would be at your business or that someone has super people skills. It makes no difference whether you know someone hates their 9-5 job, or could really use the residual income.

The fact of the matter is that not everyone is looking to run their own business. Some people are perfectly happy with things the way they are. Some people actually like their jobs. Some people despise network marketing. Some people don’t know anything about it, and just don’t care. Some people don’t have the funds to put into running a business. Some people don’t have time. Some people aren’t cut out to be entrepreneurs. Some people have no desire for change.

One of the most important things you can learn, and quickly, is that we are not evangelists sent to spread the great word of the way. We are not here to cajole, sway, and convince people to get into this business. To do so may feel productive, but it is in fact a complete waste of your time and effort.

“Why?” you ask. “How do I know someone is not interested until I ask them?” Because, I say again, everyone is NOT your prospect!

Think about this for a minute. If everyone is a prospect that means that you are constantly “on the hunt”. Everywhere you go, everyone you meet, you are just waiting for that “in” moment so you can squeeze your schpeal in. What does this say to others about the way you do business? About it’s level of professionalism? About what they would have to do to if they joined the business too? Because you have just demonstrated exactly how you do it, right? By soliciting total strangers – or putting friends or family on the spot. It immediately projects a cheap, mickey-mouse image. It makes you into a nuisance. It turns you into that person that you smile and nod and absently murmur “mmm-hmm” too, while frantically trying to find any excuse to get away from as soon as possible.

So if everyone is not a prospect, then who IS?

The single most important lesson I have learned in my direct marketing business is that no one, and I mean NO ONE, is worth your time until they have shown an interest in what you have to offer and have asked you for more information about it.

It is not a good use of your time and energy to try to convince someone who disagrees with your way of thinking. And why expend valuable time & effort trying to force your opportunity upon someone who is entirely indifferent?

There are thousands of people out there who actually DO want to start their own business. The ones who warrant your attention are the ones who take initiative and go out of their way to try to find a way to do it. These are the people who are on the same wave-length as you. These are the people who need to hear what you have to share – who are ready to learn what you have experience in – who will seek you out and be receptive to your opportunity. These people ARE your prospects!

Click Here to Read More..

TEN TIPS FOR CHOOSING A HOME BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Make money from home in your sleep! Earn your fortune on the internet without even trying! Assemble products ~ stuff envelopes ~ pay $150 and get a list of home business opportunities ~ buy ridiculous amounts of inventory every month and hope you can sell it at a premium to your friends & family ~ earn money typing ads or selling the newest miracle juice!

If you, like me, have spent any time scouring the internet looking for the ideal way to supplement or replace your working income from home there is no doubt you have become quickly disillusioned by the preponderance of get-rich-quick claims and to good to be true promises of instant wealth and freedom. In fact, you may have experienced so many scams by now that you are skeptical that any business opportunity is what it says it is.

During my quest, I discovered an unfortunate truth:

NEED creates GREED



Think about it. Examples of this are everywhere. Take the overweight person who is desperate to find the miracle weightloss cure. Or the person with a less than stellar credit history who needs furniture. Think about the not-so-mechanically-inclined car owner whose vehicle is making ominous noises. How about the elderly who need companionship, or the ill or disabled who need healing or help to get around. And those like you and I who, for a variety of reasons, want or need to find a way make some money at home. The list goes on.

Where there is a perceived need, there are always those whose greed kicks in to scheme a way to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of others. Not an admirable trait to be sure. And one that can certainly lead those of us who have been suckered to doubt, or worse, to plain give up hope.

Luckily, for every sheister there are ten honest, decent people who seek to help without exploiting. I know this to be true, because I have experienced it myself. There may not be a miracle weightloss pill out there, but there ARE legitimate work at home business opportunities. You may not be able to make big bucks without trying, or start today and quit your day job tomorrow - but if you have faith, do your due diligence, use your head, and don't let the scammers get you down - you CAN find the right business that you will be able to be proud of.

Here are my top 10 tips for what to avoid when you are evaluating any home business opportunity:

To be successful, steer clear of companies that:

* are less than 5 years old
* will not tell you their retention and re-order rates company wide
* want you to inventory / distribute products
* want you to pay a big start-up
* require you to come up with new money that you don't already spend
* offer fad products that have no science behind them or are on their way out
* are not experiencing positive growth year after year
* have less than an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau
* make exaggerated income claims and don't publish average earnings
* risk your hard-earned money

Ask questions ~ do your research ~ don't let yourself be hassled or pressured or hard-sold ~ and most of all, don't lose hope. There ARE legitimate, successful home business opportunities available that can provide the stepping-stone to achieving your personal goals, and they are just waiting for you to find them.

Click Here to Read More..