Direct Sales Consultant
There are currently many of these "home party" companies in the scrapbook/rubber stamp world, and they're a great way to get your foot in the door. Many consultants only join to get a product discount, but if you're serious about building this as a business as well as getting discounted scrapping supplies, there is the possibility of bringing in a good income, many times in the six figures. You will need to hook up with one of these companies to get started. We highly suggest doing your homework first. What are you looking for when choosing a company to go with? First, look at the products they have available. Successful direct sales consultants exude a genuine enthusiasm for their products. Before joining a company, you'll need to have the inner conviction that your company brings products and an opportunity that no other company can. It's important for you to get your hands on the products before you sign. Place an order or, at the very least, request a catalog and product samples before joining. Start up cost also has to be a factor. What kind of cash outlay will your start-up require? Look closely at the company's joining fee and/or the cost of your business starter kit, but also think realistically about how much inventory you'll need to have on hand and what kinds of business supplies or products you'll need to get your business started. Does the company you’re considering going with require any monthly minimums? If they do, you need to think long and hard about whether or not you’re ready to invest the time and effort into making your quotas. Of course, the harder you work, the more money you make. Be passionate about the company and what they have to offer. You must convince yourself they are the best before you can convince others. Look at the commission rate the company is offering. Each direct sales plan is different, and it's important to look over the fine print. What is the commission rate and how is it paid? How are you awarded for recruiting others? How does the company handle breakaways? Before you sign on, find out how much control you’ll have over marketing the products. Most companies have a “rule book” you can reference. You’ll want to have enough lee-way to successfully promote your business and the products you have for sale. See if the company has any type of support system in place. You’re bound to have questions arise from time to time. A reputable company will offer you the expertise and know-how of their staff to help you along. Does the company offer any type of advertising for you to use? Marketing and advertising are crucial to business success. The bigger the audience, the more success you’ll have. If your company does some type of national advertising, this can only benefit you even more. You should also find out their requirements for using their company name and logo. The last thing you want to do is advertise the company you are selling for in the wrong way. What is unique about the company? Do they have any products that are distributed exclusively by them? This can make you stand out from your competition. Also, take a look at the level of saturation in your particular market. A newer company that offers quality products may hold a lot of promise in your particular industry. Finally, if the company has an e-commerce option, it should have a huge advantage over the others. Many direct sales companies are now offering replicated websites so each representative can promote an individual online presence. A few direct sales companies even have shopping carts alongside these websites so you can make sales online, too, with the product drop shipped from your home office. When you go into business as a direct sales consultant, you will want to have enough space in your home office to accommodate your products. Organizational skills are at a premium here. You’ll want plenty of shelf space to store papers, die cuts, albums, and stickers. Spending time digging through drawers and boxes looking for supplies is frustrating and time consuming and time is money. There are simple and inexpensive ways to help you spend less time searching for your supplies and more time exactly creating. Sorting supplies by categories or themes is very useful and you can tell at a glance what you have in stock. Some useful categories are winter, Christmas, Easter, Valentines, Baby girl, Baby boy, etc. Create interesting labels using 2"x 4" address labels and your computer. What to do with all those fibers and ribbons? Place fibers in small plastic bags and store them in your theme containers. Smaller plastic containers work great to store fibers by colors. You can also use recycled clear jars, cleaned and labels removed, and sort by color. Add your creative labels to these also. Photo boxes are a great size for holding spools of ribbon and these come in clear also. Another great solution is to hang a pretty curtain rod on your wall and thread those ribbon spools on the curtain rod. Paper is one of the most important staples and storage is also a major problem for most at home scrap booking businesses. Paper comes in hundreds of different colors, patterns, textures and weights. It needs to be kept dry and clean, be photo safe and stored in plain sight. Paper can be stored in a wide variety of ways but horizontal is the best. There are lots of wonderful products out there, from wire storage racks to clear stacking plastic trays and are very good investments. You’ll also want to start some sort of inventory control system so you always know what you have on hand at any given time. This doesn’t have to be a complicated task. Start an Excel spreadsheet and update it every time you make a sale. We’ve included a sample spreadsheet at the end of this book for you to look at as a starting point. When you become a direct sales consultant, you may wonder how you go about selling your product. Usually, the first outlet people think of is to sell at an online auction site like e-bay. However, many companies have restrictions against selling this way. Home parties are going to be the best and most economical way to market your product. Tupperware ladies and Avon consultants have been selling this way for years. Count on friends and family to host parties for you. Don’t count out co-workers either. Distribute your catalogs and be sure your phone number and e-mail address are featured prominently. We’ll have a separate section on marketing your business, but you may also want to take out a small newspaper ad occasionally offering your services as a scrapbook consultant. You’re selling supplies here, so always have your selling hat on. See if your community college offers scrapbooking courses and see if the instructor will distribute some of your business cards to those taking the class. They’ll usually be happy to do so unless the college prohibits it. You can also sponsor workshops where people get together to work on their scrapbooks. This is a prime opportunity to strike while the passion is hot. People may look at your book and love what you did with the page about your family vacation. That’s a perfect time to whip out your catalog and show them the papers or die cuts that you used from your company. Another perk about being a direct sales consultant is that you will get a discount on your own supplies. When you love scrapbooking, you know as well as we do that you can never have enough stickers or cut-outs or custom scissors. Being able to buy these items at a discount or even earning these items for free can be addicting and extremely motivational as well! As we’ve said, there are many, many companies out there who offer direct sales opportunities to you. We only think it’s fair we give you a heads up on a few of the more popular ones. We do not, in any way, endorse one particular company over another. This is just a place for you to start your research. Creative Memories – www.creativememories.com Leaving Prints – www.leavingprints.com Dream Impressions – www.dreamimpressions.com I Remember When – www.irememberwhen.com Close To My Heart – www.closetomyheart.com The Angel Company – www.theangelcompany.net Life and Times – www.lifeandtimes.com Memory Works – www.memory-works.com Stampin’ Up – www.stampinup.com Totally Scrapped – www.totallyscrapped.com |
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