Product development is not a task you should check off your list. That’s because it should never be completed!
What’s New?
Independent representatives and their customers expect you will offer new and improved products. Direct selling companies want their representatives to consume or use personally more of their products. Both network marketing and party plan companies recognize that the success of their representatives is based in part on selling to the same customers more than once.
Interested in learning more? Watch our informational video below.
Best Products For Direct Sales
All network marketing and party plan direct selling companies are in search of new products.
Some products are better suited for direct selling than others. Do you ever wonder about what the ideal product would look like?
We have. In all, we’ve identified 20 attributes of the ideal direct selling product.
Print out this post and use it as your Product Shopping List.
- This product is small enough to be carried by your independent representatives at all times to show to others.
- It elicits questions when people see it.
- People perceive this product to be of high value and importance in their lives.
- It’s easy to explain the product.
- Sampling the product is easy.
- It has features or benefits one can experience quickly.
- Selling this product is easy.
- This product can be labeled with your brand name.
- The value of your brand is demonstrated well with this product.
- It can be purchased more than once, preferably on a predictable schedule.
- Consumed not only by your independent representatives, this product is purchased by retail or preferred customers of your representatives.
- Your company can drop-ship this product directly to end consumers, whether independent reps or their customers.
- You know the identities of most or all of the end consumers of these products.
- Identical products are not available anywhere else but from your company and its sales reps.
- Similar products are not easy to find.
- All of the features of other products are not present in similar products.
- Other products are priced higher than your products.
- No other network marketing or party plan company sells this product today.
- Your company can obtain this product at a cost of no more than 20% of the retail customer price.
- Within 30 days of order placement, your suppliers or manufacturers can provide requested quantities of this product to your company.
Direct Selling Startup Guide
Learn What You Don’t Know
Are you building a party plan or network marketing company, or seriously thinking about it?
Your greatest challenge is that you don’t know what you don’t know. We can help you with that.
In addition to consulting with companies in the USA and around the world to build and improve their direct selling businesses, Sylvina offers an insightful 250-page “how-to” book for new and young MLM and party plan companies. Start Here: The Guide to Building and Growing Your Direct Selling Company is available now in its 5th edition.
BONUS: Each book includes one hour of consulting time for your business, a $200 bonus value.
Building and Growing Your Direct Selling Company
Take a look at what’s inside our book to see what you will learn.
Chapter 1 – Start Here!
- Using This Guide
- Answering Your Questions
Chapter 2 – Direct Selling
- Home Party Plan and Network Marketing
- Multilevel Marketing (MLM)
- Direct Selling and Internet Businesses
- Affiliate Programs
- Direct Selling Products and Services
- The Ideal Products for Direct Selling
- Qualities You Like
- Stages of Business Development
- Pilot Programs
- Part-Time, Full-Time
Chapter 3 – My Dream
- Telling Your Story
- Establishing Company Values
- Next Steps
Chapter 4 – My Team
- Building Your Team
- Team Assignments
- Interviews of Team Members
- Business Building Tasks
Chapter 5 – Goals
- Personal Goals
- Business Goals
- Next Steps
Chapter 6 – Products / Services
- Building Your Image
- Trademarks
- Your Primary Products
- Branding
- Pricing Strategies
- Sales Methods
- Selecting Your Sales Methods
- Autoship
- Your Suppliers
- The Multiplier
- Number of Products
- Product Introductions
- Your Second Product
- Training and Tools
- Income Opportunity Options
- Distribution
- Next Steps
Chapter 7 – Customers
- Product Customers
- Income Opportunity Customers
- Motivations to Join
- Attributes of Successful Independent Representatives
- Repeat Customers
- Retention
- Your Best Customers
- Next Steps
- Initial Recruiting
- Four Stories
Chapter 8 – Initial Recruiting
- Local, National, or Global Launch
- Fifteen Ways to Recruit
- Next Steps
Chapter 9 – Competitors
- Competitor Profiles
- Overall Assessment of Identified Competitors
- Next Steps
Chapter 10 – Software
- Startup Options
- Selecting A Solution Provider
- Software Shopping List
- Questions You Should Ask
- How To Be A Good Software Client
- Next Steps
Chapter 11 – Legal
- USA Regulations
- Canadian Regulations
- Why Do Companies Get Shut Down?
- Landmark Cases
- Don’t Do List
- Legal Advice
- Defining Your Legal Entity
- Sales Tax Decisions
- Managing Your Finances
- Forms
- Legal Details
- Next Steps
Chapter 12 – Business Plan
- Purposes of a Business Plan
- Business Plan Elements
- Additional Business Plan Considerations
- Compensation Plans
- Forms of Recognition
- Hostess Rewards Programs
- Leadership Development
- Next Steps
Chapter 13 – Money
- Costs to Launch Your Company
- Post-Launch Cash Needs
- Money Sources
- What Do Investors Want?
- Next Steps
Chapter 14 – Timeline
- Major Task List
- Constructing Your Timeline
Chapter 15 – Checklist
- Checklist of Assignments
- Next Steps
- The Sylvina Difference
Start here. Click below to receive your copy by US Priority Mail.
Reviews
Here are some of the comments people have shared with us about our book:
- This guide was the only place where I could find an A–Z assessment of how to start up a direct sales business. The guide was concise and thoughtful. And the one hour of consultation was the most effective hour I spent starting this business.
- I love the worksheets! You can write everything down. There is so much in here that I hadn’t considered.
- You were right there coaching and encouraging me all the way through.
- The book has opened my eyes to a lot of things that are going to need to be done to do this correctly.
- The major task list and the timeline alone were worth the price of the book.
- The Direct Selling Guide was a very useful tool in getting fast answers to the many questions I had.
- I liked the scope of the book, it made sense. It showed me from a company standpoint things I just did not know, and it reinforced in a better way things that I did know. I believe it is worth every cent and more.
- The points you made about the thought process to set prices were very helpful. The insight you gave me led me to package my products differently. I’m excited about my new packaging!
- It was an eye-opener for both of us.
- It explained things that I had never even considered.
- The StartUp Guide was exactly what I needed.
- This is an incredible source of valuable information for both startups and existing companies.
Even lawyers like our book:
What You Don’t Know
Our 250-page guide will tell you:
- how to build a direct selling company
- where to begin
- what are the tasks that need to be done
- when should you do them
- why it’s important to have a good plan
We developed our guide in response to the hundreds of calls taken throughout the years by Sylvina Consulting asking these and other questions:
- “How do I start a direct selling business?”
- “What are the tasks ahead of me?”
- “How can I find my first independent representatives?”
- “What are good products for direct selling?”
- “How do I write a direct selling business plan?”
- “What are my sales tax obligations?”
- “What type of compensation plan should I use?”
- “What are my options for initial recruiting?”
- “What should I know about Autoship?”
- “What do I need to know about MLM software?”
- “Do I really need an MLM attorney?”
- “How long will it take to launch my company?”
- “How much will it cost?”
- “What do investors want?”
- “What should I do when?”
and, most importantly:
- “What other questions should I be asking?”
In 15 information-packed chapters, Start Here offers answers to these questions and many others.
Our guide contains the essential information that you need to have a well-grounded start to build and grow your MLM or party plan company.
If you have already launched your company, our guide will answer another important question:
- “What did I miss?”
Inside Our Direct Selling Guide
Each chapter includes vital information, business building tasks, thought-provoking questions to direct you to action, examples, and suggested next steps. Topics covered include:
- About Direct Selling
- Telling Your Story
- Building Your Team
- Positioning Your Company
- Product & Income Opportunities
- Compensation Plans
- Assessment of Competitors
- Initial Recruiting
- Legal Issues
- Sales Tax
- MLM Software Options
- Business Plans
- Money
- Major Task List
- Business Building Checklists
- Pilot Program Considerations
and many more.
For more details, view the Table of Contents.
Would you like to know more about what others think of our book? Browse our Guide Comments.
While there are common elements between network marketing businesses, party plan businesses, and other types of businesses, our guide addresses the need-to-know differences.
This extraordinary guide offers not only important reading material to teach you what you need to know, but also groundwork activities at the end of each chapter to give you clarity, focus, and a path to take you to your goal.
Conclusion
If you are building or growing a home party plan or network marketing company, this guide was written for you.
The price is $299. Included with each guide is one hour of consulting for your business, a $200 bonus value.
Learn what you need to know and do to be successful. Avoid mistakes that may cost you thousands of dollars. Save valuable time and money. Grow faster.
Start here. Start now. Click below to receive your copy by US Priority Mail.
For more information about our guide or our consulting services, contact us today at 503.244.8787 or submit our information request form.
Direct Selling Edge Conference
If you’re looking to build your network marketing or party plan direct selling company faster, you need to be at the next Direct Selling Edge Conference. It’s coming up soon.
You may be asking yourself, “Why should I go to this conference?” I’ll tell you why…
Have you considered the power of just one new great idea? One idea that you don’t know just yet can make all the difference to your company.
At the Direct Selling Edge Conference, you’ll hear two full days’ worth of them.
Do you know 100% of what you need to know to have a successful growing company, or do you need to know more? What are you doing to learn what you don’t know yet?
About The Direct Selling Edge Conference
Held since 2011, the Direct Selling Edge Conference is a direct selling school for companies like yours.
Our faculty members drill down very deeply into the most important topics everyone needs to know more about. Topics covered in depth include compensation plan design (two sessions), legal issues (two sessions), social media, recruiting, founder programs, project management, how direct sellers think, compliance, and software.
You will also have an opportunity to ask questions of our speaker panel where we answer as many questions as possible.
At the end of both days, there are two hours of private appointment times reserved when you can meet with conference faculty members. This is free consulting for your company, with an added bonus of conference registration.
If you haven’t yet attended one, you should attend the next Direct Selling Edge Conference!
Just A Few Attendee Comments
- “The price of this event is a bargain. I have paid thousands of dollars more to attend conferences that were less informative, less instructive, and less friendly.”
- “I went to another company’s conference last spring. I learned more in the first two hours of this conference than I learned in two days with the other one. The content shared was detailed and specific.”
- “We have been in business for a few years. This conference is a must not just for startups. The quality and knowledge of this conference’s speakers are simply amazing. It blew my expectations!”
- “The information presented at DS Edge was worth 10 times what I paid to attend.”
- “I came to this conference two years later than I should have. Had I come two years earlier, I would have saved over $100,000 AND two years.”
More Attendee Comments
Discover what others have told us about their Direct Selling Edge experience, here!
Conclusion
New product introductions are essential to the success of all direct selling companies. Whether yours is a party plan company or a network marketing company, product development is a task that is never done.
For further information, contact us at 503.244.8787.
Jay Leisner, the President of Sylvina Consulting, is a top compensation plan and direct selling expert, a trusted adviser to new and established network marketing and party plan companies. For more than 30 years, Jay has enjoyed assessing and improving network marketing, party plan and referral marketing companies across the globe.
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