Posts by R. Todd Eliason
What a Year It Has Been…
The year 2019 will go down as one of the biggest sea change years in the history of our channel. Our cover story this month will cover the events that impacted our channel the most: pressure from regulatory bodies, continued competition from alternative income opportunities, a hot new ingredient makes its debut, and finally, customer…
Read MoreQ&A with Neora Co-CEO, Deb Heisz
In a statement released on November 1, Neora fired a shot across the bow of the FTC. They filed suit challenging the FTC’s ability to retroactively change the law without proper authority from Congress or through formal FTC rulemaking. I recently caught up with Deborah Heisz, Co-CEO of Neora, to get some added insight into…
Read MoreQ&A with DSA’s Brian Bennett
Securing direct selling’s independent contractor exemption going forward. Last month, the Direct Selling Association applauded California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing Assembly Bill 5, which includes an exemption for direct sellers. Without the exemption, the bill would have created an uncertain framework for more than 2.2 million Californians involved in direct selling. “We want to…
Read MoreReading the AdvoCare FTC Ruling Tea Leaves
As was announced on October 2, AdvoCare and its former chief executive officer agreed to pay $150 million and be banned from the multi-level marketing business to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that the company operated an illegal pyramid scheme that deceived consumers into believing they could earn significant income as “distributors” of its health…
Read MoreQ&A with Brett Blake
Bringing more investment into Direct Selling According to direct selling veteran Brett Blake, direct selling companies need more capital, but even more, they need the help of smart investors and savvy executives from outside the industry to close the gap between current practices and those that will help it scale into the mainstream of public…
Read MoreDSN Source: China Conducting Random Compliance Checks
A source close to DSN is reporting that the Chinese government is conducting random checks to ensure companies selling wellness products in China are complying with the terms that came out of the 100-day freeze that ended in April of this year. The DSN source added that it’s not strange for the government to follow…
Read MorePerception Doesn’t Have to Be Reality
We need to be more proactive in dealing with our channel’s negative perception. On Aug. 25, SHOWTIME aired the first episode On Becoming a God in Central Florida, starring Kirsten Dunst. The series is set in a small town near Orlando in 1992, and Dunst plays Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage water park employee, who lies,…
Read MoreExperiential Compensation
VERVE founder Callum Negus-Fancey is building a powerful, transparent brand through word-of-mouth and using rewards-based compensation instead of cash As most in our channel know by now, successful gig companies have sweetened the deal traditionally made by direct selling with ready-made customers, no startup fees and same-day pay. Gig worker numbers keep rising, and by…
Read MoreHow to Better Leverage Your Digital Traffic
Q&A with John Oates In our July issue, we introduced our DSN Digital 100 of the top companies who have a sound digital strategy. John Oates, Founder of JPO Digital, and the VP of Digital Marketing for SUCCESS Partners, helped us gather the data for that list. I recently sat down with him to get…
Read MoreQ&A with Ryan Napierski
Transformation is a Perpetual Process. Nu Skin President Ryan Napierski was named the DSA Chairman at the DSA Annual Meeting in June. I recently connected with Ryan to talk about his focus and vision for his upcoming new role as well as insights on what is happening at Nu Skin. We are a couple months…
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