Future of direct selling

Positioned Right is a deep dive into the Direct Selling and Network Marketing Industry and a look at the forces shaping the future of the Industry. There has never been a more important time for this Industry to evolve to remain relevant and competitive as a distribution channel and business opportunity. If you are part of this Industry or considering being a part of the Industry in the future, this book will give you the insight you need. Therefore, Positioned Right is a must-read. This book is for those in the direct selling and network marketing Industry to better understand the Industry as distribution channel and business opportunity. It looks at the history of the Industry and examines why it is positioned right for an even better future. Most important, the book is focused on the path to a better future and the challenges and opportunities that the Industry faces. The Industry is in a transformational stage, so it is important for all those in the Industry or considering becoming part of the Industry to better understand the road ahead. Get Now for $19.99 Gordon Hester is a global entrepreneur and business strategist. He has a wealth of experience in the network marketing profession and beyond. He is also a business trainer and has taught entrepreneurs in 17 different countries to build successful businesses. Gordon’s expertise in direct sales and network marketing is extensive on the field, corporate and Industry side. Working with Jeff Roberti for almost 30 years,...

BY HEATHER CHASTAIN | May 01, 2023 | / How Gen X, Millennials & Gen Z really feel about direct selling. A first-of-its-kind study details how every generation of Americans across all genders, geographies and socio-economic levels perceive, engage with and measure success and opportunity in direct selling. Times have changed, but in the direct selling channel executives can easily assume (read: hope) that some things never will. ponsulak/shutterstock.com That belief was challenged last year when Jason Dorsey, President of the As a (ahem) seasoned executive and the founder of New Generation-Specific Strategies In a first-of-its-kind study, Bridgehead Collective chose to partner with the Center for Generational Kinetics, which has led more than 100 research studies in all major industries. Their seminal annual study,The State of Gen Z, formed the basis for the best-selling book,ZConomyand has been consistently featured in national and global media includingThe Wall Street Journal,New YorkTimes, CNN and many more. I set out to discover America’s perceptions of entrepreneurship, the gig-economy and, more pointedly, direct selling. Statistical significance was of ultimate importance in this analysis, so the study represents a wide-sweeping sample that is reflective of America, with an equitable mix of genders, demographics, employment status, education levels and location that allows for a 97 percent confidence level. When we launched the study, my biggest fear was that I would ...

BY SARAH PAULK | June 09, 2023 | / DSU Spring 2023: More than 500 direct selling executives gathered forinspiration, networkingandgame-changing advicefrom industry insiders. Now more than ever,the direct selling industry has proven its resilience over the last three years. Breakout stars like industry mainstay PM-International celebrated its 29th year of consecutive growth. Herbalife Nutrition saw revenue top $5.2 billion and Amway, the number one direct selling brand in the world for the eleventh straight year, enjoyed revenues of $8.1 billion. Amid theseaccomplishments, companies whoonly recentlyunlocked the best strategyto address the rapidly evolving marketplace post-pandemic, have now emerged from the chaos to face new and different challenges. Hot button topics like Generative AI, ChatGPT and the potential shift to incorporate omnichannel and affiliate model strategies into the existing direct selling structure are all swirling in the industry ether, presenting an interesting learning curve for executives. At the spring session of Direct Selling University, more than 500 executives gathered to network with their peers and learn from 40 presenters who shared expert insight and the latest innovations regarding some of the most complicated challenges facing leaders today. Through their keynote addresses, workshops and power-packed panels, attendees had the opportunity to learn from acquisition success stories, gain new perspective from tech leaders and discuss the power...

BY Ben Gamse | July 30, 2020 | / DSA’S 2020 GROWTH & OUTLOOK survey reports that the U.S. direct selling channel remained roughly flat (-0.4 percent), achieving $35.2 billion in estimated U.S. retail sales in 2019. To better understand direct selling trends within our rapidly evolving macroeconomic landscape, DSA is conducting extensive research in addition to its standard Growth & Outlook market-sizing survey. For example, DSA’s Coronavirus QuickPulse surveys track the business impact of Coronavirus on a weekly basis, and quarterly DataTracker surveys provide insight into quarterly trends and KPIs. DSA’s Industry Research Committee is analyzing all this survey data, secondary research, and developing key insights and actionable takeaways to include in the 2020 Growth & Outlook Report to be released early this summer. In addition to the standard market-sizing and benchmarking data, this year’s Growth & Outlook reporting has shifted more toward addressing the outlook for the industry and a bit less time looking backward at market-sizing for the prior year. More specifically, this year’s report will identify the impact Coronavirus is having on the broader economy and retail landscape, and it will envision the future of direct selling by providing a direct selling forecast along with scenario planning and actionable recommendations on how to navigate challenges posed by the pandemic to achieve the upper bounds of the forecast. Before diving further into direct selling insight...

There's a lot in store for Direct Sales in 2022, the move to a digital-first innovation strategy is in full swing and it's impacting every area of the industry. In the 2022 Direct Sales Trends Report we identified 5 key trends as the major opportunities for transformation - We asked experts in each of these areas to give their unique take on why this trend is so important in 2022 and what opportunity it presents for the industry. The Trends Shaping Direct Sales in 2022 1. Direct Sellers Need to be Learning while Doing In order for learning to work, it must be effective, relevant, just enough, and just in time. These principles of learning are essential for adult learners and critical for any learner short on time and attention. Let’s be honest, that’s most of us. The rise of online learning was transformative in delivering accessible learning across time and geography, but the “always on” shift in our work culture and the blurring of boundaries between home and work pose evolving learning challenges. These learning challenges (effectiveness, relevance, just enough learning, and just in time learning) are especially significant for learners who are juggling multiple roles, multiple contexts, and multiple demands – cue new Direct Seller. Learning in the flow of work with bite-sized learning relevant to the task at hand is the most effective way to enable learners to immediately apply new knowledge and skills and increase their performance. This can be accomplished with four ...

BY Lisa Robertson | December 02, 2022 | / What shaped 2022 andwhat to expect in 2023and beyond. To say direct selling is in a time of transition would be an understatement. The environment is evolvingas younger generations explore the opportunity.And the post-pandemic trends of quiet quitting and the desire for more workplace flexibility continue to shape where, how and why people of all ages choose to earn aliving. G-Stock Studio/shutterstock.com Everyone working in the industry is aware of the decisions, pivots and pain points we have ahead of us as executives, as companies and as a channel. With this rapidly changing landscape in mind, DirectSelling News recently gathered over 75 C-Level executives representing a combined $43 billion in revenue to get their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the channel. The topics mostoften mentioned should come as no surprise. Concerns like changing consumer behaviors and a tough regulatory environment as well as lingering supply chain struggles, Amazon and eCommerce strategies and field fatigue were mentioned often. Mergers, acquisitions and consolidations also continue to be a popular topic ofconversation. But other more esoteric topics have come up recently as well. Topics that get to the heart of who we are as a channel and how we will do business in the future. The channel’s new identity as a social selling platform; the rise of single-tier affiliate models; and the slight decline of multitier compensation pl...

COVID-19 has had a hand in redefining and reshaping just about every industry and market in existence. We’ve seen small businesses, retailers and the hospitality sector take major hits. We’ve seen drastic shifts in the way work gets performed on a day to day basis. And we’ve entered a remote work revolution of sorts that has truly reconfigured the traditional workplace landscape. One sector that, while also impacted, has remained strong and has even emerged as a viable career solution for many as a result of this pandemic, is the direct selling industry. Built upon the backs of a distributed workforce and already very much used to operating given off-site conditions, those involved with direct selling were well-versed when it came to adapting to the new normal that the coronavirus put before us. And in fact, some estimates have shown that over the course of April, the So why in terms of direct selling is digital transformation so important; the industry is after all the model for the original work from home mindset…Primarily because there are still some needs that have to be addressed in order for any direct selling company to sustain itself in the new business climate we now face and to be able to scale quickly and efficiently. Today’s Selling Realities Ecommerce is not slowing down anytime soon. In fact, as in-store retail sales are predicted to steadily decline moving forward, we will likely be seeing an even more rapid rise in terms of eCommerce. Social selling during ...

Direct marketing—a marketing term that some have characterized as a tired or outdated form of marketing—is having its moment in the sun again. Have you spoken to a Gen-Z or Millennial marketer (like me) in the last five years about direct marketing and then heard an audible sigh? I would suggest bringing the topic up again and seeing what kind of response you get this time around. While it's true that direct mail is still a viable (if not thriving) marketing channel, many people only think of physical mailers when they hear "direct marketing." But modern direct marketing has become an incredibly powerful tool for businesses looking to engage with their target audience and drive conversions. Thanks to advancements in technology, direct marketing has opened up new avenues—including email marketing, social media advertising and targeted online ads. The Rise (Again) Of Direct Mail What once was old is new again. From 2018 to 2021, there were a lot of articles published about how The beauty of any direct marketing campaign is the ability to personalize your marketing message and content directly to your audience. Some of the most successful direct mail campaigns I have been a part of took great care to ensure that the imagery and messaging were extremely relevant to the individuals or households that we were reaching. If you are a national brand and have chosen to use background scenery in your images, invest in dynamic images that will update to recognizable landmarks in the a...

At the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) World Congress XVI, held in Bangkok on October 6, 2021, the WFDSA Board of Directors held a CEO panel to discuss the future of the direct selling industry. Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee Corporation and Chairman of the WFDSA, was the moderator for the event that featured WFDSA Board Members Magnus Brännström, President and CEO of Oriflame Cosmetics; Lam Yu, CEO of Infinitus Global; Dora Hoan, Founder, Co-Chairman, and Group CEO of Best World Lifestyle; Ryan Napierski, President and CEO of Nu Skin Enterprises; João Paulo Ferreira, CEO of Natura &Co Latin America; and Milind Pant, CEO of Amway. Portions of the CEO panel are printed here with the permission of the WFDSA. How Do We Reimagine, Reinvent, and Redefine Direct Selling? Barnett: The direct selling industry is more than 100 years old. What is the most important thing we could do to reinvent, reimagine, and redefine our industry for the next 100 years? Napierski: That one thing, in my view, is to truly embrace a customer-obsessed or customer-first approach. I don’t just mean the consumer; I also mean our affiliates, our consultants, our distributors—whatever we call them. Becoming a truly customer-obsessed industry will ensure our viability into the future no matter what we need to do strategically to accommodate their needs. Hoan: The single most important thing we could do as an industry is embrace digitalization. In today’s world, the business model and ...