So When Did You Lose Your Virginity?

Your direct sales virginity that is?

For me, it was early childhood. My mother depended upon brushes from the Fuller Brush man for taming my bushy locks, makeup and fragrance from the AVON lady, and spices and household cleaners from the Watkins man.

At least for a while that is. Then they started coming almost every day and I quickly learned that my mother kept the blinds drawn and the house quiet to avoid yet another direct salesperson from darkening our doorstep. My mother had a sixth sense about these sales people. If she even had the slightest precognition that a salesperson was in the 'hood, in we came from play and the house was locked down tighter than most maximum security prisons.

It wasn't so much that she didn't like buying from these salesmen and women, she didn't like being pushed. My mother likes to take her time to mull over a purchase before she buys something and she doesn't want anything rammed down her throat that she neither needs or can use. And unfortunately, after that first purchase of a Fuller Brush and the second purchase of a lipstick from AVON and the final purchase of cleaning supplies from Watson, the word got out and our home was labeled "EASY MONEY" by the direct sales industry.

Today, that vision of a persistant and very pushy salesperson exists in the minds of most consumers. And we have to face facts, in this society of ours we don't have the time to sit down and listen to a sales presentation for a product that is overpriced and not needed, much less want to wait for it to arrive in several weeks time. We want instant gratification as well as annonimity. So, when we see a salesperson in the 'hood, we pull the drapes down, and run and hide in a remote part of the house until the danger has passed.

Oh, how misunderstood the direct sales industry is!

Now, when you really, really sit down and think about it, the Direct Sales Industry is really as old, if not older than, well, the oldest profession of all. Thousands of years ago there was no such ICON of industry and wanton spending like Wal-Mart. No A & P to purchase your daily provisions at and no CVS with a drive through to pick up your latest health remedy.

Oh, no, the economy was driven by those stout hearted salesmen who travelled from home to home, city to city and state to state to bring direct to you the latest supplies you needed. Perhaps you were lucky enough to live in a city large enough to have its very own marketplace where many different vendors (many of them traveling) could share their wares with you, or perhaps your community was fortunate enough to have a general store where you could buy most of your immediate needs and place orders (again from traveling salesmen) for those big ticket items like furniture, heaters, farming equipment or even the latest in fashion.

Traveling salesmen were the industry and force that supplied most of the world with exactly what they needed and when they needed it. You could not have existed without making purchases from these people who gave up their lives to bring life to your lives. Nobody ran and hid from these gentlemen, in fact, the whole town would swarm the train station first when the salesman arrived and then again, in great anticipation of the arrival of the order.

But as time progressed, the need for the traveling sales man declined and as their ranks diminished and the department stores flourished, the competition for the sales became even more stiff and ushered in the era of pushy and even pushier sales people.

And, as time progressed even more, our personal time became more valuable and we began to enjoy and covet being able to shop at our leisure without the interruption of a pushy salesperson. Yes, there were still traveling salesmen out there and still they schlepped from home to home carrying large cases of product only to find out that fewer and fewer people were answering the door.

Yes, its true, a traveling salesman was nothing more than a direct sales representative. And today, society treats direct sales representatives with much of the same disdain as they once held for the traveling salesman.

Its sad and its unfair that such a wonderful industry has a stigmata attached to it that makes it one of the most demanding professions there is.

And direct sales is a profession. For the most part, Direct Sales Representatives are professional people. They run their business with as much seriousness as the store owner on the corner. They put in as much effort as the owner of any business. They expend as much money as any owner of any business and they feel the psychological and financial hurt of rejection, just like any other business owner. Yet, they are treated with contempt, people run from them, people have no problem with scheduling and then cancelling. Or writing a bad check for product or services received.

But what you don't realize is that Direct Sales Professionals are very necessary. First, they provide a service that you cannot get at your local store. A DSP (Direct Sales Professional) has intimate knowledge of their products. Can you remember the last time you went to the Piggly Wiggly and a cashier couldn't answer a question about a product? You really can't blame that cashier, she has thousands and thousands of products in her store and it would be pretty near impossible for that cashier to have intimate knowledge about each product in her store. But sit down with a Tupperware DSP and she can transform your kitchen cupboards from the black whole of spoiling food to an organized treasure trove of easy to find and very fresh food. Or spend time talking with an AVON DSP and you will not only get to know your skin type, but how to best take care of it as well as enjoy a no hassle return policy that you don't have to wait in line for over an hour to take advantage of. Be honest now. How many items of cosmetics or skin care items have you bought at Wal-Mart only to get home and find out that the product isn't right for you? And be honest, you'd rather just toss that $7.95 product than stand in line for 45 minutes only to be told the product is used and not returnable. And how many home decor stores will send out one of their sales persons to help you decide how a $50.00 purchase of candles and accessories will fit in with your existing decor? That's right, you get knowledge and service from a DSP that you would never find in any store at any time and for FREE!

Secondly, DSPs provide you with a cost effective way of obtaining products that you might not be able to afford through a hosting plan or through first order discounts. I've been to a department store with a girlfriend on a shopping spree. And no, they won't give me anything free or at a discount because my girlfriend is with me or agrees to buy something. And no, they won't give me a discount because its my first time there. But a DSP will.

And finally, they keep you informed. I know that Albertsons will not call me to check to see if I need any toilet paper right now. Its too bad when I run out. But my favorite Candle Lady checks in on a regular, though not frequent basis, to ask if I need anything. And my favorite Country Bunny DSP always lets me know when my favorite scent is on special or a new product comes out.

So, when it comes to push and shove, we need our DSPs more than ever. We don't have time to shop anymore, we need information and we need it when its convenient to us. We need the service, we need the follow through and we need the knowledge that only a DSP can provide.

Next time you see a DSP in your 'hood, don't run and hide, reach out and embrace them, you need them more than you think.

Welcome!

Truth be told, I'm procrastinating. I've got a thousand and one things to do on my list today and here I am starting up a blog. I certainly don't need anything else on my plate, I've got enough cookies there to feed an army, but hey, if you make me an M & M Chocolate Chip Cookie, I'll be happy to add just one more.

But, there is a need for this blog, a serious need. Direct sales is being maligned. Nobody understands it (who isn't already in it), those who try it, get frustrated and fail and public misconception makes our jobs much harder than they should be.

So, this BLOG is the truth about Direct Sales; The Good, The Bad and The Real Ugly. And this BLOG is for everybody: its for the consumer, its for the potential direct sales representative and its for those seasoned pros who just want to have fun reading about my adventures and mis-adventures and ups and downs and all arounds in the best career ever, DIRECT SALES!

Stay tuned, there's more to come, a lot more!