Many of the women I meet are involved with direct sales companies, either in addition to or instead of providing direct services to clients. To help you decide whether direct sales is right for you, I’m pleased to welcome back Deb Bixler, a direct sales expert who has been a guest blogger here several times before.

Most people have dreamed of becoming their own boss by starting a business. Direct sales can be the simple answer to saying goodbye to the ole’ 9-5 for good!

The direct selling industry is very similar to a franchise and yet much more affordable.

While a franchisee may pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get started, a new direct sales distributor, depending on the company, may have no monetary investment or a kit investment of a couple of hundred dollars.

Like a franchise, direct sales consultants are provided with an existing product line, training, support and a recognized national brand, among other things.

Find A Direct Sales Match

When considering joining a direct sales company, first consider your passions, hobbies and skills. Spend a couple of days just jotting down the many things you do and enjoy.

Companies which support those attributes will be the best match for you.

• If you like to organize, join a company that has a product or service that will use that skill.
• If you are a great cook, you may like to consider one that sells cooking tools or seasonings.

Once you know the product type or direct sales niche you that would be compatible with your personality, start looking at the many companies available.

Pick out 2-4 that appeal to you the most then once you have narrowed your search down to a few compatible companies look into their consultant requirements.

• What are the sales minimums?
• What is the commission percentage?
• What is the show average?
• What kind of support will you get?

There are many questions you could ask, so do your research before signing on the dotted line.  Create a list of questions that are important to you and talk to someone already working in the company.

Ask questions that give you the information you want and be sure that you compare apples to apples!! 50% commission of a $100 show is not as good as a 20% commission of a $1000 show!

Do You Have What It Takes?

When you work for yourself you have a good bit of control over your earnings, hours and day to day activities. This is one of the greatest appeals of the direct sales industry.

You are in business for yourself so you can do whatever you want for the most part.

When you join a direct sales company a lot of the heavy lifting as far as setting up systems and branding is already done for you but it is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Chances are they invested a good bit of time and money in creating duplicate-able systems for the field distributors to use.

The most successful distributors do!!

Everything good involves effort and working from home is the same.  The same skills that you apply at your JOB will need to be applied to your home business as well.

The difference though is that no one will be telling you to do so…..

If you are not willing to get up and go to work each day then chances are direct sales is not the industry for you.

Do you have what it takes to get up every day and work your business without anyone telling you that you have to?

Direct sales is a simple system that works for anyone who works it! Many do not succeed because they cannot work without the structure of the JOB!

Do you have what it takes? Only you can answer that…. but if you can:

• Pick a comparable company!
• Use the duplicate-able systems they have already put in place.
• Treat your home business with the same professionalism that you treat your real job.

Then the answer is YES: direct sales IS for you!

Learn more about how to pick a party plan company that matches your personality in one of the many how-to guides related to the world of direct selling at Deb Bixler’s website.

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