Comments on: The Elephants in Direct Selling’s Room!

By: Michel Bayan

Michel Bayan — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 13:07:17 +0000

Great points, Alan. After analyzing over 9 million lifecycles of global direct sellers, it’s clear that much of the comms we send out simply do not apply to the way the majority of people want to do their business. It seems to us that despite what we think, most of our sellers treat us like a gig in spite of many conpanies’ messaging of residual income, leverage, etc. we in corporate must come to terms with our inherent biases which too often color our decisions in spite of the data that’s right in front of us, proving otherwise. We are all facing these challenges and none really know what the answer will be. So we must set ourselves up to be Lean or at least Agile so that we can try things, measure the results, learn, and try again in extremely rapid cycles. We simply don’t have time to build big massive plans with big price tags and a long decision process. The way the gig companies got so big is exactly with a “Lean Startup” approach. That book is a gift we offer all of our customers as a window into rapid innovation.
We are even organizing a “delegation” of DS executives to join us at the Lean conference in Nov right after DSA in DC.

By: Michel Bayan

Michel Bayan — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:49:06 +0000

In reply to James Tackett. We have analyze the lifecycle of 9 million DS people over 6 years. The truth is that the time for money argument doesn’t really hold up for over 90% of people. When we break it down to dollars per hour worked, we must compete with gigs not by offering millions, but by what people want: a few extra dollars on demand at various levels of effort and income. We discovered 9 unique paths a person can take with a DS company. We need more personalized pathways for people vs a one size fits all approach.

By: Spencer Reese

Spencer Reese — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 16:10:11 +0000

Alan, I agree with your assessment that the gig economy is the elephant in the room, but my take is that it’s just one of two elephants that we direct sellers must face. The other elephant is Amazon. The gig economy represents competition to the income opportunity side of direct selling. Gigs offer independent contractors instant cash for a plethora of relatively low-skill services with no selling required. Frankly, that does not cause me nearly as much concern as the competition from the product side of the equation (in other words – competition from Amazon) because from a legal perspective direct sellers cannot rely on selling the income opportunity. Let’s be frank – the income opportunity has been overblown and over-hyped in many cases and has contributed to giving DS a deserved black-eye on multiple occasions.

Direct sellers have long claimed that they are about the products they offer. Yet are they? Why have many relied on selling the income opportunity if they are really about the products? Amazon offers buyers just about any merchandise imaginable, highly competitive prices, free shipping (for Amazon Prime members), and takes the uncertainty out of “mail order” since you can track your package and depend on timely delivery in 2 days (again, Prime members). Now THAT’s tough competition.

So Alan, I agree that the gig economy is indeed an elephant in the room, but it primarily impacts those direct sellers that rely on the income opportunity to attract and keep their sales force. Amazon is the elephant that impacts those direct sellers who are product oriented (i.e., party plans). Neither gigs nor Amazon can be ignored. The good news is that notwithstanding the challenges presented by gigs and Amazon, direct sellers have competitive advantages that neither gigs nor Amazon can match. But that’s a detailed discussion for another day… 🙂

By: Richard Perry

Richard Perry — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 20:26:50 +0000

Well said Alan. It really should be a front burner to for DS, but I’ll bet it won’t be

By: James Tackett

James Tackett — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 14:13:56 +0000

People need to realize that all these “gigs” are just “trading time for money.”
A video we made in 2016 that addresses this very concern…

https://vimeo.com/189335308

By: Mike Monroe

Mike Monroe — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 12:35:56 +0000

Interesting take. Let’s not forget, however, that (1) the economy of 2015 looks different than the economy of 2017. When unemployment drops, so does the # of direct sellers. And (2) the motivation for a gig is similar, but not altogether identical to joining a direct sales company. Namely: stability vs high ceiling, easy access vs social center, etc.

I know many companies position themselves as gig alternatives. But DS attracts a different person.

Enjoyed reading this.