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TOP DESK- WFDSA: Making the LEAP
Baby Steps: Lessons Learned
The ART of Selling: It's Not Just for Salespeople

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Top Desk -
WFDSA: Making the LEAP
by Truman Hunt

Direct selling is a $100 billion global industry that enables nearly 55 million people around the world to pursue their financial and lifestyle goals. Direct selling companies have much in common. Our sales leaders are the world’s most remarkable people— entrepreneurs, optimists and inspiring people who dedicate every day to improving themselves, motivating others and making the world a better place.

Direct selling is growing at a faster pace than traditional retail channels around the world and generates significant economic impact. Experts estimate that direct selling companies create $47 billion of income annually for their distributors. Add to that the $52 billion impact to third-party suppliers, vendors, landlords and the like, and direct selling impacts world economies to the tune of approximately $100 billion per year.

Direct sellers are also becoming more customersavvy. Industry titan Avon Products leads the way with a new level of consumer-centric thinking that rivals the practices of the world’s best marketers and brand builders. And my assessment of the quality of products and services being delivered by direct selling companies leaves me confident that direct sellers are producing more innovative, differentiated, life-enhancing goods than our traditional distribution rivals.

Doing Good Deeds
Also stunning is the good our companies do along the way. In fact, direct selling companies are remarkably similar in their desire to be a “force for good.” In Nu Skin’s case, for example, we are fiercely proud of our Nourish the Children Initiative, which has provided more than 35 million nutritious meals to starving children since being launched just three years ago. And Nu Skin is not alone. Industry sources estimate that in 2003, direct selling companies in the United States alone provided some $100 million of support to global humanitarian efforts. Direct sellers make a meaningful difference in the world.

And we have only scratched the surface of our potential. Major world markets like China, Russia, India, Indonesia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe are all new to direct selling. Consider China, where a recent survey noted that 48 percent of the Chinese citizens surveyed expressed interest in pursuing a direct selling business. That is 624 million people! Is there a market for what direct selling companies offer? I think so.

Yet despite our outstanding success and bright prospects, direct selling continues to wage a battle for credibility and trust.

I see three primary threats to our businesses today: 1) Regulatory opposition toward direct selling that results from misunderstanding the economics associated with our business opportunities and from perceptions of unethical, get-rich-quick schemes that take advantage of consumers; 2) Consumer hostility that sometimes results when individuals have a distasteful experience with a direct selling venture; and 3) Overly critical media skepticism of direct selling companies that is often falsely based on isolated incidents of unethical behavior or outlandish product claims from a few disreputable players whose activities do not represent the industry as a whole.

While we will never satisfy all of the cynics, we must address the threats before us in order to reach new heights and achieve the image and reputation we deserve. All direct selling companies, regardless of product category and compensation model, must unite around four key objectives to make the leap toward the stature we seek to achieve. I identify these objectives with the acronym “LEAP”:

L: Local Direct Selling Associations
When former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev addressed the recent WFDSA World Congress in London, he noted that organizations banding together behind common goals make a tremendous difference in the world. We must unite together by strengthening our local direct selling associations. Increased DSA membership and participation will enhance the profiles, roles and credibility of our industry organizations. We can do much more with our collective resources than we can do on our own.

E: Ethics
I have yet to meet anyone involved in our industry who seeks to be associated with stigmas or pyramid schemes. We all want our legacy to be one of honesty, integrity and fairness. We must reverse any inaccurate perceptions of our businesses by strengthening our commitment to operate with unquestionable ethics. We need to promote our industry Code of Ethics among member companies, the media, regulators, consumer groups and—most importantly—within our sales forces. I believe that 99 percent of our ethical challenges come from 1 percent of our sales representatives who misrepresent what we do. Let’s chase these bad actors out of our companies. We don’t need them. In fact, we can’t afford to deal with them.

A: Address Key Audiences
Winston Churchill noted, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” In general, media DNA is programmed to be cynical and skeptical. To combat this reality, we need to consistently and aggressivelycollect and share good news about direct selling with member companies globally. Each of our companies can then distribute this information to their local media. In addition, companies can share good news with their respective sales forces to use as a part of local sales efforts. Our sales forces are secret—and often unused—weapons in the battle to raise the profile of direct selling. There is plenty of good news for us to promote, but we have yet to do so. The WFDSA will work to get this effort started. Our CEO Council and U.S. DSA Board of Directors have also endorsed a long-term image enhancement campaign that will promote the positive impact of direct selling. Given the magnitude of the good we are doing, I find it very conceivable that we might even enjoy a “tipping point” phenomenon with respect to our reputation.

P: Protect the Industry from Regulatory Hostility
Potential regulatory hostility is our most formidable risk—whether directed toward our channel or toward our product categories. There seem to be too many “Inspector Javerts” in the world, chasing direct selling “bogeymen” that seldom exist. To combat hostile regulations, the WFDSA is assembling a new Regulatory Affairs Committee that will develop a model regulatory framework for the direct selling industry and promote this framework to regulators through local direct selling associations.

We must also be willing to confront some of the “brutal facts” about our industry. DSA policies can be refined on issues such as compensation plan components, average earnings disclosures, product return policies, cooling-off periods, training fees and sales aid purchase requirements.

It will take our unified focus for direct selling to LEAP into the future and take its rightful place in the global economy. I look forward to the day when we enjoy the reputation we deserve and when consumers look to direct selling as a benchmark of integrity. I believe that through our collective effort, that day is not far off.

In October 2005, Truman Hunt, president and chief executive officer of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., was elected chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA). As chairman, Mr. Hunt is dedicated to the health and continued growth of direct selling companies worldwide. His vision is to accelerate the growth of the industry by building bridges of understanding and by increasing the stature and credibility of direct selling companies.

Baby Steps:
Lessons Learned

It began for us like it did for many of you— with a good idea. For us, Baby Splendor was born from two overwhelmed, sleep-deprived new moms who wanted to make things easier for millions like us by creating a convenient way to purchase innovative baby products. This was our vision. It has since become our story. And the more we learned about the direct selling method of distribution, with its unique and personal way of selling, the more we knew that this was the best way to realize this vision and tell our story.

The old adage was, “If you build it, they will come.” We were encouraged when our first party brought in more than $1,000 in sales. We also knew that there was a lot more work ahead of us. At many times it seemed daunting and overwhelming, and in those early months we often wondered what it was that we had ventured into. We had given up a successful public relations business, and it was sometimes difficult not to look back. We were greatly encouraged when Jim Northrop, President of Princess House, told us that while it’s a long climb, the rewards are much greater. This is not something one can learn at a DSA seminar, but only by traveling the path.

The purpose of this article is not to tell you how to navigate that path. That’s better left to industry experts, such as Alan Luce, and the many accomplished companies that grace our industry. However, what we can share with you—from one pioneer to another—are some of the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Join the DSA.
When we first started out, we turned to Alan Luce, President of Luce and Associates, for advice. Alan said, “If there’s one thing you do, get yourself to the DSA annual meeting.” While this didn’t sound like the magical answer we were looking for, it was some of the best advice we have received. In life as well as business, it’s important to surround yourself with people who support you and can help you reach your goals, and the DSA offers this opportunity. There is so much that can be learned from others in the business, and one of the things that makes this industry so unique is the willingness of other companies to help newcomers. Alan and countless others were patient with our questions and honest in their feedback. It was also through the DSA that we first met Jim Northrop of Princess House. Northrop and his management team, including Dan Murphy and Glenn Allen, went on to become trusted advisors and that relationship has now flourished into a partnership that is supporting the growth of our businesses. The DSA brings together companies in such a way that anything is possible.

Use the resources available to you.
For us, one of the exciting aspects of starting a new business is being able to see what is available to you and making it work. In the last two years, our basements became our warehouses, our cars our delivery trucks, our children our catalog models, our husbands our IT department, and a sisterin- law our invaluable bookkeeper. We raised seed money from family and friends, and when we launched Baby Boost, our new line of immune-boosting baby products, we had to look no further than our backyard, where Princess House could support our impending growth spurt. Use the resources that are available to you today before deciding which ones you may need tomorrow.

Slow down.
In her book about Creative Memories, Cheryl Lightle talks about operating from least to most. “Start slow, build as you grow.” This simple but wise advice has become one of the core guiding principles of our business. Like many young companies, we got caught up in fantasies of extravagant incentive trips, complex compensation plans, whiz-bang software systems and slick training videos. We rushed to arrange a fabulous incentive trip to a top spa resort that nobody earned. We printed a beautiful catalog that was so slick that our sales consultants couldn’t afford to hand them out to their customers. Not only did this force us to stretch beyond our means, but we risked setting expectations that we weren’t able to live up to. One of the great things about being a young, growing company is that you can do much more with less. Sales orders can be calculated in Excel and tracked in QuickBooks. Dinner at the founder’s house can be as exciting as an expensive incentive trip. By operating from least to most, we not only operate within our means but have the luxury of implementing new products or services only as we really need them.

Don’t let your sales force pressure you.
In his course Direct Selling 101, one of the key messages that Alan Luce imparts is that direct sellers are a volunteer sales force. Our consultants are with us because they choose to be, and it is our obligation to make business decisions that are in their best interest. These decisions can be difficult, particularly when you begin to attract more experienced direct sellers that may measure you against other opportunities. We sometimes felt pressured, and in doing so we had lost sight of what makes our opportunity so unique in the first place. As an emerging start-up, you offer something with unlimited potential—a ground-floor opportunity and a chance to shape the future of an exciting, new company.

Don’t undervalue yourself.
The most successful entrepreneurs don’t limit themselves by what history or people say to them. When we were first starting out, someone had once said to us “you’re no Doris Christopher.” True. However, the industry is filled with success stories, each one of them unique. That’s what keeps the industry growing. We offer products that help parents raise happier, healthier babies. This is our mission. And our mission is what draws our consultants—most of them mothers themselves—to Baby Splendor. We also offer them the unique opportunity to become “Mompreneurs”—to have a career that is not only family-friendly, but family-focused. We are extremely proud of who we are and the unique opportunity that we offer. You should be proud of what you do, too.

Reserve the right to make mistakes.
As a startup, it’s easy to feel that making a mistake at this early stage could trigger the downfall of your company. In the beginning, we were paralyzed by notions of perfection. As a result, we took cautious, measured steps. This sounds like a prudent strategy, but by taking such tiny steps we were actually inhibiting our own growth. A toddler learns how to walk by stumbling and falling. Stumbling and falling are not only natural; they are positive, educational acts in business. Your best-learned lessons are often a result of mistakes you’ve made along the way. By learning from these mistakes we become masters of adjusting our course.

Be willing to change your course.
Last fall we received a phone call from a group of doctors and scientists who had invented a new fabric technology. Based on the latest research, this fabric helps prevent babies from ever developing allergies and asthma—diseases that have become epidemic throughout the country, particularly in children under the age of five. Since we weren’t focused on health-related products, we could have told them that they had the wrong company, and let them take their opportunity elsewhere. However, what better way to sell products like these than through the personal, one-to-one education that only direct sales can offer? One year later, Baby Boost has become our exclusive flagship product, and we have experienced tremendous interest from around the world. Our company has received international media exposure and opportunities have opened up that might not have otherwise. If we weren’t paying attention and willing to be flexible, we could have easily missed that. Opportunities don’t land in the laps of the lucky, but rather are seized by those who keep a watchful eye, and an open mind.

Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know.
In life and in business, being the newcomer can be intimidating. It is easy to feel like everyone knows what to do except for you. However, there is no magic formula. We are all continually learning, and no one company possesses the magical recipe for success. There are many ways to get to the finish line, and you need to learn as much as you can so you can choose the course that is best for your company. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. We are fortunate to be part of an industry where companies are more than willing to share their successes as well as their mistakes.

Have a sense of humor.
When we accidentally mailed our telephone receiver with a party order, we were horrified. Then we laughed. When a baby puked on us minutes before a sales meeting, forcing us to present while wearing nothing but trench coats, we were humiliated. And again, we laughed. The business did not come crashing down upon us—in fact, we found that it helped. Not only are we having fun in business, but we are fun to do business with. Remember, “Humor bridges the gap between the perfection we seek and the imperfections we’re stuck with.” It allows us to change our perspective, look at things differently, and take a detached view of situations that might otherwise overwhelm us. And that’s a solid business asset. Take your business seriously, but not yourself.

Have patience.
It’s easy to get impatient or discouraged, particularly when you have put so much at stake to pursue your dream. Like many passionate entrepreneurs, we were overanxious— we wanted to do it all now, throw our business into high gear and become an overnight success. We had to shift our thinking from immediate revenue and customers to long-term stability. After all, we expect to be around for a while. With patience and persistence, you’ll get there. We’re still having fun getting there. At the 2005 DSA meeting, we had pictures of ourselves taken in spacesuits. These photos currently hang on our refrigerators, where they not only entertain our families, but remind us that there are no limits to what we can accomplish. As a start-up, nothing is beyond your reach if you are willing to shoot for it. So cheers to our fellow astronauts—we’ll see you on the moon.

Julie Gordon and Kelly Majewski are Co-Founders of Baby Splendor, a direct seller of innovative products for happy, healthy babies. The company’s flagship product line, Baby Boost, is designed by leading doctors and scientists to reduce childhood allergies and asthma—a growing epidemic, particularly in children under the age of five. For more information about Baby Splendor, please contact Gordon or Majewski at info@babysplendor.com or visit www.babysplendor.com.

The ART of Selling: It's Not Just for Salespeople
by Jan Gilmore

Selling, the art of persuasion, is evident in every area of our lives. Each product made— and almost all services—must be sold. In truth, I believe that without salespeople the world would stop.

Regardless of the title on your business card, you are in the selling business. Now perhaps you’re thinking, “Not me! I’m an executive. I’m no salesperson.” But consider this: Do you have to explain ideas and make your point clear to ensure that your message is well received? If your response is yes, then you are in sales.

Whether you realize it or not, everyone sells. If you have ever made a friend, you have sold your personality. If you have won an argument, you have sold your side of the issue. If you have been promoted at work, you have sold your skills and were rewarded for it. The examples are endless, but you get the point. Whether we admit it or not, selling is something every one of us does.

Since we all are engaged in the business of selling, it makes sense to learn a little about the art and skill of persuasion. Your ability to sell yourself, your ideas and your products will determine your success in business— particularly in a direct selling business. This industry in particular is a people business, a feelings business. When working with distributors, you cannot just tell them to do something. In most instances, you have to sell them on the idea of doing it.

The first rule for success in sales is to have an absolute belief in your product and its benefits. The same is true for ideas that you want your sales force to accept. You must believe in the concept and that if your consultants embrace it, they will truly benefit.

What Is Selling?
Selling involves persuading someone to think about an idea the way you do, to accept your point of view and then to act on that idea. Selling comes naturally when you believe in a product or service so strongly that you feel compelled to tell others about it. Selling isn’t just explaining, but rather sharing an idea with enthusiasm because of the benefits that the idea offers. Selling paints word pictures that illustrate what owning the product or embracing the idea will mean to the recipient.

So, selling persuades. And the art of selling is presenting ideas or products in such a way that others are persuaded to your point of view.

So, How Do You Sell?
You need to sell yourself. Sell your personality. Sell your “you-ness.” Establish a need, use, value or problem, or create a want or desire.Sell the solution that meets the need or solves the problem.

Step 1 How do you sell yourself? How do you establish yourself as someone who people feel they can trust?

(a) Build a rapport with people by asking questions and finding out about them.
(b) Listen to what they tell you. Remember what they said and reflect it back to them in the conversation.
(c) Don’t talk too much about yourself.

In other words, treat people as you would like to be treated. It sounds like common sense and good manners, doesn’t it? It is!

Step 2 How do you establish a problem, need, use, value, or create a want or desire?

(a) Ask questions that uncover the person’s needs or desires.
(b) Probe for a problem, need or use.
(c) Continue building on that need or use.

If there is no perceived need or problem to be solved, and you cannot establish one, there is no rationale for the person to purchase your product or adopt your idea. Asking questions that help you understand what the person values will help you determine a void that your product or service can fill.

Step 3 Once you have established a need or problem, sell the solution.

(a) Demonstrate that your product can meet the need or solve the problem.
(b) Get agreement from the individual that your solution fits their need.
(c) Close the sale by asking for the order or the appropriate action.

Success in selling is simply a matter of making sure you complete the first two steps thoroughly. Getting a lot of little “yeses” along the way will lead to the final “yes” when you close the sale and ask for the decision.

Now that you understand the basics of selling, I hope you realize you are not just an executive, you are also in sales. This simple technique will help you communicate—sell—new ideas to your consultants, just as it will help them sell the products or services your company offers.

Build a rapport, find a need and offer a solution with belief and enthusiasm and you’ll be on your way to mastering the art of selling. Good Luck and Good Selling!

Jan Gilmore has more than 35 years’ experience, including positions as President and Executive Vice President of two highly successful direct selling companies in North America and Australia. She has vast field experience in sales, recruiting and building leadership, and is a recognized motivational speaker. Jan currently works with Party Plan Solutions as a Motivation & Business Strategist, helping new and experienced party plan companies to succeed. She can be reached at www.PartyPlanSolutions.com.

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