To get off to a great start in your direct sales business, here are some mistakes that have been made many times over by lots of different people that you want to avoid.

1) Not reading the fine print- When you are looking into a company to join, the company’s website or your potential sponsor will tell you all about the great things the company has to offer, but you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you’ve signed up.

A quota??- The last thing you want is to join a company but not realize they have a quota. That means you must have at least so much in sales every month or every quarter to remain an active consultant. If you don’t reach the quota that could mean you are no longer a consultant with this company or you won’t get any commissions you’ve earned for that period. This should be clearly stated on any agreement you sign when you join a direct sales company, but sometimes a person will be in such a hurry to sign up that they miss this part.

Any honest sponsor will also be sure to mention that there is a quota, but sometimes the potential sponsor may forget or even deliberately leave this important piece of information out. Always know if there is a quota or not and always know about not so little details like this.

2) Signing up for the wrong reasons- There are plenty of wrong reasons that people sign up for direct sales companies.

a) It’s free- Signing up just because it’s free to join with no kit purchase required is not a good reason. If you like the products and the company and it is also free to join, that is great. But if you don’t really care for the products or don’t know anything about the company and just sign up because it’s free, then how can you succeed?

b) Giving in to pressure- Maybe you have a friend or relative who wants you to join. Maybe you went to someone else’s home party and were pressured into signing up. You don’t want to disappoint your friend or Aunt Sally. You don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. But don’t let pressure be the reason why you join a company. YOU have to want to do it, not anyone else. It really doesn’t matter what anyone else wants.

c) You know someone who is successful in a direct sales business and you want to be successful just like they are. They work part time and earn enough to support themself and their family and you want that too. Good for them, but that’s not a good reason to join. Maybe they are a good salesperson and like the products they sell so they are able to sell with enthusiasm and confidence. Just because they are successful doesn’t mean you will. Every company has it’s success stories and failure stories. You also don’t want to avoid a company just because you know someone who didn’t succeed in that company. It doesn’t mean you won’t!

d) It sounds like a good opportunity but you don’t care about the products. Maybe there is a company that sounds great. They have nice products, a great commission rate, bonuses, travel incentives, and great support by phone or email. It sounds promising. The only problem is, they offer a product you really don’t care about. If they sell children’s toys and you don’t have kids or care about toys at all, why would you join? How can you be successful? You need to believe in what you are selling, care about it, and be enthusiastic about it to be successful. If you are not, people will see right through you. Sure you can try to fake it, but why?? If you are going to go into business for yourself why do something you care nothing about when you can do something you are passionate about? It will be like an unpleasant chore if you don’t care anything about the products. The more you care about something, the higher the chances are for your success.

3) Joining a company where you can’t sell the way you want- Different direct sales companies have different rules. Some only sell by party plans and consultants don’t have the option to sell online. What a disappoint to join a company thinking you can sell online just to find out it must be by party plans when you hate doing parties. With some companies you can sell anyway you like. Some companies give you a consultant website you can sell from, but you are not allowed to sell on ebay. With some companies, you can sell their products on your own person site, with others you can’t, and with some you must have permission first. Always know how you are allowed and not allowed to sell.

Direct Sales is simply selling products to people directly, instead of them going to the store. Some of the popular direct sales companies that everyone has heard of are Avon, Mark Kay and Tupperware.

However you can find any kind of product for direct sales including jewelry, candles, toys, books, romance products and much more.

The concept is simple. You sell the products and make a commission on what you sell.

Some women are earning a full time income working part time through direct sales and I know one personally. (Look at the success stories page). She makes a full time income only working a few days a month and loves what she does.

Many Moms get into direct sales to supplement their income without having to get another job and some Moms get into direct sales to avoid having to send their kids to daycare and the high cost that goes with that.

Some are making over a thousand dollars a week in direct sales, while others are making a little extra money a month for a tank of gas.

The women and men who are successful at direct sales have one thing in common- They worked hard at promoting themself and their business to build up loyal, satisfied customers (as well as a downline, though some do not even try to recruit and it’s not required).

However, direct sales is not for everyone. What works for this person may not work for that person. There are also people who have lost a lot of money trying to get into direct sales instead of making money.

And be warned that not all companies are equal. Every company has it’s own set of rules and you need to research the company before you join.

If you join a company that offers a 25% commission and you spend a lot on advertising, you will probably lose money. It’s not worth it to spend hundreds on classified ads and other forms of advertising just so you can earn $2.50 when someone buys a $10 product.

Read the articles here to find out if a direct sales career is right for you, how to get your new direct  sales business up and running, how to be successful at direct sales, and what to avoid so you don’t fail and lose money.

The Benefits of Direct Sales
1) You are in complete control. This is great if you are independent and don’t want a boss telling you what to do. You decide the company, what products to sale, and how you want to sale such as party plan, catalogs, etc.

2) You decide the hours. Instead of having the same hours the same days, or having to look at your schedule each week to see what you work, YOU decide the schedule. You can choose to work part time or full time. You can put in 5 hours a week or 50 hours. Your choice based on your needs.

3) You have the opportunity to grow. Some jobs out there are just dead end jobs. There’s no room for growth. With direct sales there is always the opportunity to move up.

4) You’re not getting paid the same low wage an hour. How many people out there are getting paid say, $5.15-$7.00 an hour no matter how hard they work? You can stand on your feet all day, work hard and generate a thousand dollars worth of sales an hour, but you get paid the same low wage regardless. With direct sales you can make $100 an hour. Say you hold a party that lasts 2 hours and make $200 in profit. That’s a cool $100 an hour. Minimum wage workers won’t even bring home $200 after a FULL TIME week at work. Ouch.

How To Find The Right Direct Sales Company

Once you’ve decided you want to join a direct sales company, you have to choose which company you want to join and there are so many out there.

First, don’t rush into anything. Take the time to look at different companies you may be interested in.

What are you interested in? That is important. What do you want to sell? It has to be something you like. Preferably, it’s something you buy anyway so you can also buy for yourself using the discount you get.

Make-up, jewelry, toys, books, candles, romance products, bath and body products? Decide what you are interested in. It’s a lot easier to sell something you care about than something you don’t.

Look at the different companies that sell the kind of products you are interested in selling and compare them.

There are important questions you need to find out before joining any company.

1) What is the commission?
2) What is the cost to join? Is a kit purchase required? If so, how much does it cost?
3) Are there any quotas to meet? If so, what are they?
4) What are the methods of selling? Home parties, catalogs, online?
5) Do you get your own consultant website? If so, is it free or how much does it cost?
6) What kind of support is offered?

When you join, you will sign up under another consultant. This will be your upline and your support. They will answer any questions you have. You want to have a good upline. If you don’t know who your upline would be, you can ask the company to refer you to someone. Ask them any questions you may have. Most consultants are very eager to help out new reps.

Take a look at the products the company sells. Do you like them? Do the prices seem reasonable? Can you picture yourself or your potential customers buying these products?

After answering these questions and comparing different companies, you should find the right Direct Sales company for you!