Direct Sales

Top 10 Resources for Selecting Direct Sales Opportunities
By Roger Staubus

Direct Sales Home Business Opportunities are very popular and direct sales in terms of dollars and numbers of people are much larger than most people realize.  Sales in the U.S. have doubled in the last decade to $25 billion and more than $82 billion worldwide.  These statistics are from the Fact Sheet (http://www.dsa.org/research/04gofactsheet.pdf).

The Direct Selling Association (http://www.dsa.org/)is the first resource to research. Then, the Fact Sheet mentioned above.

The third is the "Benefits of Direct Selling" (http://www.dsa.org/selling/benefits.htm), which shows some of the popular reasons people choose direct selling-

* Direct selling is a good way to meet and socialize with new people.
* Direct selling offers flexible work schedules for many people.
* Direct selling is an excellent way to earn extra income.
* Direct selling is a good way to own your own business.
* Earnings are in direct proportion to efforts.

In addition, people like to shop through direct selling, with recent surveys indicating 55% of Americans have purchased goods or services through direct sales.  This is more than the number who have purchased through television shopping and on-line computer services combined.

Member companies (150 of them) adhere to the DSA Code of Ethics, which is significant both for individuals representing a company and consumers who buy products from the company.  There are also criteria listed at this site for what to check for to make sure the opportunity is a legitimate one.

An opportunity seeker should also search to determine whether the company is a member of DSA or not.  On the web site, one can review all the member companies.

The Big Book of Direct Sales Careers
(http://www.bigbookofdirectsales.com/final_book_ebook.pdf)
Here, an individual can review specific companies that offer direct sales opportunities.  Some of the resources available are 1) Top 10 Highest Commission Companies, 2) Top 10 Most Unique Products, and 3) a Quick Comparison Chart that compares four items for all the companies listed in the e-book, which is a large one.  The four items are 1) Product, 2) Retail Commissions, 3) Downline Commissions, and 4) Starter Kit Cost.

There is also a list of questions for opportunity seekers to ask before signing up to sell the products.  Some of the better ones are-

* How long has your Company been in business?
* How many consultants does your Company have worldwide?
* How much does the basic starter kit cost and what is its retail value?
* What is your Company's main sales method?
* What kinds of training does your Company provide?
* Is your Company a member of the Direct Selling Organization? (See above)
* Do consultants have their own Company affiliated website?
* Do consultants have to maintain their own inventory?
* What percent commission do consultants earn?
* What percent commission do consultants earn on recruits?

There are 191 pages in this PDF e-book, and it is a very good resource for anyone considering a direct sales opportunity. An additional item to consider is to talk with someone who is a consultant for the Company to get their view of the positive and negative factors that will be encountered.

The next resource is a "New Approach for Rating Home Biz Opportunities" available at the link below.
(http://www.goodhomebizopp.info/ratebiz.html) This approach rates 11 major attributes and 7 minor attributes for selecting a home business opportunity.  In addition, 52 questions or considerations are listed for the basis of the 11 major and 7 minor attributes used.

"A Top Rated Home Business For Mom!" (http://www.articlealley.com/article_11956_15.html) provides an example of a direct sales home business opportunity rated using the New Approach mentioned above for a Company that is a member of the Direct Selling Association.

The next resource is an article entitled "10 Tips for Choosing the Right Direct Sales Company" by Susie Cortright (http://www.halife.com/business/direct_sales.html).  One of the questions she suggests is "Does this company involve a business you are truly passionate about?"  I think this is a very good question for anyone considering a specific company.

Also, another article "Which Direct Sales Company is Right for Me?" by Stefanie Fauquet also has a list of good questions, and she advises to look carefully at the quality of the products involved.
(http://www.ezinearticles.com?Which-Direct-Sales-Company-is-Right-for-Me?&id=76651)

The next resource link is a Direct Sales Company Directory (http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/direct-sales/) which provides good information about specific companies.

The final resource is a site that reviews Direct Sales Companies for individuals seeking a good one.  (http://www.mommysplace.net/direct_sales_companies.html)

To summarize, the 10 resources listed above are ones that anyone seeking a direct sales home business opportunity should use extensively before investing time and money in a specific opportunity.

Copyright 2005 Roger Staubus

Roger Staubus CPA http://www.goodhomebizopp.info/index.html

Author of the Free e-Book "Looking for a Good Home Biz?" and author of two previous articles, "New Approach for Rating Home Biz Opportunities" and "A Top Rated Home Business For Mom!"

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Staubus http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-10-Resources-for-Selecting-Direct-Sales-Opportunities&id=84053

Confessions of a Kleeneze Agent    

Beware of PITA's         

Yes it's true, I was once a Kleeneze agent and do you know I quite enjoyed it. It was a few years ago now and I'd been made redundant. There was nothing new in that, I was just one of the zillions who found the going getting tougher under Mrs T.

After applying for fifty jobs without so much as landing a single interview, I came across an advertisement for Kleeneze agents in a local job paper. I knew of the company of course, who didn't, but I was quite surprised when I received all the bumf and a sample catalogue. Most of the stuff was pretty good too, the case, the video, it was just well, surely no one would buy black bin bags and yellow dusters from a door to door salesman?

Needs must! No sign of a job, and my savings were rapidly running down. It's funny but when you are in work and you look in your building society book and see several thousand pounds of savings you think "mmm, I'm doing alright there, a few bob behind me now!" But as soon as you lose your regular pay cheque, it's amazing how quickly those savings diminish, and how paltry they suddenly appear to be.

The nightmarish thought flashes into your mind. 'What the heck am I going to do when those savings run out?' It gives you sleepless nights, and cold sweats I can tell you. Anyway, enough of those negative thoughts, let's turn back to the K thing. My hundred catalogues duly arrived and I set about sticking my gold labels on the back.  I was in a hurry you see, now I had them, I wanted them out on the streets earning their keep. An undelivered catalogue is a dead cxatalogue, so the mantra said.

The sun was shining and I left the house, accompanied by my supportive lady who assured me we were only hours away from picking up orders aplenty. I didn't dare tell her I thought it was a waste of time, but what did I know and what did I have that was any better? Nowt, that's what.

The catalogues went through the doors and three days later we called back just as they recommended. Friday teatime, pay day, the day when there's cash about and people feel better with the weekend ahead. The first thirty collected catalogues produced.....absolutely nothing.....those that we could recover that is, the ones we couldn't get back were lost forever and would have to replaced at my expense.

Then lo and behold at catalogue number 31 a dear old lady gave me an order. And guess what for? Black bin bags, I kid you not. I don't know whether she felt sorry for me or just couldn't be bothered to wander down to the shops. When I delivered the bin bags, she bought something else too. Yellow dusters! My oh my!

And the orders started to come, truly they did, a trickle at first it has to be said but no less than promised in the manuals. An egg slicer here, a wet spoon stand there, and they all add up, of course they do. If you need to earn cash,  if you ever need to start over again, then there is no doubt that this agency does work, especially if you can find a locality that hasn't been touched for a long time. You might find that harder than you might think, because there is a veritable army of Kleeneze operatives out there, but if you can, you really could make some good money, especially if you can recruit one or two good recruits to work under you.

With Kleeneze being the oldest multi-level marketing company in Europe you receive a commission on all the sales that your recruits make as well as your own, and on their recruits too. If you can build up a big enough group you can build up a substantial income. There's no doubting that.

So why aren't I still doing it today? The Great British public, that's why. Anyone who has had to deal on a daily basis with the GBP will probably know what I mean. It's not all of them, of course not, but there is a minority, and it has to be said, a growing minority of PITA's knocking about. (What's a PITA?) Pain In The..., well you get the picture.

There's the PITA who glares at you as soon as you open his  front gate as if you are a child molester or are about to repossess his grotty house. The PITA who is convinced you are a burglar and whose first action is to pick up a baseball bat and waggle it in your direction, the PITA who just knows you're carrying on with his wife and he'll give you what for, the PITA who thinks it's funny to set his PITA dog on you, and worst of all the PITA who smiles encouragingly and places an order just to get rid of you,  and then rarely keeps the appointment when you return to deliver the goods, and when you do catch him in, at the fourth attempt, he jabs his finger through the first black bin bag and says "they're not very strong are they. I aint paying for them!"

Yes after a while dealing with the PITA's of this world, they got the better of me. I was lucky too, a good job came along and my catalogues were retired, battered, some of their friends missing in action, and who knows resting to fight another day, should the need ever arise.

So can you make money being a Kleeneze agent?  Yes, the answer is a definite YES.  It helps if you are reasonably fit, are thick skinned, can keep a smile on your face despite numerous knockbacks, and most of all, are determined,  which of course is the one single asset that most really successful business people always possess. Determination, and lots of it.  If you have that, you will certainly succeed. But if you have that quality in the first place, my guess is, you will succeed in another field.  Don't let me put you off, if you need to earn money,  you can, doing this, and if my world suddenly came crashing down, I would certainly consider starting all over again, smiling at PITA's and praying for an order.  Best of luck in whatever you decide.

If you want to find out more about how you can become a Kleeneze agent  contact them now on www.kleeneze.com  

This article is the copyright of Pebble Beach Media. www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk  It may be reproduced but only on condition it is reproduced in its entirety up to and including this point 2004.

ZERO COST Advertising! Unlimited FREE Business Leads, Absolutely NO COST Whatsoever, GUARANTEED 100% FREE... Do you need FREE Business Opportunity Leads? * 100% FREE, zero cost, zilch, nada! * No credit card required * No checkbook needed Our hugely successful FREEnetleads.com database builder is the 'MUST HAVE' advertising tool for all on-line marketers. >>> Inescapable FACT #1<<< Without exception, all successful marketers will attribute their fortune to 'The List' "Running a business without an opt-in database is like trying to win an Olympic swimming title wearing lead boots!". Join us TODAY for FREE and you will immediately receive your own awesomely compelling, referral website your own popunder website which presents YOUR CURRENT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. FREE! YOU are invited to use our revolutionary database building service for FREE... Send YOUR OWN advertisement by e-mail to your entire unlimited width x 6 deep forced matrix, twice per week… FREE! We invite you to take a look...ZERO COST We want you to join...ZERO COST We want you to generate UNLIMITED FREE LEADS ...ZERO COST You can even earn commissions...ZERO COST!!! We want you to join us, a rapidly growing army of Internet Marketers here: http://www.freenetleads.com/free/1138car Another Internet first; another quality, FREE service that will assist you to develop and expand any Internet business. Signs ups are flooding in, and they could be visiting your site today! Regards FREEnetleads