Cover Story
Hitting Back At Fraud
Direct selling companies are coming up with creative ways to catch bad actors. As direct sellers, we’re intimately familiar with Amazon’s disruption of the retail market, otherwise known as the Amazon effect. We can’t deny that it’s driven millions of consumers online, giving both brick-and-mortar outlets and other e-commerce sites a serious run for their…
Read MoreBest Places To Work
12 finalists made the cut this year. Here’s what they can teach us about winning organizations. What makes a company a great place to work? It’s about more than benefits packages, flex days and foosball tables, although those are all attractive perks. Great companies have a clear sense of direction and a vision their employees…
Read MoreGet More Customers & Distributors On Base
Does your compensation plan reward the right behaviors? IF YOU’VE ever seen the 2011 film Moneyball, you can recall the premise: Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A’s (portrayed by actor Brad Pitt), sets out to rebuild his failing team. His strategy: turning to hard numbers to identify the diamonds in the rough who…
Read MoreAre You Sure Your Data Is Safe?
Vigilance, continuous learning are industry’s best defenses against cybercriminals. It has become a painfully common headline: “Cyberthieves breach company’s system, steal credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, birthdates, passport numbers . . .” High-profile corporations such as Target, Equifax and Marriott all have been robbed of massive amounts of valuable consumer data in recent years, proving…
Read MoreWhat You Focus On Grows
If you’re too spread out and trying to accomplish too many things, you’re setting yourself—and your team—up for a lot of frustration. If you were to ask 10 middle managers at your company what your organization’s top three priorities were, would all 10 give you the same answers? Or would those answers vary wildly? This…
Read MoreA Modern-Day Gold Rush?
Marijuana’s misunderstood sister hemp is projected to be a $22 billion market by 2020, but can it overcome the social stigma and federal regulations that threaten to hold it back? It’s been called the gateway crop. Thanks to its stalks topped with five leaves, hemp shares the same signature look as its intoxicating relative, the marijuana…
Read MoreLeadership and Fear
Struggling with insecurity on the inside, even while appearing confident on the outside, is a common battle for individuals who hold the high authority in their organizations. When are they going to realize I’m a fraud? is a secret and lurking question that haunts even the most successful. For some people, the private doubting sounds…
Read MoreDoes Your Message Confuse or Clarify?
It’s never been more important to clarify your messaging while meeting the unfulfilled needs of your customers and distributors. Ask any Chief Marketing Officer who’s most important to the business, and she’ll say the customer—or, in the case of direct sales, the distributor and the customer. Was there any doubt? What we say and what…
Read MoreYour Brand Reputation: Why It Matters More Than Ever
How many of us DVR our favorite television shows because we don’t want to be bothered with ads? Or click the “x” on those pop-up screens telling us about limited-time offers? What about the ads displayed on billboards, on the sides of buses, in the subway, the grocery store and sporting events? When advertising pervades…
Read MoreBillion Dollar Markets
Record global sales, China inches closer to eclipsing the U.S., and emerging markets gain strength. In 2017, global direct selling recorded US$189.6 billion (2017 constant U.S. dollars) in estimated retail sales—a 1.6 percent increase over 2016. — and up nearly $20 billion since 2014, resulting in a 3.7% compound annual growth rate over the 3-year period…
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