Thursday, February 3, 2011

My opinion of Direct Sales

I have heard many mixed reviews on direct sales. Some people love it, some people can't stand it, and some people just can't say "no". Bottom line is direct sales has been around for longer than we can begin to imagine. These days the idea of someone coming to your door to try to sell you something repulses a lot of people. People, nowadays, go home to get away from consumerism. But in the days of people, who lived and worked and never left their homes, sales people (depending on the person and the product) were probably a refreshing break from their normal lives. Plus they didnt have to go anywhere because it was all done at home. I don't know a lot of history on direct sales, I just know snippets of what i've read, heard, and seen. And the idea of a direct sales party to a bunch of housewives was a big deal. Women use to love that stuff! And from what I hear it does still go on but not to the extent it use to. I can't seem to get anyone to show up to my party or get anyone to host any. Maybe thats a sales flaw on my part, who know. I'm not overly worried about it though, life is just different these days. I mean why buy something from someone out of a catalouge when you can just run to the store and get something similar right now. Basically, why wait for something you can get immediately somewhere else?

I started using Mary Kay products back in middle school. My mom was a consultant, she had all kinds of products and did parties. She LOVED it! Well when I got into high school, the peer pressure finally hit me hard. Yes, there was peer pressure with makeup. All I ever got to use was Mary Kay because thats the only thing my mom would buy us. And I didnt understand, all I knew was everyone else got the "cool" makeup off the commercials and I could only use Mary Kay. Some when college rolled around, I was finally on my own and could buy the "cool" makeup. Yeah, I found out quickly the REALLY good stuff it astronomically expensive and the cheap stuff didn't last at all. So when I moved back home, I switched back to MK. It was then I realized that I was really lucky that I used those products as a kid because my complexion has just always been really good. So when I started staying home after I had Jackson, I realized I needed a creative outlet. My mom still had MK products but wasn't really doing parties anymore. So I took over here inventory and fixed it up. Its been almost 3 years since I started selling it.

Now I've read all the books on "how to sell" but I realized when I worked at Victoria's Secret back in college that I am no good at selling something I don't personally stand behind and I also learned I am absolutely no good at talking people into stuff they don't want. Some people have a talent for that... I am not one of those people. I am the kind of person that if you come to me, looking for a product that I sell, I can help you, take good care of you, and get you everything you need with a big smile on my face. But I am not good at seeking people out and trapping them in an awkward situation, a situation neither of us want to be in.

So now having said that... I love Mary Kay products and I also love PartyLite candles. I can't find anything in stores that can even begin to compare to these two products. (Pampered Chef is great too but I have enough direct sales businesses on my plate as it is). I have my businesses set up so that if anyone wants something I sell, I will get it for you and deliver it to you. If you want to do a party, I can do that too.

My whole point for writing this is because, I want to start doing some product reviews on here. There is a lot of new stuff out and since I don't do alot of parties I'm not able to tell anyone about it. And I do thoroughly enjoy my products, I wouldn't sell them if I didn't.

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