Easy Guide to Direct Selling - Getting Started doc

Easy Guide to Direct Selling $$$ -Getting Started!. Easy Guide to Direct Selling – Getting StartedJoanie ClarkeCopyright 2012 by Joanie ClarkeSmashwords Edition All rights reserved... Ac

Easy Guide to Direct Selling $$$

-Getting Started!

Joanie Clarke

Easy Guide to Direct Selling – Getting Started

Joanie ClarkeCopyright 2012 by Joanie ClarkeSmashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Acknowledgments

It’s All About You

Attitude is Everything

Inspiration – Real Life

What is Direct Selling?Should You Become a Direct Seller?

What Will I Sell?

How Will I Do It?

Business Structure

Questions and Answers

Thanks to my children for their love and support They kept me going through the hardest times of my life and we are all now enjoying the fruits of that labor

1 It’s All About You

You’re reading this book for a reason! Whether you’ve:

• Always wanted to be in business for yourself;

• Just want to make a few hundred extra dollars a week to help pay the bills;

• Tried before and quit and want to know how to succeed this time

Regardless of what motivated you to read these pages, the

important fact is that that you are reading it! By reading this book you are saying to yourself (and maybe to others) that YOU want to stop talking and dreaming about making money in your own business and start DOING something about it!!

Remember, nothing happens unless you take the first step! And that, my friends, is why I wrote this book It is written for YOU, for the ones who are ready to take the plunge And this powerful little book can lead you to where you need to be to have that success you’ve always wanted in your own business

I am a 40+ year old woman who had worked most of my life for others I thought about starting my own business many times but life just seemed to get in the way I’ll bet many of you know exactly what I’m talking about I tried a number of part-time opportunities unsuccessfully Even though I had not succeeded I knew way down deep inside that I had it in me to be successful I wanted badly to be my own boss and I believed I could make it on

my own if I tried and just didn’t quit

Oops! Did I use the “Q” word? You know, the word, “QUIT” To

be successful in your own business you have to know that quitting

is NOT an option You must know that you WILL make mistakes, some like to call it a ‘FAILURE’; you know, the ‘F’ word! But, mistakes are GOING TO HAPPEN! That’s OK because failure is nothing more than another way NOT to do something

To be successful you must take failure in stride so you learn from mistakes, or failures if you like, and just don’t make the same mistake twice, if you can help it You have to take the mindset that failure is just the other side of success! Just don’t QUIT! Don’t let making mistakes (Failure) get the best of you It’s really not personal, it’s just another way not to do something Just ask

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light bulb, and I might add, later to become the founder of General Electric Co Perhaps you’ve heard of him!

When Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought

he should just give up by now Perplexed, Edison replied, "Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work Success is almost in my grasp." And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb! Thomas Edison had the right attitude Although he failed over 10,000 times he did not take the mistakes as personal He knew he would succeed and he did!

2 Attitude is Everything

My mother told me when I was very young that, “Attitude is Everything” And I thought, “OK, sure mom, whatever you say”, and I blew it off I didn’t have a clue what she meant And it took

me until I was nearly 30 years old before I realized how wise my mother really was

Attitude is Everything! Another way of saying this is YOU MUST KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE!

Believe this for most people keeping a positive attitude is VERY DIFFICULT It’s true! That said, if you want to be successful, and REALLY MEAN IT down in your gut, you MUST LEARN HOW

TO KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Have you ever heard the phrase “fake it ‘till you make it”?

Sometimes you do have to “fake it ‘till you make it”! I don’t mean ignore reality and get in over your head on a project I mean feel in your gut that you are already successful!

There are lots of methods you can use to help you to keep a

positive attitude One of the best for me is a technique I call my

‘Merry Christmas Attitude’ I bring up in an instant a specific memory I had from a past Christmas that was good, positive, and without any phoniness The emotion I had experienced at that time

in the past was very real and I bring it back up and use it to

overcome negativity I can instantly get my positive attitude where

I felt great and, regain my confidence With my Merry Christmas Attitude, I know I will be OK

It was a bit slow for me to bring up that memory when I first began

trying it But now I can go there in an instant, and that quickly my negative thinking is gone I can get right back on the right track instantly.

It’s a great technique, because it is not artificial It is not

superimposing emotion because the emotion is real and valid You might want to try this technique for yourself Remember, it is very important that the memory be valid You must have really

experienced that feeling of ‘everything is just great’ and meant it This is important because you are going to use that memory to revisit every time you feel your attitude dropping and you are getting into a state of negativity, of ‘woe is me’, of ‘I can’t do this’ If you do experience times when you are feeling in a

hopeless situation and don’t know what to do or where to turn, just bring up your own ‘Merry Christmas Attitude’ and it will help you get back on track and in control

3 Inspiration – Real Life

So, you’ve decided you want to be your own boss and to get started making money on your own Although I commend you on your decision, please understand this decision doesn’t mean you quit your day job (your current primary means of employment) but that you will dedicate the time it takes to succeed in this new venture of being your own boss in your own business!

Take slow steps initially, be patient, be positive This is a

tremendous learning experience for you With the right attitude you will succeed, slowly at first, but, in all reality, the sky’s the limit!

There are numerous examples of young men and women, some of whom never graduated high school, and others who dropped out of college to work their dream, who have become multi-millionaires,

in some cases billionaires, because they didn’t quit and kept their positive attitude

Here are a few examples:

• Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records, and a multi-billionaire, dropped out of school at 16

• Bill Gates of Microsoft dropped out of college at 20

• Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of college at 19

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not encouraging you to drop out

of school I’m simply giving examples of young and not-so-young men who kept the positive attitude and didn’t quit

4 What is Direct Selling?

Enough of the pep talk It’s time to start your own business! Oh, Wow! Now it’s getting real You actually have to really think about what you want to do, (if you don’t know what that is

Now let’s talk about direct selling Direct selling is independent, personal sales There’s no fixed location Just you selling naturally

to the people with whom you are in direct contact and to whom you provide both individual and group demonstrations There are many titles you can call yourself; independent sales representative, sales consultant, distributor No matter the title that you use, when you are a direct seller, you are your own boss You are CEO You own your own company! Isn’t that cool?

Just about any product or service can be and is being purchased through direct selling somewhere in the world Direct selling is a global business, and believe this, it represents over 32 billion dollars a year in sales! There are many well established companies that use the direct selling method of distribution Cosmetics, wellness products and home products are often sold through direct sales

With the Internet, there are many direct sellers that skip company specific affiliation altogether They buy direct from wholesalers or manufacturers and sell to a worldwide audience.

If you’re thinking about direct selling as an income source

yourself, you are not alone! Millions of Americans have turned to direct selling for part-time income or as a full-time career Some use direct selling to earn just a little extra money for essentials such as unexpected medical bills or to pay off a credit card Some use direct selling to earn money for a new car or a family vacation Some people use direct selling as their primary, career income

Direct sellers often find unexpected benefits from their decision to become a direct seller Direct selling is perhaps the best

entrepreneurial skill building opportunity in the world There is no limit to the income potential with direct selling It is NOT “easy income,” you will NOT “get rich quick” The secret to direct selling success is a four-letter word: WORK!

The work involved and the reward are tied to one another Work a little bit and make a little money Work a little more and make more money Work full time and the sky's the limit!

5 Should you become a direct seller?

Whatever your goal, if you set achievable goals for day-to-day activity for your business, and if you consistently achieve those daily goals, you will have a thriving income from direct selling

Direct selling offers an equal opportunity for everyone, regardless

of age, sex, race, religion or level of education Women earn dollar for dollar the same as men

If you can answer “yes” to the following statements, direct selling might be for you!

Reasons to Become a Direct Seller

• I want to earn extra income

• I want to buy products at wholesale

• I want to build a strong, secure, high income future with no limits on my income

• I want to meet more people

• I want the tax advantages of business ownership

Once you decide that you want to sell direct to consumers, the next consideration is to choose between using an established direct selling organization or to be your own distributor

Do an Internet search today and you will get pages and pages of

information on direct selling companies There are direct selling companies offering products for almost every consumer product or services.

Distributor for an Established Company

If you are new to direct selling, working with a company with an existing structure may be the best way to get started Choose a product or service that you already use yourself If you use and believe in the product, you will be a much more effective sales person!

One way is to sign up for a distributorship With this model, you sign-up to become a distributor of a successful, known company’s products or services (like Mary Kay Cosmetics, Primerica

Financial Services, or Avon)

These Distributorships have a relatively low entry fee but do involve a lot of work learning the business model Be aware that the company you represent and that the margin (profit) you will realize is LESS THAN you can get on your own The good news is these types of Distributorships already know exactly how you should sell their product and can teach that to you, if that’s what you want

Be Your Own Distributor

Another way is to be your own Distributor by buying products from a wholesale supplier and selling them yourself to your

customers If you really want to be your own boss, being your own distributor is the most profitable method! Start with family and friends and acquaintances often called your ‘warm market’ If you

go this route it is best to have a branded product that is

recognizable to many people I started my business as my own Distributor selling already branded products, like the Hitachi Magic Wand If you’ve got some entrepreneurial experience, creating your direct selling business on you own will bring you the

most ROI (return on your investment).

Franchise

Another way is to buy in to a franchise A Franchise is where you buy the right to use the name and business process of a big,

hopefully successful, company (like Subway, Papa John’s Pizza,

or Merry Maid) Unless you already have a very large stash of cash a Franchise is not going to be in your crystal ball yet

Self-Made Product Distribution

Yet another way is Self-Made Products and/or personal services For example, if you are good at Crafts, you can make and sell your crafts to your ‘warm market’ to start You may also want to sell your crafts on eBay or other web sites known for crafts like Etsy

Perhaps you are very good at something Maybe you have a hobby

of making something, and maybe others have said you ought to be selling this to the public That’s a great way to start! Sell items you make yourself Or, you may have some talent that can be

capitalized upon A talent with commercial viability, meaning someone you don’t know would want to buy it from you

A limitation to this method is that you are the business You only have so much time to produce a product or perform the service!

Real Examples

I know of a school teacher with a love for basketball He is tall and plays regularly with friends on a local outdoor court He’d been thinking of starting a summer basketball camp for young boys and girls (yes, girls do play basketball) He thought about it for quite a while, but finally he did start a summer basketball camp for young boys and girls He worked in conjunction with the school

community program manager and was able to get financial support

from the school system That’s a good example of someone with a skill set used for fun that was turned into an income stream By the way he’s still doing it Very successfully.

Another teacher I know was able to use his love of teaching and his skill with people to begin a tutoring business he did in evenings and on Saturday

Another person I know loved the piano and was an exceptional piano player It was her hobby She began offering piano lessons to young kids and now has a lucrative small business as a piano teacher

I know of a number of potters who love working with their hands, especially making ceramic pottery One in particular also had a good eye for color and design He had already accumulated an abundance of ceramic dishes and vases that were all over his home He had no place left to put anything So, he began going to craft fairs, set up a booth and sold his ceramic items to the public Now, not only does he make money selling what he creates, he also teaches pottery classes

I didn’t have a particular talent to sell as a service or a product, but

I did have a skill at sales I’m good at talking with people I also have a good head for business I know that to sell a product

successfully I have to buy at a low price so that I can sell the product at a fair price to the customer and still make a good return

on my investment

That’s the model that works for me I am my own Distributor of products I identify products that are in demand I find a source through a distributor or (better) I go factory direct and I sell to consumers

Whatever model you choose, get started now!