Industry News

Stories in this section:
Direct Selling: A Future without Boundaries
DSA Launches Image Enhancement Plan
DSEF: Building Bridges of Understanding
Industry with Heart: XanGo
Young Company Focus: Sensaria

DSEF: Building Bridges of Understanding

With the phenomenal growth of direct selling over the last two decades, it is even more imperative that the industry work to improve the public perception of direct selling-both as a viable channel of distribution and as a business opportunity with the potential to change people's lives.

Since 1973, the Direct Selling Education Foundation has-through a variety of constituencies, including consumer advocates, university professors and students, entrepreneurs and community leaders in the United States and abroad-consistently encouraged public awareness and acceptance of the direct selling industry, The Foundation promotes awareness and appreciation of the industry through a Consumer Program and an Academic Program.

Bettie Smith, the Director of Consumer & Community Programs, says that at the inception of the program, consumer activists not only misunderstood direct selling, but were actively lobbying to restrict the industry's activities. "As a result," she says, "in 1978, DSEF's board made an all-out commitment to a long-term program of cooperation with consumer leaders. The ultimate purpose of the program is to facilitate dialogue and understanding on the part of each 'sector' with the other. To gain the trust of consumer leaders and to demonstrate their commitment to the 'public interest,' DSEF's board made the decision to support consumer leaders in their work to ensure that consumers better understand their rights and responsibilities in the marketplace."

There are four major objectives to DSEF's consumer program: (1) To support the consumer movement, (2) to position direct sellers as good corporate citizens, (3) to serve as a catalyst and facilitator for growth and change, and (4) to continue to build and strengthen relationships with influential and key consumer and public policy leaders worldwide. To accomplish this goal, the focus of the program is on global consumer protection and education issues of most concern to consumer and community leaders- diverse issues that include ethics, privacy, women's health, work and family concerns, Internet scams and pyramid schemes.

"All of our consumer programs are developed with the advice of key consumer leaders, including the two consumer leaders on our board of directors. Participants in our programs include government and nongovernment leaders, public policy officials, educators, social and community activists, media representatives and religious leaders," says Smith. "You can see the 'public interest' is being well served!"

With respect to integrity and commitment to ethical marketplace behavior, the Foundation's ongoing consumer programs have helped to solidify the reputation and image of the direct selling industry. Direct sellers have earned the respect of consumer leaders who now look to the industry to help them address national and international consumer concerns. "By fostering relationships with the consumer leaders, direct sellers can get an early alert on legislation and regulations," Smith says. "Additionally, consumer advocates can work directly with the DSA to resolve issues rather than going to the government or media."

In the next few months, DSEF is implementing several initiatives as part of their consumer program:

• DSEF is working with the National Consumers League (www.nclnet.org), one of the Foundation's main partners in the consumer movement, to develop an Identity Theft Template that will go on DSEF's Web site. The template will provide information about identity theft for the public as well as direct selling companies. The template will include the latest tips for consumers in a brochure format so that companies can do their own printing and personalize the tips with
• DSEF is supporting a March 29 prime time television program on identify theft hosted by the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs in Columbia, S.C. There will also be a follow-up Web cast.
• DSEF is sponsoring a Campus Program with Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in March. The co-host is former DSEF board member Dr. Lawrence Chonko, of the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor. This program is designed to allow business and other professional students to experience firsthand the insights of consumer advocates and direct sellers on relevant consumer and business issues.

On the international front, DSEF's work supports the World Federation of Direct Selling Association's (WFDSA) public education initiatives, including its Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Consumer Education and Protection Initiative (APEC CEPI). The CEPI program, launched in 1998, is an official APEC public-private partnership between WFDSA, DSEF and the APEC economies. The program is similar to DSEF's domestic programs in that it brings together consumer, business, government and educational leaders to discuss and act on current and emerging consumer protection and community issues. "The goal of the program is to create an environment where entrepreneurs and small businesses can flourish by enhancing consumer protection through education and sharing expertise, resources and information," says Smith. The most recent international program was sponsored with the Korean DSA in partnership with the Korean Fair Trade Commission on December 15, 2005, in Seoul, South Korea.

The Foundation is also active in the academic community and works to increase knowledge about the industry by sponsoring seminars, developing instructional materials, supporting research, providing grants and arranging for executives to teach university business classes. "DSEF created the academic program to achieve the things the industry didn't have in the business schools: prestige, credibility, respect and a profile," says Robin Diamond, Program Director, Academic Program.

The major objectives of the academic program are as follows: (1) to increase understanding and knowledge of the industry primarily among professors who are the opinion leaders; (2) to have information about the industry included in mainstream marketing courses and textbooks; and (3) to encourage research and the writing of case studies that enhance the industry's prestige in academia and among the business community.

Over 30 years, the Foundation has funded numerous business cases and research projects on direct selling to create a body of published literature that is often as influential in business circles as it is in academia. DSEF also supports the research of doctoral students studying sales and selling to develop a new generation of marketing professors with a strong appreciation for the direct selling industry.

"DSEF works with academic authors to highlight direct selling companies in textbooks that reach hundreds of thousands of students studying business," says Diamond. "We also develop teaching tools and videotapes for use in the classroom showcasing direct selling companies."

Seminars sponsored by the Foundation offer industry executives the opportunity to educate academics-professors of both marketing and entrepreneurship-about our unique and complex industry. "Programs such as Direct Selling Days on Campus held on university campuses build relationships with faculty and give students exposure to industry executives who bring 'real world' experience in to the classroom," says Diamond.

Among the Foundation's upcoming events:

• DSEF is sponsoring a Direct Selling Days on Campus program at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., April 10-11. Missouri State University's College of Business Administration is ranked in the top 11 percent of business programs in the United States by the Association to Advance Collegiate Institutions of Business.
• DSEF will have academic research and case studies on direct selling available to the public as part of the upgrade of its Web site.
• DSEF will follow up this summer on the success of last year's training program with the Association of Women's Business Centers, whose hundred-plus centers located around the country and supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration serve nearly 100,000 clients a year in starting building and growing their businesses.

"One of the most exciting things that we're working on is developing a training program for the international DSAs," says Diamond. "We rolled out the first one at the World Congress in London in October 2005. The ultimate goal was to get the different DSAs thinking about how to incorporate public service programs and outreach to valued stakeholders based on their market and their region."

Instead of replicating DSEF's programs, the training encourages DSAs to collaborate with the foundation and take advantage of the organization's 30 years of experience with facilitating public service programs that bring value to the industry and the marketplace. "It's very important," says Diamond, "for each DSA to analyze and evaluate its own market and ask, 'Who are the influential groups? Who are the opinion leaders, and how can we work with them in collaborative public service programs that create a fair and more ethical marketplace?'"

The Foundation is also planning to assist other DSAs is by creating tools that support public service and can be downloaded from its Web site, sent out as a DVD, translated or otherwise shared. "So much of the Foundation's work is bringing leaders together and networking," says Diamond. "We want to package that experience and share the benefits of those networks and ideas."

Women's entrepreneurship is another huge opportunity for DSEF and direct selling companies, especially in markets where women have not been traditionally empowered. According to Diamond, "There are so many places where women have been marginalized, not supported as full members of society, yet we know that economic empowerment leads to political empowerment, socialization, many growth aspects for women in their enlightenment, and contributions to society. Direct selling is an easy way for them to make a contribution. We hear so often from our companies that in some ways the most important element of the direct selling experience for women is the self esteem aspect-and politically, I think that has incredible potential."

Another way the Foundation seeks to have an impact is by bringing to the forefront the discussion of ethics in the marketplace. Many markets that have not traditionally embraced capitalism deal with all kinds of complicated ethical issues. With the help of a generous endowment from Pampered Chef founder Doris Christopher and her husband Jay Christopher, DSEF is able to develop programs that highlight business ethics and best business practices. "It's a huge opportunity for our industry internationally to bring thought leaders together and showcase the proactive approach of our code of ethics," says Diamond.