Direct Selling: Pick a Company

The first step on your journey through direct selling is to pick a company. For those of you who read my story last week, you will know that the company picked me. It isn't always that way so here are a few things to think about when deciding which company you want to work for:

A product you like: When you like the product and believe in the company, it truly will not feel like you are working. I'm not a fan of anything related to sales as I greatly dislike being pushy but I've found Tupperware sells itself mostly because I believe in the product. Think about products you like or genres that interest you and go from there.

Competition: I have nothing against Mary Kay (in fact, I own several of their products) but in my area, their sales force seems to be saturated. Keep this in mind as you don't want to be competing with too many of your colleagues. It does help to have some sales force in your area as you learn from each other, but if the market is too saturated, check out another company.

Start up costs: Every company is different as to start up costs so investigate this when looking at a company. With Tupperware, you can start with as little as $79.99. The kit comes with many of the most wanted items too so it is a great value. Some companies require you to keep an inventory and that start up cost can be high so keep that in mind.

Contract details: Explore the fine print and talk to someone who is currently selling for this company to see what it takes to remain a member of the sales force. Some companies have high quotas while others are low. With Tupperware, your only commitment is to hold one party and sell $450, preferrably within the first 30 days. After that, you are free to quit. To remain active, you need to sell $250 every 4 months. That is a pretty low amount compared to some companies.

Discounts: Since you will be selling a product you like, check out what your discount is. You are in this to make money but you will want to buy some of the product for yourself too. Tupperware has a standard discount of 25% with samples being 35%. The best part is this is 25% off sale prices too. Bonuses are also available almost weekly so it is easy to earn free or deeply discounted product. These make great gifts or can add to your start up kit for demonstrating.

Profit Potential: Of course, your first thought on all of this was probably "how much am I going to make". Yes, this is important, but do not pick a company solely on this as there is so much more to the equation than just money. Most direct selling companies pay you a comission of 10-50%. Check out what the average party amount is and how much work is actually involved to get a good look at your profit potential.

Stay tuned as I continue this series in the weeks to come. Again, if you have any questions about direct selling or Tupperware, please leave a comment or email me so I can address them in this series.