October 15, 2018
“Cost multiple” has been a very popular concept in direct selling. For those who are not that familiar with this concept, it is a numerical value showing how much retail sales is to be achieved with “one unit” of product cost. Direct selling consultant Dan Murphy says in his article The Implications of a Trade […]
Read MoreSeptember 17, 2018
This week’s article is a short compilation of questions that are frequently directed to those in the direct selling industry. These questions are asked either because of being less or misinformed or due purely to prejudices. I am sure many of you have come across some or all of these. Here are my usual answers […]
Read MoreSeptember 10, 2018
In 1975, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Amway of operating as a pyramid scheme. Many people might think this case had lasted a few months at most but actually it took four years until 1979. As an introductory note, the Federal Trade Commission has the regulatory authority over direct selling businesses in the […]
Read MoreAugust 6, 2018
A well-designed compensation plan is vital for a direct selling company’s success. There is no doubt about it. The direct selling industry (at least in general) has learned this lesson so far. A compensation plan might seem like a complicated series of calculations and most of the blame in this should go to some of […]
Read MoreJune 25, 2018
Some say one can make a fortune in network marketing. Others say direct sellers’ earnings do not cover even those minimal expenses they make. Which one is true? Or truth is somewhere in-between? This article is an overview of 10 direct selling companies’ income disclosures for 2017. The businesses covered here are of varying sizes […]
Read MoreMay 28, 2018
Legitimate direct selling and pyramid schemes have often been confused. While there are clear distinctions between the two, pyramid scheme promoters do everything possible to disguise what they really do and to represent themselves as legitimate network marketing activities. We will go over some of the most frequently asked questions on this topic: 1. What […]
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2018
The initial ideas sounded great so the expectations were set so high. The first reactions from the field were also very promising. Products were moving out and the sales force was happy as the members received increasing commissions… for a while. It is not uncommon for a startup in the direct selling industry to have […]
Read MoreJanuary 22, 2018
Guest author Jeffrey A. Babener, of Portland, Oregon, is the principal attorney in the law firm of Babener & Associates. For more than 30 years, he has advised leading U.S. and foreign companies in the direct selling industry, including many members of the U.S. Direct Selling Association. He has served as legal advisor to various major direct selling […]
Read MoreDecember 11, 2017
Throughout my career within the direct selling industry, I have received many questions on one of the main components of any direct sales business: The Compensation Plan. Some of these questions aimed at understanding what this “mysterious plan” was all about. The intentions behind some others were to have a good, solid, competitive plan and […]
Read MoreDecember 4, 2017
Guest author Jeffrey A. Babener, of Portland, Oregon, is the principal attorney in the law firm of Babener & Associates. For more than 30 years, he has advised leading U.S. and foreign companies in the direct selling industry, including many members of the U.S. Direct Selling Association. He has served as legal advisor to various major direct selling […]
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