How to Start a Direct Sales Business

This white paper will explain how a Direct Sales Business works and what you need to know before you get started.

 

Success, right from the start!

If you are running your own direct sales business then you are going to put yourself out on the front line. You will need to dream up ideas that you think will work and start to get an understanding of how this type of business works. Door to door, telephone sales or even direct advertising are all considered to be direct sales because there are no intermediaries involved between your and your clients.

You will need to do some research into important factors like location, competition, storage, shipping and advertisement. Doing your homework will pay off in the end, and make you more confident in what you know and what your going to do.

Taking those initial first steps can often be the hardest for most people and sometimes don't even happen, so you are going to need to commit to this if you are serious about making it work.  Businesses often fail within the first 6 months because of cash flow problems, miss-spending or lack or organization and focus.

You should set your goals high and work towards them. Even if you business is comparatively small compared to other local competition. One of your goals should be to make a profitable business. Careful planning and organization can help you achieve this. Looking at possible problems and working out strategies to solve them is one way to help you prepare.

Choose your product carefully. If you are selling nappies to retired homeowners - don't expect to make much profit. Look at your demographics and decide what the best products are to sell in that particular area. Household products or useful items might be a better choice. It also has to be something that is convenient for you to carry, ship and store. Ask yourself questions such as ‘would you buy product from your own company if they approached you?'

Decide on how much money it is you will be willing to invest initially and choose how you will spend it wisely. You must take responsibility for your companies success or failure so it doesn't hurt to seek advice and take things slowly to begin with, especially if you consider yourself a novice in this industry.

How will you deal with customer complains or order tracking? Making sure orders are processed speedily and that delivery is completed by the given date is important. Tracking orders, replenishing stock and analysing monthly reports is something you will need to be able to do. And don't for get calculating taxes and VAT. You will need to be able to log what money is going in and out and make sure its is precise. You will be responsible for all of these tasks.

Learn from others and don't be afraid to ask! If you are unsure about running your business then you should consider seeking some professional advice or asking a friend who runs a successful business. The more you know about what it is you are doing, the higher chances of success and avoiding the pitfalls.

Just because you are a direct sales company doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the Internet. Once you have that initial contact with a customer, you may wish to direct them towards your website for future sales. The Internet is a tool that you can use to reach your goal - which in this case should be a sale. It doesn't matter if you make a door-to-door sale, telephone sale or an Internet sale; you are looking to make money any way possible.

If you want to direct more traffic towards your site then consider promoting your website in your flyers and advertisements. Tell people how easy and efficient it is for them to order without having to wait in a queue on the phone. Send out mailers to people who you think are in the right target group for you type of products. Compose it in such a way that its easy for them to make a quick decision to either pick up the phone, fill out an order form or get online.

Having an online presence will aid you considerably in reaching more people, looking more professional and making business easier for you.  Using online trading systems that can provide you with the right tools to make business easy and efficient for you and your customer are hard to come by.  If you are serious about succeeding in this type of business then you will need to invest a little cash to improve your services.

If you are looking to expand, then you should be considering how you will handle an influx of orders, where to store the stock, how you will process transactions and get them shipped efficiently. You might also worry about employing more people to do all these different jobs.

With Cyrane, from something4 Limited, you will not need to hire any extra staff. Cyrane have developed an online shopping service that will help you run your business smooth and efficiently.

Designed to integrate all of your services into one system it is simple and easy to use. It will manage stock control, dispatch and delivery, It can process credit card and invoice orders promptly and has been designed for any company no matter how big or small. It has a fully integrated transactional website that is easy to maintain and doesn't require any serious technical knowledge.